Today I have author Sarah Jae Foster on the blog for her Broken Identity tour. Sarah will be sharing some thoughts on how her book came about and hosting an eBook giveaway!!
Welcome to the blog Sarah, your book is certainly out of the box when it comes to mainstream Christian fiction. What inspired you to write Broken Identity?
Thank you so much Tina, for allowing me to stop by. I’m thrilled!
I’m often asked what Edgy Inspirational Fiction is. I have come to realize that my own view on the subject differs a bit from others. About ten years ago, I had run out of Christian fiction that appealed to me. I desired something more real – raw you could say – with Christians having struggles in today’s world of seduction. I wasn’t finding what I wanted, so I turned to reading secular fiction, and in doing that I have found some amazing authors who I adore and follow today!
I thought I was alone in my thinking until the past year or two when this new term made its way into our literary world – edgy inspirational fiction. I thought, “Yay! Finally there is material that will tell it like it is!” Christians struggle just like the next person does, why not share it? Certainly, there are CBA guidelines to Christian fiction, with good purpose. I do not mean adding cursing, graphic sex, or morbid violence, etc. to take away from the foundation the CBA has set up, but I think the content in itself should evoke a high state of emotions which we can all relate to.
I am disheartened when I read online or hear from my colleagues that edgy inspy fiction is just an excuse to be graphic, that it’s an excuse to add inappropriate material for Christian fiction. Because that’s not the case with me. In Broken Identity, I write about a Christian woman tormented with the temptation of infidelity. Although it’s fiction, I can still imagine that it doesn’t matter whether you’re Christian or not, in having that issue come up sometime in your life. How can readers be invested in a character if what they are going through is sugar coated? Perhaps I am just a black sheep out there, and want to read deeper works; after all, I’m one who does not need a happy ending in movies (something that drives my husband crazy!) I like reality, but without the compromise.
My next work is a western romance, about a woman who has a heart for soiled doves – that was tricky in the sense of being accurate, yet trying not to offend readers at the same time. Talk about a challenge when the book is full of prostitutes in the Old West! With Broken Identity, when I got to writing in the husband’s POV, I had a hard time. Obviously, I had no idea what he was going through, I had to get creative and got the idea to listen to Adele’s music throughout writing his POV – and those forlorn broken-hearted love songs she sings so beautifully, set the perfect tone.
Thanks again for the opportunity to share about my favorite genre! Please don’t let me be a lone black sheep out there in this, give it a try and let me know what you think.
Happy reading!
~Sarah, wow good for you to step out of the box and take a chance creating a story about such a sensitive topic, especially in the market your reaching out to. I hope your book can cross over and reach others out there looking for more diverse titles in the realm of faith driven literature.
GIVEAWAY
Today you can win a eBook (Pdf) copy of Sarah's book- Broken Identity. This is open to everyone and all you need to do is leave a comment. Winner will be drawn at the end of the tour.
Mona Leigh Anderson, a good mother and even better wife, is unaware that her tidy and sheltered world is going to explode into a thousand pieces. And by her own hand, she launches the grenade of destruction.
Brian Anderson is a principled man, a leader in the church. Never in all his days did he believe his marriage could come to such a heart-rending testing of his faith, although this is exactly what he’s about to endure.
Damaged by deception and infidelity, Mona and Brian seek to repair the mistrust between them because that is the right thing to do. But can they fall in love with each other again, wholeheartedly and without reserve? Can they truly let go of the past and of the most egregious of marital sins, and survive in this world of seduction?
Find out more about this book and its author at the Tour, and at Goodreads
Very interesting, Sarah! I plan to refer this to a friend who is writing Christian fiction.
ReplyDeleteI don't read Christian fiction much and I think this is exactly why...the stories usually seem too far from reality...the characters and relationships too perfect and "clean" to be real. This sounds like a niche that would appeal to a lot of readers.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I totally "get" what you are saying, but I disagree with whoever told you to be edgy it has to be graphic. I also get tired of characters who always do (and think) the right thing, but the last five years the Christian fiction market has been overhauled. There are still a lot of sweet stereotypical stories, but I've found a lot that are more realistic. As for my own stuff, I just write it the way I think it would really happen. Not how the Christian market says it should happen, but what people would actually do and think in real life situations. I think the difference between Christian characters and non-Christian characters is that Christian characters have internal thoughts that should reflect a sense of wrong-ness about sinning. Non-Christians won't have that same level of conviction because they haven't been born again. So when I write about Christian characters who do sin and make bad choices, I show the consequences and how far reaching they can be. That's edgy Christian fiction to me.
ReplyDeleteVery nice interview.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
"How can readers be invested in a character if what they are going through is sugar coated?"
ReplyDeleteLove that line! The characters for me have to feel real and genuine in whatever their going through - happiness, tragedy, light, dark etc. I just need to feel an emotional link to them even if I haven't experienced their challenges myself. Thanks so much for this guest post Sarah!
(not an entry, I just wanted to comment)
Thanks for commenting! I LOVE hearing different takes on this genre. I do agree with Michelle in that the Christian market has expanded and the CBA of late, has not been so narrow-minded in what they allow out there. I've come to love Siri Mitchell, Allison Pittman and others, if you haven't read Allison Pittman's Mormon series, you should, it's fabulous!
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