I’m back at work writing my 29th book. I can’t wait to tell you the story of two people who have been waiting on the sidelines for several years for me to get to their story. So many books to write, so little time. In any case, Avery Chung’s story is coming soon in His Quiet Serenade.
As I was writing that 4th novel in my Seaside Chapel beach romance series, I thought about how much I love this genre. I love to write and read Christian romance, especially novels, because of many reasons. Here are just three of them.
1. Christian romance stories promise a happy ending:
No matter what they go through in my novels, the Christian romance genre assures my readers that there is a Happily Ever After (HEA).
I don’t know about you, but it’s a downer to come to the end of a novel only find out that the couple never get together, or one of them dies or marries someone else. Perhaps worse than that is to read the final chapter without seeing any conclusion at all. It’s like the author never finished the book.
On the other hand, by its nature, a Christian romance promises a satisfying HEA. And the couple sails off into the sunset together, so to speak.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
2. Christian romance stories are clean and wholesome.
Well-written ones, that is. We are assuming here that the author is also a growing Christian with much wisdom to impart to her (or his) reading audience.
Speaking for myself personally, I don’t want to spend 4-6 hours reading a book that is filled with unwholesome words and ungodliness. By the same token, it’s not the best use of my time as an author to spend 4-6 months writing a book that reads just like any other book in the secular bookstore. I want my books to say something different, to leave a smile on my readers’ faces when they are done reading them.
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
3. Christian romance stories point to God as the source of true love.
In every Christian romance book that I write, I do my best to talk about God and mention Jesus Christ as the source of joy and happiness, and yes, true love. If I never mention His name at all, I find that my writing is missing something.
“Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.’
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9).
Do you agree that one beauty of well-written Christian romance stories is that readers can be assured that God is lifted up? Oh, what a monumental task that is for Christian authors. There, but for the grace of God, go we.
I’m sure you have read many Christian romance novels that check off all three points above and more. Are there other reasons you might love to read Christian romance? Comment for a chance to win $5 egift card from Amazon USA. This giveaway ends on Monday (November 22, 2021).
If you happen to stumble onto this blog post, and have never read my books, I have a free novel for you. A Christian coastal city romance, Ask You Later (A Savannah Sweethearts Prequel) is the story of an artist and a non-artist who meet in a gallery in downtown Savannah, Georgia. Even though this is a novel, I’m giving it to you for free to introduce you to my coastal city and beach romance stories.
Happy reading!
Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
I love Christian Romance because it is wholesome and Godly. Also no need to be afraid of finding R rated material or profanity. Christian Romance is uplifting and encourages a relationship with Christ. The stories can be nitty gritty and deal with sensitive issues but in the end they point to the One Who is the answer. Why read clean when you can read Christian??
I like the comfort of Christian reading. Thank you
They are inspiring and uplifting amongst the chaos in the world.
God is indeed the Answer!
On Amazon, Christian romance books can also be listed on the Clean & Wholesome category, but not vice versa. There is also a brand of Christian fiction that is “edgy” (there are many different interpretations of “edgy” and it can refer to language or to topic). And then there is “Christian lite” which is more Inspirational but not Religious (both being categories on Amazon — and not necessarily Christian in nature either, as Amazon allows all religions to be in these categories).
The good news is that Christian readers are discerning.
Thank you for your comments and have a wonderful weekend.
Good way to describe it re: “comfort” – Indeed!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I agree! Jesus is the calm in the storm.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I enjoy Christian romance novels. They sometimes remind me to put more faith in God
Good point!
When I first started writing my current series of books, I was told that some publishers limited the amount of Bible and God references in their authors’ books. Since I am an indie author, I don’t limit myself to what I write about God. Even as I write my books, I remind myself about amazing God as well.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I’m glad that I feel like I know what I can can expect a CCR to include, or not include, and I enjoy the extra layer that the faith element adds over just clean stories. I enjoy seeing the characters grow in their faith and at times I am able to see God in a new light through a story.
Hi Jan! Thanks for your informative blog and giving an explanation of categories in your first comment. This avid reader, retired pastor’s wife and teacher wants more than just Christianity 101 or Christianity lite in her CCR. More than just saying grace, living a moral life, attending church, being charitable. As a retiree, reading about 150 books a year – I want something that really grabs my attention. Valerie Comer’s Farm Fresh series drew me to this blog because the premise of the series was as Christians to be good stewards of our beautiful planet.
I started reading CR as a teen, when the genre had few books. I purchased them at our local Christian Bookstore / read and reread them. When I married, I donated them to the church library. Most at the time were historical Christian Romance.
Best wishes. Enjoy your weekend. Happy Thanksgiving.
I love CF for the reasons you mentioned, plus because they help me to sometimes look at things differently than I normally would. The author comes at things from a different direction and different background from me, which makes me stop and think and learn. I LOVE that! I may never get to meet that author, but if she/he makes me look at things differently, solidifies my thinking, or makes me think, then that’s always a plus! I think we can all learn from others mistakes, we don’t just learn from our own, and conversely, we can all learn good things from others, too.
Hi, Jan! I started reading CCR after enjoying the happy endings in Christian Romantic Suspense novels. That sense of satisfaction is a balm to the soul. I am with you on your other reasons as well.
Another reason that I find for myself is that CCR almost always has characters who are not just likeable but truly lovable. They have depth and hope and a sense that life really has something to look forward to, regardless of the current circumstance. That something is also seen as best shared with someone (ones) around them.
Yes, the romance is sweet and the HEA speaks to my heart but so does the fact that the relationships (romantic or not) demonstrate the kind of peace and joy that I think shows God’s love seeping up from the depths of every part of life.
Thanks for this reminder and have a great Thanksgiving celebration!
Those are exactly the reason why I love Christian romance, though reflecting these days on some of the books I was reading/listening to and comparing the ones written by Christian vs non-Christian authors, I certainly appreciate more the work you all put into pointing others to Christ as well as weaving the threads of faith and hope in your stories. Thank you!
I can immerse myself, just relax and enjoy.
I love them because a person of any age can read them and connect with God, these books are what we need to read and listen to. Christian reads can teach us all how to better love and how to be happier. Have a great weekend and stay safe.
I like Christian romance because it’s clean romance
I like it because they are romances that you can recommend to anyone of all ages.
Also because they are a great way to bring new and reticent Christians who come from living a totally secular lifestyle to Christ by reading secular things.
There are people who when they convert end up with the idea of ”Right now that I’m a Christian I can’t do anything fun?” Should I only read sermons? Can’t I read romance anymore? (Because much of the secular romance has high sexual content). Christian romance teaches that this is not the case.
Well said. I agree. I think that reader expectations also keep the genre true. I like the faith element the most because it makes Christian romance distinct from secular genres. Even the cleanest of the secular romance genres do not have this dimension in its true sense i.e. faith in God through Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you! That’s wonderful that you’re discerning and look for depth in the Christian books that you read. You’re setting a good example for the next generation. Wow. You read a lot of books! I hear you about books that get our attention.
Yes, Amazon has a lot of categories, and while most of the Inspirational/Religious/Clean categories are dominated by Christian authors, they do allow all other religions to have a seat on the chart.
As for the Clean & Wholesome category, I first became aware of it when Love Inspired books popped up there. Then Hallmark books also appeared. We all know about “Hallmark clean” movies that sometimes show church weddings and funerals, but are not necessarily religious at all. That pretty much defines that category that also includes Sweet Romance.
Of course, all Christian romance books can be said to be Inspirational, Clean, Wholesome, and Sweet. But not all Inspy/Clean/Wholesome/Sweet romances are Christian. Again, readers have to discern.
I think it’s great that you’ve been reading CR as a teenager. I wasn’t saved until I was in college, so my high school years were filled with secular fiction books that were curated by my parents. They would never let us read books with cussing in them. So we were reading adventure stories, mysteries, suspense, etc. that were definitely clean, but not religious. I never saw a bad word in any of the fiction books I read until after I graduated from college, seriously, when I went to the library to look for more books to read. Good thing I was an adult then, so I was not affected. However, after reading for a while, I had to shake my head and say, if only they didn’t cuss so much. Then the thought came to me: I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, so why not write to sell and fill the book world with clean Christian books? That is, shine the light of Christ into a dark world. Twenty five years later…
Yes, for sure Valerie Comer and the authors in InspyRomance are some of the reasons readers can safely read Christian romance. I would have no problem recommending their books to anyone.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Good points! I like the forum-like perspective, where you hear what other Christians have to say also. We all have unique experiences, and sometimes by talking to others who are ahead of us or who are more spiritually mature than we are, we can gain more knowledge. I am reminded of the Bible verse that says God comforts us and then we can comfort others.
I myself also haven’t met most of the authors I have “known” online on social media all these years. Someday, maybe we can meet one another for tea. Considering that the pandemic is still lingering on, it’s a good thing we can still be friends online!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you, Lincoln! Yes, the HEA is also why I prefer to write CCR and CRS (in fact, even my Christian suspense has a happy ending). My readers have told me that they read my books as an escape, so I want to be sure to have a happy ending for them. Also I myself like to read happy endings. I remember watching movies, investing anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours into them, only to find the ending inconclusive or unsatisfactory or terrible. These days I will ask, “Does it have a happy ending?” If it doesn’t, I won’t read it or watch it, TBH.
Good points about the characters. In Christian romance (extrapolated to suspense et al), I like to see a story arc, a hero’s journey, and a denouement that points to God. That’s what I prefer to write, and that’s why I dedicate every single book of mine to Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I enjoy christian books for sure. It can make you very happy
These books make me smile & there’s a lot of love in the books.
Thank you! Well said. Yes, IMHO it’s a lot harder to write Christian romance than secular romance because Christian romance goes in depth into the faith aspect that secular romance cannot comprehend, let alone try to describe.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I agree! All the way to the happy ending!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Yes! Well-written Christian romance is indeed clean and wholesome.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
So true! I think the happy ending helps with the happy smiles that readers have when they finished a Christian romance book.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Yes, indeed! I love the love story in each of the Christian romance!
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
True! Because the CR books are clean, they can be read by teenagers too. That’s a big reason I decided this is what I would prefer to write (instead of anything secular). If my readers leave the books on their coffee table, their children can come across them without any problem.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you, Lilly! Yes re: “all ages.”
You made a very good point about new Christians needing clean books to read. In fact, a long time ago when I got saved, it was very hard to find alternatives to the secular mystery and suspense novels I was reading at the time. It was practically impossible. Some years later, a few Christian authors started to appear on the scene, but I had to wait one year in between books because they were traditionally published. However, that caused me to read other genres e.g. Christian historical romance, which I still enjoy reading.
One good news about the rise of indie publishing is that readers have way more books than once a year. Thousands of Christian books are published every month. And Christian romance has probably the biggest pile of books.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful weekend.
I am late but I agree with what you said. I like the HEA and I really like the wholesome clean reads and as some of the ladies who borrow the books in our church library say they should have Christian content cos that is what they are. This was people who come to our reach out craft morning (Friendship Centre) who are not christians but love the books because they are all you said.
I agree with all 3 of your reasons for reading CCR! I’d count them as my top 3 reasons as well.
They are inspiring ❤️
These are great reasons for reading Christian fiction. One of my favorite reasons for reading CF is I love how authors tie in applicable life lessons for me through the characters stories. There have been several times I’ve read a book and it really spoke to something I was going through at that time. I don’t get that with secular books very often at all.
Thank you! I agree!
Thank you! Glad we’re on the same page! :-)
Thank you for your comment!
I agree. A number of my readers have told me that as well. A lot of times, those are the verses or life lessons that I was learning or was trying to learn or was being reminded of from the past — when I was writing the books — so it would be months, if not years later, that the readers came across the same lessons. I am deeply grateful to God when that happens bc I certainly could not have orchestrated the “divine appointments.”
Thank you for your comment!
No worries!
Yes, I agree, and what a wonderful testimony that is when non-Christians to notice such things. IMHO that’s a big encouragement for Christian authors to press on!
Thank you for your comment!