Catholic Fiction…

… Someone once recently asked me what I had against Catholic fiction. I think it’s when you start labeling fiction specifically “Catholic” is where I lose interest. Usually because when a work of fiction is giving that specific label it means that it is overtly Catholic. Not that overt Catholicism is a bad thing in general, but when writing fiction it can come across as so pitifully obvious and unimaginative.

So you want to write Catholic fiction?

Lemme guess… It takes place in monastery. The protagonist is priest/monk/nun, or used to be a priest/monk/nun. And you’ve referenced and quoted Chesterton at least a dozen times.

Catholicism isn’t necessarily so overt. It is subtle and mysterious. So why, as a fiction writer, limit yourself to the obvious when Catholicism is intriguing and literally everywhere?