few men dare to tread. Yet with courage, sensitivity and significant talent,
these five men bring a unique perspective to stories of love and loss.
Chris Fabry
Chris Fabry believes romance is whatever calls
the heart away: “Your heart can be romanced by
many things. The secret is to run toward what is
good, noble, right and pure. We have to choose
holy romance instead of some lesser pursuit.”
This belief is reflected in Chris’ latest novel,
Borders of the Heart (Tyndale House), a suspenseful
tale of a man recovering from a devastating
loss and a beautiful illegal immigrant, desperate
to live. “J.D. Jessup runs to the desert,” Chris
explains, “but is thrown into a deadly situation
because of a choice to care for someone else.”
He suggests that love stories are a natural
extension of the gospel—the greatest love story
ever told. “I think all my stories have been love
stories because all our lives are framed by the
love we have found or lost or never experienced.”
Chris points to Les Miserables as an epic love
story, when a strong man has to endure, struggle
and love, and so many lives are touched by his
actions. “Marius and Cosette is one of the great
love stories, I think.”
Darrel Nelson
A self-described sucker for a good love story,
Darrel Nelson credits his wife for his penchant
for writing romantic stories. “When I met my
wife-to-be after high school, I fell for her head-over-heels. Before we met, I was incomplete and
didn’t know it. Afterward, I felt whole; and that
is the subject I like to explore in my stories—people who are incomplete finding fulfillment
and wholeness in one another.”
Darrel’s second novel, The Return of Cassandra
Todd (Realms), introduces a young man trying
to forget high school—when a classmate, who
made his life miserable, asks for help in eluding
her abusive husband. “It’s a rollercoaster ride of
action and adventure and, at the same time, an
uplifting story of love and faith.”
Darrel shares, “I must confess that sometimes
I wonder if it might be more ‘manly’ to write a
page-turning spy thriller or a heart-stopping
war saga; but when I sit down to write, love stories
are what naturally come out.”
Darrel’s wife is his biggest supporter and
toughest critic, especially regarding his female
characters’ thoughts, feelings and actions.
“Sometimes she laughs at my efforts, and sometimes
she just rolls her eyes.”
Darrel would choose Nicholas Sparks’ The
Notebook to recommend to men. “It moved me
deeply, and I was touched by the fact that he
based it on the lives of his wife’s grandparents.”
Dale Cramer
Former construction worker Dale Cramer
ventures further out of the box, having written
a romantic-historical-Amish series, The
Daughters of Caleb Bender (Bethany House), concluding
with Though Mountains Fall. “It’s an epic
family saga that happens to include a number of
romances,” Dale explains.
He admits his description of it to others depends
largely on his audience. “If it’s a woman, I tell her
it’s a classic romance set in the mountains of
Mexico in the 1920s, and her eyes light up. If it’s a
man, I tell him it’s an epic adventure story set in
the mountains of Mexico and mention an Amish
kid wrestling a monkey and another strangling
a bandit with a chain right before the big chase
scene, and his eyes light up. Both statements are
true; it’s just a matter of perspective.”
As he wrote, Dale’s wife helped him see things
through the eyes of a woman. Yet Dale brought to
his writing the one thing female writers struggle
to get right—the male perspective. “It’s a rare
writer who can see the world from the perspective
of the opposite sex without help,” Dale says.
His recommendation for a great love story is
unique. “This is going to sound strange, but my
personal favorite is The Bourne Identity. The
story in the original book was wrapped around
a huge classic romance— a man entirely lost,
trying to discover who he is, and the woman who
helps him. Two against the world. I would love to
write a romance like that.”
Gilbert Morris
Veteran writer Gilbert Morris has woven romance
into each one of his more than 200 novels. “It’s
such an important part of life,” Gilbert explains.
“A book without romance is like a zebra without
a bicycle!”
After so many novels, Gilbert believes his experience
enables him to write his female characters
naturally. “It’s not just from the experience of
writing that I learned so much about a woman’s
point of view; most of my hard-earned wisdom
actually came from reading. I’ve read romance
novels for 70 years; I should hope I’ve learned a
thing or two about the ladies.”
In his latest novel, The River Palace (B&H
Fiction), the romance between a Gypsy girl,
Nadyha Lovara, and Gage Kennon, a man who
epitomizes the Good Samaritan, is set on a 19th
century steamboat, a childhood fascination for
Gilbert. “I definitely think that adding the completely
masculine point of view adds a fresh, new
dimension to a novel,” he says, particularly when
most readers, and most Christian novelists, are
women.
Gilbert reaches for the classics when recommending
a romance, which also happens to be
one of his favorite books—Jane Eyre.
Murray Pura
Writing romance came as something of a shock
to Murray Pura as he commenced his new
Danforths of Lancashire series with Ashton Park
(Harvest House). “I’ve mostly written historical
fiction with just a bit of romance in the corners.
This series is historical fiction but the love interests
are what drive the whole plot and that is
new for me.”
Likely to appeal to fans of “Downton Abbey,”
Ashton Park is set during the first World War and
revolves around Sir William and Lady Elizabeth,
their three enlisted sons and four daughters.
Murray believes men bring a unique perspective
to a love story: “How men feel when they are
falling in love, and how it looks to them when a
woman is falling in love with them. How important
things such as gentleness, respect and
dignity are when cherishing a woman—and how
important courage and integrity are when they
have to go through difficult times together.”
Confirmation that Murray is writing authentically
came from a surprised reader who kept
checking his biographical information. “She
couldn’t believe a male writer could write about
a woman’s feelings that accurately or describe
romantic interludes in such a romantic way.”
Murray recommends movies for men looking
for a great love story. “Braveheart is very romantic,
even though it’s typically Mel Gibson rough;
and every guy should watch Message in a Bottle—that’s a terrific romance I’ve watched a number
of times.”
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of FamilyFiction digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!