And so, Kenn Gividen, author of The Prayer of Hannah, teaches his readers the essence of meekness, the third of eight character traits revealed in the book.
Gividen, a marketing executive and former pastor, originally wrote The Prayer of Hannah as a series of Sunday school lectures. He crafted the first three lessons into manuscript format. Within three weeks, a major Christian publisher offered Gividen a contract and a sizeable advance.
That was in the Spring of 2001. In December, The relationship was cordially ended when Gividen requested a letter of termination from the publisher. That, he says, was an answer to prayer.
He explains why:
"I remember hearing Hal Lindsey [author of the best selling Late Great Planet Earth] on television noting that his book had sold 37 million copies," Gividen recalls.
Inspired by the thought that millions could be so blessed by one person’s efforts, Gividen decided to forge ahead and publish The Prayer of Hannah.
Drawing from nearly two decades of successful marketing, the author launched Just Folks Publishing Company. Even before the book was off the press, the newly formed publisher was inundated with hundreds of requests from Christian bookstores.
Gividen found himself in the promising position of having a substantial back order weeks before the book’s release. And, five weeks after the official publication date, The Prayer of Hannah had sold out of the warehouse.
The author/publisher attributes his early success to three factors: his distributor’s sales team, an attractive cover design and, more importantly, early positive reviews. And of course, fervent effectual prayer.
One reviewer, for example, noted that chapter nine, alone, was worth the price of the book. (The Prayer of Hannah is listed for $12.99, or about 10 cents per page.) That chapter unlocks Hannah’s secret for enduring persecutions.
Other chapters explore humility, brokenness and desire as well as mercy, purity and personal peace.
Another reviewer pointed to chapter four as an example of the author’s talent for writing. Gividen, however, identifies the final chapter as his personal favorite. Here, he quotes a passage from his novel, Back Home in Round Hill and reviews the book’s eight character traits.
The author notes that The Prayer of Hannah contains a surprise ending. Actually, it’s a "hidden message"—one which only the most observant of readers will notice. He does, however, provide a hint to that hidden message in the very last sentence of the book. And the reader will find a clue in the last footnote. Take a look! Do you see it?
