Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Convicted, a story of murder, betrayal and corruption.

“But wait,” you say, “isn’t this supposed to be a Christian fiction book? That doesn’t exactly sound uplifting.”

OK, so maybe you didn’t ask that question, but I certainly did as God was leading me through the first draft of Convicted, or as I fondly called it at the time “the book.” How could His uplifting message be delivered via a story with such a sinister plot line? I must have misunderstood his direction and somehow gone off on my own tangent, drastically skewing the original intent of this series.

God calmly took me aside and pointed me to accounts from His Word. The Book of Job isn’t exactly all flowers and puppies, but Job persevered and refused to disavow God. The Book of Jonah isn’t what you would call uplifting in the traditional sense, but it sends a clear an concise message. The parable of the Good Samaritan, the inspiration for Convicted, begins with assault, battery and indifference but finishes with a powerful message on how we should treat each other as children of God.

Point taken. It’s a dark world out there, and only the light of God is powerful enough to illuminate that darkness. Maybe a sinister setting is the perfect backdrop for God’s message in this book. Maybe it is possible to be entertained by the perils of the protagonist and yet find ourselves identifying with his situation on a personal level. Maybe his trials and tribulations will cause us to wax introspective and understand the impact God has on our lives every day, and how He uses us to impact others.

If any of this is possible, then Convicted is a success.