Celebrate Lit blog tour featuring Kathy Ide's book "21 Days of Grace"

Book: 21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love
Stories compiled by Kathy Ide
Review by Alexis A. Goring

This is a sweet devotional book with a twist: short stories with a focus on Jesus Christ with a “Life Application” page following each story.

At first, I was unsure about how the author would be able to combine fictional stories with life applications and then put it all together in a neat little devotional book but Kathy Ide surpassed my expectations. She’s compiled these stories with skill and finished them with finesse. The stories only last a few pages but that’s enough to draw the reader in and prepare their appetite for the short paragraphs in the life application section that follow each story.

Seasoned authors who have a wealth of experience in writing Christian fiction wrote each story. The stories feature characters that are in need of God’s grace. Each tale teaches a lesson about life and God’s love for humankind. The authors in this book prove through their stories and life applications that God’s love is unconditional.

I found this book to be very inspirational and encouraging to my heart. The stories are relatable, true to real-life and uplifting. It is easy for the reader to absorb and enjoy each story.

This book features stories by Robin Bayne, Angela Hunt, Deborah Raney and many more notable authors! The authors achieve their goal of telling fictional stories packed with lessons that the reader can apply to their everyday life.

21 Days of Grace is well deserving of a five-star rating and should be on the shelves not only in bookstores but in the homes of readers who need God’s Grace.

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Details from Celebrate Lit:

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book:

Book: 21 Days of Grace
Author: Compiled by Kathy Ide
Genre: Devotional
Release Date: March 24, 2015

Blurb: Love fiction? Looking for a devotional? Check out 21 DAYS OF GRACE, book one in the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series (published by BroadStreet Publishing Group). Fictional stories followed by brief life applications written by best-selling Christian novelists and debut authors, including Angela Hunt, Cindy Woodsmall, and Deborah Raney. Great for individual or group study.

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About the Author:

Kathy Ide is the author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors and the editor/compiler of the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series. She’s a full-time freelance editor and writing mentor, working with Christian authors of all genres at all levels. 

She teaches at writers’ conferences across the country and is the director of the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference and the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. 

She’s a co-owner of the Christian Editor Network LLC and founder of the four divisions that comprise the CEN: Christian Editor Connection, The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network, PENCON, and The PEN Institute. To find out more about Kathy, visit www.KathyIde.com

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Guest Post from Kathy Ide: I’ve always loved Christian fiction, and I’ve seen the power of fiction to touch hearts and change lives, both firsthand and hearing about the experiences of others. But you know, in my quiet times with the Lord, reading a chapter from a novel just doesn’t seem quite appropriate. So a devotional with short fiction stories seemed like a great solution. And you can take these purse-sized devotionals wherever you go, to read when you have a few minutes of down time. It’s a great way to get “inspiration on the go.” And they make fantastic gifts for friends and loved ones.

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Blog Stops for this Celebrate Lit tour:

March 23: Reading Is My SuperPower

March 23: A Reader’s Brain

March 24: ASC Book Reviews

March 24: autism mom

March 24: It’s Storytime with Van Daniker

March 25: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner

March 25: Inklings and notions

March 26: Blossoms and Blessings

March 26: The Power of Words

March 27: Lighthouse Academy

March 27: Because I said so – and other adventures in parenting

March 28: Moments Dipped in Ink

March 28: A Greater Yes

March 28: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

March 29: Captive Dreams Window

March 29: Donna’s BookShelf

March 29: Southern Chelle

March 30: Pause for Tales

March 30: The Scribbler

March 31: Carpe Diem

March 31: Faithful Acres Body Soul Spirit

April 1: A Baker’s Perspective

April 1: Splashesofjoy

April 2: Christian Bookaholic

April 2: Karen Sue Hadley

April 3: Ashley’s Bookshelf

April 3: Lane Hill House

April 4: Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet

April 4: History, Mystery and Faith

April 5: God is Love

April 5: Reader’s Cozy Corner

April 5: Simple Harvest Reads

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Giveaway details:

To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away:

1st – 4th place winners: A set of all four devotionals in the series.

5th and 6th place winners: An autographed copy of 21 Days of Grace with a novel written by one of the contributing authors!

Click below to enter:
https://promosimple.com/ps/b2cd 

Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! 

Book Spotlight: 21 Days of Love, short stories compiled by Kathy Ide

Welcome Kathy Ide, the famous writer and editor, to the blog today! She's here to talk about her new collection of stories, a book titled, 21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships.

Kathy agreed to give away not one, but two copies of her book! You can read the details about that toward the end of this blog post.

Here's the blurb for Kathy's book: 21 Days of Love is book 3 in the Fiction Lover's Devotional series--collections of short fictional stories followed by brief Life Applications, each chapter written by a different author.

Love can be found in many treasured relationships: boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife, parent-child ... with a special friend, teacher, or pet ... in the kindness of a stranger. We even have a national holiday to celebrate love.

The greatest love ever known is God's abundant love for us, His children. And He often demonstrates that perfect love through imperfect people.

This book offers engaging, inspirational short fiction stories written by new, intermediate, and well-know nauthors including Cindy Woodsmall, Susan May Warren, Sherry Kyle, Renae Brumbaugh, and more.

These stories represent all kinds of love. Woven through each story is the sustaining hand of our loving heavenly Father. On Valentine's Day and every day--whether your life is chocolates and flowers or loneliness and pain--let these stories fill your heart with hope, peace, and most important, love.

Enjoy reading this devotional that Kathy's written about her book! 

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Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams

Devotional book promo for 21 Days of Love written by Kathy Ide

Have you ever had a dream that just wouldn’t let you go…but it didn’t go anywhere, either?

Sixteen years ago, I had the idea of doing a devotional for people who love fiction. I’ve always loved Christian fiction, and I’ve seen its power to touch hearts and change lives, both firsthand and hearing about the experiences of others. When I read a novel, I relate to the characters and their situations, even when the details are vastly different from anything I’ve experienced. And reading how those characters responded to their trials and conflicts helps me see how I can do things better in my own life.

But you know, in my quiet times with the Lord, reading a chapter from a novel just doesn’t seem appropriate. A devotional with short fiction stories seemed like a great solution.

So I decided to create one. Since I’ve been a professional freelance editor for several years, I could edit the submissions I chose to use, polishing them without losing the authors’ unique voices. And since I’ve been teaching and speaking at writers’ conferences across the country for years, I’ve connected with several authors at all levels, including well-known best sellers. So there were a lot of people I could personally ask about submitting to the books in this series. And I’d developed a strong social media presence, so I could get the word out to other writers as well.

I started pitching the idea to the publishers I met at writers’ conferences. Some of the editors were really excited about the idea, but the proposals never developed into a contract. In spite of numerous rejections, I just knew God had a plan for this concept, so I kept pitching it—working on other books (and my editing business) in the meantime.

Finally, BroadStreet Publishing caught the vision I had. They created these devotionals as beautiful hardcover gift books, with full-color interior pages, even ribbon page markers. They’re so gorgeous, I’m actually glad the other publishers turned me down!

21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love, the first book in the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series, was launched in June of 2015. 21 Days of Christmas: Stories that Celebrate God’s Greatest Gift, followed that. The third book, 21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships, released on September 1, 2016, followed by 21 Days of Joy: Stories that Celebrate Mom. Each book contains twenty-one short fiction stories, followed by brief life applications, each written by a different author: some best sellers, some mid-range authors, and some new writers.

The short chapters in these books are perfect to read over breakfast, at lunch break, before bed, or curled up in your favorite chair with a cup of coffee or tea. And you can take these purse-sized devotionals wherever you go, to read when you have a few minutes of down time. It’s a great way to get “inspiration on the go.” And they make fantastic gifts for friends and loved ones. If you love Christian fiction, you’ll recognize some of the authors. And as you read these books, you’ll probably discover a few authors who may become new favorites.

This series would also work great in a women’s group, Bible study, book club, life group, or even just a bunch of friends who want to get together once a week and share how the Holy Spirit spoke to them through these stories. Study guides are available for all of these devotionals as free PDF downloads from www.FictionDevo.com or as 99-cent e-books from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I’m glad I didn’t give up on this dream. I know God made sure these books got published in just the right way and at just the right time … according to His plan. He will make sure they get into the hands of the people He had in mind when He called me to do this in the first place.

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Author bio: 

Kathy Ide is the author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors and editor/compiler of the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series. 

She’s also a full-time freelance editor and director of the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference and Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. She’s co-owner of Christian Editor Network LLC. 

Visit Kathy at www.KathyIde.com. 

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Buy Kathy's book, of 21 Days of Love:
Amazon
 ~ Barnes and Noble
 ~ Christianbook
 ~ Cokesbury ~ MoreToLife
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Connect with Kathy:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kathy.ide
Facebook Fan Page - Kathy Ide Author/Editor https://www.facebook.com/KathyIde.AuthorEditor/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kathyide/

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*The author (Kathy Ide) wants to restrict this book giveaway contest to residents of the United States of America (U.S.A.) because it's too expensive to ship a book overseas.  

So only if you live in the United States of America (U.S.A.), are you eligible to enter this book giveaway contest. 

If you are a U.S. resident, fill out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to WIN a copy of Kathy's book! 

TWO winners will be selected and each will receive one copy of her book. Here's the widget:

a Rafflecopter giveaway