Comments on: REVIEW: Walk by Faith by Rosanne Bittner

By: DS

DS — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:32:49 +0000

I don’t think I do. I used to actively look for one of her Sheila Travis books now I just pick them up at the library or at the used book store. They seem a little blander.

By: Deb Kinnard

Deb Kinnard — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:59:59 +0000

DS, did you like Ms. Sprinkle’s work just as well after she made the transition?

I’m told quite a few C-fic publishers will ask for a name change if you’re making a switchover from the ABA market.

By: DS

DS — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:50:29 +0000

I’m not a c-fic fan but I did follow a favorite mystery author there– She wrote her unchristian mysteries as Patricia Houck Sprinkle (set in various Southern cities and very nicely done.) Then she started to write her c-mysteries she shortened her name to Patricia Sprinkle. I didn’t quite understand why the name change because her mysteries were generally cozies, not all that violent and lots of emphasis on characters who got up to very little that would have caused a Baptist preacher to blush. But there you are.

By: LizJ

LizJ — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:18:06 +0000

My best experience with C-Fic is an author that is definitely not in the romance genre, and too serious to be defined as a chick fic author. Lisa Samson. The woman is amazing.

About the best C-Fic romances I have read recently have been from Deeanne Gist.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:37:54 +0000

One that I’ve already reviewed is “A Taste of Murder” by Virginia Smith. The two others I’ve read haven’t had the reviews posted yet.

By: Kaetrin

Kaetrin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:34:02 +0000

Hi Jayne – completely off topic, but what C-fic romantic suspense do you refer to?
Thx

By: Jayne

Jayne — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:25:38 +0000

She replied politely and thoughtfully, but then added that she was qualified to write C-fic, cause she’d read the Bible once — all the way through!!

This is snarkier than I usually get, I know, but there are many better authors out there if you want a romance with the faith message done with finesse, skill and grace.

Oh, dearie me. I could read “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine”
but it certainly wouldn’t qualify me to practice as a doctor. Based on this book and the other Christian fic books I’ve read, I have to agree with the statement that there are better C-fic authors out there. I don’t care for the heavy handed approach to just about anything in stories and especially books about religious faith. So far, I’ve actually had the best luck with romantic suspense C-fic which surprised the heck out of me.

By: Deb Kinnard

Deb Kinnard — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:08:01 +0000

I heard Ms. Bittner speak several years ago just before her first Christian fiction release. She entitled her talk “Finding Your Niche”, and some of us went, curious what an author with a swackload of books would say about niche markets.

Her talk was all about how she’d had a revelation: she was to write Christian fiction. All her books, she explained, had always had a “strong faith message”. She said once she’d decided to do this, she picked up the phone and hey-presto! A three book contract.

This news led to other revelations: all you have to do to write a Christian romance is delete the sex. One of the audience had a “whaa–?” moment, and stood up to ask whether C-fic isn’t a tiny tad bit more involved than that? Such as, a three-stranded romance? Him, her, and the Lord? Maybe just highlight-delete the sack scenes isn’t quite the whole process?

She replied politely and thoughtfully, but then added that she was qualified to write C-fic, cause she’d read the Bible once — all the way through!!

Since hearing this talk, I’ve never had the slightest desire to read one of Ms. Bittner’s books, and your review confirms that decision.

This is snarkier than I usually get, I know, but there are many better authors out there if you want a romance with the faith message done with finesse, skill and grace.