Do Christian authors have to follow mainstream publishing trends to write middle grade and YA books kids will love? Absolutely not!

When my seven kids were little, finding clean, age-appropriate books sometimes felt like walking through a minefield. Now that I'm a grandmother, I'm still asking the same question: Why is it so hard to find squeaky-clean reads for tweens and teens?

A conversation with my fourteen-year-old granddaughter in a bookstore brought that question right back to the surface. And yes, I'm climbing onto my soapbox!

In this episode, I'm sharing three things I don't include in my middle grade and YA fiction as a Christian author—and what I write instead.

We're talking about:

• No spice. Why I leave sexual content out of my books and focus on friendship, trust, and character growth instead.
• No hopeless worlds where all adults are absent or evil. Why trustworthy adults and hope matter, especially for kids with trauma histories.
• No same-sex romantic relationships. Why I choose not to include them, even as supporting-character relationships or passing references, and how Christian book-review sites help parents identify content in today's fiction.

I'll share examples from my Sera Craven Mysteries and Brightwood Shadows, discuss Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel, and explain why Christian writers don't have to compromise their convictions to tell a compelling story.

Mystery? Yes. Adventure? Absolutely. Courage, friendship, family, and hope? Give me more!

If you're a Christian author, parent, or grandparent who cares about the stories we're putting into young readers' hands, this episode is for you.

Want to write your own middle grade novel?

Grab my Middle Grade Magic workbook! It walks you through practical steps to take your story from idea to finished book.

Get Middle Grade Magic: https://kgauthor.myflodesk.com/middlegrademagic

Resources mentioned:

• Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody
• Redeemed Reader — https://redeemedreader.com
• Plugged In Book Reviews — https://www.pluggedin.com/book-reviews/
• Matthew 18:6

You don't have to write what everyone else is writing. You can write stories that reflect your faith and give young readers hope.

Your kids are grown and flown, you finally have a little more time, and that book you’ve been thinking about writing for years keeps coming back to you.

But where do you actually start?

Once you tell people you’re going to write a book, everyone has advice. Your family, friends, people at church, other writers—everybody wants to help. And that’s a good thing.

But getting advice and talking to other writers is not writing your book.

In this episode of Novel Writing for Christians, I’m sharing five practical things you can do to move from thinking about your book to actually getting ready to write it.

We’ll talk about:

• How to create your main character and get those ideas out of your head
• Why you need to know what your character wants—and what’s standing in their way
• How to create a backstory using mind mapping and character interviews
• Why your story needs a blackest moment and how to start figuring out what it is
• Why even a pantser needs some sort of outline before writing a first novel
• How studying books in your genre can help you understand what readers expect
• Why you don’t need to stop writing while you learn the craft
• How to schedule your writing time so the book actually gets written

I’ll also share some of what I learned when I started writing cozy mysteries after writing thrillers, why I still study the books I’m reading, and why research can be helpful—but you can’t let research take your writing time.

You don’t have to know everything about writing a novel before you begin.

Do some pre-writing. Create your character. Figure out what they want. Give them an obstacle. Create their backstory. Decide on their blackest moment. Make some sort of outline.

And then write.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Middle Grade Magic Workbook — Use the character interview, mind mapping, and other exercises to start developing your characters and story.

https://kgauthor.myflodesk.com/middlegrademagic

How to Write a Cozy Mystery by Natasha C. Sass

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Sponsored by Winter Wedding Murder -https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Wedding-Murder-Maplewood-Goldendoodle-ebook/dp/B0FSK57NJV

You finally have the time to write your book. Now it’s time to start.

Thinking about self-publishing your first book but wondering if it’s the right choice for you?

In this episode of Novel Writing for Christians, I’m sharing 3 benefits of self-publishing for authors and why being an indie author gives you more freedom than you may realize.

We’ll talk about taking ownership of your author business, choosing the editors and cover designers you want to work with, and setting a writing and publishing schedule that actually works with your life. I’m also sharing some of the things I’ve learned as a full-time indie author—including the business side of writing that I’m still learning!

And if you’ve been waiting for an agent, publisher, or someone else to tell you that you’re ready to write and publish your book, I have a bonus reminder for you:

There are no gates anymore.

In this episode:

• Why self-publishing means taking ownership of your author business
• The freedom to choose what you write and when you publish
• How to choose your own editor, cover designer, and marketing strategy
• Why indie authors need both freedom and self-discipline
• How to create a writing schedule around your real life and family
• Why your first book doesn’t have to be perfect
• Why you don’t need someone else’s permission to become an author

If you’re a Christian woman wondering how to write a book, become a self-published author, and build an author business, this episode will help you understand some of the opportunities available to indie authors today.

🎧 Self-Publishing Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide

Sponsored by Fatal Fixer-Upper -https://a.co/d/092EOCBN

Your story matters. And it’s not too late to start.