Heroes Who Are Still Human: Corinna Turner on Writing Catholic Fiction

Belle Meade talks with Corinna Turner, a Catholic novelist and lay Dominican who has been writing since she was fourteen and now has more than thirty books behind her, including the Carnegie Medal–nominated I Am Margaret series. The conversation covers why she trusts a story to carry truth further than an argument will, and how she writes danger and violence without ever making them graphic. She also tells the story of St. Edmund, King and Martyr, at length. What We Talk About: Why integrity in a character is not the same thing as perfection — readers have grown tired of flawless heroes, and the saints are the evidence that real people can manage genuine heroism. Fiction reaches people where argument cannot. Christ taught in parables, and most adverts are miniature stories for exactly the same reason. Handling violence and danger without graphic description: imply it through what the characters feel, so each reader supplies only as much as they already carry. The story of St Edmund, the ninth-century English king killed by Vikings, whose shrine later kings were afraid to cross for six hundred years. Where to find Catholic fiction for teens, and why she reads the one-star reviews first. Resources Mentioned: Paloma&Fig Catholic Teen Books Catholic Writers Guild LegendFiction Ignatius Press Chapters: 00:00: Introduction 00:30: Welcome and Opening Prayer 03:17: Starting to Write at Fourteen 05:33: What Integrity Looks Like in a Character 08:39: Dominican Spirituality and Not Preaching 14:04: Inside the I Am Margaret Series 17:31: Writing Gritty Without Writing Graphic 20:05: The World of unSPARKed 26:10: Pier Giorgio and Writing the Saints 29:24: The Story of St Edmund, King and Martyr 39:15: Writing for Teen and Young Adult Readers 46:25: The Campervan and the Giant African Land Snail Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios Send us Fan Mail Support the show Follow Paloma & Fig on Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn.  Learn more at www.palomaandfig.com.  Join in the conversation by joining our  Facebook group, A Resounding Yes!