Woohoo! It’s book launch day for Prayer and Praise: A Jane Austen Devotional!

It’s been well over a year since I had a new release, not because I haven’t been writing, but because, for a change, I’ve been working on more than one project at once – a short story, a play, and another novel alongside this devotional, which is inspired by Jane Austen’s prayers.

Did you know that Austen wrote prayers as well as stories? She did! And three have survived for us to read. Here’s an excerpt from one of them:

May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, Words, and Actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil. Have we thought irreverently of Thee, have we disobeyed thy Commandments, have we neglected any known Duty, or willingly given pain to any human Being? Incline us to ask our Hearts these questions, Oh! God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by Pride or Vanity.

Seeing the words “pride” and “vanity” together, does your mind, like mine, go straight to a certain contentious conversation between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy?

As I read through Jane Austen’s prayers, ideas like this kept popping into my head – associations to her stories and characters. That’s how this devotional developed. I ended up breaking down Austen’s prayers into fifty individual petitions, allowing each one to form the basis for a separate message using characters and situations from her novels as illustrations. So Emma teaches us about repentance, Fanny Price about gratitude, Elinor about forgiveness, and so forth.

Writing this devotional was an entirely new challenge for me – one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m so pleased with the result and can’t wait to share it with you!  (If you’ve missed the lead-up posts, you may want to read Jane Austen’s Devotion and a sample segment here .)

Prayer and Praise is available in Kindle and paperback. Both have the “Look Inside” feature activated, where you can read another sample.

PS – I deliberately used a little larger font than usual for the paperback of this book, so that it will be easier for older eyes, like mine, to read!

Below are the official book blurb followed by the blog tour stops I have planned, some of which will be featuring book giveaways (check back for updated live links). But let’s start that ball rolling right now! I will be drawing 2 winners from this post. Just leave a comment by November 8th. I’d love to know what you think of the concept for this devotional or if you have any questions!

Did you know that Jane Austen wrote prayers in addition to her six classic novels? She was not only a woman of celebrated humor, intellect, and insight; she was a woman of faith.

Prayer & Praise is a treasure trove of thought-provoking messages inspired by the lines of Austen’s three preserved prayers. Atop a solid foundation of scripture, these 50 devotional segments (each finishing with prayer and praise) enlist familiar characters and situations from Austen novels to illustrate spiritual principles – in creative, often surprising, ways!

Which one of Austen’s characters developed a god complex? Who was really pulling Henry Crawford’s strings? Where do we see examples of true repentance, a redeemer at work, light overcoming darkness? With a Biblical perspective, Austen’s beloved stories reveal new lessons about life, truth, hope, and faith.

Blog Tour for Prayer and Praise: A Jane Austen Devotional

(November 4 – simultaneous launch here and at Austen Variations)

November 7 – So Little Time interviews Shannon Winslow

November 11 – Meditative Meanderings – writing this devotional

November 14 – Faith, Science, Joy, and Jane Austen – free sample segment

November 18 – Austenesque Reviews – Lady Catherine takes me to task!

November 21 – The Calico Critic – spotlights sample segment

December 3 – Darcyholic Deversions – Mr. Collins interviews Shannon Winslow

TBA – More Agreeably Engaged

I will update this tour schedule with live links as they become available. I hope you will follow along! Also, be sure to check back here after the 8th to see if you’ve won your very own copy of Prayer & Praise: a Jane Austen Devotional!

UPDATE: The winners are Suzanne and Agnes. Congratulations! To claim your prize, please contact me by FB message or email: shannon(at)shannonwinslow(dot)com.