rambling along about Christian fiction

My friend Accidental Poet made a little comment about people turning their noses up at Christian Fiction. That got me thinking... so watch out, that always means a mess.

The school I went to didn't require us to read the Literary classics, we read Christian classics. So I read In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon, and others that I can't remember.

I wonder, was that considered Christian Fiction at the time? Did the distinction exist?

Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright has some great Christian themes, written in 1907. Many of the books I've read from that time period would be considered Christian today, I think, but my guess is that they were main stream back then.

My first forays into what we now know as Christian fiction was with the Janette Oke books. I loved them. They were wonderful. I wouldn't read them now, however.

Now I like my books to be gritty. I like them to be real. I like the relationships to have problems and the people to be nasty on occasion.

I don't have a favorite genre. I have loved books from all of them.

I want to talk first about historical fiction...

Jane Kirkpatrick's Kinship and Courage Series is about families heading west on a wagon train. The men all die one way or another and the women struggle on. I loved that series. Very rich. The characters are real. The events are often tragic, but there is faith and grace woven throughout.

Bodie and Brock Theone's Zion Covenant series is about the Holocaust. The characters are actually based on real people. The stories are based on real lives. A beautiful haunting series.
Their series The Zion Chronicles follows many of the same characters as they go to Palestine and are involved in the wars there for Israeli statehood. The history in their books is accurate and educational, but doesn't ever overwhelm the characters or the story.

Francine Rivers writes historical as well as other types of fiction. Her Mark of the Lion series is about a young Jewish woman taken into Roman slavery during the first century. Excellent details. Can't help but engage with the characters.

I recommend anything by Francine. She does not white wash life. Read Leota's Garden and see.

Well, my rambling along has gone on long enough. In another post I will talk about books from other genres that I recommend.