Hi! Dianne E. Butts
here. I was so surprised when Magnificent
Hope made an unannounced appearance last Saturday! There I was with author Elsi Dodge signing books at Mardel Christian
Bookstore in Littleton, Colorado, when suddenly Maggie Hope’s head popped
up out of nowhere!
Elsi and I were so pleased Magnificent Hope chose to make an
appearance at our book signing. We took the opportunity to get our photo taken
with Maggie and Dana, the store manager.
Elsi and I signed our books in the store from 10:00 to 2:00
and really kept busy. The store was in constant motion with activity and we not
only signed books, but we talked with lots of people about a lot of different
topics and you know what? It was all
ministry. Elsi said it, and Magnificent Hope agreed, “We ministered to a lot of
people. It’s not just about selling books; it’s about ministry.” I so agree.
That’s the value of a book signing. We did pretty well selling books, too, but
the opportunity to talk with people about Jesus was so wonderful.
For example, I got to talk with a customer about filmmaking
and how I made a short film last February based on a true story in Deliver Me.
You can see the film on YouTube if you want to. It runs 10 minutes: The Choice film. I talked with others
about the story I wrote for Chicken Soup
for the Christian Soul 2, which is also in Chicken Soup’s 101 Best Stories of Faith. The story is
about how my husband and I tried to tell his Dad about Jesus and he just
wouldn’t hear it. But then we learned a year after Dad died that a neighbor had
visited him and told him about Jesus and Dad accepted Christ literally hours
before he died! And we didn’t even know the Lord answered our fervent prayers
for a whole year.
Another thing that happened was a lady walked in and said,
“Dianne! You have another book out?!” It was Victoria, who I’ve ridden motorcycles
with through Christian Motorcyclists
Association! I hadn’t seen her for a long time! (So long she didn’t know
about my Deliver Me book.) That was
so fun!
Both Elsi and I had numerous books on our table. Elsi had
her books about her traveling adventures in
her RV with her cat friend, Dolphin. She also has two books from her trip
to Israel. (I brought one of those home!)
I signed my latest book, Deliver
Me, which just won a “Book of
the Year” award from Christian Small Publisher’s Association and is now a
finalist for the 2012
Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year (winner announced July 15). I
also signed my first book Dear America, plus several other
books I’ve contributed to, including the just-released, brand new Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to
Stress.
You may know it already, but in case you don’t my coauthor Renee Gray-Wilburn and I
have a new book with Pix-N-Pens Publishing coming out in
August titled, Grandparenting Through Obstacles: Overcoming
Family Challenges to Reach Your Grandchildren for Christ. It’s a
compilation of twenty incredible stories of grandparents going the extra mile
and creating really neat opportunities to tell their grandkids about Jesus.
Elsi Dodge is one of our writers with a story in that book.
Elsi and I were thrilled when Dana, the manager at Mardel’s invited
us, plus co-author Renee, back in September to sign our new Grandparenting Through Obstacles
book, just in time for Grandparents Day! But you don’t have to wait—you can
pre-order your copy. Pre-order Grandparenting Through Obstacles here
now. We just unveiled the book’s cover on Tuesday, June 19, on our new grandparenting blog.
A funny thing happened on the way to the book signing! It was a
two-hour drive for me from my home in Pueblo through Colorado Springs to the
Mardel store in Littleton. I was listening to the radio, but of course the
stations I usually listen to were fading as I got farther away from my home. So
I went searching for another station to listen to. I heard a familiar voice—that
of a host of a radio show in Colorado Springs I’m sort of familiar with. But
the thing is, that day he wasn’t in Colorado Springs. He was broadcasting live
from Las Vegas, Nevada. So I listened to that station to see what in the world
he was doing in Las Vegas. While I was listening, he took a call from a man
named Derrick back home in Colorado Springs. Hey! I know a Derrick in Colorado
Springs. Could it possibly be? Yes! It was! And if you think Derrick Wilburn’s
name sounds familiar but you can’t quite place it, it’s because he’s the
husband of my Grandparenting Through
Obstacles coauthor, Renee Gray-Wilburn! How do ya figure that? A hundred
miles away from home on my way to a book signing and I catch my coauthor’s
husband on a radio station I never listen to broadcasting from Las Vegas! At
that moment, I knew it was going to be a blessed day.
When I told Hope about it, she just smiled. She doesn’t
believe in coincidences—only God-incidents, she said.
I would like to give a hearty thanks to Dana, Heidi, Mary,
and all the staff (that I’m forgetting to name!) at Mardel Christian Bookstore
in Littleton, Colorado. They were so gracious in supporting me and Elsi and
Magnificent Hope. They were a real blessing to us. I pray we were a blessing to
them and to the store, and I believe we were.
Bio: Dianne
E. Butts and Renee
Gray-Wilburn co-authored Grandparenting through Obstacles: Overcoming
Family Obstacles to Reach Your Grandchildren for Christ, releasing from
Pix-N-Pens Publishing in August 2012. The Choice film was inspired by a
true story in Dianne’s latest book, Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing
through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy, a finalist for the 2012 Golden Scroll
Nonfiction Book of the Year and a
“Book of the Year” award-winner at
Christian Small Publishers
Association. Dianne writes frequently for print magazines, www.FindingGodDaily.com , www.ThinkingAboutSuicide.com, and
www.TheChristianPulse.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dianne received notice after she submitted this article that she is a DOUBLE finalist in Write Integrity's Books of Hope Contest - she finaled in both the fiction and nonfiction categories!
A Special Treat from Jennifer Fromke (and a huge hint for the Week 2 photo!)
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