New to Christian Fiction

[Rochelle]

Hey there! I'm new to this group! I'm also pretty new to reading Christian fiction. When I first started I went to the Christian bookstore where I lived. I didn't realize how overwhelmed I would be! I just didn't know where to start! I asked one of the clerks to recommend a good read and she recommended "Black" by Ted Dekker. All I can say to that is "WOW"!!! Since then I have read many of his books including the whole Circle trilogy! I love them!!! A good friend also recommended "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers and I am hooked! I'm currently reading " A Lineage of Grace" by Francine Rivers. I'm so captivated by the redemption in these books...I want more! Who else is good? What other books like these would you recommend???

[Paula]

Hi Rochelle. Welcome! I'm pretty new to this group as well. "Redeeming Love" is one of the first Christian fiction books that I read and it is amazing! I am also reading "Lineage of Grace" now and I love it. I've read several other books by Francine Rivers and they are all great reads. I would recommend the Mark of the Lion series which includes Voice in the Wind, Echo in the Darkness, and Sure as the Dawn. These are my favorites. Leota's Garden and The Scarlet Thread are also really good. I've also read several books by Ted Dekker. The Circle Trilogy is on my to-read list. Another author I really like is Terri Blackstock. Most of her books are mystery suspense. Cape Refuge Series, Suncoast Chronicles, Restoration Series, and Intervention are all excellent! Also, Francine Rivers has a new book coming out this month called "Her Mother's Hope". Can't wait to read it! I hope these suggestions help. Happy reading!

[Ellen]

Hi Rochelle -- welcome to the group and to Christian Fiction in general. Go ahead and add all of these suggestions below to your 'to-read' shelf. You won't be sorry!
Ted Dekker's book HEAVEN'S WAGER and BLINK are masterpieces. Of course you must read Frank Peretti's THIS PRESENT DARKNESS
Please write me any time and I will send over a friend request now!
God bless you!
Ellen
Also my novel is a Christian vampire tale of redemption -- nothing like has ever been seen before! Here is the link for this one:

[Jennifer]

Ooooo! Love Redeeming Love! I second the Mark of the Lion Series! It's awesome. You may like trying out Karen Kingsbury. Her new one Shades of Blue is good. Divine is another favorite and her whole Redemption, First Born and Sunrise series are great.

[Jennifer]

If you like Mail Ordered Brides stories, Lori Copeland's Brides of the West series is great and her Men of The Saddle one too. Julie Klassen is a regency author and she's great as well if you like Jane Austen and the Brontes.

[Ellen]

Now and then, I cleanse my thriller palate with Loree Lough. This one makes me SMILE AND LAUGH Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska
Enjoy!

[Ellen]

Here's the cover...I love these books...

[Barbara]

Hi, Rochelle. Welcome to the group! A couple of other authors that I like very well that haven't been mentioned yet are Terri Blackstock and Randy Alcorn. Any of their books are very good. Terri Blackstock's are Christian mysteries.

[Ellen]

OH! Yes Barbara, Randy Alcorn's ISHBANE CONSPIRACY is so awesome. Here is the cover: The Ishbane Conspiracy

[Angela]

Hi Rochelle! I'm also a newbie to the group, with less than a month's time under my belt. If you get a taste for novels that entertain as well as provide spiritual food for thought, check out and also, may I humbly add my novel about lust, redemption and really good cheeseburgers ...happy reading!

[Ellen]

GOTTA BACK THAT ONE UP TOO! THE GARDEN KEY --- you won't be sorry...

[Jennifer]

Ellen wrote: "Now and then, I cleanse my thriller palate with Loree Lough. This one makes me SMILE AND LAUGH Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska
Enjoy!"

I want to read this one! I've got the Snowball Arkansas one and Maiden North Carolina last month for five bucks each. Plus, I've read several others.

[Ellen]

Jennifer -- I want to read those too!

[Jennifer]

Poetry, Texas and Liberty,Indiana and Humble, Texas have been my favorites so far.

[Jasmine]

What a refreshing concept! I have been reading Christian fiction for some time now, but I would love to learn more and possibly introduce titles to the women of my church! Look forward to the discussions and "Goodreads."

[Angela]

Welcome Jasmine! I am fairly new as to this forum as well.

[Jasmine]

Thanks Angela!

[Jasmine]

Has anyone read The Shack? I just saw that it is a christian fiction. Interesting. I think I will pick it up.

[Jennifer]

Jasmine wrote: "Has anyone read The Shack? I just saw that it is a christian fiction. Interesting. I think I will pick it up."

Nope, I've heard good and bad things about it. Not really into that kinda of book, but who knows? It may be a good one for you.

[Angela]

I read The Shack and loved it. There is one chapter that is a little hard for some people to get through, but overall, it was really inspiring.

[Lisa]

Just remember, The Shack is fiction, and I'd also recommend reading some of the interviews with the author. He's got an interesting way of twisting things - some great, some not-so great. But at least you'll know what everyone is talking about.

[Lisa]

I'm also interested in discussing what kind of topics people here like to read and prefer to avoid when choosing your books. I read above that Redeeming Love doesn't scare too many away. I worked hard to get my story about the love between an older woman and younger man in print - Meander Scar - is that something you think would be unpalatable? Why or why not?

[Ellen]

Hi Lisa,

I'd like to discuss it with you :)

Older woman, younger man. What is the age difference?

[Jennifer]

Depends on the readers. Some readers can handle Redeeming Love,Mark of the Lion Series...if you want edgy christian fiction Julie Lessman's books are great. It all depends on if you can keep christ the main ingredient. Julie's great at weaving biblical truths with "passion"

[Lisa]

I wasn't really trying for the edgy, despite Michelle Sutton's wild endorsement, which I honestly didn't expect. When I pitched the project, I got a lot of "ews", which kind of surprised me, given that so many entertainers are in relationships like that. In my story, the younger man, in his thirties with a failed engagement behind him, woos his former next door neighbor, who's eleven years older. They do talk about whether he's got a mother fixation. When I did the research and interviews for this, I got an earful of TMI from people I absolutely would never, ever have suspected of not only experiencing a relationship like this, but being curious about it. The man is a practicing believer in my story, and drags the woman to his church. They both experience events which cause them to doubt, or think about compromising themselves.

Yes, I wanted to entertain, but also to encourage the reader to think about what it means to be truthful, faithrul, and under what circumstances you have doubts. I guess, is it still entertaining if you have to think?

[Megan]

The Mark of the Lion series is my all-time favorite!! As others have already recommended to you. Also loved the Circle trilogy and Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness.
A couple that haven't been mentioned that are pretty good are Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson, In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols, and Veiled Freedom by J.M. Windle. Each one reached me in a different way.

I like books that teach me, give me new insights, challenge me, convict me, lead me to prayer or service, etc. I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord through the books! I like all genres within Christian fiction, from historical to romance, to suspense, to speculative. And I love reading other recommendations.
Please keep them coming!!

[Ellen]

Lisa~ after hearing more about your story, I think it will be a welcome and refreshing book to bring to the world. You're right that the entertainment world has popularized 'cougars' which I find the sexual view behind this term offensive. But your book isn't about that and your man is in his 30's -- that rules out the whole 'cougar' thing. You're simply telling a terrific story where the age of the 2 characters is important to the plot and the way it develops. Of course if he leads her to a closer relationship to God - oh how wonderful is that!
Keep writing!
ellen

[Jennifer]

I agree with Ellen. It can be done tastefully and with thought provoking dialogue. You could probably appeal to other readers who normally wouldn't delve into the christian market. The whole cougar thing gets taken out of porportion and stereotyped so badly! There are godly women who I know who have married younger men and you can't really tell.

[Jennifer]

Liz Curtis Higgs Lowlands of Scotland series is a good one too! She takes the Biblical storie of Leah and Rachel and sets in Scotland in 1788. It's great. And Antonement Child by Francine Rivers is another good one too. Michael Phillips The Secret of the Rose series is great if you love War books. Brock and Bodie Thoene are good as well...their zion chronicles and zion covenant series are my fav.

[Linda]

Hi, I'm a new member, and I'd like to introduce myself. My debut novel, The Fence My Father Built (Abingdon Press, 2009) is contemporary women's fiction set in Central Oregon. Muri, an unemployed librarian, has always longed to know her biological father, a half-Nez Perce Indian named Joseph Pond. When she finds out where he lives, she's too late: he's died and left her a rundown trailer surrounded by a fence made out of old oven doors. I hope you'll check it out. Linda Clare

[Ellen]

Hi Linda, Welcome! Congrats on the debut novel! I will go check out your book now. Sounds wonderful.

My debut novel came out in Nov. 09 and is making a big splash. Here is the web site, www.rabbitnovel.com. Please have a look! It might be the perfect book for someone you know :)

Have a great night!
Ellen C Maze

[Jennifer]

Linda wrote: "Hi, I'm a new member, and I'd like to introduce myself. My debut novel, The Fence My Father Built (Abingdon Press, 2009) is contemporary women's fiction set in Central Oregon. Muri, an unemployed l..."

I've heard good things about your book! It sounds good.

[Margaret]

Linda, congratulations on your debut novel!!!

Margaret

[Melissa]

There are a lot of great authors out there. Here are a few that i have really enjoyed....

The Duke's Redemption
by Carla Capshaw

Last Light (Restoration, Book 1)
by Terri Blackstock

Night Light (Restoration, #2)
by Terri Blackstock

True Light: A Restoration Novel
by Terri Blackstock

Dawn's Light (A Restoration Novel)
by Terri Blackstock

Quaker Summer
by Lisa Samson

Covenant Child
by Terri Blackstock

The Scarlet Thread
by Francine Rivers

Karen Kingsbury

Beverly Lewis (writes great stories about the Amish)

There are many, many more. These are just a few that i have read. :0)

[Jennifer]

Love Carla Capshaw! The Gladiator was good too! It was her debut novel.

[Lynn]

Rochelle, Just to plug my debut novel, "Shoot the Wounded" it's getting some great reviews. www.shootthewounded.org

I'm surprised no one has mentioned any of Janette Oke's books yet. She's one of my favorite authors! Start with the Love Comes Softly series.Love Comes Softly

Blessings,
Lynn
Shoot The Wounded

[Jennifer]

Lynn wrote: "Rochelle, Just to plug my debut novel, "Shoot the Wounded" it's getting some great reviews. www.shootthewounded.org

I'm surprised no one has mentioned any of Janette Oke's books yet. She's on..."

LOL! Oh yeah...don't watch the movies! I've got major issues with how they played around with the story and changed it up from the books. Janette Oke does have some good ones if you like the pioneer days and a light read.

[Ralph]

The books mentioned in this group all sound great. There is a new novel released a few months ago that I thought was really great. Future Hope by David Gelber was a great read, thought provoking and entertaining. Once I started it I almost read it straight through. It is futuristic, but with a powerful Christian message. If you like Ted Dekker you will definitely enjoy David Gelber's book.

[Lynn]

Jennifer wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Rochelle, Just to plug my debut novel, "Shoot the Wounded" it's getting some great reviews. www.shootthewounded.org

I'm surprised no one has mentioned any of Janette Oke's books y..."

Actually I kind of liked the movies. Sure they messed about with the storyline a bit but Janette was actually on the production end of the first few movies...I haven't seen past the first three.