Christian fiction has been around since the Middle Ages, but only in the last fifty years has it become the dominant genre of inspirational literature. The fiction section of most Christian bookstores is larger than the theology, church history, and Bible reference sections combined. In the 1980s and 90s, the bulk of new Christian fiction consisted in historical and romance novels and was dominated by just a few authors writing dozens of books apiece. But recent years have seen a broadening of subject matter, and a large number of non-fiction writers have tried their hand at fiction, including Bill Bright, Larry Burkett, James Dobson, Liz Curtis Higgs, and most successfully Tim LaHaye.
Randy Alcorn is good all-around, but my favorite strictly fiction author is Jack Cavanaugh. I also have a high regard for the work of Terri Blackstock. Bill Myers has the best fiction for young readers. (I have a few concerns about his fiction for adults but not enough first-hand knowledge to form a definite opinion.)
Randy C. Alcorn (b. 1954) - conservative evangelical founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries, whose mission is to defend the needy and disenfranchised. He is a former pastor heavily active in the pro-life movement. He also has several non-fiction titles but is best known for his fictional morality tales. Titles: Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution; Deadline; Dominion; The Grace and Truth Paradox; In Light of Eternity: Perspectives on Heaven; The Ishbane Conspiracy; Lord Foulgrin's Letters; Money, Possessions, and Eternity; Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments; The Purity Principle; Safely Home; The Treasure Principle.
Terri Blackstock (b. 1957) - conservative evangelical novelist who distinguishes herself by writing in the legal, mystery, and suspense genres rather than romances. Blackstock was raised in a Christian home but wrote secular novels patterned after John Grisham. Her faith was "rekindled" after a tragic divorce. Covenant Child; Emerald Windows; The Gifted; The Heart Reader; Seaside; and the series Cape Refuge; Newpointe 911; Seasons Under Heaven (w/ Beverly LaHaye); and The Sun Coast Chronicles.
Jack Cavanaugh - Southern Baptist former pastor whose historical novels and suspense stories focus on the challenges presented to the church throughout its history. His books include tales of persecution, the history of Bible translation, and the expansion of the missions movement. Titles: Above All Earthly Powers; Beyond the Sacred Page; Glimpses of Truth; His Watchful Eye; Postmarked Heaven; While Mortals Sleep; and the series The African Covenant and American Family Portrait.
Linda Chaikin - evangelical fiction author who focuses on mystery and intrigue, laced with romance and strong Christian themes. Titles: Behind the Veil; Captive Heart; Desert Rose; Desert Star; Endangered; The Everlasting Flame; For Whom the Stars Shine; Island Bride; Nevada Jade; Recovery of the Lost Sword; Silver Dreams; and the series Arabian Winds; Buccaneers; A Day to Remember; East of the Sun; The Great Northwest; Heart of India; and The Royal Pavillions.
Lori Copeland - formerly a secular romance author before her conversion to Christ, Copeland has made a successful crossover to inspirational romance novels. While not as overtly Christian as other authors, she is recognized as a skillful, light-hearted author and has been inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame. Titles: Angel Face and Amazing Grace; The Bride of Johnny McAllister; A Case of Bad Taste; The Courtship of Cade Colby; Marrying Walker McKay; and the series Brides of the West and Sisters of Mercy Flats. Not to be confused with Word of Faith authors Germaine Copeland or Gloria Copeland.
Ted Dekker - newcomer to Christian fiction. Dekker's writing is a unique blend of Christian romance, action, and suspense for novels that feel like blockbuster movies. Doctrinally, he a conservative evangelical who is critical of the church growth movement, excessive American individualism, and human-centered worship. Titles: Black; Red; White; The Blessed Child (w/ Bill Bright); Blink; Heaven's Wager; A Man Called Blessed (w/ Bill Bright); Three; Thunder of Heaven; When Heaven Weeps.
Dee Henderson - conservative evangelical who promotes church planting efforts in Northern California. She writes Christian romantic suspense built primarily around military and emergency services. Titles: Before I Wake; Danger in the Shadows; God's Gift; The Guardian; The Healer; The Marriage Wish; The Negotiator; The Protector; The Rescuer; The Truth Seeker; and the Uncommon Heroes series..
Jan Karon (b. 1937) - pen name for Janice Meredith Wilson, who left an award-winning career in advertising to write Christian moral fiction. Her novels, collectively called the Mitford series, stress the necessity of prayer and devotion to God. She has also written poetry and books for children. Titles: At Home in Mitford; A Common Life; Esther's Gift; In This Mountain; Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny; A Light in the Window; Miss Fannie's Hat; The Mitford Snowman; A New Song; Out to Canaan; Patches of Godlight; Shepherds Abiding; These High, Green Hills.
Karen Kingsbury - author and speaker for Women of Faith. Her fiction has a strong romantic feel and has been compared to that of Jane Austen. Titles: Gideon's Gift; Halfway to Forever; Let Me Hold You Longer; Maggie's Miracle; Oceans Apart; On Every Side; Remember (w/Gary Smalley); Sarah's Song; A Time to Dream; A Time to Embrace; Waiting for Morning; When Yesterday Comes; and the Redemption series.
Madeleine L'Engle (b. 1918) - Episcopalian mystic currently at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. She writes children's and adult novels, essays, and poems that explore Christian themes and combine fantasy with science fiction. Unlike C. S. Lewis, however, she uses more imagination than theology in exploring the supernatural. Titles: An Acceptable Time; The Arm of the Starfish; A Circle of Quiet; Dragons in the Water; The Genesis Trilogy; A House Like a Lotus; The Irrational Season; Many Waters; Meet the Austins; Moon by Night; A Ring of Endless Light; A Severed Wasp; The Summer of the Great-Grandmother; A Swiftly Tilting Planet; Troubling a Star; Walking on Water; A Wind in the Door; A Wrinkle in Time; The Young Unicorns.
Beverly Lewis (b. 1949) - Pentecostal novelist whose writings focus on country life. Born Beverly Marie Jones, she was raised among the Amish but with an Assembly of God family. Titles: The Betrayal; The Covenant; The Crossroad; October Song; The Postcard; The Redemption of Sarah Cain; The Sacrifice; Sanctuary (w/ David Lewis); The Sunroom; and The Heritage of Lancaster series.
Gilbert Morris (b. 1929) - conservative evangelical former pastor and professor at Ouachita Baptist University. He now devotes his full time to writing Christian fiction, primarily in the historical genre following families across the centuries. Titles: Dixie and Bandit; Edge of Honor; Heart of a Lion; Jacob's Way; Jordan's Star; The Spider Catcher; and the series American Odyssey; The Appomattox Saga; Bonnets and Bugles; Cheny Duvall, M.D. (w/ Lynn Morris); Chronicles of the Golden Frontier; Danielle Ross; Daystar Voyagers; Far Fields; The House of Winslow; Jim Reno; Katy Steel (w/ Alan Morris); Liberty Bell; Ozark Adventures; The Price of Liberty (w/ Bobby Funderburke); Seven Sleepers; The Spirit of Appalachia; Time Navigators and; The Wakefield Dynasty.
Bill Myers (b. 1953) - prolific evangelical writer of both fiction and non-fiction for children, teens, and adults. Titles: Blood of Heaven; Christ B.C.; The Dark Side of the Supernatural; Deceived; Eli; Faith Encounter; Fire of Heaven; Haunting; Threshold; and the series Forbidden Doors; McGee and Me; and My Life. Not to be confused with liberal commentator Bill Moyers
Janette Oke (b. 1935) - conservative evangelical who uses historical romance to foster Christian values in family and emotional life. Titles: Dana's Valley; Making Memories; Promise of Zion; What Does Love Look Like?; and the series The Canadian West; Classic Children's Stories; Love Comes Softly; The Prairie Legacy; Seasons of the Heart; The Song of Acadia (w/ T. Davis Bunn); and Women of the West.
Alan S. Paton (1903-1988) - Reformed evangelical teacher, politician, and humanitarian, and first president of the Liberal Party of South Africa. Paton was deeply influenced by the Old Tesatment, and his stories illustrated the results of apartheid in his country. Titles: Ah, But Your Land Is Beautiful; The Christian Approach to Racial Problems in the Modern World; Creative Suffering; Cry, the Beloved Country; Debbie Go Home; Instrument of Thy Peace; The Last Journey (a play about David Livingstone); Lost in the Stars; Sponono; Tales from a Troubled Land; Too Late: The Phalarope; Towards the Mountain.
Frank Peretti (b. 1951) - evangelical spiritual fantasy writer who deals heavily with the subject of supernatural warfare, as understood from a deliverance perspective. He takes considerable liberties in his portrayal of the spirit world, but his writing is fiction, and he has publicly expressed dismay that many readers have taken his writings as a literal description of the supernatural. Titles: Nightmare Academy; No More Bullies; No More Victims; The Oath; Piercing the Darkness; Prophet; This Present Darkness; The Veritas Project: Hangman's Curse; The Visitation; The Wounded Spirit; and the children's series The Cooper Kids and Wild and Wacky, Totally True Bible Stories.
Michael Phillips - evangelical Christian bookstore owner and former physics major, now a novelist. In addition to his fiction, he has also written on prayer and edited a collection of the writings of George MacDonald. Titles: Angels Watching Over Me; The Color of Your Skin Ain't the Color of Your Heart; Destiny Junction; Eleventh Hour; The Garden at the Edge of Beyond; Hidden in Time; Legend of the Celtic Stone; Make Me Like Jesus; The Poet and the Pauper; Rift in Time; and the series Mercy & Eaglefligh; The Shenandoah Sisters; and The Stonewycke Trilogy (w/ Judith Pella).
Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981) - conservative evangelical poet and fiction writer. Titles: Always a Springtime; Awake My Soul and Sing; A Book of Blessings; Christmas Blessings; Daily Stepping Stones; Heart Gifts; Lovingly: Poems for All Seasons; Someone Cares.
Francine Rivers (b. 1947) - conservative evangelical who wrote secular romances until her conversion in 1990. Now an award-winning writer of Christian historical and romantic fiction. Still new to the faith but biblically knowledgeable. Titles: The Atonement Child; The Last Sin Eater; Leota's Garden; The Shoe Box; and the series Lineage of Grace and Mark of the Lion.
Brock and Bodie Thoene - husband-and-wife writing team geared toward historical adventure fiction. Much of their work revolves around modern Israel and has a pro-Jewish flavor. Titles: Ashes of Remembrance and the series The A.D. Chronicles; Shiloh Legacy; Zion Covenant; and Zion Legacy.
Lori Wick - evangelical novelist who seeks to emphasize the need for a personal relationship with God. Her stories have a variety of settings, from American pioneer times to Victorian England to the present. Titles: Bamboo and Lace; Beyond the Picket Fence; Every Storm; Pretence; The Princess; Sophie's Heart; and the series The Californians; The Cameron Annals; The English Garden; The Kensington Chronicles; Rocky Mountain Memories; and The Yellow Rose Trilogy.For a statement of my beliefs, see my Declaration of Faith.
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