Discussions on “Edgy” Christian Fiction

by | Sep 8, 2010 | Blog, boundaries, christian fiction, Mike Duran, Ted Dekker

Some are getting seriously tired of the label “edgy” when discussing Christian fiction. I can understand. Without an objective definition, one person’s edgy is another person’s milquetoast.

That being said, there have been a couple of interesting posts on the subject of edgy last week.

Mike Duran had an interesting post over at Decompose, and he disputes whether Christian fiction is really delving into the edgy or not. With 40+ comments this week, the dialogue has been interesting to say the least. If you’re interested in this conversation, be sure to check it out.

Ted Dekker has had a first: his latest novel Immanuel’s Veins has been banned in Holland. Strange, I know. It is only banned because the Christian publisher that produces his books there feels it is too “sensual” for their audience. Ted is not afraid to state a point, so he has a thought-provoking reply on his Facebook page.

For now I don’t have anything new to say in regards to these issues. Rather than rehashing them here, go check them out. Go on, off with ya now…
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Discussions on “Edgy” Christian Fiction

by | Sep 8, 2010 | Blog, boundaries, christian fiction, Mike Duran, Ted Dekker

Some are getting seriously tired of the label “edgy” when discussing Christian fiction. I can understand. Without an objective definition, one person’s edgy is another person’s milquetoast.

That being said, there have been a couple of interesting posts on the subject of edgy last week.

Mike Duran had an interesting post over at Decompose, and he disputes whether Christian fiction is really delving into the edgy or not. With 40+ comments this week, the dialogue has been interesting to say the least. If you’re interested in this conversation, be sure to check it out.

Ted Dekker has had a first: his latest novel Immanuel’s Veins has been banned in Holland. Strange, I know. It is only banned because the Christian publisher that produces his books there feels it is too “sensual” for their audience. Ted is not afraid to state a point, so he has a thought-provoking reply on his Facebook page.

For now I don’t have anything new to say in regards to these issues. Rather than rehashing them here, go check them out. Go on, off with ya now…
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Follow Up on BoneMan’s Daughters

by | Apr 28, 2009 | Blog, BoneMan's Daughters, christian fiction, Ted Dekker, writing craft

I reviewed BoneMan’s Daughters almost 2 weeks ago, but there is still a lot of buzz about it. I read an article on CNN.com today with a catchy headline: ‘BoneMan’ creator grew up with cannibals. Hard to top that, methinks.

Here’s the article about Ted and his place in (or out) of Christian fiction. There are some memorable quotes by an editor, Henry Carrigan, that I want to share as well:

“Good writing is lacking in a lot of Christian fiction. It’s pedantic, the prose is awful, the writing is static and it’s difficult to believe the characters,” Carrigan says.

Though Christian publishers pushed hard to get their authors on mainstream shelves, what eventually did often was shelved away from fiction under a subsection called “inspirational fiction.” “Even though they made the crossover, they didn’t make the crossover. They were ghettoized,” Carrigan says.

Dekker has succeeded, Carrigan says, because “he knows how to write.” Describing Dekker’s style as ” ‘CSI’ meets God and Satan,” the editor observes, “He knows how to use the formula when he uses a formula. He can suck people in. That’s why he’s been so successful.”

So what does this say about Dekker and Christian fiction in general? Thoughts?
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Follow Up on BoneMan’s Daughters

by | Apr 28, 2009 | Blog, BoneMan's Daughters, christian fiction, Ted Dekker, writing craft

I reviewed BoneMan’s Daughters almost 2 weeks ago, but there is still a lot of buzz about it. I read an article on CNN.com today with a catchy headline: ‘BoneMan’ creator grew up with cannibals. Hard to top that, methinks.

Here’s the article about Ted and his place in (or out) of Christian fiction. There are some memorable quotes by an editor, Henry Carrigan, that I want to share as well:

“Good writing is lacking in a lot of Christian fiction. It’s pedantic, the prose is awful, the writing is static and it’s difficult to believe the characters,” Carrigan says.

Though Christian publishers pushed hard to get their authors on mainstream shelves, what eventually did often was shelved away from fiction under a subsection called “inspirational fiction.” “Even though they made the crossover, they didn’t make the crossover. They were ghettoized,” Carrigan says.

Dekker has succeeded, Carrigan says, because “he knows how to write.” Describing Dekker’s style as ” ‘CSI’ meets God and Satan,” the editor observes, “He knows how to use the formula when he uses a formula. He can suck people in. That’s why he’s been so successful.”

So what does this say about Dekker and Christian fiction in general? Thoughts?
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