Crafting romance as unique as you are...
Greetings! Thanks for taking the time to visit me.
Finding a new author is kind of like going on a blind date, don't you think?
You're there, you like what you see but you don't know if you really want to stick around for the main course.
Maybe you want to get to know the author a little before ordering anything and committing?
Since I don't want you running off and finding another author to date, let me explain why I think you should stay through till dessert.
You see, I want this blind date to become an ongoing relationship. I want to keep you satisfied and coming back for more.
I don't want you to order a main course, expecting steak, only to get a salad.
I want to make sure you know who I am before taking the plunge to pay to read one of my books.
So you get to know a little bit about me, more than my author bio tells, the following is from an blog post I wrote that should give you a little more insight into what makes me tick.
~~~
Over the last year, more than a few comments in reviews (even good ones) have strayed towards readers being uncomfortable about ‘content’ because my books were touted as both ‘clean’ and ‘Christian’.
Bear with me while I explain. When I first published Disowned in 2017, I did so with the belief I had written a series which fitted into the category I enjoyed reading the most. Christian Fantasy.
It wasn’t until I started getting reviews in that I started wondering if I’d made an error. I soon discovered that the beliefs I held, were not in line with a lot of reader expectations for Christian Fantasy.
Finding this on the Goodreads definition for Christian Fiction was a light bulb moment for me. “In North America, the Christian novel has evolved into a specific genre of its own, written explicitly by and for Christians of a particular type.” Yes, I added the emphasis for a reason.
After a few months of soul searching and head scratching, I decided that while I was a Christian writing Fantasy, I wasn’t a Christian Fantasy Author.
As such, I shifted all my books into general market categories, crossed my fingers my work wasn’t too preachy, and that after a lot of fluffing about I would finally be accepted in that market instead. I’m happy to report, so far, so good.
The acceptance thus far into general market is a large part of why I will no longer be publishing within any Christian categories.
You see I’m not a particular type. I’m a non-conforming Jesus loving, truth-seeking, misfit who is NOT writing for Christians of a particular type.
I’m writing for the broken. The lost and the damaged. I’m writing for the girls who grew up without a dad like I did. I’m writing for the girls who suffer depression and anxiety like me, I’m writing for the girls who’s first kiss wasn’t with Mr Right, yep, me too. But most of all I’m writing for fellow MISFITS whether they are Christian or not.
See my conundrum?
While I am no longer writing to Christian markets and I can now produce the stories I feel led to write, I also need to respect the readers who may have expectations based on The Allegiance Series.
Some of the elements of family and faith through action will always be in my work because that’s a huge part of my life. But I will no longer censor mild language, violence and romance.
To summarise, and yes, I’ve put it in quotes because I WANT this shared.
“I am first and foremost a Christian who writes fiction containing elements of my faith. What I am not is an author who writes Christian fiction for the conservative Christian market.”
I hope that explains my reasoning and if you have any questions or concerns about the level of content etc. flick me a message and I’ll do my best to answer them.
In Truth and Love.
Sarah XX
Finding a new author is kind of like going on a blind date, don't you think?
You're there, you like what you see but you don't know if you really want to stick around for the main course.
Maybe you want to get to know the author a little before ordering anything and committing?
Since I don't want you running off and finding another author to date, let me explain why I think you should stay through till dessert.
You see, I want this blind date to become an ongoing relationship. I want to keep you satisfied and coming back for more.
I don't want you to order a main course, expecting steak, only to get a salad.
I want to make sure you know who I am before taking the plunge to pay to read one of my books.
So you get to know a little bit about me, more than my author bio tells, the following is from an blog post I wrote that should give you a little more insight into what makes me tick.
~~~
Over the last year, more than a few comments in reviews (even good ones) have strayed towards readers being uncomfortable about ‘content’ because my books were touted as both ‘clean’ and ‘Christian’.
Bear with me while I explain. When I first published Disowned in 2017, I did so with the belief I had written a series which fitted into the category I enjoyed reading the most. Christian Fantasy.
It wasn’t until I started getting reviews in that I started wondering if I’d made an error. I soon discovered that the beliefs I held, were not in line with a lot of reader expectations for Christian Fantasy.
Finding this on the Goodreads definition for Christian Fiction was a light bulb moment for me. “In North America, the Christian novel has evolved into a specific genre of its own, written explicitly by and for Christians of a particular type.” Yes, I added the emphasis for a reason.
After a few months of soul searching and head scratching, I decided that while I was a Christian writing Fantasy, I wasn’t a Christian Fantasy Author.
As such, I shifted all my books into general market categories, crossed my fingers my work wasn’t too preachy, and that after a lot of fluffing about I would finally be accepted in that market instead. I’m happy to report, so far, so good.
The acceptance thus far into general market is a large part of why I will no longer be publishing within any Christian categories.
You see I’m not a particular type. I’m a non-conforming Jesus loving, truth-seeking, misfit who is NOT writing for Christians of a particular type.
I’m writing for the broken. The lost and the damaged. I’m writing for the girls who grew up without a dad like I did. I’m writing for the girls who suffer depression and anxiety like me, I’m writing for the girls who’s first kiss wasn’t with Mr Right, yep, me too. But most of all I’m writing for fellow MISFITS whether they are Christian or not.
See my conundrum?
While I am no longer writing to Christian markets and I can now produce the stories I feel led to write, I also need to respect the readers who may have expectations based on The Allegiance Series.
Some of the elements of family and faith through action will always be in my work because that’s a huge part of my life. But I will no longer censor mild language, violence and romance.
To summarise, and yes, I’ve put it in quotes because I WANT this shared.
“I am first and foremost a Christian who writes fiction containing elements of my faith. What I am not is an author who writes Christian fiction for the conservative Christian market.”
I hope that explains my reasoning and if you have any questions or concerns about the level of content etc. flick me a message and I’ll do my best to answer them.
In Truth and Love.
Sarah XX
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