katherine reay

April 24, 2019 by Christen Krumm 12 Comments

Writer Wednesday with Katherine Reay

Today on Writer Wednesday we welcome Katherine Reay, author of The Printed Letter Bookshop.

Enter below for a chance to win a copy of The Printed Letter Bookshop! Winner announced right here next week. Congratulations to, Jenny Snow, the winner of David Rawlings’ The Baggage Handler! Please e-mail my assistant Christen with your mailing address! Note: This post contains affiliate links.

On today’s Writer Wednesday, Katherine Reay talks books.

Books Authors Read

As I write “love letters to books,” it is such fun to chat with you all about the books I’ve read, loved, and always want to share…

What was your favorite book as a child?

So many! I was a huge reader. While pondering this question, though, I chose to list books I adored as a child, but have not revisited as an adult. They are true childhood favorites — so you won’t find Anne of Green Gables or any Narnia here as I continue to pick those books up today.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

The Great Brain

Encyclopedia Brown

The High King

I loved The High King so much that in the fifth grade I wrote my first fan letter to Lloyd Alexander — and he wrote me back! His generosity inspired me and I now follow that practice — so if you write me, I’ll write you back. 🙂

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

I’m not entirely sure, but I love Baroness Emma Orczy’s answer to this question. When asked why she wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel, she replied that she’d read a bad book and knew she could do better. I’m not saying that happened to me, but I am saying that when I read I constantly think of “story” and how to push it. There’s also a certain energy to her answer that appeals to me — this idea that story changes and is unique and you have something to add to the conversation. In the end, I suspect that it was not one book, but my saturation within books that compelled me to start writing one.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Within the last week — I just handed in a manuscript so I’m having a blast reading right now — I have read The Secrets of Paper and Ink by Lindsay Harrel, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, and Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. Such a variety — and each incredibly compelling.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

I need to go check… I read different books in different places. I won’t find any fiction there because never read novels at night. I get too caught up in the stories and don’t fall asleep. Usually, I read theology…

Right now I’ve got How to Live Like A Narnian by Joe Rigney, Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen, and In Defense of Sanity by G.K. Chesterton.

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

Hmmm… I guess The Printed Letter Bookshop is out of the running as it launched yesterday. 🙂

Seriously, though, I have had a wonderful time getting to know Melissa Ferguson recently, and I think her debut, The Dating Charade, sounds delightful. That will definitely be a Christmas purchase this year.

Thank you so much for inviting me here today and letting me share my love of reading with you all. And to continue the conversation. You find a list of all the books alluded to within the pages of The Printed Letter Bookshop in the back of the book. It might be a fun way to build your TBR pile.

Thanks again!

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Katherine Reay author of new book *The Printed Letter Bookshop*

Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author of several novels, including Dear Mr. Knightley and The Printed Letter Bookshop. She has enjoyed a lifelong affair with books and brings that love to her contemporary stories. Her first full-length nonfiction work will release in December 2019. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University. She currently writes full time and lives outside Chicago, IL with her husband and three children.

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More about The Printed Letter Bookshop

*The Printed Letter Bookshop* new from author Katherine Reay

“Powerful, enchanting, and spirited, this novel will delight.” —Patti Callahan, bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis

Love, friendship, and family find a home at the Printed Letter Bookshop

One of Madeline Cullen’s happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.

While Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, the Printed Letter’s two employees have other ideas. Reeling from a recent divorce, Janet finds sanctuary within the books and within the decadent window displays she creates. Claire, though quieter than the acerbic Janet, feels equally drawn to the daily rhythms of the shop and its loyal clientele, finding a renewed purpose within its walls.

When Madeline’s professional life falls apart, and a handsome gardener upends all her preconceived notions, she questions her plans and her heart. Has she been too quick to dismiss her aunt’s beloved shop? And even if she has, the women’s best-combined efforts may be too little, too late.

“The Printed Letter Bookshop is a captivating story of good books, a testament to the beauty of new beginnings, and a sweet reminder of the power of friendship.” —Rachel McMillan, author of Murder in the City of Liberty

Purchase a copy of The Printed Letter Bookshop
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September 25, 2017 by Tricia Goyer 2 Comments

Walk it Out Stories | Katherine Reay

I’m delighted to be a part of Tricia’s work with Walk It Out. She writes so many truths within her book. One resonated with me and that is what I’d like share here: You never know what God has in store. Simply trust him.

In December 2008, I was severely injured. For a time, slowly moving from my bed to an armchair then back to bed was the most I did in a day. I could not define myself as I had for years, I barely recognized myself. I could no longer run with my husband, play tennis with my son, study tae kwon do with my daughters, volunteer, drive carpool, fix meals, work as freelance marketing consultant . . . I had always moved fast and done much . . . Then one day, I faced months filled with pain, slow movement, books and prayer time.

Three months into recovery, and having read about sixty books in that armchair, a character came to me. She had a voice, anger, fear, issues and she wanted to be heard. God made it very clear I was to write her story. I had no experience in novel writing. I had no experience in fiction writing. But, with prayer, I began.

Eighteen months later, I titled my manuscript Dear Mr. Knightley and started querying agents (sending pleading letters to agents). In the following months, I received over thirty rejections and began to suspect God wanted the story for me, not for publication. After all, I had learned something in the process. I had grown. The moment I reconciled myself to that idea, a small publishing house offered to buy it.

The risk seemed low. As I printed the contract, my inbox beeped with an email from a writers group. I opened it and found my picture staring back at me (a random galley shot taken a year earlier at a conference) under the headline “Why You Need An Agent.” I’m not kidding. I immediately wrote the head of the group and asked if I needed an agent, basically demanding an answer as he’d used my picture and that was my exact predicament. He wrote back immediately that an agent was necessary. He didn’t recommend signing any contract without one.

But who? Almost forty agents had turned me down. I went to my bookshelves and pulled down books I admired. In the acknowledgments, one agency’s name turned up in three books out of ten. I looked up the website, saw a man’s picture, and clearly heard God say, “That’s your agent.” But the website said, not to call, to write a query and patiently wait — six to eight weeks. I didn’t have six to eight weeks. I had a contract with a deadline. So I called — and left a three-minute frenetic, highly embarrassing, message.

I was shocked when he called me back, and humiliated when I couldn’t answer any question.

Lee: “Give me your elevator pitch.”
Me: “What’s an elevator pitch?”
Lee: “Give me your story in three minutes.”
Me: “It’s complicated. Can I have ten?”

After what I am sure for Lee was a very frustrating half-hour, he closed with “I’m not taking you on, but I will help you out. Send me the manuscript and the contract and I’ll call back Monday with my best advice.”

Monday came with no word. Tuesday too. I didn’t have the emotional fortitude to pursue other agents so, on Wednesday, I planned to sign the contract. That morning, a one-line email arrived:

Don’t sign the contract. I’ll call tomorrow . . . Lee

The next day, Lee opened with “Where have you been?” To which I replied, “Right here.” We talked for over an hour, he agreed to represent me, and he walked me through how to write a proposal. We then met two weeks later in Dallas, proposal in hand, to pitch Dear Mr. Knightley to anyone who would listen. He sold it a month after that to HarperCollin’s Thomas Nelson imprint, along with two subsequent novels.

The story is extraordinary because I had little to do with it. God made his presence known every step of the way and in such ways that I can never seize credit — for almost at every step, I did the wrong rather than the right thing. The story, however, doesn’t end there. God doubled down on his love and grace when he gave me Lee for an agent. Lee was not just any agent, or any man. He was one of the most Christ-like men I’ve ever known. In the year we knew other, before he died of cancer, Lee taught me not only how to navigate book writing and publishing, but how to be a more loving and considerate person.

On days when I get caught up in my own problems, irritations and little frustrations, I cast back to this time and I remember. I remember God’s extravagant love — and his sense of humor — and I trust in him.

You never know what God has in store. Read @Katherine_Reay’s #WalkItOut story here:

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Katherine Reay is a writer, wife, mom, continually rehabbing runner, compulsive vacuumist and a horrific navigator…

She graduated from Northwestern University and earned an MS in Marketing from Northwestern as well. She then worked in marketing and development before returning to graduate school for a Masters of Theological Studies. Moves to Texas, England, Ireland and Washington left that degree unfinished as Katherine spent her time unpacking, raising kids, volunteering, writing, and exploring new storylines and new cities.

The Reay family (with a great sense of permanency) now resides outside Chicago, and Katherine pursues writing with more focus. She writes character-driven stories and non-fiction that focuses upon examining the past and how it influences our present experiences.

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More about Walk it Out

What Happens When We Read God’s Word and Actually Do What it Says?

Bestselling Author Tricia Goyer demonstrates the powerful work God accomplishes if we are willing to step out in obedience to Biblical commands and His quiet urgings, no matter our fears or feelings of inadequacy.

Walk It Out illustrates the real-life results of listening to the Scriptural mandates such as care for the orphan, serve the poor, go into the world to spread the gospel, and love others of all races. The author’s journey, from accepting Christ’s forgiveness and telling her story of redemption to answering the call to adopt seven children when she least expected, is filled with the exhilarating, radical, unexpected life that we experience when we walk into God’s plans for us.

“I neither planned or expected any of this—from the ten kids to the stamped-up passport. I didn’t accomplish these things by making a list and checking it off. They happened as I took steps of faith to follow God’s directives.” ~Tricia Goyer

Click here to pre-Order a copy of Walk it Out and receive the e-book 30 Days of Prayer as You Walk it Out FREE!

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December 30, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 3 Comments

Podcast: Living Inspired: Stasi Eldredge | Katherine Reay

Living Inspired ~ Thursday 3CT (1/2/13)

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen.

This week on Living Inspired, please welcome the author of Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You (David C. Cook, 2013), Stasi Eldredge and author of Dear Mr. Knightley (Thomas Nelson, 2013) Katherine Reay.

If you’re reading this after 1/2/13 you’ll be able to find this show . . . and all my shows in the archive section.

For your chance to win a copy of Becoming Myself or Dear Mr. Knightley sign up below. Winner will be announced on Friday right here.

**Due to shipping cost, giveaway open to US residents only**

More about Stasi: Stasi Eldredge’s heart was captured by God through the Sacred Romance and she has never gotten over it. Or rather, Him. She is the co-author (with her husband John) of the New York Times best-selling book Captivating and Love & War. Their ministry, Ransomed Heart, has been used by God to transform the lives of men and women all over the world. They make their home in Colorado. The mother of three grown sons who no longer live in her home but take residence forever in her heart, Stasi is a writer and conference speaker passionate about women embracing the value of their heart and life to Jesus Christ and risking everything on that!

Connect with Stasi: Website, Blog, Facebook

More about Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You: Becoming Myself is a hope-filled book for anyone who wonders if her life will ever change—if she will ever change. In Stasi Eldredge’s most intimate book yet, she shares her own struggles with self-worth, weight, and her past as she shows readers how God is faithfully unveiling who we truly are.

Stasi urges you to lay down your past thoughts about yourself and receive God’s incredible dreams for you instead. We cannot heal ourselves. We cannot become ourselves by ourselves. But we are not by ourselves.

The King of love wants to help us become. God desires to restore us—the real us. As he heals our inner life, he calls us to rise to the occasion of our lives. The most important journey any woman can take is the journey into becoming her true self through the love of God.

It’s a beautiful paradox. The more of God’s you become, the more yourself you become—the “self” he had in mind when he thought of you before the creation of the world.

Discover your truest self—the woman God created you to be—in Becoming Myself.

Purchase your copy here.

More about Katherine: Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in Focus on the Family and the Upper Room. Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. Dear Mr. Knightley is her first novel.

Connect with Katherine: Website, Blog, Facebook

More about Dear Mr. Knightley: Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others—namely, her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story—by giving that story to a complete stranger.

Sam is, to say the least, bookish. An English major of the highest order, her diet has always been Austen, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The problem is, both her prose and conversation tend to be more Elizabeth Bennet than Samantha Moore.

But life for the twenty-three-year-old orphan is about to get stranger than fiction. An anonymous, Dickensian benefactor (calling himself Mr. Knightley) offers to put Sam through Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

As Sam’s dark memory mingles with that of eligible novelist Alex Powell, her letters to Mr. Knightley become increasingly confessional. While Alex draws Sam into a world of warmth and literature that feels like it’s straight out of a book, old secrets are drawn to light. And as Sam learns to love and trust Alex and herself, she learns once again how quickly trust can be broken.

Reminding us all that our own true character is not meant to be hidden, Reay’s debut novel follows one young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.

Purchase your copy here.

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December 30, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 3 Comments

Podcast: Living Inspired: Stasi Eldredge | Katherine Reay

Living Inspired ~ Thursday 3CT (1/2/13)

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen.

If you’re reading this after 1/2/13 you’ll be able to find this show . . . and all my shows in the archive section.

For your chance to win a copy of Becoming Myself or Dear Mr. Knightley sign up below. Winner will be announced on Friday right here.

**Due to shipping cost, giveaway open to US residents only**

Connect with Stasi: Website, Blog, Facebook
More about Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You: Becoming Myself is a hope-filled book for anyone who wonders if her life will ever change—if she will ever change. In Stasi Eldredge’s most intimate book yet, she shares her own struggles with self-worth, weight, and her past as she shows readers how God is faithfully unveiling who we truly are.
Stasi urges you to lay down your past thoughts about yourself and receive God’s incredible dreams for you instead. We cannot heal ourselves. We cannot become ourselves by ourselves. But we are not by ourselves.
The King of love wants to help us become. God desires to restore us—the real us. As he heals our inner life, he calls us to rise to the occasion of our lives. The most important journey any woman can take is the journey into becoming her true self through the love of God.
It’s a beautiful paradox. The more of God’s you become, the more yourself you become—the “self” he had in mind when he thought of you before the creation of the world.
Discover your truest self—the woman God created you to be—in Becoming Myself.
Purchase your copy here.

More about Katherine: Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in Focus on the Family and the Upper Room. Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. Dear Mr. Knightley is her first novel.
Connect with Katherine: Website, Blog, Facebook
More about Dear Mr. Knightley: Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others—namely, her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story—by giving that story to a complete stranger.
Sam is, to say the least, bookish. An English major of the highest order, her diet has always been Austen, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The problem is, both her prose and conversation tend to be more Elizabeth Bennet than Samantha Moore.
But life for the twenty-three-year-old orphan is about to get stranger than fiction. An anonymous, Dickensian benefactor (calling himself Mr. Knightley) offers to put Sam through Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.
As Sam’s dark memory mingles with that of eligible novelist Alex Powell, her letters to Mr. Knightley become increasingly confessional. While Alex draws Sam into a world of warmth and literature that feels like it’s straight out of a book, old secrets are drawn to light. And as Sam learns to love and trust Alex and herself, she learns once again how quickly trust can be broken.
Reminding us all that our own true character is not meant to be hidden, Reay’s debut novel follows one young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.
Purchase your copy here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

November 18, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 2 Comments

My Writing Desk | Katherine Reay

Ahh . . . the desk. Rather than clean it, here it is in all its glory. We’ll start from the big computer screen, front and back, and fully lit. My parents gave me that for Christmas last year, and I love it. To its left you see my laptop that is plugged into it, which is slightly obscuring a polka dot pig lamp. Every one should have a polka dot pig lamp complete with multicolor boa. It makes me smile.
In front of the lamp is where I stack the books I am working with at that moment—the ones there presently are a couple by C.S. Lewis. The pig, by the way, sits on the Chicago Manual of Style. That book doesn’t come out much. . . .
Moving forward you see lots of papers; those are TO DO lists (love those) and tons of notes. I write everything down. And that chaos spreads to the other side of the desk as well.
Over to the back right you’ll see my mug with an elephant on it—favorite animal—some tubes of NUUN (sports hydration tabs that you add to water—I run a lot), an apple for a snack in a few minutes (I eat a lot), and a small statue given to us by World Bicycle Relief (a great organization).

Get a sneak peek at where @Katherine_Reay’s novels take shape (cc @TriciaGoyer):

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And under the desk, you see stacks of the all the books I am presently trolling through for my current manuscript, Lizzy and Jane. If you crawled under there, you’d find lots of Austen, Hemingway, other novels, cookbooks, and theology and writing books.
I know . . . it looks pretty bad. But at the end of every day, I put it all away as the room doubles for our sitting room in the evenings. That is the big black thing above my computer screen—a TV. Basically, I never leave this room!

About the Author

Katherine Reay has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries. After earning degrees in history and marketing from Northwestern University, she worked as a marketer for Proctor & Gamble and Sears before returning to school to earn her MTS. Her works have been published in “Focus on the Family” and the “Upper Room.” Katherine currently lives with her husband and three children in Seattle. “Dear Mr. Knightley” is her first novel.
Get to know Katherine via her website or on Twitter and Facebook.

Giveaway

Katherine is giving away a copy of her debut novel, Dear Mr. Knightley, here on my blog! If you want extra chances to win a copy of her book and other Austen-themed items, stop by this page and head to her Facebook party on December 3rd to hear the winner announced!
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