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9.
FaithfulReader.com: Do you find it difficult to combine the right amounts of entertainment and humor with your spiritual message?
Judy Baer: Not really, although sometimes I gather this wealth of scripture that would be relevant or fun to use. I can't use it all, but deciding which is the most germane is challenging.
I feel one's "spiritual message" is one's entire life and how it is lived. I'm more interested in my character's relationship with God and with others. That's how the spiritual message comes through. I've said ever since my first books were published that faith is not the frosting on the cake in a Christian book, put there to make it palatable to readers. You can't add a few "Let's prays" and make it a spiritual book. Faith is the eggs, flour, milk and butter of the cake --- folded together until it is an organic part of the characters. After that, Christians can be as entertaining, humorous, genuine, flawed and fabulous as anyone can.
Laura Jensen Walker: No, because humor has always come naturally to me. Prior to writing Chick Lit, I wrote ten nonfiction humor books. And I can't take credit for it ---- I never took a humor-writing class or anything; I have a journalism background. So it's definitely a God-thing. A gift from Him. And as far as my "spiritual message," I've never been a fan of message-driven fiction --- whether it's Christian or not. I don't like being preached at when I read a novel. For me, it's all about the story. Jesus told stories. That's why I'm grateful to be with WestBow Press, where they want their authors to reflect a Christian worldview, as opposed to having strict guidelines about putting evangelicalism front and center (to paraphrase my editor, Ami McConnell.)
Neta Jackson: Not as long as I stay honest with my readers. I mean, sometimes we just have to laugh at ourselves and our inflated spirituality. We need to remember that the model Jesus gave us was "to become like a little child" with their simple trust and faith.
Sharon Dunn: The weird thing is I never set out to write a funny book; I set out to write an honest book and to tell a good story. My books come out funny because of my main character's way of looking at the world. I don't think you can sit down at your computer and say, "Today I'm going to be so funny." If I can get to that honest place with my characters, the humor and the spiritual message come out naturally. Though her life circumstances are different from my own, Ruby's spiritual growth issues have all come out of my own journey in one way or another. The first book deals with finding forgiveness for sexual sin, the second with not beating yourself up because your "witness" (I hate that word) to others is less than textbook perfect, and the third book deals with not feeling like you will ever measure up to the idealized Christian woman. Though they are reshaped for the purposes of making a story work, Ruby's discoveries are similar to my own. The struggle is not in finding balance between entertainment and spiritual message, but in being willing to take my own mask off when I sit down at the computer.
Kristin Billerbeck: No, because my message is so integral to who I am. When I read THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver, it had a profound effect on me, because the author's view of the church is not pretty, but it was rooted in truth. She never told me how she felt about the church, and yet I was so sad at the end of that book because the hope of Christ was missing. That's what I strive to do with my Chick Lit. I don't want to preach a message; I want my view of how God loves and honors His children to come out naturally because that's what I believe. There's hope in Him.
Lori Copeland: Often I tend to bubble over with my love and gratitude for what God has done in my life, and I find it comes out too strong on paper. I never want to "scare" a reader off or hit them over the head with a "spiritual ball bat." My goal is to write uplifting, funny unpredictable stories that reflect deep spiritual beliefs.
Allie Pleiter: You're asking this of the woman who just combined faith and chilidogs? No, I don't find it difficult. It's necessary. Essential. I couldn't write any other way because it's an integral part of the way I see the world. Spirituality and humor are intertwined for me, and I hope my books reflect that.
Robin Jones Gunn: Not usually. But the only reason is because I have the best editors in the universe and the best critique group on the planet. They let me know if the teeter-totter has tipped too far one way or the other.
Tracey Bateman: Not at all. My friend Rachel Hauck says it better than I've ever heard: In Chick Lit (and Mom Lit) you have to "Dive deep, surface fast." In other words, give spiritual truths in small doses, don't preach, but make sure the theme is clear.
WestBow quoted me for Kristin Billerbeck's WHAT A GIRL WANTS. I described the book's theme as, "Deep Truth embedded in Milk Chocolate." That's it. Make me laugh, make me cry, don't tell me what to think, but give me an entertaining way to see myself reflected in a character who is seeking God.
Annie Jones: No. I wish I had some deeper thoughts about this. But I'm one of those people who find humor in so many things that it's natural for it to be a part of my faith.
Penny Culliford: It's not conscious. The two are woven together.
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