Monday, November 16, 2015

Beyond Belief: Jesus Saved You, Now What? By Author Abby Kelly

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: eLectio Publishing (May 29, 2015)
ISBN-10: 1632131145
ISBN-13: 978-1632131140
Author: Abby Kelly
Book Title: Beyond Belief: Jesus Saved You, Now What?
Genre:  Bible Study, Christian Non-Fiction

About The Author
Abby Kelly is a nomadic, military spouse writing from wherever she momentarily finds herself with her husband, their wonderful dog, Brave, and two tolerable cats.
Abby began writing in the process of recovering from a more-than-decade long eating disorder. She credits Jesus Christ for her full recovery and for filling her with a passion to encourage others to seek freedom from their own addictions and struggles.
Now, Abby is the senior editor for two online Christian publications: www.tblfaithnews.com and www.mydailyarmor.org. She is a freelance editor, as well. Abby continues to write for numerous Christian publications as well as maintains her personal blog, www.predatory-lies.com.
In her free time, she and Brave enjoy volunteering in hospitals and schools as a pet therapy team through Pet Partners.


About The Book
Does your life look the same as it did the day you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Or have you discovered the power of the Spirit within you enabling you to live a holy, righteous life? For that matter, is it even possible to be holy?
Many Christians today are wading in the shallow end of the infinite relationship God desires to have with His children. They are strangled by addictions and idolatry, or distracted from the pursuit of spiritual maturity by a cheap imitation of moralism. Whatever the reason, their spiritual growth has been stunted; they’ve never gone beyond mere belief in Jesus Christ.
Beyond Belief: Jesus Saved You ... Now What? explores what God has in store for you and what He wants from you. With a firm foundation on the centrality of Christ, this book will help you see exactly who you are and what you are called to, based on, and enabled by, His righteousness alone. Through intense study and humbling application of both the Old and New Testaments, Beyond Belief, will show you what a mature Christian life looks like and what it takes to get there.



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Purchase Links
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1MiRDFg

Author Interview:
Author bio: I am a nomadic military wife of almost 13 years. My husband and I are currently stationed at Fort Campbell where I’ve made some dear friends, found a wonderful church and been able to volunteer in the community. We do not have children, but do have three pets—the world’s best dog and two very fat cats. 
I have been journaling and writing stories since I was little, which has blossomed into a vocation of writing books, editing for other writers and Christian websites as well as regularly posting Christian articles and devotionals. 
Personal favs: 
Drink – coffee or a really good IPA 
Food – This will sound really strange but—oatmeal! 
Vacation – My husband and I took a short vacation to the Smokey Mountains and Gatlinburg, TN, shortly after he returned from the last deployment. That goes on record as the most relaxing, romantic and fun vacation I’ve ever had. And the mountains always trump the beach for me! 
TV show – Another strange one, but we’re currently watching old episodes of Last Man Standing. I love it! 
Movie – So hard! Maybe, We Were Soldiers Once. 
Animal – Always a dog. 
Sport – I’m learning to love football since watching it is something my husband and I can do together. For playing? I used to love softball, but I don’t have the opportunity to play many organized sports right now. 
Book  C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce 
Book title: Beyond Belief: Jesus Saved You, Now What? 

Brief synopsis of your book: Beyond Belief: Jesus Saved You, Now What? is a six-week Bible study designed to help Christians move beyond pat, Sunday school answers and routine Christianity into a vibrant relationship with Christ that changes the way the do life.
Current book or project you’re working on: I’m currently working as the senior editor for www.tblfaithnews.com and I am the vice president of My Daily Armor ministries as well as the senior editor for their website: www.mydailyarmor.org. 
What was the inspiration for your novel? This book was strictly informed by God, the instigation of my agent and a journal full of lessons that God was teaching me personally at the time. 
Please share three interesting facts about your book which are not covered in the synopsis. 
1) It uses both the Old and New Testaments to teach readers how to pursue spiritual maturity. The Old Testament is not irrelevant to the gospel! 
2) I’ve been told that the girl on the cover looks like me, but it’s not and the artist has never met me. 
3) Beyond Belief uses the fruits of the spirit to help readers evaluate their own lives and pinpoint areas that are not evidencing Christ. 

If you could pick any well known or famous author to review your book who would you pick and why? I would love to have Beth Moore read and review this Bible study. I have grown so much through her Bible studies and I’ve frequently been told that my writing style and enthusiasm remind others of her. 
What, who, and when were you first inspired you to write? I began writing when someone gave me a journal for Christmas at age 11, and I was always a story teller to my sisters. As a home schooled kid, we created our own family newspaper called “Petticoat Junction”. It was a huge hit and actually had a fairly large circulation among our extended family. So many people told me that writing was my gift. I’ve always loved it, but it wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that God opened doors for me to use writing as a vocation. From there, it was my agent who read a short piece of mine online and contacted me, out of the blue, about writing a book. When someone totally unrelated to me believed in my writing, I decided to go for it. 

Genre/Author/Reader: 
What genre does your book fall into? Christian Bible study 
What is the first book you remember reading, that affected how you thought or felt about something? I read the entire Derwood Series, by Jeri Massi, multiple times when I was young. Somehow those books just got into me and the principles they taught have always stuck with me. 
Which three authors have inspired you the most, and why? 
1) C.S. Lewis—his ability to make sheer mud clear and also his ability to complicate a simple concept 
2) Liz Curtis Higgs—the deep and thorough research she conducts for her historical fiction 
3) Tedd Decker—I haven’t read many of his books, but after hearing him speak at a writer’s conference, I’m enamored by his charisma and creativity and vulnerability. 
Have you ever read a book you couldn’t finish reading? Oh yeah, many times. I have a Kindle and it’s easy to pick up a free book and then just realize it’s not worth the time. There are too many to count. I don’t have any problem putting a book down half way through. 
Do you read a book, while you are writing a book? Yes! I’m always working my way through some book—albeit slowly. I don’t like to sit still long which is actually the hardest part of writing for me. 
The process: 

How many books have you written? Two 
Which book is your favorite and why? Definitely Beyond Belief because it came as such a surprise to me and the process was remarkably easy. God just seemed to pour it into me. 
Is there anything that helps get you in the mood to write? Usually the mood strikes after my quiet time with the Lord or a long walk with the dog. 
What were three challenges you faced when writing your book? 
1) I hate to sit still! 
2) My dog hates it when I sit still :) 
3) How to organize and divide the content. Since it’s divided into days and weeks, not just chapters, it was difficult to figure out what order to place the topics in and how to transition smoothly from one week to the next. 
What lessons have you learned as an aspiring writer? Trust the process, it’s usually better than I think it is. That sometimes you just have to get up and trust that inspiration will strike later. Finally, just get it on the page and worry about the details later. 
Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to ‘overcome’? Usually I just have to get up. If I’ve hit a block, contrary to many writers’ advice, I just have to go do something else and trust that God will bring the ideas in the right time. 
What is the most important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional publisher, route? I’ve only ever worked with traditional publishers. First real lesson—you don’t get rich writing books unless you’re Steven King! Also, the publisher has a lot of say in the process. If you want to have the final word on everything—self publish. 
How long does it usually take for you to complete a book? The first one took me right about a year, but the second one really only took about 4 months for the writing, a little longer for finding a publisher. 
Do you have any ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music. Not at all.
Which book to movie conversion is your favorite? We Were Soldiers Once, And Young. 
How can people connect with you? 
Website/Blog: www.predatory-lies.com 
Twitter: @predatorylies 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506106005 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/ 7736381.Abby_Kelly?from_search=true&search_version=service 
Tour hosted by Write Now Literary www.wnlbooktours.com




2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for interviewing me here on your blog. I look forward to interacting with your readers too. Blessings!
    Abby
    www.predatory-lies.com

    ReplyDelete