Awesome Hank
People today somewhat channel discrimination towards Christian fiction books. Most of them think that since it is labeled as Christian, it will just be about blatant displays of Christian values and faith, hence, they would rather not bother even opening the first page.
Christian Fiction Books Have Different Views
There is no doubt that there are plenty of fiction books enthusiasts out there, but most shy away from those labeled as “Christian” especially if they hold a different religious belief.
What these people don’t know is that they are missing out on so many great fiction books just by skipping out on this theme.
Being termed as Christian fiction often doesn’t mean that all of the themes will be outwardly religious or obviously displaying Christian teachings.
In fact, most Christian writers only rarely talk about their faith and beliefs in their books unless it was relevant to the plot details.
For example, there is C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an awesome Christian writer and he wrote books that are loved and gave entertainment, but only subtly incorporate Christian beliefs.
When you read, for example, the Chronicles of Narnia, it’s hard to see which parts relate to the Christian faith unless you read a scholarly review on it.
As you can see, there is really no reason why you should be hesitant or even think twice about reading fiction books from Christian authors.
They might incorporate their faith in it, but it doesn’t mean that they will smother you with it. It won’t work that way.
Hence, there is no reason why you should refrain from reading Christian fiction materials.
Reading Christian Fiction Books
If instead you are a Christian fiction books author and not just an avid reader, you might need several things to help you out in promoting your book.
It might not be terribly difficult to win people over or to convince them to read your book, but there are some things that you can do to get the word out about it.
A publicist can help coordinate between you and your publishing house so that you can proclaim the books message as well its entertainment value.
These publicists will also take care of the promotional or marketing campaigns conducted by retailers to ensure that your book gets promoted properly. It is essential to enlist the aid of a publicist so that you can be sure that your book gets the right exposure it needs.
Another thing to remember is to use important elements around you in promoting your book, for example, you can make use of the Internet.
You can create a website exclusively for your book or even about yourself as an author, incorporating your work. These are great for providing information about your books.
It is not that hard to understand and read Christian fiction books, even promoting what you have written is not that difficult.
All you really need is an open mind and a bit of effort to make your endeavor succeed. Pretty soon, you’ll be seeing great results.
More info on Christian Fiction Books
Tags: christian epic books, christian fiction books
Posted in Literature · February 13th, 2010 · Comments (0)
I’d like to see book clubs sprout up more around Millennials. Think about your own group of friends: at least one of your moms is in a book club, meeting up with other mothers to chat about the latest historical fiction or speculative thriller they’ve read. But where is that same engagement among our own generation?
It seems pretty painless: choose a book, choose a time, READ IT, and then get a discussion going. But it’s always the last step that trips the most people up. Creating questions that everyone will be able to relate to is a daunting task, but here are some tips to keep the chatter going:
To learn more about book club questions, visit this very cool book club for The Lovely Bones.
Ask questions that aren’t too complicated, but also are not too simple. It’s always important to make sure that you’re including everyone, so it’s wise to not link the book to discussion of the space-time continuum (unless it’s The Time Traveler’s Wife!). But at the same time, don’t underestimate your audience; people could be turned off by a dumbed-down query like “Could the car be important to the story?” (Alternatively, “The author seems to use cars as a recurring motif. What different meaning could they have for each character?”)
There will always be people in the club who do not finish the book on time – be sure to include open-ended questions so everyone can contribute. To ensure that you’ve got some open-ended questions, look at the book’s themes. In The Lovely Bones, heaven is not only a theme, but also a space (another trope to consider!). Middlesex is all about the liminal state, of being in-between countries or even bodies. Disgrace looks at sexuality and public versus private spheres.
Encourage people to discuss their own relevant life experience. This develops right out of the prior tip: Let members know that it’s all right to affix personal viewpoints, to share their own stories while working through thematic and plot matters. If you end up on a tangent but everyone’s interacting, then wait until there’s a lull in the conversation and suggest a snack break. When you’re sitting down again, you can get everyone back on track with a more book-oriented question.
Respect everyone’s opinion. If you take offense to something a fellow book clubber says, it’s more productive to calmly ask why s/he thinks that way, rather than try to shout him/her down.
Share the wealth. Depending if your friends are more leaders than followers, let them set up the next meeting. These two things are important: consistency and diversity. So, try to do a new book each month, or every six weeks depending on your schedules, and have a new person head each round. With this, you can be sure that everyone stays involved and feels valued. Having new leaders ensures fresh new questions every time you meet.
To see a great example of book club questions in use, check out Bookology, a virtual book club.
Tags: book, book club, Literature, lovely bones, Questions
Posted in Literature · December 20th, 2009 · Comments (0)