WordServe Water Cooler

April 20, 2017March 28, 2017

Using a Writing Roadmap

Pushpin on map

Steven Covey once offered the advice to begin with the end in mind. Knowing where you are going is the key to success not only in business and in life, but also in writing. The first step for a student to learn in writing is thinking through the main idea he or she wants to convey and then determining the key points that develop that idea. This approach not only works for a simple essay or speech, but also for a manuscript for a new book.

Know your starting point: Just as a student should be able to state the main idea of an essay in one sentence, an author benefits from communicating the purpose for a new book in an overview. You often see a polished version of an overview taken from a book proposal on the back cover of a book. This overview is usually about seven sentences, arranged in one or two paragraphs. Think of the overview as much more than an abstract. The overview should go beyond summarizing the key message of the book to piquing reader interest.

Plan the rest stops along the way: At the beginning of manuscript preparation, you probably will have have a clear idea of what you want to say in the first few chapters, but only a vague understanding of the direction of the rest of the book. For your book proposal, you will need a chapter outline, which can provide direction for your writing, but consider what rest stops you will visit on your journey from the introduction to conclusion of your book. For a fiction book, these rest stops are the important events in your overall plot. For a nonfiction book, these rest stops are key ideas that develop your theme. Planning these rest stops in your writing roadmap will help you drive your writing forward. Knowing you need to reach the next point in the development of your ideas will keep you from becoming sidetracked and adding good, but extraneous, information to your manuscript. If you link a certain expected word count to each rest stop, you also have a tool for planning your writing progress in order to meet a publisher’s manuscript deadline.

Arrive at your destination: You probably will come up with some great ideas while writing your manuscript that go beyond the material outlined in your book proposal. Wonderful! You might be able to incorporate some of these ideas along the way, but others may need to be saved for an additional book. Honor Steven Covey by keeping the intended conclusion of your book in mind as you finish each chapter. Make sure your readers arrive at your desired destination when they finish the last page of your book. Did your book fulfill the mission you envisioned? Did you support your ideas sufficiently? Did your words fly like an arrow and hit the bullseye? While you do not not need to tie up every loose end, do your final paragraphs provide a satisfying conclusion? Let your writing roadmap guide you to where you want to go.

How do you map out your writing project?

April 18, 2017March 30, 2017

White Space

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt. 6: 34 NIV)

Where do I begin? Do I work on one of these book proposals? Do I need to write another blog post? Do I have a speaking event scheduled this month? Do I need to work on my website?

I didn’t know where to start! And I thought, Enough!

At first, I thought my confusion might be a response to the stress. Soon, I realized that I needed God’s help. I needed some white space!

As a writer, I know the importance of white space—the empty space in every document, in the margins and between the words, graphs, and pictures.

The wise use of this white space can vastly improve communicating the writer’s message. And a lack of white space makes the page seem too busy, cluttered, and difficult to read. Yet too much white space produces an incomplete appearance.

White Space of Life

As I planned my use of time and resources, I concluded that the same important rules apply to the white space in all areas of my life.

If I fill every minute of the day with activities, work, and conversation, I become too preoccupied with unproductive distractions. But too much inactivity can rob me of my self-worth and credibility.

How do we determine the amount of white space in our lives? Never underestimate the power of organization, calendars, and spring-cleaning!

Can we discern how much white space to build into our lives? Those who know us best and love us unconditionally can offer healthy opinions. But seek an advisor with extreme caution— you may need to endure unsolicited criticism.

White Space of Grace

Never underestimate the power of God’s Word as you manage the white space in your schedule and decisions.

Jesus promised, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16: 12– 13 NIV).

As I prayed for direction, I remembered other encouraging words: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4: 9 NIV).

I also recalled the story in the Bible of another weak, tormented soul who discovered the sufficiency of God’s grace. Like me, the apostle Paul begged God to take away his problems. But God responded with surprising direction: “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness” (2 Cor. 12: 9 The Message).

The Bible offers important advice about letting go and moving forward:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3: 12– 14 NIV)

Where do you need some white space in your life? I hope this excerpt from my book, Words That Change Everything, speaks to your need for some white space.

April 13, 2017April 3, 2017

The Magic of Collaborative Marketing for Writers

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar, the ultimate motivator, knew that when we authentically and unselfishly support other people, great things happen. I’ve experienced the truth of this principle many times in my life, but especially recently, when I joined forces with two other WordServe authors.

Karen Jordan, Kathryn Graves, and myself decided to collaborate on writing a non-fiction book for women. By doing so, we discovered some surprising side benefits. We’ve found the magic of the collaborative process for writers improves marketing, increases our income potential, and adds a fun element to the author’s journey.

The pressures seems lighter, because we’re in it together.

Untangled A Women's Conferenece One of our most exciting accomplishments came from developing a women’s conference based on our book’s title and message. We outlined options for a one-day conference as well as a two-day event. We came up with a suggested ticket price and estimated income from the event based on a variety of attendance number ranges. We brainstormed ideas for other creative ways to support the Untangled Women’s Conference. And we reviewed different expense scenarios, weighing convenience against cost.

Then we formalized our thoughts. Untangled A Women's Conference

We created an Event Planner’s Kit to make it easier for churches and organizations to host Untangled. (I found it much more efficient and thorough to generate resources as a team versus what I might accomplish on my own.) We created a marketing flyer, and put it on our speaking tables at events, mentioned it in passing conversations, and posted it on social media. One of the most important actions we took was praying for and with each other.

We didn’t wait long before seeing results.

The response amazed us. Within a week, we had a conference scheduled and on the calendar in one state, while two other states began serious talks with us. Within three weeks, we had sent out four more conference kits to other states by request. Because of our collaborative marketing efforts, this coming fall/winter/spring should fill up fast with paid speaking gigs and greater book sales.

As we traverse this new world of collaborative marketing, we are learning many things. But the truth of Zig’s words is already evident — by helping each other through the collaborative process, we are all winning. This is what we can tell you so far:

8 Reasons the Magic of Collaborative Marketing for Writers Works:

You build off of each other’s ideas — growing creative efforts.
You share the expenses, reducing costs for each individual.
You expand the message reach further than one individual can accomplish on their own.
Your mind moves from thinking of your efforts as self-promotion, to that of helping your fellow writer(s).
You enrich the lives of readers, event planners, and audiences by offering them a diverse experience through multiple voices.
You sell more books as an author by increasing your opportunities to speak and participate in other cooperative public events.
You feel more courageous to step out and try new things.
You have people to support and celebrate with, who really understand the emotional highs and lows of writing and marketing.

Have you collaborated with other WordServe authors? If so, what did you do, and how did it affect your book sales as well as your morale? Would you be interested in brainstorming and collaborating together?

April 11, 2017April 4, 2017

How Much Wrong Teaching is Too Much?

There is an ongoing debate in Christian circles about whether non-fiction or fiction books are best. Proponents of each, particularly those firmly planted in their perspective camp, tend to be slightly (sometimes more than slightly) disdainful of the other. I have always maintained, however, that this is not an either/or proposition. As every good preacher (including Jesus) will tell you, it’s vitally important to spend time expounding on the Word, but when you launch into a story to illustrate that Word, that’s when everyone suddenly straightens in their seats and becomes even more engaged. Both are needed. The same is true with fiction. In my opinion, if classified as Christian, a story must be firmly rooted in good theology if it is going to have a powerful, lasting impact on the reader.

But is my opinion the right one? If not, it wouldn’t be the first time. And lately I have had ample opportunity to consider how strongly I feel about the stand I have chosen to take on this.

Not for the first time, a massively best-selling book and subsequent movie, classified as Christian, has generated much discussion–even, sadly, heated, public debate–among the body of Christ. One review, posted by a pastor, casually mentioned that, yes, some of the teaching might be, strictly (and biblically) speaking, wrong, but that overall the message was so powerful that it wasn’t really enough to worry about.

That got me thinking. If a book calls itself Christian, how much wrong teaching is acceptable, and how much is too much? Now, I’m not talking about passages of the Bible open to interpretation, or the differences in beliefs between various denominations. I am talking about teaching that is clear in Scripture and that has been affirmed by two thousand years of church doctrine, teaching that in many, if not all, cases, is actually a salvation issue. Wrong teaching, then, for the purposes of this post, is defined as teaching that can be shown in Scripture to be misleading, inaccurate, or just plain not true. Is there room for a small amount of that in a book that calls itself Christian, if the story is good? Can the story ever be good enough or powerful enough to overcome it? Or is a small amount of bad teaching more like what the Bible describes as “a little leaven that leavens the entire loaf?”

In three of the gospels, Jesus tells his followers to “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matt. 6:6) Now, the teaching of the religious leaders of the day sounded good. It certainly sounded like it came from Scripture, and in fact had its roots in Scripture. But somewhere along the way, truths had been twisted to suit the ends of the teachers. In the case of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, that end was to control and oppress the people and to maintain their own elevated status in society.

Jesus didn’t have a whole lot of good to say about that. In fact, he was far harder on those who professed to follow God, yet whose teachings had veered away from the clear truths of Scripture, than he was on thieves and drunkards, prostitutes and adulterers. Can we then conclude that Jesus took wrong teaching, even—or especially—by those calling themselves his followers, fairly seriously? Possibly to the point that any good and right teaching they did present was undermined or even negated?

If you are an author of Christian fiction, how important is it to you to weave good, solid biblical theology throughout your writing? As readers, are you willing to overlook some wrong teaching if the prevailing message of the story is strong enough to overshadow it?

April 6, 2017March 28, 2017

So You Want to Be on Television

So you want to be on television? What outfit should you select? What should you avoid wearing?

Dangling earrings or studs? And how about that red lipstick?

Recently, I was interviewed on our city’s cable station for an upcoming event that involved a non profit where I volunteer. Before the show was taped, I received some helpful hints from the production staff.

1. Know Your Material. Interviewers dislike blank air space. If you struggle with speaking extemporaneously, ask if you can have a list of questions ahead of time. If necessary, offer a list of questions of your own. Practice your answers. If you are talking about your book, look again at your media kit, because interviewers might not read your book, but probably will glance at your press materials.

2. No Plaids and Stripes. Avoid busy patterns or anything that can detract from the message of what you are saying. Are you considering that botanical print covered in roses, chrysanthemums, and daisies? Save that for your next garden party and choose something else from your closet.

3. No to Pastels. White, ivory and pastel fabrics will wash the color right out of you and reflect too much light. Our city’s production staff did not want me to wear black and white together, either, as it presented a contrast problem for the camera. Best colors: medium to bright solids in blue, brown or green.

4. How about footwear? I have filmed at this location several times. At the first filming, my feet were not visible, so at my next filming, I came in flip flops, unaware that the set had been remodeled. I was glad I hadn’t come in pajama bottoms, thinking only my top half would be visible! I have learned my lesson and I now come prepared from top to bottom!

5. Professional attire? As the saying goes, dress for success. Simple classic styles are best and a jacket or collared shirt helps hide the microphone. For my recent taping, they requested I wear a shirt from the organization I represented. Thankfully, I had one with a collar.

6. How about those dangling earrings? If the necklace, bracelet or earrings are too noisy or too sparkly, leave them at home. Anything that might reflect the lights should not be worn.

7. That favorite red lipstick? Again, no. Red tends to look like it is bleeding on camera (not the look you are going for). Natural makeup is best, but remember that the lights will wash out complexions, so you can wear more makeup than normal. (Just be cautious. Bozo the clown is not the look you are going for either.) The staff will apply powder, if necessary, to reduce shine for men and for women.

8. Cell phone? Ask if someone can take a photo of you on the set and then turn the phone off until after the filming.

9. Body Posture. When the production staff sent me a recording of a recent taping, I noticed that I had sat too comfortably back in my seat. I was also seated between the interviewer and another guest and had turned my head to the left and right, rather than my entire body. Both of these mannerisms added weight to my face and to my middle. For a slenderizing look, it is best to lean forward slightly and, if possible, to turn your upper body (and not just your head) during the interview.

10. Enjoy yourself. You’ve got this! For authors who are more comfortable with the written word, it can be a bit daunting to speak without notes. Remind yourself that you have a message you want heard and be thankful for an open door to a wider audience.

Lynne Hartke’s first book, Under a Desert Sky, releases on May 2 with Revell/Baker Pub.

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017

WordServe News: March 2017

Exciting things have been happening this month at WordServe Literary!

On the final post of each month you’ll find a list of Water Cooler contributors’ recently released books along with a recap of WordServe client news.

New Releases

Mary Davis’s novella, “An Unlikely Hero,” was published as part of The Pony Express Romance Collection from Barbour. Nine adventure-filled novellas revive the period between April 1860 and November 1861 when riders faced daily urgency and danger to get mail across the country via the Pony Express.

Stephen Kuhn released 52 Amazing Things that Became True of You the Moment You Trusted Christ with FaithWords. Once you accept Jesus, your identity is now “in Christ” — but what exactly does that mean? Stephen helps you fully understand your true identity based on God’s love, enable you to walk in His power rather than your own.

Tracie Miles released Unsinkable Faith with David C Cook. Offering hope for women who struggle with negativity, each chapter explores Tracie’s and other women’s personal stories, showing how they rose above their circumstances by transforming and renewing their minds. Despite what storms roll in, hearts anchored in God don’t sink.

Joe Wheeler released My Favorite Life-Changing Stories with Pacific Press. The fourth book in his My Favorite Stories Collection, this volume looks at stories having to do with pivotal moments or powerful experiences in a person’s life.

New Contracts

Dr. Daniel Amen signed with Tyndale for the publication of Stones of Remembrance, a collection of Scriptures for memorization and meditation as well as tips on using Scriptures for meditation, improving memory capacity, and incorporating Scripture memory into one’s life.

Mark Atteberry and Many Harvey signed with Howard to publish Sensing the Rhythm, Mandy’s story of becoming profoundly deaf at the age of 19 and how she learns new ways to “hear” and sing music, as well as her spiritual journey along the way, for publication in 2018.

Kent Hunter signed with FaithWords for the publication of his book, Who Broke My Church?, in early 2018. Based on a survey of 75,000 churchgoers of all denominations and 1-on-1 interviews, the book offers practical directions for Christians to experience the breakthrough impact every church could make on society.

Andy Savage signed a 2-book deal with Bethany House for his books Making Marriage Make Sense, which considers how good marriage can be when we dare to deal with the one thing that erodes perfection: selfishness; and Making Parenting Make Sense, which will speak to the biblical, practical, and sometimes radical high calling of parenting–equipping moms and dads to navigate the journey without the pressure of perfection.

Joe Wheeler signed with PZZ to publish a Polish edition of My Favorite Angel Stories.

New Clients

Judy Thompson, Christy Johnson, Jared Frederick, Lionel Hollins, Remy Maaddi, Andrea Gurney, and Matt Rogers joined WordServe this month.

What We’re Celebrating

Outreach Magazine named two WordServe books as Resources of the Year! Adam S. McHugh’s The Listening Life was named the Christian Living Resource of the Year, and Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin’s Growing Young was named Church Resource of the Year. Congratulations to our authors!

Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Joe L. Wheeler’s entire backlist is now available digitally as ebooks! Many out of print titles have also been restored to print with paperback editions. You can find them all on Amazon.com, and find out more on Joe’s website: http://joewheelerbooks.com/.

March 28, 2017March 21, 2017

Get Your Work Seen: Tips on Successfully Placing Articles

by Bonnie Kristian

As a writer whose current gigs include weekend editor at The Week and contributing writer at Rare, I was recently asked for tips on how to successfully place articles with publications when you are in the early stages of your writing career. Let me preface this by saying this process will no doubt be different for you depending on your background, professional connections, target publications, and more, but here are some general ideas:

+ As you start writing, think about where you’d like to publish. Pay attention to how those outlets work. What is their tone? How do they structure their headlines? Are they publishing freelance contributors or mostly staff writers? How long are their pieces? Do they have people regularly covering the topics of your own expertise? (Speaking of, don’t try to be an expert on everything. Narrow it down.) What is their turnaround time on time-sensitive stories (i.e. if Trump says something Monday at 10 a.m., are all their op-eds on it published by that afternoon, or will they still be commenting on it through the end of the week?), and will your schedule permit you to match it?

+ Once you’ve done that, make a list of the publications that you like but also that would be a good fit for your writing style and schedule. Find the submission guidelines for those outlets and start sending pitches tailored to their shtick. Nothing will make an editor dismiss you faster than submitting an idea that is obviously a bad fit for their brand. You don’t need to write the full article to send a pitch; just a paragraph with a headline will do. Once you get your foot in the door, this process will become easier, both in terms of returning to editors you know and in pitching to new editors who will be happy to see your publication credits from other credible outlets.

+ Your blog can be useful for developing your own writing style and ideas, but it’s not strictly necessary for your goals as they’re described here. (Personal platform is hugely important for nonfiction book publishing, but many journalists/commentators don’t bother to maintain anything beyond a basic bio page because they do not need to do so.) Magazine and website editors typically do not want to read your blog. You may want to get a couple good posts up which you can link to in your very early pitch emails so editors can get a taste of your writing style if they prefer, but usually they won’t bother. They are much more likely to respond based on the quality of your pitch, because they are under no obligation to publish/pay for the completed piece if it turns out to be crappy.

+ Finally, on the subject of money: Political commentators (as well as those in other arenas) are a dime a dozen. I have been immensely fortunate in working with editors at Rare and The Week alike who are conscientious about paying in a timely and fair manner. That is far from universal. Many major publications will happily take your stuff for free and say your “payment” is the exposure they offer. (Pro-tip: You cannot pay bills with exposure.) At the very beginning, you might have to give your content away to build up your credentials, but be very careful. It is difficult to transform a non-paying relationship into a paying one. My best suggestion is to aim for permalancing gigs, where you are not an employee proper but have an agreement to contribute a given number of pieces per week or month and are paid for them on a set schedule.

This first appeared on Bonnie’s blog, www.bonniekrisitan.com.

Bonnie Kristian recently joined WordServe Literary as a client. A writer who lives in the Twin Cities, she is weekend editor at The Week, fellow at Defense Priorities, and contributing writer at Rare. Her writing has also appeared in Time Magazine, Relevant Magazine, The American Conservative, and more. To find out more, visit www.bonniekristian.com.

March 23, 2017February 27, 2017

How to kick the insanity habit

One of my favorite definitions is the one for insanity that goes “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” I’ve felt that was an accurate description of many of my book marketing efforts in the past twelve years; sending off press releases to local newspapers and rarely getting even a little paragraph tucked somewhere in the back pages comes to mind. I’m sure every author can add to that list of marketing insanity.

Out of frustration and (I’d like to think) the wisdom that comes from experience and age, I decided at the beginning of this new year that I was going to stop the insanity. In particular, I decided I was going to radically rethink my social media strategy and try something new.

My new idea?

Stop trying to sell books by posting about them, and instead, just have fun interacting with others in the online universe.

“WHAT??” you may say. (I expect that may be exactly what my agent is thinking this moment if he’s reading this post. Bear with me, Greg, while I explain. Either that, or dose yourself with good chocolate.)

You see, I’ve concluded that online selling doesn’t happen on social networks. I’ve accepted that the social media gurus who insist that social media is SOCIAL, not sales, actually know what they’re talking about. I know I don’t go book shopping when I’m chatting online with others. Honestly, do you? I’m online to be entertained, to be inspired, to share fun or sweet posts with my friends. And so that’s become my goal: I aim to have fun online.

And the weirdest thing has begun to happen: my followers are growing on all my networks. Granted, it just may be the cumulative effect of years of posting, but I have a gut feeling that it’s because I’m having fun. And people need fun these days. So instead of promoting my books, I post beautiful photos of my husband’s orchids, I share inspirational quotes/photos that move me, I craft witty replies designed to make people laugh, I repost/retweet links to articles I found really cool or helpful. For the first time in my social media marketing strategy, I’m just being me, Jan, not The Author Jan. And I’m really enjoying it.

So this is what I’ve learned from my switch in strategy: I can stop the marketing insanity because the most important thing I can share isn’t my books. It’s myself. And that’s ultimately what God calls me to do: share myself with others.

Of course, if my new followers’ curiosity gets piqued, and they check out my profile (which seems to happen a lot more often now), they’ll see I’m an author, and maybe they’ll end up on Amazon or my website to learn more, or even buy a book or two. I won’t complain.

Goodbye insanity. Hello friends. Let’s have fun!

March 21, 2017March 9, 2017

7 Reasons To Consider a Study Group for Your Next Book Project

In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one. (John Steinbeck)

Need help writing your next book proposal? Try this.

To help me with the research of my most recent nonfiction book proposal, I recruited a group of ladies at my church to walk through each chapter as I developed it. Since it’s been surprisingly helpful, I thought I’d share a few reasons to consider it.

Helps with book launch. This group started meeting during my first book launch. I had just taken them through a study of my book, Words That Change Everything, this past fall. Each week they read a chapter of the book, downloading a copy of my RESTNotes as a guide for our weekly discussions. This meant I added every member to my mailing list, an important step in the platform-building process.
Offers encouragement for book projects. After we finished the book study, the ladies asked me to lead them in another. I told them that I wanted to use material for a book that I’m currently working on. They happily agreed. In fact, they were excited to be part of the writing process with me.
Produces insights from primary audience. Want to understand how to meet the needs of your audience? What better way to do this than to invite them into your writing process? I’ve learned invaluable insights from these wonderful ladies as we brainstormed questions and issues pertinent to my project.
Keeps you on task and organized. Not only has the weekly agenda kept me on task with my book project, this study has been one of the most productive ideas I’ve ever employed as a writer. Each week, I prepared our session using a template that I developed for each chapter. And I did my outside research for each chapter with this class in mind.
Supplies ongoing research in your absence. During the weeks I’ve been out of town for a speaking event or to help my grandkids, I recruited one of the class members to facilitate a discussion of some of the questions that we may have skipped in an earlier class.
Meets fellowship needs of the group. When I returned from a recent speaking event, the group shared what an engaging experience they had getting to know each other even better, as they focused specifically on the questions I had prepared for them. I’ve also created a private Facebook group for our class to help us stay in touch and share insights on our topic with each other between meetings.
Provides potential help with future projects. We still have a few weeks before we complete our current study. But several of the ladies have already asked me which book project we will use next. And I have several to choose from, since I’m working on a few personal and collaborative projects.

In his book On Writing Well, William Zinsser observed, “Ultimately every writer must follow the path that feels most comfortable.”

Right now, while I’m researching my next book proposal, using the help of a study group works for me. So, I want to offer this idea to you, because I love to share lessons I’ve learned and the stories that matter most to me.

Have you ever recruited a study group for one of your works in progress? If so, what did you glean from that experience? Any tips?

March 16, 2017March 16, 2017

Should Christians Read Romance?

After my first novel released in 2010, an employee at a Christian bookstore told me, “Christians shouldn’t read romance.” I actually quit writing romance for a while. But then love changed my life, and now there’s nothing else I’d rather write about. So when the subject came up again on facebook, I thought I’d explore the topic more.

Should Christians read/write romance? And why?

My debut novel has been rereleased as the first in the Resort to Love series.

First of all, I can’t answer this for everyone. All things are permissible to us, but not all things are beneficial. That means our relationship with God isn’t about a formula. It’s about what God lays on our hearts and what He knows is best for us. For example, author Deeanne Gist admits that at one point in her life, God asked her to stop reading romance. I would suggest that as a result of her obedience, God has been able to work through her to touch many lives with her award-winning historical romances.

Second, God is love. When the above question was posed to various social media groups, many respond with Biblical examples of romance: Song of Solomon, Ruth, Jacob and Rebecca. Jesus’s first miracle was performed at a wedding. God describes the church as the bride of Christ. Marriage is a Biblical institution. This is important stuff.

Third, in a world where Fifty Shades of Grey has replaced The Bible in at least one hotel chain, it is our moral responsibility to give a healthy example of real love. In the documentary Love Between the Covers, an author is quoted as saying that if a romance novel isn’t inspirational, it has to have sex in it. Love is being confused for lust, codependency, and even abuse. Real love lasts forever, and books about it are going to be a light in the dark. I know at least one woman found the courage to end a dead-end dating relationship after reading the Ashley Stockingdale series by Kristin Billerbeck.

As for my choice to read romance, there have been books that have both empowered me or broken me down in a way that I knew God was using them in my life. I’ve also had fun listening to romance audiobooks with my husband. It’s not something he would normally read, so I get a kick out of his perspective on the story line. Once he was even inspired to take me on a date after listening to a Becky Wade novel. “Let’s go ride the Harley to a pastry shop the way Ty does.” Okay. ❤

We are the rider and the writer. “He rides a Harley, she writes for Harlequin.” I really think we need our own reality show.

If you want another man’s perspective, listen to what literary agent Donald Maass says about the importance of adding a thread of romance to various genres. Love stories create “a heart delight that can warm any story.” He adds, “They cause us to hope. There is a future beyond the final page.”

Personally, I believe hope is what sets apart Christian fiction from secular literature. I even named our local writer’s group IDAhope Writers. This fits nicely with my mission statement for life: To inspire, create, and encourage hope in myself and others.

Of course I’m going to write romance. I’m going to write it because I love it, but even more, I’m going to write it because I love the people reading it.

I incorporated some things I’ve learned (the hard way) about love into my latest suspense novel.

So should Christians read Christian romance? I’d love to say YES and give you a link for my website, but only you can answer that for yourself. Is reading Christian romance beneficial to your life? Does it draw you closer to God? Does it improve your relationships? And does it offer hope? If not, find something else that does.

Has a romance novel ever touched your life?