What Is Biblical Fiction?

Biblical Fiction can mean a variety of things, but essentially, for my purposes, it is similar in nature to historical fiction. In Biblical Fiction, the author takes the true events and people of the Bible and expands upon them into a fuller story of “what might have happened” that connects those events and people the Bible speaks of.
For example, David mentions to King Saul that he had killed a lion and a bear. The Bible does not describe those events, so in a Biblical Fiction novel, I might write the scenes surrounding those events as it might have happened while staying true to the biblical account. It is not to be Scripture or to replace Scripture. Instead, it is meant to bring to life a possible fuller picture of the characters and events that the Bible describes.

It is similar to what preachers do when retelling a Bible story from the pulpit. They embellish the story, add emotional responses or reactions to the characters, and extrapolate events and actions in ways that depict logically what might have happened or how biblical characters might have felt. It is fictional, but logical fiction.

In such a novel, I would bring together many of the historical facts mentioned in the Bible and present a possible fuller picture of what the Bible describes in a shorter context, often in just two or three chapters. An entire novel could be based on those few chapters, filling in fictionally all the blank areas.
Scriptural footnotes are added to show where a biblical fact has been incorporated into the story.

My desire is to ensure that the biblical facts are the mainstays and core of the story while the fictional aspects are forced to revolve around those facts to bring a cohesive narrative that remains true to the biblical record. Other biblical fiction tends to do the opposite in order to try and present a more entertaining story.
Again, to be clear, this is not meant to be Scripture or to replace Scripture of any sort. Except for what the Bible says, the rest of what I write is fictional—my best guess based on the information we have as to what might have happened.

These stories are meant to be fun and adventurous, but remain true to the biblical account. These novels are not children’s books, though they are suitable for children. I am writing for a more mature audience, teenagers and adults. I don’t sugarcoat the men and women in the Bible. They were often thieves, liars, murders, adulterers, and blood-thirsty warriors. I decided not to cheapen the violence and other horrible deeds that the Bible describes. I aim to show you an entertaining story, true, but also one that will hopefully inspire you to see the Bible stories in a broader sense. These were real people, with real problems, who made real mistakes, but who lived real lives that God wanted us to study and know.