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Fresh Faith - Real Romance by John Hillman
Heart gripping romances captivate almost 50 million North American readers. According to the Romance Writers of America, the genre generates annual sales totaling $1 billion and constitutes 40 per cent of all popular fiction purchases. Terri Blackstock cracked this popular market in 1983 and penned more than 30 romance novels over the next decade. Written under the pseudonyms, Terri Herrington and Tracy Hughes, her books sold in excess of three million units. Over time, however, Blackstock's Christian faith directed her away from this lucrative venture, and the author turned her writing skills and heart toward Christian fiction. "When I graduated from college, I was ready to write a novel," Blackstock says. "Everyone told me to follow your dreams, thinking I would never be published. But when I was 25, I sold my first book." Before completing her initial work, the author reflected on the compatibility of romantic fiction with Christianity. Blackstock vowed to concentrate on pure love themes, avoiding explicit sexual content and profanity. As the years progressed, however, she found her plots drifting away from purity, leaning toward the risqué. "It was all about selling more books," Blackstock admits. "I was really interested in fame and fortune instead of glorifying God." After a nomadic childhood as the daughter of an Air Force officer, Blackstock became a Christian at age 14. The death of a high school classmate triggered her decision to invite Jesus into her heart and develop a personal relationship with Him. However, like many young adults, Blackstock strayed from her faith in college. Focusing her energies toward writing and personal success, she married and later discovered that she and her spouse did not share the same spiritual vision. Although the union produced two children, and she created a string of profitable novels, the couple divorced, forcing the author to re-evaluate her life. Blackstock remarried but continued to churn out romances for Harlequin and Silhouette. About a year into her new life, her husband Ken accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour. This decision caught the writer completely unaware. "Things started changing in our marriage, and ... in my heart," she says. "I saw how my husband wanted to be used by God, and I felt my writing was a stumbling block ... (it) put a brick wall between God and me." Eventually, because of Ken's faith, she desired to re-commit her life to Jesus. After battling a feeling of uselessness, "one day I got on my knees and repented. I told God that it was probably too late for Him to use me ... He said, 'Watch me.'" Terri opened the door to Christ, allowing Him to write through her. "I began to understand that God had chosen specific gifts for me ... He had equipped me to ... tell people about Him. When I started using those gifts for His purposes instead of mine, life became so much sweeter." Pledging to write only if her volumes glorified God, Blackstock explored various venues to cut her ties with secular publishers. Contractual obligations dictated buying back several romance projects she had agreed to write but had not yet started. "We had already spent the money I'd been paid," she says. "But the Lord provided an answer. It turned out my publishers owed me more money than I owed them." Intrigued by the works of John Grisham and Mary Higgins Clark, in 1994 Blackstock outlined a series of suspense novels entitled the Sun Coast Chronicles. Nevertheless, the former romance writer knew little about the Christian marketplace and had no contacts with Christian publishers. "I wanted to start with something fresh because I was really tired of romance," she says. "I submitted the proposal to Zondervan, and before I knew it, I was offered a contract for four books." Blackstock's skillful blend of characterization, plot, and dialogue interwoven with dominant Christian themes made the four-volume set (Evidence of Mercy - 1995, Justifiable Means - 1996, Ulterior Motives - 1996, and Presumption of Guilt - 1997) one of Zondervan's most popular fiction series. As a follow-up, she penned four novels centered on policemen, firemen, and paramedics in small-town Louisiana called Newpointe 911. Two books have been released in the author's current suspense series, Cape Refuge, and both appeared on the September 2003 CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) fiction bestseller list. The first book, Cape Refuge, ranked number eight, while volume two, Southern Storm, earned the highest spot. "I'm very excited," says Blackstock. "It's easy to sit in my office and write these stories, and think no one is reading a single word. It's humbling when I realize they are!" Yet the Mississippi-based writer doesn't limit her talents to suspense. Blackstock retooled four previously published secular books into a four-volume Christian romance series for Zondervan, entitled Second Chances. She also co-authored four family-oriented books, Seasons under Heaven, Showers in Season, Times and Seasons, and Season of Blessing with Beverly LaHaye. Individual works of contemporary fiction include Emerald Windows, Seaside, Covenant Child, and The Gifted. With almost 60 books to her credit, Blackstock shows no signs of reducing her writing efforts. Two additional volumes will be forthcoming in the Cape Refuge series; however, readers must now endure longer waits since she has started to budget eight months, rather than six, for each project. In addition, the prolific author has contracted for her fourth four-book suspense series with Zondervan. "My next book always excites me," she says. "Although I'll be busy for a long time, I don't see myself winding down ... I'm not shooting for quantity, I'm just writing the books that God puts on my heart."
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