Article by Brian Alan Burhoe
Faith-based Christian fiction is riding the Best Seller Lists.
"The Shack" by William P. Young has been on the top fiction lists since its publication in 2007. The Left Behind Series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye has sold in the millions. All three of these writers, Young, Jenkins and LaHaye, have stirred up controversy in their interpretation of Christian theology — but others maintain that their sales figures are all the vidication they need.
Christian fiction, unlike other genres (with the exception of Mystery/Suspense, which dominates today's Best Seller Hardcover and Paperback lists) is building in sales and popularity.
Even books that draw on material from the fringes of Christianity (vampires — Dan Brown's fictionalization of the Holy Blood and Holy Grail mythologies, etc) are being snatched up from the bookshelves (or ordered online).
If you love Christian fiction, or are just getting started — maybe you want to write a Christian novel yourself — where do you get started?
Who are the best selling, most popular writers of Christian fiction today?
.C S Lewis. Born on November 29th, 1898, in Belfast, Ireland, Clive Staples Lewis gained world fame for his Christian-based writing. Although his non-fiction, such as "Mere Christianity," "Miracles" and his autobiography "Surprised By Joy" continue to be published, it's his fiction that has made him a worldwide sensation. Some of his ideas of Christianity and mythology came out of discussions with other members of the Oxford literary group called the Inklings (which included his close friend J R R Tolkien).
His Chronicles of Narnia continue to be best sellers and the basis of a series of movies. Narnia titles include "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Prince Caspian," "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Last Battle."
Lewis' Ransom Trilogy was a science fiction sequence written for adults and dealing with theology in a more serious tone. Set on Earth, Mars and Venus, the stories told the adventures of Elwin Ransom (based on Tolkien). The second novel, "Perelandra," presents a new Garden of Eden on Venus, and gives us one of the most picturesque visions of another planet ever written.
.Janette Oke. Janette Oke (nee Steves) was born on February 18th, 1935, in the Canadian western community of Champion, Alberta. She grew up on the vast Canadian prairies, steeped in its folkways and history (including the revered history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). She also grew up with the independent, conservative values of the time and place, becoming a committed Evangelical Christian. She graduated from the Mountain View Bible College in Canada.
Her first novel was "Once Upon a Summer." Published in 1981 by Bethany House, it was a Christian novel that blended history, romance and faith.
Her second novel was "When Calls the Heart" — the first in her Canadian West Series — and a bestseller. "When Calls the Heart" told the story of teacher Elizabeth Marie Thatcher who arrives from the cultured East and faces a rougher place and culture than she had expected. Her faith is tested. But she meets her Mountie. The novel was a success.
She has gone on to sell millions of books and is considered the originator of modern faith-based Christian fiction. Other titles include "A Bride for Donnigan," "A Quiet Strength," "A Woman Named Damaris," "Another Homecoming," "Beyond the Gathering Storm," and "Prairie Dog Town." Many of her books are available in boxed sets.
Janette Oke has received the 1992 ECPA President's Award and the 1999 CBA Life Impact Award for her "significant contribution to the Christian book industry." She has also won both the Gold Medallion Award and the Christy Award for fiction. Janette and her husband, Edward, still live in Alberta, Canada.
.Frank Peretti. Called "America's hottest Christian novelist" and "a sanctified Stephen King," Frank Peritti is a top selling Christian author, with millions of sales.
Peretti was born in Canada and grew up in Seattle, Washington. After a stint of playing banjo in a bluegrass group and studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA, he assisted his father in pastoring an Assembly of God church and began a writing career.
Following his first sale, a fantasy novel entitled "The Door in the Dragon's Throat," Perretti published "The Present Darkness" in 1986. Considered the first of the new Christian fictional revival, it is considered his masterpiece and still continues to sell and draw new fans to his published works. Other novels include "Piercing the Darkness," "Prophet," "The Oath," "House" (coauthored with Ted Dekker) and "Illusion" (published in 2012).
.Karen Kingsbury. Karen Kingsbury lives with her husband, Donald, and six children in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington.
With millions of sales, her series of Christian novels include her Firstborn Series, Redemption Series, Red Glove Series, 911 Series, Women of Faith Series,and her newest, the Sunrise Series. One of her first Faith-based books, "Deadly Pretender," was made into a CBS Movie-of-the-Week retitled, "Every Womans Dream" for broadcast.
Called "the queen of Christian fiction" by TIME Magazine, Karen said, "Fans say that they are closer to God and each other after reading the stories the Lord has given me to write."
.Terri Blackstock. With over 30 titles published, Christy Award winner Terri Blackstock's book sales are in the millions. Her Christian fiction novels include "Last Light, Restoration Series #1," "Dawn's Light, Restoration Series #4," "Sweet Delights," "Double Minds," "Predator," the Christy-winning "Intervention," and "Downfall, Intervention Series #3."
Terri's advice for aspiring authors is: "Don't get it right, get it written. I used to spend weeks writing and rewriting the first three chapters, until I heard this bit of advice. Now I write the first draft without judgment, and rewrite extensively on the subsequent drafts. Just having the book on paper-even if it's terrible-makes the rest of the job seem easier."
.Ted Dekker. Living in Austin, Texas (with his wife and two of their daughters), Ted Dekker has published over 40 novels. He writes Christian fiction in the Thriller/Suspense genre. With titles on the New York Times Best Seller lists, his novel "The Bride Collector" was nominated for a 2011 Christy Award.
Other novels include "Immanuel's Veins," "Boneman's daughters," "Adam," and, coauthored with Tosca Lee, "Forbidden, Books of Mortals Series, #1." His novels have been published in eBook format, Spanish eBook, audiobook on CD, MP3, paperback book and Large Print version.
.To read more about the latest best selling writers of Christian Fiction, to learn how to write Christian Fiction and other genres, go to "Christian Authors Fiction: Best Christian Novels, Books, Romance & Mysteries" CLICK HERE: BEST CHRISTIAN AUTHORS FICTION
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Endnotes: Google the word Christian and, if you aren't watchful, what comes up when you click on it? "Christian Louboutin Official Website. Luxury French shoe and bag…" is #1.
In fact, the whole first page brings up Christian Louboutin websites! An entire first page, from the "Official Christian Louboutin Online Boutique" to a Wikipedia article about the French footwear fashioners. What just happened? Google's patented PigeonRank system tries to anticipate what you are searching for. And they give priority to commercial accounts. It's all about money. They take for granted that you are a Consumer first — a spiritual Human Being second.
If you want to google the word Christian for any other purpose than buying shoes or handbags, you have to erase the faint "louboutin" from the words "Christian louboutin" in your search window. Or scroll down the drop-window and find the word "Christian" by itself. Google Insights lists the following results in their Rising Searches for the term Christian as being: christian audigier, christian beadles, christian louboutin, christian louboutin shoes, christian bale, christian movies, christian quotes and christian songs.
Is the Christian Faith, which is responsible for the downfall of an evil empire two thousand years ago, and the rise of Western society, with its basic tenants of love, democracy and freedom, under attack on the Web?
- Brian Alan Burhoe
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Sources:
1) Publishers Weekly: "Christian Fiction Awards Honor Top Novelists, Pioneering Editor" by Marcia Z Nelson — //publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/religion/article/43699-christian-fiction-awards-honor-top-novelists-pioneering-editor.html
2) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Christian Literature" — //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_literature
3) The Christian Post: "Best Christian Fiction Books of 2011 Announced" by Sarah Hamaker — //christianpost.com/news/best-christian-fiction-books-of-2011-announced-56502/
4) Realblog: "Best Christian Fiction: Writers C S Lewis, Karen Kingsbury, William P Young, Randy Alcorn" — http://www.brianalanburhoe.com/blog/759240/Best_Christian_Fiction_Writers_C_S_Lewis_Karen_Kingsbury_William_P_Young_Randy_Alcorn
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Spirituality: Religion: Christianity
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Copyright© 2012 by Brian Alan Burhoe. This Article may be freely emailed, copied and distributed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice and active links.
Tags: best Christian fiction, Bible, Christian books, Christian church, Christian fiction books, Christian lyrics, Christian music, C S Lewis, Janette Oke, Karen Kingsbury, series, Ted Dekker
About the Author
Brian Alan Burhoe is the author of many dog-related articles and short stories. Among his fiction is "WOLFBLOOD: A Northwestern in the Tradition of Jack London" CLICK HERE: WOLFBLOOD: A Northwestern. For much more about Rin Tin Tin and all of our favorite canines, see "Dog Stories in Books, Pulp Fiction and Hollywood – Evolution of the Realistic Dog Story" click here: DOGS IN FICTION & HOLLYWOOD
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