So glad to introduce a new author to you, Miriam Thor. She writes both YA and contemporary romance. She’s wearing her YA author hat today, writing about the appeal of writing YA Christian fiction. You can connect with Miriam with the links in her bio at the end of her post. The floor is yours, Miriam!

Every one of us was a teenager at one point. Chances are…it wasn’t pretty, at least not all of the time. Being a teenager means being caught in the middle, not truly a child anymore but still not an adult. For many of us, our teenage years were when we started to figure out who we were and who we wanted to be. We began charting our own course, rather than simply following the one laid out for us.

One of the best parts of reading and writing YA fiction is the chance to explore that dynamic time in a character’s life. Teenage protagonists have so much room for character development, to the point that it would feel almost unnatural for them not to change or grow significantly by the end of the story. As an author, I enjoy taking a character through that journey, telling the story of who my character is at the beginning and how they’ve changed by the end.

In my contemporary YA novel, the main character, Ally Griffin, begins the story as a high school freshman searching for a talent that will help her stand out and praying that God will help her find it. She believes finding it will make her life so much better, and for a short time, she thinks it does. Then, her cousin’s accident turns her life upside down. As Ally deals with the aftermath and all the changes it brings to her family, she realizes that she had her priorities in the wrong place. This helps her grow as a character, getting much closer to the woman she will one day become, the woman God wants her to be.

As much as I have enjoyed reading general market YA fiction over the years, I write YA Christian fiction because I want my characters’ growth to be rooted in their faith in God. As a Christian, I believe it’s important that when we grow as people, we do it with the Lord, learning to trust Him and His timing, following His will. Ultimately, that’s the message I want readers to take away from all of my books.

In my own Christian walk, my teenage years were when I truly started learning to depend on God, even when things were difficult, and to seek His will for my life. During those years, I read a lot of amazing books with inspiring protagonists, but very few of them were Christian fiction. I wish there would have been more books available about characters who were growing in their faith the way I was. It would have helped me as I walked with God through the ups and downs of my teenage years.

I am grateful that the YA Christian fiction market has expanded since then and that I have been blessed with the opportunity to add to it. Teenagers, and many adults, now enjoy the dynamic character development entwined with faith that can be found in YA Christian fiction. 

Here are more blog posts from YA authors.

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During her freshman year of high school, Ally Griffin is determined to find her thing, a talent that will let her gain praise and recognition. Her cousins, Billy and James, have found theirs in sports and music, but Ally has yet to discover something that will make people cheer just for her.

At her best friend’s suggestion, Ally tries ballet. When that doesn’t turn out the way she hopes, she signs up to sing in the school talent show. Thanks to support from James, Ally’s performance goes well, and she thinks she has found her thing at last.

But when James gets into an accident, Ally’s whole world is turned upside down. As she tries to be there for her cousin, Ally wrestles with why God allows bad things to happen and whether she should keep doing her thing at all.

Buy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.

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