The Little Book That Could

It’s nearly impossible to get this post out without tears forming in my eyes. I really cannot believe we are here, ready to launch the book nearly nine years in the making into the world. (And yes, I say “we” intentionally. Don’t you think for one minute I am not aware of that fact that the only reason I’m still standing, let alone writing, is because of people like you 💚)

But friends, it is officially launch season, and Grace Will Be There will be out in the wild in just three months.

I thought it might be fitting for a little timeline, especially if you are new around here. I started writing a proposal for this book in 2017. It was originally called Perfect Start, Perfect End. I had 700 social media followers and 110 people on my email list and yeah, that felt like the perfect opportunity to pitch a book.

Strangely, no one was really interested.

Early in 2019, I picked up some momentum again and even had a small Christian publisher interested in what I was writing. The agent at the publisher asked to see my proposal and I just knew, This is it, this is the time! He took about a week to get back to me, and I only checked my email 47 times a day that week waiting for my offer to come through. But one evening, just before I was about to start teaching class, I saw his name pop up in my inbox and I took a deep breath while giddily thinking, My life is about to change, I’m going to write a book! But this is what he said:

Stories don’t meet a need. Stories won’t sell books.

(I don’t know, ever heard of Anne Lamott?) (Don’t worry, I did not say that. I told him “thank you” and carried on.)

Then in 2020, I queried a different agent (three of them actually!). Two did not respond. One took a look at my social media following first and recommended I build a bigger platform. (And I’m real skeptical that she read the proposal but who knows?)

So I put everything away for a few years, but I kept writing for me, and for you, for the readers who do think stories meet a felt need, who feel a little less alone when you read something that makes you laugh or think or go, Oh man, she’s a mess, too!

And then, early in 2023, someone took a chance on me. Catherine Parks, an acquisition editor at Moody publishing, reached out after reading one of my Substack posts and said, “Katie, if you ever want to talk about a book, I’d love to hear your ideas.”

And team, Catherine went to bat for me, for Grace Will Be There, for an out-of-the-ordinary Christian nonfiction book, one that’s not exactly memoir, but not at all expositional or descriptive, either. It’s just me, it’s the writer I’ve always been, it’s the stories I love sharing, all in a book. And Catherine believed it in.

And then stuff hit the fan. Six weeks after I signed the contract to write this book in the summer 2023, my marriage ended, for good. It was me and six kids and a black hole of grief I thought might swallow me alive + a book contract. Not at all how I thought getting the thing I wanted for so long would ever feel.

I wondered a hundred times, should I get out of this contract? The great team at Moody would have understood completely. Should I keep writing and just say f-it, I’m not sanitizing anything, I’m angry, women are allowed to be angry, and that’s how I’m writing this book? That would have been a harder sell.

But my best friends encouraged me, What about just asking for more time, Katie? And yes, that felt right. Within an hour of my email, Catherine wrote me back and said, “Absolutely, Katie. Take a year. We are here when you’re ready.”

So I did take a year: a year to live into this new story, a year to start healing (one needs more time than that, but I’ll write about that in the next book, Lord willing!), a year to find my voice again when I wasn’t so angry, a year to laugh with my kids, a year to sell my house and figure out my finances and ride the Peloton. And finally, last September, I turned in a completed manuscript, a collection of 14 essays, backed by the proof of my own life: grace will be there, friends.

This book is not a typical Christian nonfiction chapter book. There are stories and braided essays and a defining word piece. There’s a lyrical essay called “How to Fix a Hole in the Wall” that’s a little bit about learning to patch drywall and a lot about longing for God to patch up my heart. There’s an essay about what childhood trauma and redwood trees have in common. There’s the one about me turning my very large broken TV upside down and using it as a coffee table for a full year (with absolutely zero shame, I might add). I’m so humbled these stories made it onto the page; it’s an only God thing that they did at all. The little book that could. And I am beyond honored to share it with you.

So, friends, this is where I need your help:

1. Will you pre-order the book? One for you, and maybe one for someone you love? 😉 I am absolutely certain that the best marketing strategy in the whole world is the recommendation of a friend, and so this is me humbly asking you to tell your people about this book, too.

2. Join my launch team! I’m looking for 25-30 women to join me starting in June to help get the word out about this book. Being on the launch team means you’ll get a digital ARC (advanced reader copy), 2-3 Zoom calls with me to talk about what resonated with you, and a “launch team only” pdf. of creative writing prompts to help you trace the thread of grace in your own stories. It also means I’ll be relying on you to get the reviews going… more on that below!

3. Ask your local libraries to order a copy of the book.

4. When the book hits your mailbox, photograph it! Share it! And leave reviews, oh my! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) But truly friends, leaving reviews helps the book’s visibility so much, so please as you’re able, put all the kind words on Amazon & Goodreads, as it really does help others find the book.

And one more thing I need to tell you: before this book comes out, I’ll have a new last name 🥰 You’re going to start seeing Katie M. Kelley in lots of places where it used to say Blackburn, but rest assured, same girl. I just have the sweetest guy in the world next to me now which is an even bigger Only God thing, but much more on that to come. (And no, my dating and remarriage stories are not in this book, but stay tuned, I have lots of them!)

Thank you for being here, dear readers and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you.