Francine Rivers is an American author of Christian fiction. She writes novels with Christian themes and romance. Her best-known work is Redeeming Love (1991). She has won four RITA Awards and the Christy Award.
Francine Rivers was born in 1947 in the United States. Her father was a police officer, and her mother was a nurse. She wanted to be a published author from childhood. She attended Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. She studied at the University of Nevada, Reno. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and journalism. After graduation, she worked as a newspaper reporter. She wrote obituaries and human interest stories.
Rivers' mother-in-law lent her several romance novels. Rivers decided to try writing in that genre. Her first manuscript was sold and published in 1976. For the next several years, she wrote historical romance novels.
In 1986, Rivers became a born-again Christian. She said: "I had been raised in the church, but I wasn't a Christian". She explained: "I had a lot of head knowledge but no heart knowledge". For three years, she had difficulty finding plots for new novels. She spent her time studying the Bible instead. She decided to adapt her writing to focus on Christian themes.
Rivers said writing eventually "ceased to matter" to her. She added: "I didn't care if I ever wrote again". While studying the book of Hosea, she heard God say something. He told her, "This is the romance I want you to write".
Her first Christian novel, Redeeming Love, was released in 1991. Rivers considers it her statement of faith. The novel updates the Old Testament book of Hosea. It is set in the American West of the 1850s. It tells the story of a prostitute named Angel. She is reformed and converted to Christianity by frontier farmer Michael Hosea. Redeeming Love has sold millions of copies. It has been translated into 28 languages.
Rivers refers to her pre-1986 novels as her "B.C." bibliography. This stands for "before Christ". She purchased the publication rights to her earlier romance novels. She wanted to prevent them from being released again.
Her series The Mark of the Lion sold over half a million copies. In 2007, her novel The Last Sin Eater was made into a film. The director was Michael Landon Jr. Fox Faith distributed it. A film adaptation of Redeeming Love was released in 2022. Rivers executive-produced it and co-wrote the screenplay.
Francine Rivers has won many awards, including the Christy Award and ECPA Gold Medallion. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame. She won her first RITA in 1986 for Not So Wild a Dream. This was for Best Historical Romance. She won subsequent RITAs in 1995, 1996 and 1997. These were all for the Best Inspirational Romance category.
Rivers described writing as a tool. She said, "It has become a tool for me to worship the Lord". Her novels include The Atonement Child (1997), Bridge to Haven (2014) and The Masterpiece (2018). Her latest novel, The Lady's Mine, was published in 2022.
Francine Rivers is married to Rick Rivers. They live in Northern California.
Photo credit: FB @FrancineRivers
