Lots of authors say that writing books is a dream come true, but in the case of August Gold and Joel Fotinos, authors of The Prayer Chest (Doubleday, Oct.; reviewed in PW July 9), that's literally true. The novel, a parable about the power of prayer that blends Western and Eastern spiritual thought, originated in a dream that came one night to Fotinos, whose day job is v-p/director of religion publishing at Penguin Group (USA). In the dream, he walked into a bookstore and saw boxes containing a book and a wooden box. "It was called the Prayer Chest," Fotinos said. He recounted the dream to Gold, who is spiritual director of Sacred Center New York, a New Thought church she co-founded with Fotinos in 2001. "I just got goose bumps," Gold told RBL. Later that day she sat down and when she got up hours later, she had six chapters of The Prayer Chest written. 

"One of the things I love about working with August is when she puts her mind to something, it actually happens," said Fotinos, who is also a minister at the Sacred Center.

Publishers who got the proposal for the book were impressed by the comprehensive marketing plan the authors submitted—no surprise, considering Fotinos's credentials.

Read the full story...