Writing Mainstream Novels Does Not Require an Author to Leave His Faith Behind

Linda writes:

I just wanted to write and tell you that I have so loved your books in the Acts of Faith series. They are on my favorite-books-of-all-time-shelf. What a blessing they are to me.

Then while at the Christian bookstore I saw Gold of Kings and I purchased it right away. My favorite genre of books is Christian historical fiction and you have not disappointed, until The Black Madonna. I was disappointed in the phrase, "is she your lover" referring to Storm Syrell and Emma. I could not believe that the phrase was in your book. I thought, is this the same author that has written The Centurion's Wife?

It is so hard to find good action/adventure/history fiction that is not filled with trash and filth. There must be hundreds if not thousands of authors willing to include horrible language,

explicit sex scenes and all the rest in their books. Which makes it all the more exciting when you find an author that writes as good as you and is also willing to keep it clean and glorifying to God.

I read in the front of The Black Madonna:

"Bunn has comfortably made the transition to mainstream readers, and his popularity shows no sign of abating."

So that must mean that you have to forgo mentioning a relationship with God by any of your characters, or include things that would not glorify God to be accepted by the mainstream. They have so very many authors to choose from and we have so very few.

I hope and pray that you will still write so that ALL of your readers will be able to continue reading and loving your books.

Dear Linda:

I must thank you for writing such an open and heartfelt note. Sometimes the hardest words to write, at least for me, are where there is such a conflict of positive and negative, things I like and things that distress me. I just want to tell you that you have done a beautiful job at expressing your joy over these stories, and your distress over this one issue.

The most important thing I have to say is, I am very sorry that you found this point distressing. The reason I wrote this as I did was simply that I wanted to portray Raphael as a member of the other world, the realm not occupied by believers, out there where such casual comments are simply part and parcel of daily life. Cold, uncaring, heartless. Everything his affection for Storm gradually rescued him from.

But whatever reason I had for writing that does not excuse the sense of having offended you, and for this I am genuinely sorry.

As for your question, no, moving into the mainstream with some of my books is not as you have said, a departure from faith-based work. Instead, what I try to do with these books is write a book founded upon faith and Scriptural morals, but where the theme is not overtly evangelical.

That is the key issue for me and a growing number of writers and film-makers, how to take our stories of eternal hope and bring them to a world that is moving ever further away from God's voice.

In any case, I do hope you find future works of mine, both those for the mainstream and those directed to the faith world, to hold to the values which clearly form the mainstay of your own life. May they uplift, and inspire, as well as entertain.

Again, thank you so much for writing from the heart.

Warm personal regards,

Davis