Coming Back to God When You Feel Empty – now on Amazon

In case you missed the news, I have written a short book on Ruth and Naomi’s story in the Bible, interweaving it with my own journey. I want as many people as possible to read and benefit from it (and at just 50 or so pages, it is a gratifyingly quick read), and so I am giving it away as an e-book for free on my site, if you sign up to receiving my newsletter a few times a year.

This was exciting enough, but soon people started asking for a paper copy, one that you can hold in your hands and scribble notes in the margins, and place upon your bookshelf next to Phillip Yancey or Virginia Woolf. And so one day last week, I was sitting in my lounge, sipping strong decaff coffee with my friend, Cat, and we heard the doorbell ring. My friend went to answer the door for me, signed for the package, and we looked at it together.

“Do you know what it is?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure it’s my book,” I said. “I ordered the proofs.”

I thought I would feel excited, because even though it is a small book, it is still all mine, but it just felt a little surreal.

As I tore open the cardboard, I told myself it was no big deal, and not to be too disappointed with its appearance (I told myself the same thing when giving birth). As it slipped out from the cardboard, I held it in my hands: I found it to be altogether beauteous. (Again, much like giving birth). Most excitingly –

“It has a spine!” I exclaimed.

When I came to uploading my book onto Amazon, there was no option to leave a title for the spine (for books under 100 pages, they are too wee to merit their own spine title, because the text wouldn’t fit). I assumed that it would be stapled like a Bible Study booklet, and I felt a little disappointed.

But it has a spine! A wordless, magnificent spine, and the printing and layout (by Jon’s fair hand) looks similarly magnificent.

“This is your book!” my friend said, and it was kinda nice to have someone to cheer with me for that moment. It is a real, real book, and it has my name on the front.

So – if you have an eye for a bargain, then by all means get it for free by signing up on my website and reading it on PDF or emailed to your Kindle. But – if you love the physicality of books, and you would rather turn pages with your whole hand rather than a finger, my short book on the biblical book of Ruth is now available to purchase from Amazon for a mere £3.99 or $5.50.

I also have a massive favour to ask: at the moment the review section looks forlornly empty and sad. If you have read the book, then please leave a review on Amazon, even a really brief one. Your honest reviews will help me get the book out to others, and if your honest review happens to be a 5* one, that will help even more. (But really – if your review is a 2* one, then leave that too. All the greatest authors have 2* reviews.)

Thank you for supporting me in this crazy adventure!

Get it from Amazon.co.uk for £3.99

Get it from Amazon.com for $5.50