My apologies for the lack of blog posts recently. My family dog’s heart started failing last week and she was put down on Friday. I’m doing surprisingly well (the fact that I haven’t really lived at home for the past couple of years probably has something to do with it) but I’ve been spending a lot of extra time with my family because of it.
Anyway….
I was recently asked a question on Twitter (@MJPiazza2 if you’re interested in following me, I post lots of cute cat pictures) that sparked a lot of internal debate. Technically, you see, the Clouds Aflame trilogy is Christian fiction. However, when I’m talking about my book online or trying to sell it at a book signing, I usually just call it historical fiction and leave the Christian part out. I do this for a couple of reasons, and the first is the most shameful. I’ll reach a wider audience. There are plenty of people out there who would never read a book that was blatantly labeled as Christian fiction, whereas most of the people who do read Christian fiction don’t read it exclusively and would be more open to reading the Clouds Aflame books than if the situation were reversed.
This does present an interesting caveat, though. In not labeling my books as Christian fiction, I am (hopefully) exposing non-Christian readers to Christianity. When I was young, my family listened to a Christian radio station that played the occasional song by Skillet–a metal band whose Christian affiliation was not immediately obvious in all of their songs. My mom explained that they could reach people who would never set foot in a church. (She still made us turn the radio off whenever Skillet came on.)
There is, however, another reason why I do not always label my books as Christian fiction. And this one is a bit more nuanced. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist, defines “propaganda” as a piece of art containing a message which exists before, and is more important than, the creative process which creates the art itself. In other words, if I sat down to write a children’s book, and I knew before I even started writing or planning the book that I wanted it to be about how sharing is good, I would be writing propaganda. Perhaps there is a time and a place for propaganda, but I try not to write it. When I write a book, my main goal is to tell a story and to express my imagination.
Is that a worthy goal? I haven’t decided yet. I know that the highest goal in the life of every Christian should be to glorify God and further His kingdom. At the same time, I know that God makes different people with different gifts and purposes, and that we go about glorifying God and furthering His kingdom in different ways. The world needs honest businessmen, selfless stay-at-home moms, and kindly grocery store clerks the same way it needs pastors and missionaries. I don’t know how God transforms the ordinary into the supernatural, but He does. Could I write a book that contains no mention of God and still glorify Him with it? I don’t know.
When I read a novel, it’s because I want to forget about the world and its troubles for a while. I want to indulge my imagination. If I wanted to learn more about God, I’d read my Bible or listen to a sermon on YouTube. Fiction, at least the way I look at it, has a different purpose than nonfiction. And yes, I put Bible verses into my books and include literal sermons, but I try to do so in a way that’s normal and natural for the characters. “Try” is the operative word in that sentence. Writing is art, and art is hard to make.
Will I start calling my books Christian fiction anytime soon? I don’t know. Will the fantasy book I’m currently working on be Christian fiction? I don’t know. I’m trying my best. Writing is hard and navigating young adulthood is hard and being a Christian is hard and I feel lost a good part of the time. I’ll get through it; most people do.
Yes you will get through it; you have out your trust in God all you life, and He will lead you….love as blessings!