The Register

Convictions and Realism

You may have already read this statement in my other books. If so, please feel free to skip and move on to the main part of the story. Otherwise, I would appreciate a moment of your time and attention. <3

I am an author who is Christian, but that doesn't mean I write specifically Christian books. I want my work to be relatable to everyone. It's important to me that you know a bit about my approach to writing. Please take a minute to read through before you enjoy the story.

As an author, I want to do my best to write realistically. I strive to make my stories seem like they could happen in real life. This means creating real characters with real flaws and shortcomings, as well as strengths and a bit of heroism because I believe we all have that inside of us. My characters will also face real-life situations that I hope people can relate to. This means my characters might get involved in uncomfortable or controversial situations and they will have a wide variety of philosophies and convictions. And sometimes, they might just do really stupid things.

The most important thing I want everyone to know: I do not necessarily support, endorse or even agree with my characters' thoughts and actions.

As a Christian, my absolute conviction is that all sexual contact rightly belongs in the context of marriage. But since my characters aren't always Christian, that presents a dilemma - my goal in writing is to be as realistic as possible, and that means they do things and have convictions that may differ from my own. This includes their approach to religion, politics, sex, drugs, alcohol, lifestyles, etc. I honestly don't think I would be a good writer if I put everyone into a neat and tidy box where they believe and act the way I do.

This is something I've pondered on and turned over in my mind for along time and I'm trying to refine my approach to maintain the realism without compromising my beliefs – this is a difficult struggle and I always welcome feedback!

Specifically regarding sex, I've been more open in my stories to putting characters into a sexual relationship, perhaps before they're married. But the main point I want everyone to know is that they are usually headed towards marriage. While this is still contrary to my own convictions, I can understand why sex becomes important at a certain stage in a relationship. But for this reason, I don't write explicit sex scenes.

Bear with me here as I expound just a little so that you might see where my writing and my faith can hopefully meet. God was the one who created sex for a very profound and beautiful purpose - to unite a husband and wife and to bring forth children. God gave us sex as a way to show how much he loves us because when we are fully united with him at the end of time, we will be fully satisfied. The book of Revelation refers to Jesus as the Bridegroom and we are his bride. God wants to love us in a profound way that we can't even understand. If you haven't heard this, it might be a total shock to you, but I'm not making any of this up. Ask any priest or pastor and they will agree that we will have a unity with God in heaven that's unlike anything we know on earth. Please don't take this to mean that I think God is sexual and wants to sexually fulfill us. It goes much deeper than that - it's intimacy on a level that goes beyond the physical and can fulfill us in a way we may never fully understand while we're bound by the physical.

Here's my main point - when we crave intimacy and sexual contact, we are ultimately desiring God because he can fill us in away that nothing else can. It's normal for people to want to experience that with each other but engaging in sex before marriage is misguided. However, when I write about it in my books, the goal is a loving, committed relationship that will culminate in marriage.

This approach also applies to things like swearing, drinking, drugs, etc. I may have different convictions than the characters in my stories, and when I write about their thoughts and actions, they don't necessarily reflect my own. (For the record, I personally swear on occasion because to me, they're just words – any word can be used in hatred, so I don't think the words themselves should be blamed! I don't think drinking is wrong either, but some Christians do.) You are welcome to send me a private message if you want to know anything else about me – even my own convictions may not reflect the general Christian population or certain denominations, but I'm very much non-judgmental and easy to talk to! ;)

If you're a Christian, I would challenge you to make sure your own convictions and actions are in agreement with the teachings in Scripture, meaning I would challenge you to stay chaste until marriage. This also means, if you ask my advice, I will always strive to give you sound Biblical advice.

If you're not a Christian, I cast no judgment whatsoever. We all have our own experiences and convictions that are influenced by a multitude of things and I don't expect you to think exactly the way I do. But I would still challenge you to check out what it means to be a Christian, specifically what it means to follow Christ. He is the One to whom I give my love and loyalty, before any specific religion or denomination, and I believe He has something wonderful to offer to every person who seeks Him. Please feel free to private message me if you want to learn more about Him - although I'm not an expert, I'm happy to share what I know :)

Also, on a final note, I'm planning to go through all of my stories to edit the romantic and sexual scenarios so that they all meet the standard I'm trying to achieve. If you notice some of your faves have been changed a bit, that's the only part I'm editing - the rest of the story will remain the same.

***Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! <3***