If you have ever come across a book labeled as “clean” and didn’t pick it up because you thought it was boring, you should reconsider.

What is Clean Fiction?

“Clean Fiction” is defined as stories written intentionally without graphic sexual content, swearing, or gory violence. This definition, to some, may seem prudish, sanitized, or flat out boring. And yes, there are books that will fall into that category. However, over the past decade, fed up readers have picked up the pen and become writers, creating the stories they wished they had when they were growing up. The types of stories that have all the excitement of their favorite books, without the worry of what’s on the next page.

In my perusing of this category, I have found a wide range of books in the sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, murder mystery, and fairytale genres that focus more on telling a great story and investing you emotionally into the characters, instead of inundating you with material you’d rather not consume.

The Problem.

If you’ve ever gone to a bookstore and tried to find a clean book, unless you are in the children’s section, this can be really hard. Most Traditionally published and popular books have explicit content in them, whether it is language, sex (spice), or heavy violence. And the biggest problem is that most are on the Young Adult shelf, which means readers as young as ten can get access to them.

Books with “Spice” are often straight up pornography, which is highly addictive, and should stay out of the hands of minors. This addiction can chemically rewire your brain, and to do that to a young child can hinder their learning potential.

Plus, these YA books are often fifteen to sixteen year old characters who are having open-door sex, and adults read this and think it’s ok? This in essence becomes child pornography, which is even worse.

Making a Change.

One day, I was reading my latest library find called The Green Rider series (**I Do NOT recommend this series for anyone!). Books one and two were fantastic. They were mostly clean, with great adventures, and high-stakes with swoony romance. The problem came when I started into book 3. It was suddenly as if the author had been storing every innuendo, and sexual encounter she could think of to throw into this book.

The main characters’ thoughts dwelled on getting into bed with their love interest. A side character was forced to perform the act with a drugged partner. Even the creatures rolling around in the forest weren’t immune. It was so bad that even skipping whole chapters did not get me past the explicit content.

And the fact that I found this in the YA section disturbed me most because there are twelve-year-olds that read in that genre! In that moment, I told myself, “That’s it. I’m writing my own books, and they will be ones I can confidently hand my children.”

And this stemmed from the fact that I was starving for a good book that focused on adventure, growth moments, positive and healthy relationships, and only a sprinkle of romance because I’d rather see the characters actually doing something rather than mooning over the color of the MMC’s eyes.

So, I worked on my story idea until I had a full series of books, all with elemental magic, animal shifters, dragons, daring quests, epic battles, and the tug and pull of emotional twists that keep readers hooked. All the things I had been missing from the books I’d read before.

Looking at Today

To contrast that early experience, being part of the Bookstagram community, I have discovered a host of authors, just like me, who wrote the books they’d always wanted that had the adventure without the extras, and I thought, “I’ve finally found my place.”

Recently I read E. A. Winter’s Blood and Flame Saga where the main character is a female assassin who bonds with a dragon and fights to save a kingdom she’d once been sent to destroy. This was a fast-paced series which high action, intrigue, betrayals, and dragon battles, with only light romance. This series showed how good a book can be without the worry of what’s on the next page. And it was such a breath of fresh air.

Some of my other favorite like-minded authors include, C. F. E Black, Mary Mecham, and Jeff Wheeler, who all write adventurous fantasy while keeping it clean. (More authors, some with full series reviews can be found here.)

Inside these authors’ books, characters deal with loss, betrayal, assassination, intrigue and many other engaging topics. Some stories, like my book, The Queen of the Night, deal with heavier-hitting themes such as slavery and manipulation, still without the language, sex, or gory violence found in similar bestselling titles.

So here is my recommendation to pick up a clean, independently published book today and see what new adventures you can go on.

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Find Your Next Series

If you are looking for a Young Adult series that crosses over into New Adult, while still maintaining a high standard of only light kissing, hand-holding, and embraces, no language, and no gory violence, you’ve come to the right place.

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