G’day fellow contemporary romance readers!
It’s rather exciting for me to be sharing with you here today, after years of reading this wonderful blog. A quick introduction: I’m Carolyn Miller, an Australian author of historical and contemporary Christian fiction. I’ve worked as a high school English teacher, my husband and I pastored a church for ten years, I have four teenagers (pray for me!), one husband, one dog, chickens and guinea pigs, and we live in a small town about halfway between Sydney and Canberra in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, where we very occasionally get a few centimetres of snow in winter. (And FYI: yes, I do sometimes say g’day and will unashamedly trade on my Aussie-ness, and sometimes mix my US / Aussie spelling because it gets hard sometimes… But enough of that)
I’ve always loved reading, and I’ve long enjoyed Christian contemporary authors such as Becky Wade, Kara Isaac, Susan May Warren, and newer-to-me authors like Angela Ruth Strong and Toni Shiloh, and it’s been wonderful to recently refocus on writing in this genre. My writing journey began over ten years ago (more about that next time) with a number of contemporary stories, and after trying my hand at several genres (including romantic suspense) I found doors open to see my Regency-era novels published in the US. It’s funny to now have people say “Oh, you’re writing contemporary” when this is where I started all those years ago. But regardless of the genre, I love to write romance, and I love reading stories that offer hope, that deal with matters of the heart, that offer all the “feels” and swoon worthy moments.
But it’s more than that, too. I love romance stories that weave God inspiration into fiction, that offer truth via a story, that give us a glimpse of the radiant love that IS God, that demonstrate His goodness and patience and kindness and mercy. I love reading (and writing) books that show this element of God as He works through people’s lives, and I’m always deeply touched when a reader says something in one of my books really resonated with or challenged them. It amazes me that God might use my words of fiction to speak to someone’s heart!
But that’s part of the joy of reading, isn’t it? The way words can shape our emotions and thoughts and make us ponder things we might otherwise ignore. Yes, I love reading kissing books, but I also love the character development and sense that this couple who have gone through trials will see their relationship last beyond the words “The End” as the book is closed.
Romance offers hope, engages our emotions, and assures us that there really is a happily-ever-after – especially as we trust God.
So enough about me. How about you? Why do you read romance? Who are some of your favourite Christian contemporary authors? Care to share why? Let’s talk!
Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of romance, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency and contemporary novels are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Koorong, etc
Hi, Carolyn! So good to “see” you here ❤️ I love reading romance because of the “feels”. Reading is often an escape for me, so I want to get immersed in stories that end well and leave me with a nice feeling, that HEA or HFN. I can’t pick a favourite author – it’s like asking me for my favourite book … which is like asking me which one is my favourite child (to which I shan’t answer!) 😉😁
Welcome, Carolyn! I love reading (and writing) romance for exactly the same reasons you do. I enjoy exploring complex emotions, the journey towards healing and spiritual maturity, and happily-ever-afters. My favourite stories are ones where the couples don’t just fall in love but, led by God’s grace, also grow beyond the weaknesses and blind spots that have been holding them back. I look forward to hearing more from you!
Hi dear Carolyn. So excited to see you here. I loved your historicals and look forward to reading your contemporary. Blessings
How nice to see you here! Some of my favorite contemporary authors are the authors on this blog, and Autumn MacArthur, Alexa Verde, the late Marion Ueckermann, and Hallee Bridgeman, all of whom used to write blogs here!! I found Autumn and Hallee first, then through Autumn found this blog, Alexa, and Marion. I love to read, have read all my life just about, or been read to, and love CF best, as I like the faith elements there. I used to only read CF, then in the last few years added back sweet/clean, and am slowly getting rid of sweet/clean as I miss my faith element!
Welcome to Inspy Romance, Carolyn! We’re delighted to have you here, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better through the blog and the StoryChats podcasts.
So many great authors!!! I love HEA
Hi, I love to read romance because I love to read and it is nice to escape into a good story. I love reading romance stories from different authors, I love reading Christian Contemporary Romance books. Have a great week and stay safe.
Oh, those ‘feels’! I think I’ve immersed myself in inspirational romance for so long a book just doesn’t seem right without the emotion. And yes, it’s tough to limit our favourite authors to a few. Thanks so much for commenting today!
Oh, yes Milla! When I read a romance that doesn’t have that element of faith I tend to wonder how long it can last (shh!). But as Christians it’s so important to see those factors modelled in stories, isn’t it? And yes, I’m looking forward to getting to know you all more too!
Oh, thank you my friend! It’s so good to be here and ‘see’ some familiar faces. I described my contemporaries the other day as being just like my Regencies, but set in North American cities and with hot hockey guys (ha ha!). In other words, all those qualities you might like about my historicals are still here. I do hope you’ll check them out! Xx
Hello Trudy! Oh, so many good names there, and I’ve read and enjoyed their books too. (And Autumn is an Aussie too, although living in England). Yes, as much as I enjoy sweet and clean books there is a certain something about books that have that faith thread too, isn’t there? Thanks so much for sharing today.
Thanks so much for having me here, Valerie. It’s truly an honour (and something I may have imagined / dreamed about doing for a few years now!). And yes, it’ll be fun getting to know you all more, especially if our StoryChats recording the other day is anything to go by.
Yes! Reading a book without an HEA is a bit like watching a film where the ending is unresolved – just plain wrong! 😉 I think we all enjoy reading books with hope and joy at the end – it fuels hope and joy for our own circumstances, doesn’t it?
Thanks so much Alicia. Yes, a good story that draws us into a different world can prove to be the perfect remedy at times, can’t it? (Like ALL the time, right?)
Happy reading to you!
I love the ‘dance’ to the final HEA.
Welcome Carolyn, I like reading a clean book and I guess I like the stories. It is also an escape and finding out about other places is also a plus. Nothing like reading about a cold place when its 40 degrees here or about a warm place when its dead of winter here. Or the escape to the mountains or beach.
Welcome, Carolyn. Glad you have joined us.
Oh yes, Mary! That sweet dance is always so lovely to see! Happy reading to you!
Hi Jenny! Oh, there is so much to discover through reading, isn’t there? One of my favourite board games I first learned about thanks to a contemporary romance book (Rummikub, courtesy of My Stubborn Heart). It’s amazing what we can learn through words!
Thanks Merrillee! It’s great to be here :)
Welcome, Carolyn! I started reading contemporary Christian romance just a few years ago. I have been a life-long reader with a taste for sci-fi, fantasy and murder mysteries. I have been a believer since childhood so I deeply appreciate well-told stories that represent the journey of faith in genuine and realistic ways.
Why add romance to the list? It was a gradual progression. So much of sci-fi and mystery has become very dark in tone. My gateway to CCR was Christian romantic suspense, Irene Hannon for example. From there, it was a short step to enjoying the world of HEAs, heartfelt journeys of hope and communities where love, commitment and shared joy are the norm.
As a man who reads, enjoys and comments on CCR, I have found IR to be a wonderfully welcoming place. I am sure you will find it to be as well.
Happy to have you here!
Romance has always been my favorite genre.
Welcome, Carolyn. It is nice to be with you. I enjoy romance because it takes me to the goodness in people. It lets me feel the love that we all so desperately want to receive. When I read a book, the characters come alive to me. They become friends and neighbors. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Oh, so good to ‘meet’ you Lincoln! What a fascinating reading journey you’ve been on. There’s definitely something to be said for the joyous threads underpinning Christian contemporary romance, isn’t there? Happy reading!
Yes! Me too. Occasionally I’ll dip into other genres, but I love the feels and the hope that reading romance offers. Happy reading!
Oh, so beautifully put, Debra! I agree. Being able to see deeper than the first impression is like an expression of God’s love for us, isn’t it? And I love it when readers tell me they find my characters do real and relatable. To me that’s job done! Happy reading to you.
I started reading contemporary Christian romance recently so I don’t have any favorite authors yet.
In fact, I started reading Christian fiction in general just a few years ago and started with historical romance, later I became interested in the contemporary (I guess because I grew up and became interested in finding a husband in the future and although I love historical romance and fantasy it is in the real world where I will have to find a men) I like to think of as a Christian girl can find love.
I have loved romance since I was a preteen when I really wanted that Cor and Aravis in the Chronicles of Narnia ended up together (yes they do) and a part of me would have loved to see an adult / adolescent Edmund fall in love, in fact I loved his redemption arc for a 9 year old girl he was the version of “bad boy who regrets”.
But the lack of Christian romance in bookstores and the slow sexualization that youth books were undergoing in the 2010s onwards made me end up reading some romances that are really more lust than love (I was not yet a Christian) after that I ended up looking for mostly classic literature or G-PG fanfiction of series that I liked.
Discovering Christian romance in all its subgenres was wonderful, the first author I read was Julie Klassen.
I love a lot of different romance & different authors. I love a lot of ones that end up becoming a family too.
I like a lot of authors & books it’s so hard to pick my favourites.
Oh, what an interesting journey to reading Christian romance! I’m a fan of Julie Klassen as well (I write Christian Regency too), and it is wonderful, isn’t it, to find fiction that entertains and encourages and refreshes the soul. Happy reading!
Hi Amy! Yes, there’s something about such stories that can be so realistic that draw us in. And interconnected stories that create whole (fictional) worlds we can enjoy time and again are keepers, right?
Oh, yes Sylvia! And even when you do think you have a definitive list, next day it’s like ‘I forgot that one!’
But what a great problem to have, right?
Hi Carolyn, Welcome to Inspy Romance! I’m so glad you’ve joined us. 😊
Hi Carolyn!! So happy to see you on Inspy Romance today :-)
I am a hopeless romantic & and absolutely love getting to the happily-ever-after at the end of the story. Watching the couples journey throughout the book is one that engages me and connects me to them. And of course, a faith-filled story is a must :-)
I’ve just started reading more contemporary CF romance books since the pandemic hit last year, probably because I needed something lighter to read. One of my favorite CF writers is Becky Wade, she always incorporates plenty of faith & an interesting journey for her couples. The Bradford Sisters was my first series with her & I couldn’t get enough! Then I’d name Karen Kingsbury, Denise Hunter, Nicole Deese, Bethany Turner (the rom-com queen, lol), Robin Lee Hatcher, and others I can’t come up with right now. My other favorite genre is historical and tops is Julie Klassen because she first introduced me to the Regency era & I fell in love. Other authors would be Roseanna White, Kate Breslin, Jody Hedlund, Tracie Peterson, Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy and a whole slew of other ones.
I have to have a story with romance in it or it just doesn’t cut it for me…lol!
P.S. Off a different subject, is Australia still in lock-down? My mom lives on the North Island of New Zealand and the Auckland area is in level 3 lock-down where you can’t go anywhere at all….but the rest of the country is level 2. They are currently stuck down on the South Island with her sister-in-law & her husband, and have been for over a month! They can’t fly back home right now :-( I’m hoping that will change soon for them, as they are anxious for home.
Welcome, from one newbie to another! I love reading romance. I’m a hopeless romantic there’s just nothing like a feel-good love story.
Oh, thank you, Narelle! It’s such an honour to be here!
Hi Trixi! It’s so good to ‘see’ you again. And yes, so many of those authors you mentioned are amongst my favourites too. And here in my part of Australia we’ve just come out of lockdown, which is really nice. I’ve been needing a haircut!
Hello! I totally agree with you. There’s something so heartwarming and uplifting about reading a story about love. Happy reading to you!
It does!