Catholic Novelist Jim Sano: An Interview

Your debut novel, The Father’s Son, is what I might call apologetic fiction. Do you think there is a difference in how readers are receptive to apologetics, or a defense of the faith, in fiction as opposed to traditional nonfiction?

The Father's Son

The writing of and reception to The Father’s Son have certainly been a gift from the Holy Spirit, and, at one level, the story does weave in a case for the faith Christ left us as essential to living life as fully as God intends. At its heart, The Father’s Son is a very human journey for the main character, David Kelly, confronting the effects of his childhood trauma. From the world’s standpoint, David has everything, but the emotion-filled journey he has been avoiding begins with an unexpected friendship and unlocking the mystery and truth of his past. Beyond apologetics, the core of this is a story is of friendship, redemption, forgiveness, love, faith, and many twists and turns. 

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Summer Book Club: In Pieces by Rhonda Ortiz

On Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, I’ll be facilitating a Catholics Read book club meeting. We’ll be chatting about Rhonda Ortiz’s debut novel, first in the Molly Chase series, In Pieces (Chrism Press).

This historical novel set in colonial Boston, while a romance, has wide appeal. There are rogues, spies, gossipy hens, and crusty sailors. More than that, there’s a lot to contemplate on duty, marriage, family, faith, dignity, conscience, and the pursuit of truth. Those are the kinds of things I hope we’ll talk about. And whatever YOU want to discuss!

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#CatholicFictionChallenge 2021

I made a last-minute decision to bring back one of the best things I did online in 2020 – the #CatholicFictionChallenge! I’ve kept some categories the same, others are new. Still 100% fun.

So, why bring it back?

One of my “things” is to be an advocate for Catholic fiction!

What is Catholic fiction? Well, we could have a scholarly discussion on the topic, but for our purposes here, let’s say it’s fiction written with a Catholic worldview.

To help bring some of the fantastic Catholic fiction out there to the forefront, I’m again hosting an IG challenge in February that will allow us to share our favorites and not-yet favorites that have caught our eye so that more and more readers (including me!) can discover them.

If you’re on Instagram, please join in the #CatholicFictionChallenge beginning February 1, 2021. Join us for one day, every day, or somewhere in between.

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Classic Catholic Novels

A Dozen Classic Catholic Novels

Below lie a dozen Catholic novels widely considered to be Catholic (and literary) classics. In some cases, the entire body of the author’s work could be included on this list. I stuck to one work per author.

In the case of The Lord of the Rings, it was simply easier to link the first book in the trilogy. Summaries provided are taken from the Amazon descriptions.

Classic Catholic Novels: A dozen to get you started! #CatholicFiction #CatholicClassics #CatholicNovels Share on X

[Of interest: The Catholic Novel playlist, Net TV.]

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