A Christian Romance that’s not an Inspy
Yep, it’s true.
I wrote a book about priests having sex. It’s definitely not a closed-bedroom-door romance. And while I think there are some “conversions” in the story, none of them are to Christianity.
If that appeals to you—Yay!—it comes out next Tuesday 
The thing is, I tagged the book as Christian, but Amazon’s category is Christian AND Inspirational. So in sales rank categories it might look to book browsers like an Inspirational (no-sex) romance (at least until they decide to read the blurb).
I’m still not sure that was the right move, but it’s one I made for a reason.
I’m a Christian, and I’m sex positive. Not just about married, procreative sex, but ALL kinds of sex that fills us with love and gives us glimmers of God’s gracious, even gratuitous love for us. I believe sex can be sacramental: a physical, tangible experience of this grace, of God’s unconditional acceptance and desire to know and be known by us. In my mind, that’s the best explanation of the awesomeness that is an orgasm. Transcendent.
That said, my sexual ethics is not lax. I believe sex should ideally be loving, mutual, life-giving, not destructive, coerced, or devoid of intimacy. I also hold compassion for the fact we sometimes mess this up in our desperation to be loved. Haven’t many of us had sex that missed the mark when it lacked these ideals? Bad–or just blech–sex can be an important part of the romance arc, just as it can be an instructive moment in our lives.
Not all Christians share my take on sexual ethics. Our religion has a history of believing sexual pleasure is sinful, or only to be experienced within very proscribed relationships. But many Christians do agree.
The Episcopal Church in which I am a priest has a wonderful history of sex-positive teachings and practices. Our marriage liturgy is deeply romantic and sensual. Our clergy have been permitted to marry since the Reformation! In the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., women were ordained beginning in the late 1970s. Most recently, we agreed gay and lesbian people have full rights to the sacrament of marriage, just as heterosexual couples do.
That’s not to say everyone in the Episcopal Church agrees on sexual ethics—if we did, I’d hardly have fodder for a book, much less a whole series about female priests. We harbor plenty of patriarchal prudes. Within this thing called “the church” there is enormous diversity of opinion on virtually all matters of doctrine and ethics, both across history and within and between current Christian denominations. There is no single Christianity.
Religious people from all faiths wrestle with sexuality, just like most human beings. We struggle with questions of desire, appropriate boundaries, shame, and judgment. Like everyone else, centuries—no millennia—of culture shape our sense of right and wrong, what is taboo and what is tantalizing. We all struggle to live authentically while doing what we believe is moral.
I’m really not an expert on the history and various subgenres of romance. I’m just a person who wrote a book set in a world I know and adore, a world that is full of flawed, funny human beings who are full of love and often perplexed what to do about it. But I do know the book I wrote is about Christians who are motivated by their faith, that it explores Christian themes and sexual ethics, and that it most certainly does not qualify as Inspirational.
Maybe I’m asking for a whole bunch of one-star reviews from angry Inspy readers, but I just can’t bring myself to remove NOT A MISTAKE from the Christian Romance category.
NOT A MISTAKE
Hot Under Her Collar, Book #1
Sometimes a scandal isn’t a sin…
On the night she graduates from seminary, Jordan Sykes finds herself in bed with Dominic Lawrence, the ethics professor she’s crushed on for years. Two months later, she discovers she’s pregnant and is determined to hide it to protect his career. Maybe, if she loves her new church like hell, they won’t fire her for being a single mother.
Dominic knows the difference between right and wrong, and he’s filled with remorse after sleeping with his favorite student. He’s offered the job of his dreams, but he’d be a hypocrite to accept without making things right with Jordan first.
Dominic proposes marriage to save their careers, never expecting they will prove a perfect—and passionate—match. But can Jordan give her heart to a man who still believes the first night they spent together was a mistake?
You can add Not A Mistake to your TBR:
And you can preorder it here:
