Hi friends,
I’m honored to take part in the blog tour for Kathi Macias’ compelling novel, People of the Book. While I, ahem, sold my {fiction-loving} soul — a free book for posting the interview below — what I’m about to say is true: People of the Book made me cry, get mad, fall in love with several courageous female characters, and learn more about the way women are treated in fundamentalist Islamic homes. I am richer for reading it. I applaud Kathi Macias’ handling of a difficult subject with sensitivity and grace.
Now the interview. 🙂
An Interview with Kathi Macias
Q: Can you give us a brief synopsis of this story?
Kathi: Eighteen-year-old Farah, who lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family, wants nothing more than to develop a deeper, more meaningful devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and she pursues that goal throughout the holiday. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. At the same time, her only brother, Kareem, who has never liked Farah, actively seeks an opportunity to expose her for the sham he believes she is.
Meanwhile, Farah’s seventeen-year-old cousin, Nura, has begun to frequent an online chat room where former Muslims gather to discuss their new faith, based on their belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. While there, Nura becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian named Sara—and a friendship quickly develops. However, Sara has problems of her own due to her fifteen-year-old brother Emir’s involvement with a gang.
The lives of Farah, Nura, and Sara ultimately dovetail until each finds herself at a place where her faith is put to the test. Will they remain faithful to the end? Will God protect and keep them safe in the midst of persecution and treachery? Or will they be required to pay the ultimate price for their faith?
Q: Kathi, how did you get into writing? Has it always been your passion, or is it something you came to later in life?
Kathi: I’ve always wanted to write, for as long as I can remember. I was an avid reader even before I started kindergarten. I wrote a short story in third grade that the teacher liked so much she showed it to the principal, and they decided to turn it into a play for the entire PTA. I was hooked!
One day when I was about 13, I was walking home from school with my then boyfriend (now husband), Al, and I told him I’d be a writer some day. He often reminds me how blessed I am to have been able to do what I dreamed of all my life.
Q: I understand you’re running a special contest that has to do with this book. Can you tell us about it?
Kathi: Not only are there several opportunities to win a copy of the book on various blog sites included in this tour, but I’m giving away the entire four-book series at the end of the tour to someone who leaves a comment on one of the blogs, so be sure to check them all out and leave comments on each one!
Q: In addition to writing, you are a popular speaker at women’s event, writers’ conferences, and various venues around the country. How can people find out more about you, your writing and speaking, sign up for your weekly devotional newsletter (in English or Spanish), and view your many book videos?
Kathi: They can find me at one of my websites (http://www.kathimacias.com; http://www.theTitus2Women.com) or on my Easy Writer blog at http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com. There is a “contact” button on my Kathi Macias website if they’d like to send me a message. I always respond to all my emails!
Friends, I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services (www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com).
Remember, when you leave a comment, you’re entered in a contest to win all four of Kathi’s Extreme Devotion books. The best to you!
You Are Blessed!
Thanks for sharing, Lucy.
I LOVED this book and would love to read the entire series.
Thanks so much for posting this, Lucy. I look forward to hearing from some of your followers. Blessings to you all!
This series sounds very interesting and a subject that is of great importance that people know what is happening out there. I hope I have an opportunity to read this book and the full series soon. Thanks for writing about this.
I’d love to win Kathi’s books! They’re as amazing as she is!
I’ve read a few of Kathi’s books and can’t wait to read this one…even if it is upsetting. Compelling reads are typically not a walk in the park. Thanks for bringing her work to your readers Lucy.
Thank u so much for sharing this! I’ve been reading John MacArthur’s Book, Slave, and learning what true devotion and service is to Christ. It sounds like this book has captured this concept as well, and that the women in the book are able to demonstrate this. I am learning how to surrender my entire life to Christ too, and the more I read and learn, the closer I get to Him, so thanks again for sharing! God Bless!
Follow our Twitter feed (@ChristianSpkrs) and visit http://www.facebook.com/CSSVirtualBookTour.KathiMacias.PeopleoftheBook for more locations of blog posts. Kathi Macias will be giving away 1 free complete 4-book set of the EXTREME DEVOTION SERIES. Per Kathi, “I’m giving away the entire four-book series at the end of the tour to someone who leaves a comment on one of the blogs, so be sure to check them all out and leave comments on each one!
I’ve never read any of Kathy’s books, but this one sounds fascinating. I’d love a chance to win it and read it and her other books. But if I don’t win, this may be one I’ll have to buy! 😉
Most of what I’ve read is non-fiction. One book, The Caged Virgin, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was heartbreaking to read. She lives in the USA now, but she was born in Somalia, lived in Kenya and Saudi Arabia for a while, and was a devout, even radical, Muslim for years. But an arranged marriage prompted her to flee, and she ended up in the Netherlands. Ultimately she became a member of the Dutch parliament and wrote the screenplay for Theo Van Gogh’s movie Submission, about the mistreatment of women in Islam, which led to his assassination. Unfortunately, her experience with aspects of radical Islam’s treatment of women (female genital mutilation, for one, perpetrated on her at the age of five by her grandmother) has led her to disavow religion altogether, so she is an atheist.