Although May is Mary’s month, this month has a few Marian Feasts. For example, there is her birthday on September 8 and the feast of the Sorrowful Mother on September 16. So it’s appropriate that I blog about my Mary books this week.

All my books came to be in various ways. My first one published, Leading Students into Scripture, was the result of the first talk I ever gave at an NCEA convention. After working on the talk for an entire year, it was disappointing to think it was all over in one day! Therefore, I proposed to a publisher that he produce it as a book. Bingo! I wrote The Holy Spirit because a parishioner asked me to write a book about this Person he didn’t understand. Praying on Empty followed a phone call from a publisher asking if I’d be interested in writing a book by that title. Of course I would!

But the history of my most unique, most popular book, and the one with the most positive reviews on Amazon, Heart to Heart with Mary, makes an interesting story.

The Book’s Genesis

At a writers’ convention, authors were invited to pitch an idea for a book to publishers in hopes that it would be accepted for publication. I told a representative that I was thinking of writing a book on Mary. Immediately she proposed writing a book like the bestselling Jesus Calling but titled Mary Calling. Instead of Jesus speaking to the reader every day, Mary would. I set out to write that book and signed a contract with the publisher with a witness I corralled after Mass.

A Setback

One day a call came from the representative who had had the idea for the book. She said she felt she needed to call rather than email to deliver the bad news. The publisher of Jesus Calling would not allow another publisher to publish a book with the title Mary Calling. So her publisher would not publish my book. I presume they figured that my book would ride on the coattails of Jesus Calling and make millions. Without that title as a drawing card, the book wouldn’t sell. But the contract? The publisher had never cosigned it!

Pros and Cons

Having the book cancelled was a blow. But then I realized that if I self-published it, I could write it the way I wanted to (without an editor’s restrictions) and have the fun of designing the format and the cover myself. That was exciting. The downside was that I would need to market it myself, and this would be difficult because I don’t spend community money on advertising.

The Book’s Title

My first task was coming up with a new title. I asked for advice on Facebook, but none of the suggestions felt right. Then while I was taking a shower, the words “Heart to Heart with Mary” floated into my brain. But I wasn’t sure about it. The next morning my cousin, a Buddhist, called from Massachusetts. She asked, “Kathy, what about ‘Heart to Heart with Mary?’ ” I think the Holy Spirit was working overtime to help me!

The Production

The book was a joy to write. Each page of the devotional began with Mary saying, “Dear Child.” The words seemed to flow. When possible, I correlated the reflections with the day’s feast. For decoration, the monogram for Maria with the letters in her name is on the top of each page. I made the book small and compact. For the cover, I chose a lifelike statue of Mary from our convent chapel.

As an appendix, I added complete directions for a group retreat called “Walking with Mary.” It includes questions for faith sharing and ten Marian activities that can be carried out at any time.

The Reception

People love this book. It has uncanny power to speak to them depending on what is happening on a particular day. One young woman who was sick thought so much of the book that at her funeral it appeared on her casket. In addition, part of it was read in her eulogy. Fans of the book have purchased multiple copies to give to their relatives and friends.

My Personal Experience

I discovered the strange power of my book myself the day I played the piano in front of 176 guests. Only two of us had volunteered to play classical pieces for two hours. For weeks I practiced five songs like Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and one of Chopin’s preludes. On the day of the concert, experts who had been invited to participate played first while I sat for over an hour waiting to be called up to the piano. When I did play, I ruined every single piece! From time to time I stood and made comments like, “You should have been here last night when it was perfect” and “Let’s try that again.” As I returned to my seat, one of the experts said, “Nice try!” I was utterly humiliated. The saving feature was that people liked my humor. They said I was the comic relief.

That day’s reflection in Heart to Heart with Mary was called “Coping with Failure.” In it, Mary says something like, “Sometimes you try something brave and circumstances and people are set against you. You fail. Don’t let that stop you from doing brave things in the future.” Yes, Mother Mary spoke to my heart.

Other Marian Books

The First Book

For ACTA Publications I wrote the book “The Catholic Companion to Mary,” which is an overview of all we know about our Blessed Mother. It concludes with a plan for a Marian concert incorporating passages from this book and Marian hymns. This concert was performed at least once that I know of. St. Dominic Church in Shaker Hts. presented it. When I first saw the cover of the book, Mary looked angry. The publisher had the artist fix this simply by turning up the corners of her lips.

One Catholic bookstore did not want to sell this book because of the way Mary was depicted. She is not blond and blue-eyed!

Another Marian Book

A couple years ago, I gave a talk at the NCEA in Texas on ways to teach about Mary. (For this presentation I taught myself how to pray the Hail Mary in American Sign Language!) Afterwards, I assembled the ideas into the book Leading Young People to Mary. This one is self-published. It contains information about the Mother of God along with related activities for teachers and families to carry out.

What’s Next?

Years ago my Saint’s Kit was a huge success. It was a box of cards, each one with a biography of a saint and related activities. Maybe a publisher would be interested in a Mary Kit….

Did anything surprise you about my publishing adventures?

What do you most admire about Mary?

How do you express your love for your heavenly mother?

What is your favorite feast of Mary?

Hymn to Mary

This is a touching piece of music with a choir and a violin. The only words are “Ave Maria.” It is accompanied by a few art masterpieces. To listen, click on the link here and then enlarge the picture:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka-tZdkv0uc&si=QXVlE1q5ycIVycAU