It seems that the recent resurgence in popularity of vampire fiction has trickled all the way down to the Christian publishing world. This week the annual Christian International Retail Show met in Denver, Colorado to introduce some of the newer titles in Christian religious fiction. I can hardly imagine what a convention like this would be like, although I bet it might be something similar to how I think of Dollywood: fascinating, tacky, and culturally confusing. In any event, publishers introduced the world to new series of Amish fiction (not fiction written by Amish people, but written for Evangelical women about Amish people), which has grown to be a popular sub-genre in Christian books. No surprise there.
A big shocker came later in the convention, however, when it was announced that WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group will soon release Thirsty, a novel by Tracey Bateman, which tells the story of a vampire named Markus and the divorced alcoholic woman that he is obsessed with. It seems that the vampire is a metaphor for the demonic, and the female character's struggle over whether to fall in love with him has something to do with her redemption. I think.
Anyway, I find it interesting that the Christian publishing world is taking on as confusing a theological topic as vampirism, although I am not convinced that they are really going to work through subject with the same philosophical literacy that, say, Buffy did. The fact that Thirsty's cover bears a slight resemblance to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series makes me think that this book might just put a Christian gloss on a secular-tested cash cow without getting too original. But we'll see...
There Christian glosses of secular tested cash cows...really? I'm overwhelmed in an under-reactive sense. J+
Posted by: Fr. Jason Emerson | July 29, 2009 at 09:41 AM
And I was so excited that the cover was original. Black and red...yes. But Twilight wasn't the first to use those colors. :) I love my cover and I'm so surprised at the cynical comments about it being like Twilight. I honestly felt it was nothing at all. No apples or hands. Just a woman with a tear falling as she looks up.
I'm just razzing you. I know it's a curious genre for CBA and I hope people will be as open-minded as you appear to be since you aren't judging, per your "we will see..." comment. :) I truly hope you will. In any case, I appreciate the post (and the rest of your very appealing blog). Even cynical promo is better than none!
Posted by: Tracey Bateman | August 10, 2009 at 10:53 PM