Romeo Must Die
Reed Arvin
January 1, 2002
The CBA has been very, very good to me. I've made a comfortable living from the world of the Christian Booksellers Association (now officially just called the CBA), mostly through producing the music of a variety of Christian artists. I even benefited from a bizarre, unwanted windfall: the death of recording artist Rich Mullins. His sales went through the roof, and since I had produced virtually his entire catalogue, my income did likewise. Blood money, I remember thinking. But I cashed the checks anyway, as did the record company who manufactured the product and the bookstores who sold it. My first novel, published by Thomas Nelson, was modestly successful. For close to 15 years every dime I made was funneled through some part of the CBA. Under the circumstances, therefore, the words to follow may ring of ingratitude. But the life I have lived among the CBA and as a partner in their work is why I have to say this.
My second novel, The Will, is a legal thriller. There is a strong Christian subplot in the book-Christian, that is, as distinct from Spirit, or Universe, or any other Oprah-friendly term. Jesus is mentioned by name, as is the cross and salvation. But like a lot of books in the genre, the novel is also a bit gritty. When my agent presented my half-finished manuscript to CBA publishers, I was offered three multi-book deals, all of which contained the following caveat: "We love your book, but you can't use some of the words you use, the two main characters can't have sex, and it has to be more orthodox." Conversations more or less like this ensued:
"Come on. Don't make me do that."
"Sorry. Personally, we love it the way it is. But we don't actually make this type of decision."
"Aren't you the publishing company? Who ...
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