This summer I got to pre-read two new novels by Michelle Buckman as part of the Catholic Writers Guild’s “Seal of Approval” program. (Both books passed).
They are now in print: Rachel’s Contrition and The Death Panels. Two totally different stories, but both are fun, readable, and thoughtful. And challenging.
–> By “challenging” I do not mean “artsy prose that borders on incomprehensible” and “long passages inserted as a test of your perseverance as a reader”. MB’s writing is fast-paced, page-turner stuff. What intellectual-types read when they have the flu, and the rest of us read without having to make up excuses for why we’re allowed to enjoy ourselves once in a while.
But FYI, Rachel’s Contrition leans to contemporary women’s lit (but it’s good! it is!), and is the more literary of the two. The Death Panels is a dystopian pro-life thriller. Lotta fun, but you’ve got to get into the whole dystopia genre, which will require varying amounts of suspension of disbelief depending on which way your politics run.
Don’t say you weren’t warned: Adult topics. (Fine for mature teens.) –> If you hear the term “catholic fiction” and imagine some kind of horrid saccharine drivel, you have been hearing wrong. These books actually are, wait for it . . . . inspiring. But in a demanding, I-have-seen-the-dark-side-of-my-own-soul way. No excerpt from one of these two will ever be reprinted in any chicken-soup themed collection.
Good stuff. Recommended.
….sounds neat! Question: How does one get ‘approved’ by the Catholic writer’s guild? I’ve got one or two books I’m hoping to see on their list… 😉
JDM
Very easy. You submit your books (have copies available either electronically or that you can ship hard copy), and then a group of volunteers reads them. A pre-publication manuscript is fine, but of course you want to be pretty sure it is the final draft.
If there are any concerns, those are flagged, and we have some clergy who act as a final judge as needed. The criteria are pretty straightforward (there is a reviewer form — so you can see what we’re looking for).
[FYI: I am very low on totem pole here — I just read and send in my form. I don’t see what the other reviewers submit, nor take part any of the discussion/final decision-making.]
If you are a member of the CWG, you can submit your books for free. Otherwise, there is a nominal fee per book submitted.
See if you can find the info on the guild’s website. Otherwise, I can point you as needed.
Jen.
PS: Do you have any free time this coming March 21-27? The Guild will be having its annual on-line conference: http://www.catholicwritersconference.com/index.php
It would be awesome if you could do a workshop of some kind. Time commitment is as little or as much as you’d like, and it is a great way for other writers/bloggers/catholic-publishing-types to get to know about you and your work.