Jesus told stories that did not always have a positive or uplifting outcome. Oftentimes, there was ambiguity in their resolve. Sometimes there were images of horror and dread. For example, The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31) ends with the rich man in a “place of torment,” prevented from returning to warn [...]
Folk horror is sometimes considered “a subtrope of religious horror,” not for its address of organized religion, per se, but for its appeal to broader folkloric rituals, legends, and mythologies. It’s a very tangible intersection between the Land and its Monsters, Old World v. New World, if you would. Interestingly, the genre appears to be [...]
Despite the recent closing of 170 Lifeway bookstores, Christian readers remain optimistic about the market. An article in Forbes magazine reflected this optimism stating, Christian and faith-based books are a bright spot in the overall publishing industry. The “bright spot,” according to the author, is that Christian buyers are loyal to the brand and could [...]
MIKE: Thanks for visiting CW! You’ve just released your second book, Whispers from the Depths, which you published with Janeen Ippolito, a mutual friend. I love what she’s doing over there at Uncommon Universes Press. Can you share with us a bit about how this story found a home there and what your experience with [...]
Munashichi, Future Economic View of Innocence, 2015 Literary subgenres morph at incredible speeds. The reasons why are embedded in a complex web of social, political, psychological, literary, technological, and pop-cultural forces. The genre of Fantasy is a good example of an ever-expanding universe of subgenres which intersect, coalesce, and transmutate into wildly different forms — [...]
A constant topic of debate among my Christian novelist friends has to do with market aim — Should they aim for the mainstream market or the Christian market? One reason that many Christian writers choose to publish in the Christian market is because of a perceived hostility toward religious themes in the general market. According [...]
What follows contains major spoilers… First-time writer/director Ari Aster has described his debut feature film, “Hereditary,” as a “family drama that dissolves into a nightmare.” Indeed, the “nightmare” it descends into is one of familial dysfunction, inherited trauma, grisly deaths, and ritual paganism. But it’s the fated, inescapable draw of evil that most lingers in this [...]
Mental illness is one of those subjects that the evangelical church has struggled to address. During my time in the pastorate, I came to know several people (probably more) who struggled with mental illness. The culmination of my sense of inadequacy on the subject came when a friend who suffered with schizophrenia committed suicide. It left [...]
“Christian fiction” and “Biblical worldview fiction” are not synonymous. Their differences, however, are not always acknowledged. “Biblical worldview fiction” is a broad category. It could be applied to much art crafted by believers — film, music, storytelling, etc. The term has come to mean stories that reflect, assume, or allude to foundational biblical truths or [...]
I’ve been around Christian writing circles long enough (from 2004-5-ish to present) to remember when Christian YA fiction was not a thing. I still recall speaking to a literary agent (about the time The Hunger Games were all the rage), who flat-out said “YA is a hard sell in the CBA.” Why, I asked. They [...]
