Thursday, November 23, 2017

Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway: "21 Days of Christmas" compiled by Kathy Ide

About the Book

21 days of christmas
Name of book: 21 Days of Christmas: A Fiction Lover’s Devotional
Author: Kathy Ide
Genre: Christian Fiction Devotional
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Christmas is more than just a holiday. It is a time to recapture the joy and wonder of God’s greatest gift: His Son, Jesus.
21 Days of Christmas will warm your heart with stories about giving, loving, and family. These engaging tales celebrate the hope and joy that make this blessed season unique. At the end of each story you’ll find an insightful message that will help you discover anew the true meaning of this special time of year. So grab a cup of hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick, curl up in your favorite chair beside a picture window overlooking a serene spot, and savor the true meaning of Christmas through these inspirational and encouraging stories.
My thoughts "21 Days of Christmas" is a compilation of 21 short stories having to do with Christmas. Some are retellings of the first Christmas with Mary and Joseph, others are contemporary, and some are historical. Each has a "life application" section that helps apply the message of the story. Most of the stories are only 3 double-sided pages so they do not take very long to read. It would be perfect for reading along with your personal devotions, in the bathroom, or while waiting in the car pick up lane. The book is only as big as my Kindle, so it is easy to stuff in a bag or purse. I was a little disappointed at how many of the stories seemed to follow the "not in the Christmas spirit...something happens....now in the Christmas spirit" theme. I don't really want to read just about how depressed people are. There is a list of the contributing authors and their stories in the back of the book so you can easily find the story you are looking for. All of the  authors were new to me, which makes it a nice way to get to know new authors.

More About Kathy Ide

Kathy Ide-square_300x300Kathy is the editor/compiler of the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series (www.FictionDevo.com) and author of “Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors” (http://secretsofbestsellingauthors.com). She has also written numerous articles, short stories, devotionals, play scripts, and Sunday school curriculum. She has ghostwritten ten nonfiction books and a five-book novel series.
She is also a full-time freelance editor, working with aspiring, new, and experienced authors as well as publishers.
Kathy speaks at writers’ conferences across the country.
She is the founder and coordinator of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network (www.TheChristianPEN.com) and the Christian Editor Connection (www.ChristianEditor.com).
For more about Kathy, visit www.KathyIde.com.

Guest Post from Kathy Ide

Looking for a great Christmas gift for friends and family who love fiction … or devotionals? You can give them both in one book!
21 Days of Christmas: Stories that Celebrate God’s Greatest Gift is book two in the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series. It’s a collection of 21 fiction stories, each written by a different author—including well-known novelists such as Lena Nelson Dooley, Joanne Bischof, Jan Cline, and Lynn Kinnaman. Some stories are about the first Christmas, when Mary and Joseph brought God’s Son into the world. Others are about how we celebrate that history-changing event today. Each story is followed by a brief Life Application written by the author of that story.
The first chapter starts out with an amusing tale of a modern-day couple in the front seat of a car, on Christmas Eve, traveling to see relatives for the holiday. They’re griping about the hassles of the season, and hollering at the the kids, who are playing with the foil on Mom’s Jell-O salad in the backseat. Then we break from that to a scene of Mary and Joseph entering Bethlehem, about to bring God’s Son into the world. It contrasts the modern-day wife, not wanting to go into a sleazy diner because it’s the only place open on Christmas Eve, with Mary hesitating to go into a smelly barnyard to give birth. When the modern-day couple decide to tell their children the Christmas story—complete with snow and a little drummer boy—the contrasts become both highly funny and very poignant.
I wrote one of the chapters in the book. It’s about the first Christmas, from the perspective of Joseph. What he must have thought and felt when Mary was giving birth to Jesus, knowing that he had been personally given the divine responsibility to teach God’s Son about God. Based on the Old Testament teachings he’d been raised with, what did Joseph think Jesus would be like when He was born, and how did reality clash with those expectations?
This book makes a great gift for family and friends, with its beautiful debossed hardback cover, full-color interior, and a ribbon page marker. With stories about the Nativity as well as tales of modern-day people celebrating that event, almost anyone would enjoy receiving a copy and reading it—even those who don’t believe in Christ as their Savior. It’s small enough to be a stocking stuffer (or tucked into the pocket of a Christmas-themed pot holder!) and inexpensive enough to be a practical gift for those people you’re not sure will reciprocate, or who may feel uncomfortable if they didn’t get you anything.
This devotional would also be ideal to incorporate into an individual’s or a family’s advent celebration, reading one chapter a day during the three weeks leading up to Christmas.
Each chapter takes only about ten minutes to read, which makes it ideal for the hectic holiday season. And since each chapter stands alone, it doesn’t matter whether you read one or two stories, half the book, or the whole thing.
Other books in the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series are:
21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love
21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships
21 Days of Joy: Stories that Celebrate Motherhood

Blog Stops

Reader’s Cozy CornerNovember 22
Blossoms and BlessingsNovember 23
Carpe Diem, November 23
Multifarious, November 25
A Reader’s Brain, November 25
A Greater YesNovember 26
Lane Hill House, November 26
Texas Book -aholic, November 27
Jeanette’s Thoughts, November 27
Karen Sue Hadley, November 28
By The Book, November 29
Mary Hake, November 30
Remebrancy, December 2

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away a grand prize of a set of 21 days devotional books!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/c3c2
"21 Days of Christmas" is available in hardcover:
  • Series: A Fiction Lover's Devotional
  • Hardcover: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Broadstreet Publishing Group, LLC (September 1, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1424550513
  • ISBN-13: 978-1424550517
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7 inches

and in Kindle edition:
  • File Size: 2518 KB
  • Print Length: 160 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Publisher: BroadStreet Publishing Group LLC (September 1, 2015)
  • Publication Date: September 1, 2015
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B011EZLQIO

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received. 

2 comments:

Emma said...

I haven't read this book, but I enjoyed the one about Grace!

Becky Dempsey said...

I really enjoyed the Grace one, too. Personally I think it was better than this one. I will be reviewing the Love one soon.