Religious Fiction

Although biblical tales and religious history have been retold many times and in many forms, there are few depictions as unique and insightful as the books written by C.L. Francisco. Cat Born to the Purple is the 4th installment of the series, in which the lives of Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, Paul, and other historical/ancient figures are shown through the eyes of cats. While the premise initially sounds strange, the concept works, evidenced by the praise for her earlier books.

In this most recent sequel, readers are introduced to Eliana, a young woman who has been brutally treated by […]

★★★★

Six-year-old Kate Kindrick possesses a rare “seventh sense” passed down through generations of her father’s family: the unique ability to see inside of people’s hearts. A heart might look like “a Grand Canyon disaster, full of oozing painful craters and gorges” or be “covered with gray-green storm clouds, all dotted with icy pockets.” The Kindricks also have prophetic dreams and sensations that inexplicably link them together from miles apart. Kate’s intuitive gift is magically linked to an angel doll called Etta Ebella, gifted to Kate by her beloved grandmother, Mer.

But when the prized doll is marred in a […]

C. L. Francisco’s, A Cat Out of Egypt, is an imaginative and thoughtful tale about Jesus’ years in Egypt. The narrator is Miw, also called ‘Daughter of Fire’ by her people. And she’s a cat. This novel is the prequel to The Gospel According to Yeshua’s Cat (reviewed here by SPR).

Miw is an Egyptian cat from the temple Bubastis. After she learns that corrupt priests are plotting her death she leaves the temple with a priestess of Bast, named Tikos, and they escape to a Jewish village. Here they meet Yeshua and his family. Miw actually fights and […]