Catholics have produced some of the finest novels ever written, but you wouldn’t always know that from today’s selections. Some of the faithful have certainly noticed and have started to bring their experience and creativity into the fictional realm in hopes of shaping the broader culture and to re-introduce the Catholic voice to fiction. Today’s guest, W. L. Patenaude, is one such author.
Patenaude’s debut novel, A Printer’s Choice, is the rooted his work in ecology and theology, as well as his life-long love of great science fiction. While his novel has received mainstream praise, he knows that writing a novel isn’t easy. While reflecting on his first novel as he plans his follow-up works, the scholar and novelist joins us to talk about how his own faith and conversion inspired him to write a sci-fi novel to teach, show, and evangelize using stories. Patenaude also takes us through the creative process and how he took the first steps to creating his novel.
Join us today for the second episode in our occasional series exploring how the Catholic faith can inspire new and beautiful works of creativity. Check out last week’s episode with artist Timothy Schmalz.
Resources we mentioned include…
- A Printer’s Choice, Bill Patenaude’s debut novel can be found through your favorite bookstore or APrintersChoice.com.
- Check out Publishers Weekly’s review of A Printer’s Choice.
- Patenaude’s writings can also be found at CatholicEcology.net.
- Check “The Catholic Faith Can Shape Science Fiction” by Bill Patenaude at Catholic Exchange.
- For further reflections on the Catholic Faith, check out the book From Star Wars to Superman: Christ Figures in Science Fiction and Superhero Films by Dr. James Papandrea.
- Also see Dr. Papandrea’s article, “Examining the Christian Imagery of Star Wars,” on Catholic Exchange. Our Star Wars interview with him can also be found here on CE.
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