The world of CBA fiction--a world I'm about to enter--gets a lot of press about what's wrong with it. And let me start by saying I think many of those charges have some validity.

But that's changing.

Most often, people decry a lack of perceived quality among the fiction; that's a subjective matter, of course, but historically, and as a whole, I can see the argument. In the past, some CBA authors and houses haven't paid much attention to the craft of their stories, believing their audiences didn't care about craft.

But that's changing.

Pick up a book such as Athol Dickson's masterful River Rising and tell me it doesn't compare favorably to faith-focused ABA fiction such as Robinson's Gilead or Enger's Peace Like A River. (I don't say this lightly--PLAR remains among my favorite books ever, and I think River Rising has taken a special spot on my shelf next to it.)

Many feel CBA fiction is too "preachy," trying to convert them. Again, valid point. After all, CBA fiction, as a genre, generally has a conversion scene, where the main character becomes a Christian. Trouble is, such conversion scenes resonate better with people who have already converted.

But that's changing.

Read Athol's book, and you won't find a conversion scene. Read recent thrillers such as Robert Liparulo's Comes A Horseman and you won't find a conversion scene. Read Dekker's stuff--Three comes to mind--and you won't find people dropping to their knees and praying the sinner's prayer. Fact is, many CBA books are simply imparting a specific Christian worldview. That's something that can resonate with anyone; we do, read, after all, to step inside the minds of others.

Many feel CBA fiction hasn't been diverse enough. I cede that point on many levels, as well. The CBA has been dominated by evengelical presses, offering historical romances because--well, because those are the roots of CBA fiction, and that's what sold.

But that's changing.

I look at writers such as Marilynn Griffith, coming out with well-designed, well-written, well-marketed novels such as Made of Honor and her brand new Pink (Shades of Style), along with authors such as Angela Benson, Sharon Ewell Foster, and soon-to-be-published Claudia Mair Burney. These are wonderful authors writing from a multicultural perspective, and I'm honored my book will be sharing shelf space with them. Well, kind of sharing shelf space, because that's my other point: whereas "CBA fiction" was once a genre in and of itself, we're seeing a multitude of story lines and subject matter. Romance and chick let, yes, but also historical fiction, suspense fiction, mystery fiction, spec fiction, and more.

If you're a writer of color, or a writer whose work doesn't fit into easily-described boxes, this should be encouraging to you. It certainly is to me.

Maybe that's why CBA fiction (and let's call it Christian fiction, shall we?) is booming. CBA book sales have now passed $2 billion annually (according to the CBA's own statistics), and, as an excellent recent article in Bonita News observes:

Christian fiction is one of the few bright spots for publishers. U.S. consumers bought 44 million fewer books in 2004 than in 2003, according to a report published last spring by the Book Industry Study Group. And sales over the next four years are expected to be largely flat, with one exception—religious titles.

Perhaps, once in a while, we could all take a break from knocking CBA fiction for what it's doing wrong--and celebrate what it's doing right.