The Need For More Catholic Fiction

Though Christian Fiction and Amish-based love stories can be found in many brick-and-mortar bookstore shelves, Catholic Fiction as a category is almost nonexistent. The same is true for public libraries where there is a treasure trove of the former but not even one of the latter. As of 2017, around 22% of the US population are Roman Catholics. That’s approximately 77.4 million members* and is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of Catholic-identifying citizenry. With these numbers, one would think that Catholic fiction would be a viable market. However, there seems to be little marketing targeting this niche group for fiction books.

I belong to the 77.4 million strong who consider themselves as Catholics. and like many in that group, I had never read a book labeled as Catholic fiction till now.

I was on author Theresa Linden’s email list when I received a message saying that she is looking for advance readers for her latest book coming out before the middle of January. I eagerly said yes. She emailed back assenting to my request and added that it might be better for me to read another book first because of the spoilers in the new book. She offered to send me a copy of the book, Anyone But Him, (for free!) to read ahead.

As this is my first go at reading books specifically identifying as Catholic fiction, I had no preconceived notions nor any prejudices.

Quick Synopsis

I found Anyone But Him, an adult mystery romance, quite intriguing in that it deals with the mystery behind Caitlyn’s amnesia–what led to it and her struggle to put together the pieces of the missing years of her life. She remembers herself as the high school Caitlyn who would never in a hundred years be married to Jarret West. Yet here she is, at 22, apparently married to the bad boy himself, and, ironically, a private investigator by profession. As she journeys through this dark time while trying to come to terms that she is Mrs. Jarret West, she relies on her faith to help her navigate through this dark maze. As people from her past come to help her out, at the end of the day, she has to trust in God and, eventually, trust that there must be a reason why Jarret West would be worth fighting for.

The second book I got to read (which will be published on January 18th, 2023!) is called Summer at West Castle. It is a prequel to Anyone But Him and fills in the details of the missing pieces that Caitlyn tried to make sense of when she had her amnesia. It’s a fleshed out version of all the recollection and flashbacks she had in Anyone But Him. It helps give body and a neat timeline for Jarret and Caitlyn’s love story. It is a good read giving the points of view of both protagonists as they sort through prejudices and learn to look for the best in persons and situations rather than dwelling on the prejudices and past mistakes.

What makes these books Catholic fiction?

Not unlike other contemporary Christian fiction, you will see Scripture passages sprinkled here and there. If you are not used to seeing Bible passages printed on mass-produced literature, it may be a bit of a shock to the system (that’s how I felt when I read my first contemporary Christian fiction many, many years ago). Perhaps it is the mixing of the secular with the sacred, and the idea that Scripture passages belong only to the Bible. Perhaps we’re just not used to living out God’s words in day-to-day living, neatly compartmentalizing Bible stories to Sunday worship. In this light, we need to be inundated all the more with words of faith so that they won’t be too out of place in our daily lives. Scripture passages are no longer exclusive to non-fiction religious books.

Sharing the stage are various saints and Mary, the Mother of God. In including these aspects of the faith, it really stands out as Catholic literature. As the protagonists go through their struggles and internal conflicts, they seek for additional prayer help from these holy intercessors. After all, one can’t go wrong with more (holy) people praying for you.

In Anyone But Him, the author makes no secret of her pro-life stance–a true hallmark of, though not exclusive to, authentic Catholics (IMHO). As Caitlyn tries to piece together her personal history, she finds out that she’s also in the middle of an investigation into an abortion clinic. Not only that, (spoiler alert!) Jarret is just as involved in his own way in speaking out against teen sex and this is one of the things that makes Caitlyn realize that the Jarret she married is not the same Jarret she knew way back when. Second chances and redemption are key themes which is also what our Catholic belief on the Sacrament of Reconciliation is all about.

Though it is still a niche market, Catholic fiction needs to breakout and break the stereotype that Catholic teachings can only be found in nonfiction texts. The call to evangelize never disappeared and if one unique and creative way to do that is to “sneak” Scripture and teachings into works of fiction then it should be encouraged and there should be more of them!

Kudos to authors like Theresa Linden, who broke barriers to get their faith published in story form, and to publishers like Silver Fire Publishing for taking on the “missionary” work of spreading the Catholic faith–one book at a time.

You can do your part, too, by requesting your local libraries to carry their books. Also, suggest Catholic fiction (such as these mentioned) for your parish’s book clubs, not just for the women’s group, but also for the teen groups. The two books mentioned here are perfect YA books–a far cry from the ones out in the market now. It’s a great start to contributing to this faith mission to which we are called to do.

I received copies of the book “Anyone But Him” and “Summer at West Castle”. The above commentary and review is mine alone.

*https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-by-population-of-catholics.html