Where is the Line?

I am going to start off by saying that I have written a “My Reading Life” post before outlining how I got here as a Christian fiction writer—starting with my childhood. That entry is sweet and non-controversial, somewhat like my books—to some extent.

My books do have conflict in them, or there wouldn’t be a story. However, there is a happy ending and a thread of faith that is more than a thread. My characters might start off struggling with God’s will and the difficulties of life, but they definitely end up stronger in their faith along with their love interest.

However, I have come up against a dilemma that I am really struggling with in my reading life. I am a fan of tension (again, how would we have a story without it?), and like a cozy mystery now and then. I start to become uncomfortable with romantic suspense where one bad thing happens after another, but those stories become palatable when there is faith and a turning to God through the hard times and the fear. After all, I know bad things happen in real life.

But, where is the line?

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I just posted a review of a book that I did not, and will not, finish. The title is, If You Tell: a True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood, and the author is Gregg Olsen.

It is not a Christian book and I do not recommend that anyone read it. A woman in my church book club, yes, you read that right, chose it for this month’s selection.

It is, as you can tell by the title, a well-researched, well-written book about horrific child abuse and murder. It is very much based on a real-life story. I argued that the book should not have been written and should not have been published. I believe that we may be rolling around in evil when we buy and support such horror by giving these people attention and fame.

Yes, those who suffered deserve support, but do they really want renown? Do we need to know the details to know that something terrible happened and should have been prevented? I think not. Just so you know, I was the kid who stayed in the classroom when everyone else rushed out to watch a fight. I did not want to reward such behavior.

So, my question, dear readers, and fellow authors, is where is the line? How do we deal with real life issues and the terrible things of this world while still following God’s will? Is romantic suspense okay (and yes, I know I am opening the floodgates, but I am really struggling)?

I end with Phillippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy or praise, dwell on these things.”

So, then, I am struggling…how do we follow this admonition and write engaging, conflict-filled stories?

 

Christina Sinisi is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and a charter member of the Lowcountry South Carolina chapter of ACFW. Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and the American Title IV Contest in which she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. Her published books include The Christmas Confusion and the upcoming Sweet Summer, the first two books in the Summer Creek Series, as well as Christmas On Ocracoke. By day, she is a psychology professor and lives in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with her husband and two children and cat Chessie Mae.