A blog about Jonathan Langford’s writing, and especially about his novel, No Going Back, which features a gay (same-sex attracted) Mormon teenager who struggles to stay faithful to his religious beliefs.
It’s interesting being the author of a novel about a topic that matters so much to a lot of readers. Sex and religion are topics that people care about passionately (if you’ll pardon the double pun), and when they intersect, there’s little that’s more potentially volatile.
That’s all to the good when people like my book. I’ve gotten some amazing comments from people, not just about how the book affected them as a story but about the positive good they think it can do in the world. I’d like to believe those comments are all true. But it can be especially unpleasant when people don’t like my book — especially those who share my religious beliefs.
On Writing a Realistic Novel
Friday, November 6th, 2009It’s interesting being the author of a novel about a topic that matters so much to a lot of readers. Sex and religion are topics that people care about passionately (if you’ll pardon the double pun), and when they intersect, there’s little that’s more potentially volatile.
That’s all to the good when people like my book. I’ve gotten some amazing comments from people, not just about how the book affected them as a story but about the positive good they think it can do in the world. I’d like to believe those comments are all true. But it can be especially unpleasant when people don’t like my book — especially those who share my religious beliefs.
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Tags: Atonement, coming-of-age novel, gay, Jonathan Langford, literature, Mormon, No Going Back, reader comments, realism, teenagers
Posted in No Going Back Issues, Thoughts on Writing | 10 Comments »