I mentioned earlier in the week about Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Messages from Heaven being a national best-seller.
I’ve been thinking about that all week…I mean, there have been a ton of Chicken Soup books, and they all follow a similar format. They’re feel good books, nice little stories to ease what ails you. And yes, it’s always been a fairly lucrative franchise. But still. National best-seller? What’s so special about Messages from Heaven?
I’ve decided that it has to be the subject matter. Perhaps we hunger for more than material comforts; we want to know that there’s spiritually more, more than mortgage payments and careers and cars and closets of shoes.
Or maybe it’s as simple as reassurance. Maybe we just want to know that love carries on.
If you happen to be awake late tonight, you can hear Amy Newmark, coauthor of the book and publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul. She’s the featured guest on George Noory’s Coast to Coast AM show, and starting at 10 PM Pacific Time (1 AM Eastern Time) to midnight, she’ll be discussing Messages from Heaven.
(You can click on this link to find the radio station in your market that carries the show.)
And now, maybe you’re wondering, too. What is so special about Messages from Heaven? So I’m going to give you a chance to win a copy. Just leave a comment and let’s see…I’ll draw a random name on Friday week. I’m limiting it to US residents only since I’m mailing one of my copies, but you know it’s available just about anywhere, right?
It’s a national best-seller after all. Which kinda gives me a hopeful feeling about this old world and the people in it.
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
I’d love a copy since you’re in it and a few other folks I know too! Thanks Cathy. I think people are hungry for more than material things.
Good luck, Lynn! I know Linda’s in it–now I’ll have to check to see how many other names I recognize.
And P.S. I SO enjoyed your Sasee essay!
I think maybe the subject matter too. We’re always looking for a little hope. Congratulations on being part of it.
Thanks, Stacy! Hope is the thing with feathers, as Emily Dickinson said. (Such a lovely poem.)
Thanks Cathy! Sounds like it will be a great read!
Muddy
And good luck, Muddy!
Went to church with my youngest son this afternoon. He is 48, an actor and we have always been close, even though we have not always lived near each other. We elected to go to church but not a regular service. We found a church that had evening service and went into the silent church. We sat in the front row and looked up at the altar and the cross on this Good Friday afternoon. In the silence and alone in the church we shared our feelings of what it must have been like, of how through the years one can pick up nuances about what it must have been like and he shared with me his feeling of how having studied Shakespeare so long he also he has the same feeling of being part of that picture. It was a blessed time of sharing and remembering. My husband passed away many years ago, much to young and my oldest son who passed away from ALS almost seven years ago. And of course, the One we were remembering today. At the end of our time we both prayed silently. He has left now and I just finished reading your post. I am still trying to sell my first story. I have come in three times in Honerable Mention but I long to have the real thing.
I enjoy reading your “Bits and Published Pieces’ very much and congratulate you on being part of the new book.
Thanks for ssharing this special day .
June Hubatsek
Oh, thanks so much, June–for the kind words and for sharing your day.
Your day will come, you’ll see. And I hope you’ll share your published piece with me when it does!
The book’s popularity does speak to a hunger we all have, most of us anyway, for the subject – doesn’t it? Wishing you and yours a happy Easter weekend.
I’d like to win.
One of the gals at Toastmasters used a Chicken Soup book story in her speech the other night. Three of the stories, actually. They tend to move us emotionally. And it feels good to feel.
I think Chicken Soup is popular in the same way Reader’s Digest is popular. We can relate to so many of the stories. When I got my copies of Find Your Happiness, I only wanted to read my story. 🙂 (Yes, I know, that’s a terrible thing to say out loud) But after that, I read every single one and was surprised at how much I enjoyed the entire book. I’d love to win that copy of yours!
Hi Cathy C! I was surprised, too, when I heard this particular book was a best seller…..makes a person wonder!
I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. and listened to the interview with Amy Newmark. She said they received over a thousand stories and only the cream of the crop were selected for this book. Generally, 2% of submissions are accepted for a title, and 1% of contributors are the very best writers who get into multiple CS books. Cathy, she mentioned us, perhaps not by name, but we ARE cream of the crop writers 🙂
Have a blessed Easter. Shhh! They are seeking angel stories.
Hi Cathy,
Congratulations on getting in CS’s “Messages from Heaven.” I’ve known all along you are and Linda are among the cream of the crop, and I believe Pat Wahler is in the book too.
I think everyday people are looking for answers where there seem to be none, and many of them come from the hearts, minds, and pens of wise women like you.
Happy Easter,
Donna
Congrats again (I think I already said that a while back, but you can’t hear it too often, right?) I don’t read all the CS books, but this is one I’ll pick up. Looking forward to reading your story. 🙂
Thanks, y’all! I’m dressed in pink over here, blushing from all the kind words.
And I SO wish you could ALL win the book–(but I bet it’s at your local library! 😉