Novelists With a conscience
Writing with the family values in mind
Novels, short stories, poetry, magazines
A web page for Christian Writers and Readers
Last update: Sept. 3, 2010
email Bro. Joshua, SSP

Writing Novels
that respect general family values
Why these web pages?

     The claim that there just aren't enough clean, decent novels out there anymore just isn't true. Some books are listed as Christian, or are otherwise recognized imediatly as books with sound religious values (any religious persuasion.) Many others, well, you sort of take a chance on.

I happen to use the word "Catholic" a lot on these pages because that's where I come from; but I'm certain the values expressed here are shared by all who do their best to walk (or write) in a straight line.

What Makes a Catholic Novel Catholic;
or for that matter, any genre of book Christian?

       Being Catholic is part of the answer, but being a Catholic may or not mean your book is Catholic (Christian in general). It may surprise you, but your work does not have to have anything specifically Catholic to qualify. Think of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbit and his trilogy, Lord of the Rings. His books are historical fiction fantasy. He makes no mention of a Catholic Church. However, his moral high ground of truth, justice and peace and right living evident in his works is Catholic and Tolkien is a Catholic.
       On the other hand, a person may have been raised Catholic and may or not be currently active in attending the Catholic Church, but his or her manuscript might be highly detrimental or disparaging towards the Catholic Church or good religion in general. Such a literary work would not be Catholic even if the Church was mentioned over and again.
       So over all, the author would be expected to be Catholic and to have written in a manner supportive of Catholic values regardless if religion is played out or not in the book. My two novels do mention the Catholic Church in places. The Church or even any direct reference to any form of faith is not included in at least half of my short stories and poems collected in my third book, Birch Clump Portfolio. Still, each story and the third book as a whole can still be considered Catholic. None of my books are officially listed by the publisher or major book sellers as Catholic, nor have I asked them to be listed as such.

Is an Imprimatur Needed?

       Imprimatur is not needed in most cases.
       Novels, by nature of being fiction, not only do not need an imprimatur, but probably would not be considered for imprimatur either. An imprimatur states that a Church authority reviewed certain types of writings and has declared that nothing in the book is contrary or disparaging of Catholic teaching. These stamps of approval are intended for books writen explicitly for imparting the faith such as books on homiletics, theology and certain treatments of spirituality, or would be used in normal course as a teaching aid of the faith. Novels, autobiographies, and many biographies or cook books do not qualify.
       A Catholic novelist could, for instance, develop a character that is anti-Catholic or struggling with the faith, but the over all themes of the book or of other protagonists supports actively or passively a correct view of the Church’s ideals or teaching is perfectly fine. A murder mystery, as example, does not condone murder. A fictional character disgruntled with the Church does not mean the author is disgruntled.
       A faithful Catholic author often finds other means of attracting potential Christian book buyers. They have a good relation with trusted Catholic professionals such as a priest or religious. Catholic authors normally would have no problem getting their book into the hands of a Bishop who might commend the book or recommend it. I’ve received supportive comments from three Bishops, one of whose comments I saw to it was listed on my web site. I also had two reasonably well known theologians not only read the books, but play a part in proofing the book and developing the book. Their names are acknowledged in Hawk Dancer, Dr. Joseph Torma dean of theology at Walsh University, a Catholic institute, and by Rev. Dr. Jeffery Mickler of my province of the Society of St. Paul. We take a fourth Vow of Obedience to the Church and Magisterium with regard to the productions from our Catholic media apostolate.
       Do a Google search for Fr. Jeffery Mickler and you’ll find a big listing attesting to his solid Catholic standing as a Priest, teacher and as a theologian.
       This is not an imprimatur, but these endorsements help customers in their choosing of good books. Most readers today can look up an author on line. Like me, many authors maintain a web site or they and their works are featured on other people’s web sites and blogs. Authors soon learn that they are the best promoter of their works, particularly if they are new to the nation’s book store shelves. They quickly learn about web site development and public relations networking. So finding information about an author should be relatively easy via the internet. If they are proud of their Christian identity and their works reflect this, they will be certain to mention this in some manner knowing there are those out there, who like many readers of this page, and did an engine search for Catholic books and authors or about becoming a Catholic author.

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