Join me today as I welcome author and blogger Anna Daugherty, as she shares her latest release and her reason for delving into dark topics.

      “What do you write?” It’s the first question people ask when they hear I’m an author. This time, in particular, the question came from a fellow author I had met through my publisher. When I told him I write Christian women’s fiction, he immediately brushed me off, saying it was a far cry from his work. After he described his novel dealing with domestic violence, imagine his surprise when I told him our stories were actually quite similar. The main difference? Mine offers the grace and hope found in Christ.

There are plenty of secular novels that deal with difficult topics, but often through a lens of hopelessness and despair. Meanwhile, many Christian authors either avoid those subjects altogether, or they resolve them too quickly with a nice prayer and a bow on top.

Anyone who has read the Bible will know that it never shies away from dark topics. It’s got it all: murder, incest, assault, drunkenness, and more. Real people struggle with real temptations, they make sinful choices and suffer the consequences. Over it all though, we see the ultimate hope found in Christ’s redeeming grace.

When we avoid these challenging issues, we run the risk of alienating believers whose lived experience looks nothing like the stories they read. Worse, some believers may doubt their own testimonies when they aren’t as linear and streamlined as the stories they hear.

As Christian authors, we have the opportunity to answer the hardest questions Christians ask. Is God still good in the face of my trauma? Is His grace enough to cover a sinful choice I made even after being saved? How do I pass on His grace to the most difficult people in my life?

In any genre, Christians must strive to maintain a Biblical worldview in their writing, whether in a contemporary tale or a fantasy world. We get to tell stories that reveal core truths, like Jesus did through the parables. It’s a wonderful, and often challenging, mandate. One we must handle with care, as we strive to maintain a clean writing style, never glorifying sin, and never forsaking the gospel message.

Our only hope in handling it well is found in the Bible. As Christian authors, we must stay in the word, seeking out the Author of all life. Only when we are deeply rooted in his truth and his word can we go forth and write well.

So what’s your story, dear writer? What struggles have you faced, what stories have friends and family told you? Perhaps you can find a way to honor those difficult struggles in your next story. Don’t be afraid of the dark, you have the source of light on your side.

Getting to know Anna:

What can your readers expect from you next?

The next book in the Grace Church series will be released on August 29, 2024! Reaching for Grace is a powerful story of toxic family ties, a storm that shatters biases, and a faith capable of creating a new legacy.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

Read, review, and share! Request it at your library or order it online, leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads, and then pass it along. If you really loved it, consider hosting a book club to spread the word even more. And feel free to reach out to authors you love, those encouraging words mean so much in this industry.

How did you get started writing?

With a family newsletter to my aunts when I was eight years old (yes, really)! I have loved writing from an early age. I graduated from the University of Texas with a journalism degree and worked as a freelance journalist for several years. I never imagined I could write a full length novel, but it was Covid crazies that had me penning my first work of fiction (a terrible one, forever under the bed). Once I realized I could do it, a new career path opened up and I’ve been in love with it ever since.

About Anna:

Anna Daugherty is a Texas-based author and editor, with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of two Christian novels, the award-winning Outside of Grace and the upcoming sequel, Reaching for Grace. With unflinching honesty, Anna brings the light of the gospel to the darkest issues facing believers today. She has also published articles and short stories in local and international publications. For monthly updates, subscribe to her blog at annadwrites.com.

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