Do you read edgy Christian fiction?
If so, how do you define edgy? Who are your favourite edgy authors?
Yes, I read edgy Christian fiction, and I’d like to read more.
How do I define edgy? It’s Christian fiction that isn’t the safe, samey feel-good Christian fiction that dominates the bestseller lists.
Traditional Christian fiction has been safe. Christian fiction is written from a Christian world view, and it’s something you could happily share with your daughter and your mother (and even your grandmother). It reinforced biblical values and even challenged them sometimes—in a biblical way. Christian fiction has traditionally portrayed a solidly white middle class American version of Christianity.
But traditional Christian fiction hasn’t done a good job of portraying the edges.
I want to see different cultures and different races. I want to see people like me. People who don’t live in North America. People who live in multicultural towns and cities and societies. People who don’t speak English as a first language. People who are struggling financially or emotionally or spiritually. People who are held hostage by the mistakes of their past, who can’t see a way to their future.
I couldn’t agree more. My own books fall into the later categories–people struggling financially or emotional or spiritually; and people trapped by mistakes of the past. But that’s just one aspect of Christian fiction reaching beyond the “sweet spot.” I, too, would love to see Christian fiction about people from other parts of the world, other cultures and other races.
My husband and I had the privilege of visiting Tunisia twice in the past three years. One of these days I want to put that experience in book. It was eye-opening, mostly about how much alike we are as human beings and what we want out of life.