Trashy Novels, Move Over
Special thanks to Lisa Mladinich, columnist for Patheos, and Katheryn Lane, author and blogger, for their recent interviews of me.
The first is an excerpt of Lisa's interview of me for Patheos:
Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor. 6:18-20)
When we watch or read sexually arousing material, we are putting our soul in harm's way. Impurity, as I have mentioned recently, distances us from God and reduces our sensitivity to and compassion for others.
Teresa of Avila likened the soul to a garden, which is a very apt image. Our souls need tending, protecting, nourishment, and weeding. When we watch or read erotic or pornographic material, we deliberately plant weeds in among the flowers and choke off our spiritual growth.
Our culture is loaded with trashy material that tugs at our brokenness. But I've got great news for you. Beautifully written, clean fiction is making a comeback. And it's not the dull, preachy, formula stuff in the generic Christian market.
This is Catholic literature with an emphasis on storytelling, with solid values woven throughout. Authors like Ellen Gable, Karina Fabian, Michelle Buckman, Ann Margaret Lewis, and John Desjarlais (all members of the Catholic Writers Guild and bearers of the organization's "Seal of Approval"), are turning out thrilling sci-fi, fantasy, historical, romance, and mystery novels with irresistible characters, plots, humor, and pathos.
Today, I'd like to share a conversation I had with the Guild's Vice President, Ellen Gable, a writer whose work will greatly entertain you, while it treats your immortal soul with respect.
Hi Ellen! Welcome to Patheos!
Thanks, it's great to be here!
I'm a huge fan, so I know a lot about you and your work, but for our readers, tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a freelance writer and author of four books. Although I'm originally from New Jersey, I moved up to Canada after I married my Canadian husband. We have five sons ages 12 to 24 and we live in a small town in rural Ontario.
What inspired you to write Catholic fiction?
I have always been an avid reader. Even now, I usually read two to three novels per week. Years ago, before my re-version, I devoured trashy romance novels like they were candy.
Like anyone, I love a good story, but I especially enjoy a compelling romance or suspense novel. As I grew in my faith, I no longer had any desire to read fiction with explicit sex scenes. So I began seeking out Christian fiction. However, I yearned to read good fiction with Catholic themes. I missed this in the Christian fiction I was reading after my re-version. And I didn't like the formula and the predictability of many of these novels.
To read the rest of the interview, click on the link below:
Next, I'd like to share an excerpt of Katheryn Lane's interview with me:
Can I start by asking you how you became an author?
I actually began writing in a journal 20 years ago to ease my grief during miscarriages. That journal became my first published article in 1995 called "Five Little Souls In Heaven." Six years later, I began writing my first book because I wanted to share the parallel stories of myself and my great-grandmother.
However, I knew I would have to fictionalize the stories, amalgamate incidents and change names so that's how my first novel, Emily's Hope, was born. I couldn't wait to write more novels and my second and third novels are totally fictitious and I had a lot more fun writing them.
To read the interview in its entirety, click here.
