This one is a more modern take of the Biblical story of Hosea and his prostitute wife. It's called Redeeming Love, and it's set in the late 1800's and involves a saloon girl and her Christian husband, called to love her no matter what.
Normally, I don't like Christian fiction. Too often, it is just... bad. It doesn't stand up to critical scrutiny. It's predictable and stilted.
But this author has managed something I rarely see. She has done an excellent job crafting believable characters who struggle in the way we Christians REALLY struggle.
I was actually surprised, given the details involved, she got a Christian publisher to touch these. Then I read in the dedication at the beginning of Redeeming Love, "With special thanks to my editor, Karen Ball, for her belief in this book, and her help in redeeming it for the Christian reader." So apparently, she DID have a hard time getting it published!
I'm almost done, so I should be able to get my mind back on track soon... Oh wait, Eat This Book arrived yesterday...
I'll get back to you.
Posts
7 comments:
Um, yeah. The Mark of Lion series are like my favorite books of all time. They are amazing. Rivers is a great Christian author - wish there were more like her!
Those are my favorite books. I love the Mark of the Lion series. It is because of that series (and every great book by Rivers since then that I have read every book she has ever written). But Redeeming Love is my all time favorite that she has written. I suggested it for our next book club book. Maybe I'll get to read it again and this time with a group of women.
And please don't apologize for a week. It makes me feel less guilty for my 2 weeks.
No Rhonda, feel bad cause we need photos! ;) Kidding. Yup' love that redeeming love. I think I bought it for everyone I knew. :)
Hey girl, glad to you back. I was worried as we had not heard from you in a while. Especially after your bursts of blog posts prior to that.
I LOVE REDEEMING LOVE. Debbie H loaned me her copy last summer on the Family LIfe campout. I started reading it and finished it in about 15 hours total. I could not get enough of it. Maybe because I identified with Sarah so much.
Have a good read on the next one!
Hey there. It did take awhile for REDEEMING LOVE to release in the Christian market, but not for the reasons you might think. It actually was the first book Francine wrote after her conversion to Christ, and it was originally published by a secular publisher. But there was too much God and Christ in the story for them, so they weren't sure what to do with it. After that, Francine felt led to write for the Christian market, and that's when I became her editor. I worked with her on the Mark of the Lion series, and all her books through LEOTA'S GARDEN. We tried a couple of times to get Tyndale to pick up REDEEMING LOVE, but Dr. Kenneth Taylor felt it wasn't a good fit for the publisher. I think he was right, too. When I left Tyndale after 12 years and went to Multnomah. She asked Dr. Taylor if he'd mind, since she's really a Tyndale author, and he gave her his blessings. Happily, the folks at Multnomah were thrilled and contracted the book immediately. Then came the work as Francine and I took the original book published for the secular market and "redeemed" it, meaning we took out the things that the secular published wanted in there, but that weren't appropriate for the Christian market. Plus Francine was able to put in the ending she'd wanted to in the first place, but hadn't been allowed by the secular publisher. The resulting book was even more powerful than the original, and has been on the best-seller's list since it's release. Just goes to show you, waiting on God makes sense. Because He knows what needs to happen and when to accomplish His purposes!
Thanks for your comments about Francine's books. She's one in a million, that's for sure.
Karen Ball
editor and author
www.karenballbooks.com
www.karenball.blogspot.com
Whoops! Part of my message was cut off somehow. Here's what's missing.
...When I left Tyndale after 12 years to go to Multnomah, I asked Francine if she'd mind if I pitched REDEEMING LOVE to Multnomah. She went to Dr. Taylor and asked if it was okay, since she was a Tyndale author...
See? Even editors need editors!
Karen
WOW! Thanks Karen for your response! I'm very glad this book was published and I think it has given me much to think about. I love the story and the genuineness. I just figured the love scenes and horrific past of some of the characters would make Christian publishers shy away, afraid of offending anyone. I love that the book pulls no punches. Thanks for supporting such a gifted author.
Post a Comment