May 1, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode of Christian Book Blurb, host Matt McChlery interviews author Katy Morgan about her book 'A Short Guide to the Bible.' They discuss the importance of making the Bible accessible to children, tips for reading the Bible, and the different writing styles found within it. Katie shares her insights on engaging young readers and the significance of understanding the Bible's structure. The conversation also touches on Katie's life outside of writing and her passion for youth engagement in faith.
Links
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Visit Katy Morgan's Facebook Page
With thanks to this episode's sponsors 'God Whispers are Life Changers' by Michael and Delane Salkheld
Takeaways
- Kay Morgan wrote 'A Short Guide to the Bible' to make the Bible accessible for children.
- The book is designed for ages 8-12 and is only 30 pages long.
- Children often have basic questions about the Bible that need addressing.
- Transitioning from story Bibles to adult Bibles can be confusing for kids.
- The Bible is a library of 66 books with various writing styles.
- Starting with the Gospel of Mark is a good way to begin reading the Bible.
- Chapters and verses were added to help navigate the Bible.
- Understanding the type of writing in the Bible is crucial for interpretation.
- Katy emphasizes the importance of engaging young people in faith.
- She is passionate about equipping youth to share the gospel.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Christian Book Blurb 01:05 Exploring 'A Short Guide to the Bible' 10:02 Navigating the Bible: Tips for Beginners 17:55 Understanding Different Writing Styles in the Bible 23:55 Katie Morgan: Life Beyond Writing 30:00 Closing Thoughts and Future Works
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Christian Book Blurb brought to you by author and songwriter Matt McChlery Get abehind the scenes glimpse into the lives of some of your favourite Christian authors, hear
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you
This episode of Christian Book Blurb is sponsored by the book God Whispers Our LifeChanges by Michael and Delaine Sulkeld.
(00:27):
Available now from GodWhispersForLife.com.
Well, hello and welcome to this episode of the Christian Book Blurb.
This is the podcast where we like to encourage you and your discipleship one book at atime as we meet some amazing Christian authors and learn about their books, their lives
and their faith.
(00:48):
Well, I'm your host Matt McChlery Thank you so much for clicking over here today.
It's really great to have you with us.
And today on the podcast, I am chatting to the author Katy Morgan.
And we're going to be talking about a short guide to the Bible.
Hi, Katy.
Hello, thanks for having me.
Welcome to the show.
(01:08):
It's great to have you with us.
Now, I have come across a wonderful short book that you've written called A Short Guide tothe Bible.
Could you just start off by explaining why you wrote it and who you wrote it for?
Yeah, so I guess I wrote it because I really like the Bible and I want children to reallylike it too and be excited about it and feel that it's for them.
(01:37):
I've had lots of conversations over the years with kids who are, maybe they've grown up ina Christian home, maybe they haven't, but they've got kind of some quite basic actually
questions about what is the Bible, how did we get it?
How does it work?
How do I read it?
Where do I start?
What's going on?
(01:58):
Is it a story about Israel in ancient times or is it a story about me now?
And on and on it goes.
And I just thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a short resource that's kind ofquick to read that bundles all of that basic information into one place, kind of quick
(02:19):
orientation guide to kind of get you going.
So the idea is it's only 30 pages.
It's for sort of eight to 12 kind of age group and the idea is uh You have it alongsideyour Bible you can dip into it Maybe maybe you'll given it alongside a Bible by a church
school or a church youth group or something and and and it gives you the kind of theinformation that Actually, you really need in order to kind of get going with the Bible
(02:47):
And when we're about Bibles here, we're talking about an actual, dare I say proper, Idon't know, but you know what mean?
An actual Bible which has got all 66 books in it, starting in Genesis, going all the waythrough to Revelation.
And this goes with it because you get lots of kids Bibles, don't you?
(03:09):
Which kind of just have a basic sort of Moses story and a pretty rainbow on the cover and,you know, sort of
retellings of things.
And those aren't bad, but I guess that, do you think that helps, well, doesn't help,muddles things a bit?
Does it add to the confusion when a child who's been kind of maybe brought up on sort ofthese snippet kind of stories, like a storybook Bible, then all of a sudden gets an adult
(03:42):
or grown up kind of Bible and it's like,
What do I do?
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
I mean, I, you know, I wouldn't want to knock story Bibles.
yeah, I think the transition is hard.
And I think as well, I guess the thing with a story Bible is it really, you know, eachstory usually is, is kind of tied up with a bow at the end, you know, here's this lovely
(04:09):
story about Moses or about Abraham or whoever.
And this is the point of the story.
This is what it's teaching you, dear child.
But when you get to the Bible Bible, there's no bows.
I mean, maybe there are some places in the New Testament, but quite a lot of it is quiteconfusing, quite weird, quite mysterious, even like hard to understand when you're this
(04:33):
kind of age.
I mean, even as an adult, it's hard to understand.
as an adult some bits of it tricky yeah
And so, but I think that can make children afraid or make them feel like then they're notequipped to deal with this because it's kind of weirder than what they've been used to.
But I actually, yeah, I really actually want them to feel that's exciting.
(04:57):
This is a kind of, this is a playground that you can play in for the rest of your life.
And it's okay if you don't understand everything.
m
But you can read it and you can get something out of it.
uh God will speak to you through it.
And, you know, sure, you're not going to, it's not tied up with a bow and you're not goingto understand everything.
(05:18):
But this is a book for you.
And this is a book that you can start getting to grips with and start enjoying and startexploring.
I really liked some of the things you had in the book.
I think some adults could even benefit from having a look at this, especially if they'renew to faith or something like that, because the Bible can be a tricky thing.
And you talk about, you know, it's not just a big book, it's this whole idea of it's likea library with 66 books in it.
(05:47):
And you talk about the different kinds of writing and how
It's grouped in writing styles, isn't it?
Rather than a chronological grouping, it's grouped by sort of all the poetry stucktogether and all the prophets are stuck together and the times might overlap in other
ways.
And yeah, no, it's very interesting and it's very well done.
(06:10):
Thank you.
Yeah, I wanted to, I guess we quite often either see it as one big story, or we see it askind of, okay, there's this bit and this type of writing and there's this bit and this
type of writing.
And I think it's quite hard to put those two things together.
(06:32):
Either you're delving into the details and the specifics of particular parts of the Bible,or you're very much big picture and kind of macro.
So, yeah, so I was really keen to include both a sense of the overall timeline of theBible and how it all fits together and what's happening when, but also what the different
books are about and how they work.
(06:54):
And yeah, like it, what there was, there wasn't space to go into a huge amount of detailabout every single book, but hopefully I've given a sense of, as you say, like this bit's
poetry and that's gonna feel quite different to reading, you know.
one Samuel or something.
And was the length of the book intentional?
Was it intentionally short?
(07:15):
Yeah, I really wanted something that would, I mean, partly just that would be able to becheap to buy.
You know, I want churches and schools to be buying this in, you know, 50 at a time.
Because I want lots and lots of children to be able to have it, basically.
But also I think it makes it feel doable.
(07:38):
I guess one of the things that's intimidating about the Bible is it's quite long.
And so
I think to be able to pair that with something that is only 30 pages and that's got a nicedesign that feels quite unintimidating, of adds a sense of accessibility that I think is
really helpful.
Yeah, and the design is great.
(07:58):
It's got lovely uh pictures and images and the way it's sort of laid out on the inside aswell.
It's very much like some of the other books aimed at that age group that you're talkingabout that have sort of different styles, size of words and sort of arrows pointing to
this way and a squiggly line under this bit and, you know, other pictures dotted around.
(08:20):
yeah.
How was it working with your illustrator?
Yeah, it was great.
So yeah, Patrick Laurent, who's, he's also worked on some of Bear Grylls's books.
So I knew I knew of his work through that.
But yeah, so it was really great to make the connection.
Yeah, he was great.
(08:40):
It was very straightforward.
I was kind of, I mean, basically, I wrote it.
And then he just transformed what I'd written that looked quite boring on the on a Worddocument into something that looks very exciting.
uh
So yeah, he's really clever in the way that he uses the space and as you say, littlearrows and just small little things like making the font size bigger in places that I
(09:04):
think makes it just really enticing to look at and hopefully really, yeah, really friendlyand accessible and kind of says to children, even children that aren't necessarily readers
as such, you know, this is for you, this is something that you can engage with and you canenjoy.
So one of the main questions, I guess, when someone gets a Bible and he has this big oldbook that you've been given, a lot of people will go, OK, I read it like any other book.
(09:38):
I open the front cover and I start reading on page one.
Hmm.
Is that the best place to start reading a big Bible Bible?
Or what advice do you have to someone who's just been given a big Bible Bible for thefirst time perhaps?
Where would be the best place to start reading it?
(10:02):
Yeah, so I asked my dad this question when I was about eight.
I said, I want to read the Bible for myself.
Where do I start?
And so his the advice that he gave me is the advice that I give everybody else, which isto start with Mark.
Because it's about Jesus, who is obviously the most important character in the Bible.
And, you know, so it gets you right to the core of the Christian message and what theBible is all about.
(10:25):
But it's also kind of fast paced.
it's written, you know, you can read like a short chunk and you get a whole story in quitea quick amount of time.
um And you can read it pretty fast.
So I think that's very good place to start.
um But, but yeah, I think so all the way through the book, I've included several littlesort of suggestions for different bits of the Bible to try.
(10:48):
um And, and so I tried to include like one one passage or um chapter or whatever from eachof the different
of parts of the Bible.
em And that's just to, I guess to encourage kids that this is, yeah, this is somethingthat they can, they can dip into and try, you know, it's okay to not read it cover to
(11:09):
cover, you know, obviously, you know, doing your Bible in a year or something is, is amarvelous thing to do.
But when you're nine, you probably aren't ready for that.
But that doesn't mean you're not ready to read the Bible.
em And so I yeah, I'm really hoping that I'll hear stories of
kids saying, oh, you know, I tried Psalm 23 and I really liked it, or, you know, I readabout David and Goliath and I didn't, I'd never realized that actually in the Bible, it
(11:33):
says this detail that my story Bible never included, you know, and things like that.
So I'm hoping that it will invite them into, yes, into Mark and into the life of Jesus,but also into just having a taste of other parts of the Bible.
as well.
Something story Bibles don't have, which Bible Bibles do, is chapters and verses, andthey're covered in all these big numbers and little numbers and things scattered all over
(12:02):
the place.
Can you just tell us what are chapters and verses and how do we use them?
Because you've got a great little helpful guide in that book of yours telling us aboutthis.
Yeah, so I didn't want to take for granted that kids would know what chapters and verseswere because I think as you say, like it is a bit, it's very unique, isn't it?
Nothing else, no other book they've ever read has got these little numbers scatteredacross the page.
(12:26):
So yeah, so they were added in the 1550s, I believe.
So actually, much later than I think I would have guessed if I hadn't known.
um Before that, the Bible was just, you know, you would have read just like, would havejust been one big block of text.
But it's been divided into these sections.
so kind of big sections are chapters, and then like often a sentence at a time or is theverses.
(12:51):
And basically, it's it's to help us navigate it.
It means that you can have, you know, I can have a large print Bible on big pages with bigfont, and you can have a tiny little pocket Bible.
And, you know, the page numbers that on which we would find particular parts are going tobe completely different, but we can still
we can coordinate.
(13:13):
We know that we're both reading verse 19 of chapter three of Galatians or whatever.
um So yeah, so I kind of yeah, the little guide, the short guide to the Bible starts with,um okay, here's his like, have a go at looking up a Bible verse, and try that for
yourself.
And it's actually quite easy to navigate once you know how.
(13:35):
So, bit of Bible trivia, Bible history for us then.
How did we get the Bible and where does it come from and who wrote it?
There's lots of big questions all at once.
Yeah.
um Well, yes, I mean, there's I mean, in one sense, there's one author, which is God.
(13:58):
But of course, in another sense, there's lots and lots of authors.
And, yeah, there's some bits where we know, we know who wrote them and when.
So for example, there's letters by Paul, where, you know, he says, Hello, I'm Paul at thebeginning, and he says goodbye from Paul at the end.
And he tells you, even tells you he's writing it from a particular place to a particularset of people.
um
(14:19):
And then there are other bits where no author is listed and it's a little bit moremysterious.
eh Yeah, guess I got I talked about this a little bit in the short guide to the Bible, buthaven't gone into kind of hopefully haven't gone into too much detail.
Yeah, exactly.
But yeah, I really I really wanted young people to know that they can have confidence inwhat they're reading.
(14:45):
You know, this is something which
scholars and theologians and whatever have thought about very hard for a very long periodof time that this was inspired by God and kind of he, the Holy Spirit has made sure that
these are the right words.
(15:07):
Yeah, apparently even the New Testament, the kind of list of books in the New Testament.
was pretty settled by even the second century, so really not all that long after Jesus.
Yeah, so we can have real confidence in what we're reading.
Circling back to something we've mentioned already a little bit is about the differenttypes of writing we get in the Bible.
(15:30):
What types of writing can we find and why is it important for us to try to know what typeof writing it is we're reading when it comes to understanding what's being said?
Yeah, so, yeah, I guess you can you can divide up the books in a few different ways.
I tried to keep it simple.
(15:50):
So I sort of went for history, poetry and wisdom, prophets and letters, essentially.
And I've sketched out some of the different kind of subdivisions that come within that andwhere those are in the Bible.
m I think it's really important.
Perhaps particularly when we're thinking about how to apply the Bible to us, to our ownlives and what it's saying to us today.
(16:11):
I guess, you you might read something from the apostle Paul and he's writing to, you know,he's writing to Christian believers.
And so you can, if he gives a, you know, he gives a command to the people that he'swriting to and you can think, okay, great.
Well, that command is, is, that's, that's for me too, because I'm also a Christianbeliever.
You know, I'm in basically the same situation as these people that he was writing to.
(16:35):
uh Whereas, you know, something that was, I don't know, that God said to Joshua in the OldTestament, for example, uh that can still, you know, God is still able to speak to you
through that, but he might do that in a slightly, you know, it's not intended as a commandfor you.
And so I think it's, it's, it's really helpful to kind of know, have a basic understandingof what the author is trying to do.
(17:01):
And therefore,
how that links with me in my life today.
em And I think it also means it helps you know what to expect.
You know, I think particularly of the prophets and the poetry, where it's much lessfamiliar type of writing to us, you know.
And it's a lot more picture language rather than actual physical literal language, isn'tit?
(17:25):
Exactly.
Yeah.
And so yeah, so you think about there's a verse in the Psalms, which says, uh God has setthe earth on its foundations and it can't be moved.
Now, if you if you were coming to that with a kind of completely literal, historical,empirical kind of mindset, then you'd be thinking, okay, so the Bible says that the earth
(17:48):
can't be moved and that it's in some way built on foundations.
So if you dig deep enough, you should find something.
Exactly, exactly.
But we know that the earth does move and that it's not really set on foundations.
That's not how it works.
But actually, like, that's that to read it that way would be to misunderstand it.
And we need to know that it's poetry and it's picture language.
(18:09):
And the point is, you know, we can really trust God, you know, he made the world you know,he's he's kind of steadfast and the world is steadfast, you know, it's much more about
we're being invited to engage with that emotionally rather than sort of rationally really.
And yeah, there's lots of ways in which that kind of understanding I think can really helpus to not misunderstand the Bible, I guess.
(18:36):
That's great, thank you.
What three questions can we ask ourselves to help us get the most out of reading theBible?
Yeah, so I wrote, I've written three.
So what's happening, first of all, which might be what's going on in this story, or itmight be like what is being said, you know, can I can I sort of summarize and understand
(18:59):
what the literal words mean?
I think that's important starting point.
And then secondly, what does it tell me about God or about Jesus?
And again, I think that's easier sometimes than others.
But I think it's an important
it's an important step to take that actually the Bible is about God first and foremost,it's about Jesus first and foremost.
(19:21):
um And it's designed to tell me about him and tell me about what he's like.
And so maybe it will be, em maybe it will be literally making a statement, this is whatGod is like, or maybe it will be showing me a way in which the world, know, maybe it's an
Old Testament thing about sin or something and it's telling me, oh, this is how much theworld needed Jesus to come.
(19:43):
m
or something else.
I think that question, what does it tell me about God or Jesus is really important.
And then thirdly, what does it mean for me, trying to engage our own lives with with whatwe've been reading and invite God to shape us through it.
Yeah, really helpful, really helpful stuff.
And it's amazing because some of the things we've been talking about have been quite...
(20:10):
It's not surface level stuff, is it?
You have to dig quite deep when you start engaging with the Bible.
And I guess that's why some people don't really, or children might feel a bit intimidatedwhen they're given a huge, big Bible, or what do I do with it?
And so your book's really helpful.
That's really great because you've managed to put across some of these really tricky ideasinto really simple language.
(20:36):
And as you say, with the illustrations as well, it really helps to get the meaning ofeverything across uh in a clear way.
I wouldn't say simple way because sometimes simple means sort of dumbed down.
You're not doing that at all, but you're expressing...
giving tools, Bible reading tools, in a clear and easier to understand way.
(20:59):
So that's brilliant.
Thank you.
Just before we have a quick break, what is your favorite book of the Bible or verse in theBible?
Well, I'll tell you my favourite verse.
It's Isaiah 57 verse 15.
uh I've never met anyone else whose this is their favourite verse.
um But it talks about God says, I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one whois contrite and lowly in spirit.
(21:29):
That's kind of the heart of the verse.
So it's kind of this idea that God is high and holy and he lives in heavens, you know, andhe's kind of far above us.
but also he also simultaneously lives with those who are lowly in spirit, those who aremaybe crushed or yeah, who are lowly.
And I think I find that verse really helpful because I actually find those, I find itreally hard to hold those two truths together.
(21:55):
I think I either think of God as very big and the creator and very powerful and kind of,you know, the ruler of the whole world and the maker of this huge plan of salvation.
and it all feels very grand.
Or I'm able to think of him as like kind and personal and caring about me and coming closeto me.
But I think I find it quite hard to grasp that he's actually both of those things atexactly the same time.
(22:21):
And that verse just seems to really capture those two truths.
em So yeah, I really love that verse.
That's wonderful.
Thanks, Katy.
And if you're listening to this podcast and if the platform that you use enables comments,why don't you pop in the comments section what your favorite Bible verse is as well and
see if anyone else thinks the same.
(22:43):
And indeed, whether you agree with Katy or not, is that your favorite Bible verse?
I don't know.
Use the comments section and let's have a conversation.
Right.
Join us in just a few moments after this break where we'll be back speaking to Katy Morganmore about her life.
faith.
Join us after these.
uh
(23:28):
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(24:36):
Hello, welcome back to the Christian Book Blur podcast.
I've been chatting with the author Katy Morgan about a short guide to the Bible.
And at this part of the podcast, Katy, we are going to be chatting a bit more about you,finding out more about the author.
So what do you like to do for fun?
(24:57):
Well, I basically am someone who just always wants to be outdoors if I possibly can, whichI most of the time I can't because I do an office job or I'm writing.
yeah, I love being outside.
I love going for walks.
I currently am volunteering with a water vol reintroduction project in our local riverslash stream, which basically involves going for a lovely walk.
(25:23):
with a lady called Janet once a month.
And we wade into the river and check on these rafts where there's like a clay thing thatpicks up footprints of small creatures.
So I'm enjoying doing that at the moment.
Anything, yeah, anything outdoorsy.
But of course, I like books as well.
I like curling up inside and uh I really like reading books that take me to differentplaces and help me understand different people.
(25:51):
I think that's what I'm really looking for in a good book.
So I guess kind of seeing the world from my armchair is what I like.
traveling from your armchair rather than getting on an airplane.
Yeah.
Great.
Okay.
So you've already hinted at it.
Have you got another job other than writing books?
I do say most of the time I'm actually editing other people's books.
(26:14):
So I work as an editor for the Good Book Company.
And yeah, working on a whole range of different resources.
So I'll kind of help people kind of develop their ideas in the first place, and then I'llpitch them to our publishing board.
And then I work with them as they as they write it, giving lots of feedback and help.
(26:35):
And, you know, briefing the people who designed the covers and all that sorts of goodstuff.
So yeah, it's a nice, I'm quite panicked about grammar, but also wouldn't want to do thatall the time.
And I like, you know, big ideas and thinking through how to communicate well as well.
So it's a good job for me, I think.
Yeah, no, great.
(26:56):
Have you got anything that you like to eat?
Any particular favourite foods?
Ooh, well, was thinking to myself, what's my favourite cake, which is a banana andpineapple cake with pecans.
I've had a banana cake before, but I don't think I've had a banana and pineapple.
That sounds really interesting.
Yeah.
(27:16):
I like it.
I like a courgette and pistachio.
That's nice.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah, I think a good cake with some hidden fruit in is quite up.
Then it becomes part of your five a day, doesn't it?
Makes sense.
uh, do you do watch TV or movies or anything like that?
(27:40):
yes, sometimes, yes.
Is there any particular thing you're into at the moment?
Some of the American authors I speak to, they even now they're still into Downton Abbeyand it's still a huge big thing.
Is there anything you particularly enjoy watching?
I'm looking forward to the race around the world that's just about to start again.
I really like watching.
(28:01):
Yes, I really like watching that too.
Yeah, I really like how you get an insight.
It's a nice combination of kind of seeing interesting places around the world, but alsogetting an insight into that those friendships and those relationships between the people.
Yeah, there's something.
I love how positive it is, know, really beautiful portrayals of
(28:27):
you know, two best friends or a mother and a son or whatever.
think there's so much of what's on reality TV is so negative and making fun of people andI really like how wholesome Race Across the World is.
That's definitely on my list.
No, great.
Because you write for children, I always try and get this question in there with with sortof children's authors.
(28:50):
And what if you were a cartoon character, who would you be and why?
Now I was asked this, I volunteered with the 11 to 14s at my church and we had a camp andall the leaders, there was a quiz on this camp and all the leaders had to say which Disney
or Pixar character they would be and then the kids had to guess who was who and I don'tthink anyone guessed mine right.
(29:17):
So I don't know whether it's just, I'm just dreaming dreams that I'll never achieve.
m
But I picked the old lady in Moana.
I don't know what her name is.
you're the one that does the dancing by the waves, the grandma.
Crazy grandma.
Yeah.
I really enjoy her as a character.
(29:37):
I think I like how she dances with the sea and I like how kind of she's crazy but wise atthe same time.
I'd like to be that kind of old lady one day, I think.
That's great.
Do you like tea or coffee?
Definitely tea.
Okay, yeah chocolates or sweets
(30:00):
That's cake.
If you had a choice between cake or fruit, which one would win?
I think I know the answer to this.
Well, think we've established that I'd like both.
uh
I have cake that involves fruit.
That's my
with some fruit in it.
Yes.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
(30:20):
What is the Holy Spirit doing in your life or teaching you at the moment?
Yeah, this is a great question.
think something I've been thinking about a lot is these 11 to 14s that I'm working with atchurch.
um I've been working on a book at work with a guy called Neil O'Boyle, who's the head ofuh British Youth for Christ.
(30:45):
We just started working on this book about reaching out evangelism to young peopleessentially.
Yeah, and I've been really encouraged by seeing some statistics from the Quiet Revival uhstudy about young people coming back to church.
And yeah, I think the Lord has been really growing in me a desire to reach out and toequip our young people to reach out as well.
(31:11):
And yeah, we've got quite a small group in our youth group at the moment.
And I would really love to see them growing in, being confident to invite their friends,being confident to share the gospel.
And yeah, there's so many, I'm just struck by how many young people there are in ourcommunities who don't know the Lord Jesus, but who actually maybe are really ready to hear
(31:41):
about him and maybe are really ready to find out more and to be open.
And so I'm really praying for that.
our church at the moment.
We've got an evangelistic event that we're going to run in about a month's time, I guessnow.
Which I'm hoping will be, yeah, I'm hoping it will teach us how to run evangelisticevents.
(32:03):
But hopefully we'll get some unchurched kids in.
think that would be really wonderful.
Yeah, wonderful.
Really good, really good.
Interestingly, you mentioned that uh research that's just been published, just for anylisteners in case they're interested or if they haven't heard of it, or if they have, they
don't know where to find it.
It's called The Quiet Revival and you can find it on the Bible Society UK's website.
(32:28):
They conducted the research with some other big research organization.
I think it was YouGov actually.
ah
done a huge big thing of research and some of the results are quite amazing so do go andcheck that out.
Just before we close up shop where can people find your books?
(32:52):
Because you have got one that you're working on or you know there's another one of yoursthat's just come out isn't it?
The Outsider that's something different.
something different.
Yes, I've got two books happening at the same time, which is confusing.
um So The Outsider is for the same age group, sort of eight plus, eight to 12, although Ithink teens would enjoy it as well.
um And even adults.
(33:15):
It's a retelling of the Book of Ruth.
So the idea is it's trying to be as engaging and enjoyable to read as any fiction book,you know, with
with the characters and the plot and you know, the twists and turns of the story, butbeing really faithful to the Bible's account and the meaning of the Bible's account.
(33:38):
So yes, that comes out in May, which is very exciting.
And yeah, and that both of them can be found in the Good Book Company website.
That's probably the easiest place to find them or on Amazon.
Yeah.
So Good Book Company, you can find it there in the UK and they've also got branches inAustralia and America, I think as well.
(34:02):
You can find it on the different country specific Good Book websites there.
obviously other retailers are also available.
But those are the ones that uh you can be sure to find what you're looking for.
If you go there.
What about social media?
(34:23):
Do you are you on social media or anything like that?
Or do you have a website that you can tell people about?
Yes, um, best place to find me at the moment is on Facebook.
So there's I've got a page called Katy Morgan author.
So I'm kind of posting updates there.
And yeah, we'd love to interact with people on that if they've got questions or, orthoughts or comments, love to have them.
(34:47):
I've also got a website, which is Katy hyphen Morgan dot co dot UK.
But I confess it's currently down for maintenance, I need to sort it out.
But
Listeners in the future may be able to find me there.
in the future.
If you're a future listener, you can check it out.
But what I'll do is I'll put a link to your Facebook author page in this episode's shownotes so people can click over there and connect with you that way.
(35:15):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you so much, Katy.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for chatting all about your books and your faith and your life.
It's been fabulous having you as a guest on the Christian Book Globe.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I just want to give a really big thank you to the sponsors of today's episode.
This is the book God Whispers Our Life Changes by Michael and Delaine Selkeld.
(35:37):
That book is available now from their website, GodWhispersForLife.com.
Do go and check it out.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Christian Book Blurb.
Don't forget we come to you every month, in fact, twice a month on the 1st and the 15th.
So it won't be long before I'm back again.
with another Christian author talking about their books, their lives and their faith.
(36:00):
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(36:21):
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you
This episode of Christian Book Blurb is sponsored by the book God Whispers Our LifeChanges by Michael and Delaine Sulkeld.
(00:27):
Available now from GodWhispersForLife.com.
Well, hello and welcome to this episode of the Christian Book Blurb.
This is the podcast where we like to encourage you and your discipleship one book at atime as we meet some amazing Christian authors and learn about their books, their lives
and their faith.
(00:48):
Well, I'm your host Matt McChlery Thank you so much for clicking over here today.
It's really great to have you with us.
And today on the podcast, I am chatting to the author Katy Morgan.
And we're going to be talking about a short guide to the Bible.
Hi, Katy.
Hello, thanks for having me.
Welcome to the show.
(01:08):
It's great to have you with us.
Now, I have come across a wonderful short book that you've written called A Short Guide tothe Bible.
Could you just start off by explaining why you wrote it and who you wrote it for?
Yeah, so I guess I wrote it because I really like the Bible and I want children to reallylike it too and be excited about it and feel that it's for them.
(01:37):
I've had lots of conversations over the years with kids who are, maybe they've grown up ina Christian home, maybe they haven't, but they've got kind of some quite basic actually
questions about what is the Bible, how did we get it?
How does it work?
How do I read it?
Where do I start?
What's going on?
(01:58):
Is it a story about Israel in ancient times or is it a story about me now?
And on and on it goes.
And I just thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a short resource that's kind ofquick to read that bundles all of that basic information into one place, kind of quick
(02:19):
orientation guide to kind of get you going.
So the idea is it's only 30 pages.
It's for sort of eight to 12 kind of age group and the idea is uh You have it alongsideyour Bible you can dip into it Maybe maybe you'll given it alongside a Bible by a church
school or a church youth group or something and and and it gives you the kind of theinformation that Actually, you really need in order to kind of get going with the Bible
(02:47):
And when we're about Bibles here, we're talking about an actual, dare I say proper, Idon't know, but you know what mean?
An actual Bible which has got all 66 books in it, starting in Genesis, going all the waythrough to Revelation.
And this goes with it because you get lots of kids Bibles, don't you?
(03:09):
Which kind of just have a basic sort of Moses story and a pretty rainbow on the cover and,you know, sort of
retellings of things.
And those aren't bad, but I guess that, do you think that helps, well, doesn't help,muddles things a bit?
Does it add to the confusion when a child who's been kind of maybe brought up on sort ofthese snippet kind of stories, like a storybook Bible, then all of a sudden gets an adult
(03:42):
or grown up kind of Bible and it's like,
What do I do?
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
I mean, I, you know, I wouldn't want to knock story Bibles.
yeah, I think the transition is hard.
And I think as well, I guess the thing with a story Bible is it really, you know, eachstory usually is, is kind of tied up with a bow at the end, you know, here's this lovely
(04:09):
story about Moses or about Abraham or whoever.
And this is the point of the story.
This is what it's teaching you, dear child.
But when you get to the Bible Bible, there's no bows.
I mean, maybe there are some places in the New Testament, but quite a lot of it is quiteconfusing, quite weird, quite mysterious, even like hard to understand when you're this
(04:33):
kind of age.
I mean, even as an adult, it's hard to understand.
as an adult some bits of it tricky yeah
And so, but I think that can make children afraid or make them feel like then they're notequipped to deal with this because it's kind of weirder than what they've been used to.
But I actually, yeah, I really actually want them to feel that's exciting.
(04:57):
This is a kind of, this is a playground that you can play in for the rest of your life.
And it's okay if you don't understand everything.
m
But you can read it and you can get something out of it.
uh God will speak to you through it.
And, you know, sure, you're not going to, it's not tied up with a bow and you're not goingto understand everything.
(05:18):
But this is a book for you.
And this is a book that you can start getting to grips with and start enjoying and startexploring.
I really liked some of the things you had in the book.
I think some adults could even benefit from having a look at this, especially if they'renew to faith or something like that, because the Bible can be a tricky thing.
And you talk about, you know, it's not just a big book, it's this whole idea of it's likea library with 66 books in it.
(05:47):
And you talk about the different kinds of writing and how
It's grouped in writing styles, isn't it?
Rather than a chronological grouping, it's grouped by sort of all the poetry stucktogether and all the prophets are stuck together and the times might overlap in other
ways.
And yeah, no, it's very interesting and it's very well done.
(06:10):
Thank you.
Yeah, I wanted to, I guess we quite often either see it as one big story, or we see it askind of, okay, there's this bit and this type of writing and there's this bit and this
type of writing.
And I think it's quite hard to put those two things together.
(06:32):
Either you're delving into the details and the specifics of particular parts of the Bible,or you're very much big picture and kind of macro.
So, yeah, so I was really keen to include both a sense of the overall timeline of theBible and how it all fits together and what's happening when, but also what the different
books are about and how they work.
(06:54):
And yeah, like it, what there was, there wasn't space to go into a huge amount of detailabout every single book, but hopefully I've given a sense of, as you say, like this bit's
poetry and that's gonna feel quite different to reading, you know.
one Samuel or something.
And was the length of the book intentional?
Was it intentionally short?
(07:15):
Yeah, I really wanted something that would, I mean, partly just that would be able to becheap to buy.
You know, I want churches and schools to be buying this in, you know, 50 at a time.
Because I want lots and lots of children to be able to have it, basically.
But also I think it makes it feel doable.
(07:38):
I guess one of the things that's intimidating about the Bible is it's quite long.
And so
I think to be able to pair that with something that is only 30 pages and that's got a nicedesign that feels quite unintimidating, of adds a sense of accessibility that I think is
really helpful.
Yeah, and the design is great.
(07:58):
It's got lovely uh pictures and images and the way it's sort of laid out on the inside aswell.
It's very much like some of the other books aimed at that age group that you're talkingabout that have sort of different styles, size of words and sort of arrows pointing to
this way and a squiggly line under this bit and, you know, other pictures dotted around.
(08:20):
yeah.
How was it working with your illustrator?
Yeah, it was great.
So yeah, Patrick Laurent, who's, he's also worked on some of Bear Grylls's books.
So I knew I knew of his work through that.
But yeah, so it was really great to make the connection.
Yeah, he was great.
(08:40):
It was very straightforward.
I was kind of, I mean, basically, I wrote it.
And then he just transformed what I'd written that looked quite boring on the on a Worddocument into something that looks very exciting.
uh
So yeah, he's really clever in the way that he uses the space and as you say, littlearrows and just small little things like making the font size bigger in places that I
(09:04):
think makes it just really enticing to look at and hopefully really, yeah, really friendlyand accessible and kind of says to children, even children that aren't necessarily readers
as such, you know, this is for you, this is something that you can engage with and you canenjoy.
So one of the main questions, I guess, when someone gets a Bible and he has this big oldbook that you've been given, a lot of people will go, OK, I read it like any other book.
(09:38):
I open the front cover and I start reading on page one.
Hmm.
Is that the best place to start reading a big Bible Bible?
Or what advice do you have to someone who's just been given a big Bible Bible for thefirst time perhaps?
Where would be the best place to start reading it?
(10:02):
Yeah, so I asked my dad this question when I was about eight.
I said, I want to read the Bible for myself.
Where do I start?
And so his the advice that he gave me is the advice that I give everybody else, which isto start with Mark.
Because it's about Jesus, who is obviously the most important character in the Bible.
And, you know, so it gets you right to the core of the Christian message and what theBible is all about.
(10:25):
But it's also kind of fast paced.
it's written, you know, you can read like a short chunk and you get a whole story in quitea quick amount of time.
um And you can read it pretty fast.
So I think that's very good place to start.
um But, but yeah, I think so all the way through the book, I've included several littlesort of suggestions for different bits of the Bible to try.
(10:48):
um And, and so I tried to include like one one passage or um chapter or whatever from eachof the different
of parts of the Bible.
em And that's just to, I guess to encourage kids that this is, yeah, this is somethingthat they can, they can dip into and try, you know, it's okay to not read it cover to
(11:09):
cover, you know, obviously, you know, doing your Bible in a year or something is, is amarvelous thing to do.
But when you're nine, you probably aren't ready for that.
But that doesn't mean you're not ready to read the Bible.
em And so I yeah, I'm really hoping that I'll hear stories of
kids saying, oh, you know, I tried Psalm 23 and I really liked it, or, you know, I readabout David and Goliath and I didn't, I'd never realized that actually in the Bible, it
(11:33):
says this detail that my story Bible never included, you know, and things like that.
So I'm hoping that it will invite them into, yes, into Mark and into the life of Jesus,but also into just having a taste of other parts of the Bible.
as well.
Something story Bibles don't have, which Bible Bibles do, is chapters and verses, andthey're covered in all these big numbers and little numbers and things scattered all over
(12:02):
the place.
Can you just tell us what are chapters and verses and how do we use them?
Because you've got a great little helpful guide in that book of yours telling us aboutthis.
Yeah, so I didn't want to take for granted that kids would know what chapters and verseswere because I think as you say, like it is a bit, it's very unique, isn't it?
Nothing else, no other book they've ever read has got these little numbers scatteredacross the page.
(12:26):
So yeah, so they were added in the 1550s, I believe.
So actually, much later than I think I would have guessed if I hadn't known.
um Before that, the Bible was just, you know, you would have read just like, would havejust been one big block of text.
But it's been divided into these sections.
so kind of big sections are chapters, and then like often a sentence at a time or is theverses.
(12:51):
And basically, it's it's to help us navigate it.
It means that you can have, you know, I can have a large print Bible on big pages with bigfont, and you can have a tiny little pocket Bible.
And, you know, the page numbers that on which we would find particular parts are going tobe completely different, but we can still
we can coordinate.
(13:13):
We know that we're both reading verse 19 of chapter three of Galatians or whatever.
um So yeah, so I kind of yeah, the little guide, the short guide to the Bible starts with,um okay, here's his like, have a go at looking up a Bible verse, and try that for
yourself.
And it's actually quite easy to navigate once you know how.
(13:35):
So, bit of Bible trivia, Bible history for us then.
How did we get the Bible and where does it come from and who wrote it?
There's lots of big questions all at once.
Yeah.
um Well, yes, I mean, there's I mean, in one sense, there's one author, which is God.
(13:58):
But of course, in another sense, there's lots and lots of authors.
And, yeah, there's some bits where we know, we know who wrote them and when.
So for example, there's letters by Paul, where, you know, he says, Hello, I'm Paul at thebeginning, and he says goodbye from Paul at the end.
And he tells you, even tells you he's writing it from a particular place to a particularset of people.
um
(14:19):
And then there are other bits where no author is listed and it's a little bit moremysterious.
eh Yeah, guess I got I talked about this a little bit in the short guide to the Bible, buthaven't gone into kind of hopefully haven't gone into too much detail.
Yeah, exactly.
But yeah, I really I really wanted young people to know that they can have confidence inwhat they're reading.
(14:45):
You know, this is something which
scholars and theologians and whatever have thought about very hard for a very long periodof time that this was inspired by God and kind of he, the Holy Spirit has made sure that
these are the right words.
(15:07):
Yeah, apparently even the New Testament, the kind of list of books in the New Testament.
was pretty settled by even the second century, so really not all that long after Jesus.
Yeah, so we can have real confidence in what we're reading.
Circling back to something we've mentioned already a little bit is about the differenttypes of writing we get in the Bible.
(15:30):
What types of writing can we find and why is it important for us to try to know what typeof writing it is we're reading when it comes to understanding what's being said?
Yeah, so, yeah, I guess you can you can divide up the books in a few different ways.
I tried to keep it simple.
(15:50):
So I sort of went for history, poetry and wisdom, prophets and letters, essentially.
And I've sketched out some of the different kind of subdivisions that come within that andwhere those are in the Bible.
m I think it's really important.
Perhaps particularly when we're thinking about how to apply the Bible to us, to our ownlives and what it's saying to us today.
(16:11):
I guess, you you might read something from the apostle Paul and he's writing to, you know,he's writing to Christian believers.
And so you can, if he gives a, you know, he gives a command to the people that he'swriting to and you can think, okay, great.
Well, that command is, is, that's, that's for me too, because I'm also a Christianbeliever.
You know, I'm in basically the same situation as these people that he was writing to.
(16:35):
uh Whereas, you know, something that was, I don't know, that God said to Joshua in the OldTestament, for example, uh that can still, you know, God is still able to speak to you
through that, but he might do that in a slightly, you know, it's not intended as a commandfor you.
And so I think it's, it's, it's really helpful to kind of know, have a basic understandingof what the author is trying to do.
(17:01):
And therefore,
how that links with me in my life today.
em And I think it also means it helps you know what to expect.
You know, I think particularly of the prophets and the poetry, where it's much lessfamiliar type of writing to us, you know.
And it's a lot more picture language rather than actual physical literal language, isn'tit?
(17:25):
Exactly.
Yeah.
And so yeah, so you think about there's a verse in the Psalms, which says, uh God has setthe earth on its foundations and it can't be moved.
Now, if you if you were coming to that with a kind of completely literal, historical,empirical kind of mindset, then you'd be thinking, okay, so the Bible says that the earth
(17:48):
can't be moved and that it's in some way built on foundations.
So if you dig deep enough, you should find something.
Exactly, exactly.
But we know that the earth does move and that it's not really set on foundations.
That's not how it works.
But actually, like, that's that to read it that way would be to misunderstand it.
And we need to know that it's poetry and it's picture language.
(18:09):
And the point is, you know, we can really trust God, you know, he made the world you know,he's he's kind of steadfast and the world is steadfast, you know, it's much more about
we're being invited to engage with that emotionally rather than sort of rationally really.
And yeah, there's lots of ways in which that kind of understanding I think can really helpus to not misunderstand the Bible, I guess.
(18:36):
That's great, thank you.
What three questions can we ask ourselves to help us get the most out of reading theBible?
Yeah, so I wrote, I've written three.
So what's happening, first of all, which might be what's going on in this story, or itmight be like what is being said, you know, can I can I sort of summarize and understand
(18:59):
what the literal words mean?
I think that's important starting point.
And then secondly, what does it tell me about God or about Jesus?
And again, I think that's easier sometimes than others.
But I think it's an important
it's an important step to take that actually the Bible is about God first and foremost,it's about Jesus first and foremost.
(19:21):
um And it's designed to tell me about him and tell me about what he's like.
And so maybe it will be, em maybe it will be literally making a statement, this is whatGod is like, or maybe it will be showing me a way in which the world, know, maybe it's an
Old Testament thing about sin or something and it's telling me, oh, this is how much theworld needed Jesus to come.
(19:43):
m
or something else.
I think that question, what does it tell me about God or Jesus is really important.
And then thirdly, what does it mean for me, trying to engage our own lives with with whatwe've been reading and invite God to shape us through it.
Yeah, really helpful, really helpful stuff.
And it's amazing because some of the things we've been talking about have been quite...
(20:10):
It's not surface level stuff, is it?
You have to dig quite deep when you start engaging with the Bible.
And I guess that's why some people don't really, or children might feel a bit intimidatedwhen they're given a huge, big Bible, or what do I do with it?
And so your book's really helpful.
That's really great because you've managed to put across some of these really tricky ideasinto really simple language.
(20:36):
And as you say, with the illustrations as well, it really helps to get the meaning ofeverything across uh in a clear way.
I wouldn't say simple way because sometimes simple means sort of dumbed down.
You're not doing that at all, but you're expressing...
giving tools, Bible reading tools, in a clear and easier to understand way.
(20:59):
So that's brilliant.
Thank you.
Just before we have a quick break, what is your favorite book of the Bible or verse in theBible?
Well, I'll tell you my favourite verse.
It's Isaiah 57 verse 15.
uh I've never met anyone else whose this is their favourite verse.
um But it talks about God says, I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one whois contrite and lowly in spirit.
(21:29):
That's kind of the heart of the verse.
So it's kind of this idea that God is high and holy and he lives in heavens, you know, andhe's kind of far above us.
but also he also simultaneously lives with those who are lowly in spirit, those who aremaybe crushed or yeah, who are lowly.
And I think I find that verse really helpful because I actually find those, I find itreally hard to hold those two truths together.
(21:55):
I think I either think of God as very big and the creator and very powerful and kind of,you know, the ruler of the whole world and the maker of this huge plan of salvation.
and it all feels very grand.
Or I'm able to think of him as like kind and personal and caring about me and coming closeto me.
But I think I find it quite hard to grasp that he's actually both of those things atexactly the same time.
(22:21):
And that verse just seems to really capture those two truths.
em So yeah, I really love that verse.
That's wonderful.
Thanks, Katy.
And if you're listening to this podcast and if the platform that you use enables comments,why don't you pop in the comments section what your favorite Bible verse is as well and
see if anyone else thinks the same.
(22:43):
And indeed, whether you agree with Katy or not, is that your favorite Bible verse?
I don't know.
Use the comments section and let's have a conversation.
Right.
Join us in just a few moments after this break where we'll be back speaking to Katy Morganmore about her life.
faith.
Join us after these.
uh
(23:28):
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(24:36):
Hello, welcome back to the Christian Book Blur podcast.
I've been chatting with the author Katy Morgan about a short guide to the Bible.
And at this part of the podcast, Katy, we are going to be chatting a bit more about you,finding out more about the author.
So what do you like to do for fun?
(24:57):
Well, I basically am someone who just always wants to be outdoors if I possibly can, whichI most of the time I can't because I do an office job or I'm writing.
yeah, I love being outside.
I love going for walks.
I currently am volunteering with a water vol reintroduction project in our local riverslash stream, which basically involves going for a lovely walk.
(25:23):
with a lady called Janet once a month.
And we wade into the river and check on these rafts where there's like a clay thing thatpicks up footprints of small creatures.
So I'm enjoying doing that at the moment.
Anything, yeah, anything outdoorsy.
But of course, I like books as well.
I like curling up inside and uh I really like reading books that take me to differentplaces and help me understand different people.
(25:51):
I think that's what I'm really looking for in a good book.
So I guess kind of seeing the world from my armchair is what I like.
traveling from your armchair rather than getting on an airplane.
Yeah.
Great.
Okay.
So you've already hinted at it.
Have you got another job other than writing books?
I do say most of the time I'm actually editing other people's books.
(26:14):
So I work as an editor for the Good Book Company.
And yeah, working on a whole range of different resources.
So I'll kind of help people kind of develop their ideas in the first place, and then I'llpitch them to our publishing board.
And then I work with them as they as they write it, giving lots of feedback and help.
(26:35):
And, you know, briefing the people who designed the covers and all that sorts of goodstuff.
So yeah, it's a nice, I'm quite panicked about grammar, but also wouldn't want to do thatall the time.
And I like, you know, big ideas and thinking through how to communicate well as well.
So it's a good job for me, I think.
Yeah, no, great.
(26:56):
Have you got anything that you like to eat?
Any particular favourite foods?
Ooh, well, was thinking to myself, what's my favourite cake, which is a banana andpineapple cake with pecans.
I've had a banana cake before, but I don't think I've had a banana and pineapple.
That sounds really interesting.
Yeah.
(27:16):
I like it.
I like a courgette and pistachio.
That's nice.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah, I think a good cake with some hidden fruit in is quite up.
Then it becomes part of your five a day, doesn't it?
Makes sense.
uh, do you do watch TV or movies or anything like that?
(27:40):
yes, sometimes, yes.
Is there any particular thing you're into at the moment?
Some of the American authors I speak to, they even now they're still into Downton Abbeyand it's still a huge big thing.
Is there anything you particularly enjoy watching?
I'm looking forward to the race around the world that's just about to start again.
I really like watching.
(28:01):
Yes, I really like watching that too.
Yeah, I really like how you get an insight.
It's a nice combination of kind of seeing interesting places around the world, but alsogetting an insight into that those friendships and those relationships between the people.
Yeah, there's something.
I love how positive it is, know, really beautiful portrayals of
(28:27):
you know, two best friends or a mother and a son or whatever.
think there's so much of what's on reality TV is so negative and making fun of people andI really like how wholesome Race Across the World is.
That's definitely on my list.
No, great.
Because you write for children, I always try and get this question in there with with sortof children's authors.
(28:50):
And what if you were a cartoon character, who would you be and why?
Now I was asked this, I volunteered with the 11 to 14s at my church and we had a camp andall the leaders, there was a quiz on this camp and all the leaders had to say which Disney
or Pixar character they would be and then the kids had to guess who was who and I don'tthink anyone guessed mine right.
(29:17):
So I don't know whether it's just, I'm just dreaming dreams that I'll never achieve.
m
But I picked the old lady in Moana.
I don't know what her name is.
you're the one that does the dancing by the waves, the grandma.
Crazy grandma.
Yeah.
I really enjoy her as a character.
(29:37):
I think I like how she dances with the sea and I like how kind of she's crazy but wise atthe same time.
I'd like to be that kind of old lady one day, I think.
That's great.
Do you like tea or coffee?
Definitely tea.
Okay, yeah chocolates or sweets
(30:00):
That's cake.
If you had a choice between cake or fruit, which one would win?
I think I know the answer to this.
Well, think we've established that I'd like both.
uh
I have cake that involves fruit.
That's my
with some fruit in it.
Yes.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
(30:20):
What is the Holy Spirit doing in your life or teaching you at the moment?
Yeah, this is a great question.
think something I've been thinking about a lot is these 11 to 14s that I'm working with atchurch.
um I've been working on a book at work with a guy called Neil O'Boyle, who's the head ofuh British Youth for Christ.
(30:45):
We just started working on this book about reaching out evangelism to young peopleessentially.
Yeah, and I've been really encouraged by seeing some statistics from the Quiet Revival uhstudy about young people coming back to church.
And yeah, I think the Lord has been really growing in me a desire to reach out and toequip our young people to reach out as well.
(31:11):
And yeah, we've got quite a small group in our youth group at the moment.
And I would really love to see them growing in, being confident to invite their friends,being confident to share the gospel.
And yeah, there's so many, I'm just struck by how many young people there are in ourcommunities who don't know the Lord Jesus, but who actually maybe are really ready to hear
(31:41):
about him and maybe are really ready to find out more and to be open.
And so I'm really praying for that.
our church at the moment.
We've got an evangelistic event that we're going to run in about a month's time, I guessnow.
Which I'm hoping will be, yeah, I'm hoping it will teach us how to run evangelisticevents.
(32:03):
But hopefully we'll get some unchurched kids in.
think that would be really wonderful.
Yeah, wonderful.
Really good, really good.
Interestingly, you mentioned that uh research that's just been published, just for anylisteners in case they're interested or if they haven't heard of it, or if they have, they
don't know where to find it.
It's called The Quiet Revival and you can find it on the Bible Society UK's website.
(32:28):
They conducted the research with some other big research organization.
I think it was YouGov actually.
ah
done a huge big thing of research and some of the results are quite amazing so do go andcheck that out.
Just before we close up shop where can people find your books?
(32:52):
Because you have got one that you're working on or you know there's another one of yoursthat's just come out isn't it?
The Outsider that's something different.
something different.
Yes, I've got two books happening at the same time, which is confusing.
um So The Outsider is for the same age group, sort of eight plus, eight to 12, although Ithink teens would enjoy it as well.
um And even adults.
(33:15):
It's a retelling of the Book of Ruth.
So the idea is it's trying to be as engaging and enjoyable to read as any fiction book,you know, with
with the characters and the plot and you know, the twists and turns of the story, butbeing really faithful to the Bible's account and the meaning of the Bible's account.
(33:38):
So yes, that comes out in May, which is very exciting.
And yeah, and that both of them can be found in the Good Book Company website.
That's probably the easiest place to find them or on Amazon.
Yeah.
So Good Book Company, you can find it there in the UK and they've also got branches inAustralia and America, I think as well.
(34:02):
You can find it on the different country specific Good Book websites there.
obviously other retailers are also available.
But those are the ones that uh you can be sure to find what you're looking for.
If you go there.
What about social media?
(34:23):
Do you are you on social media or anything like that?
Or do you have a website that you can tell people about?
Yes, um, best place to find me at the moment is on Facebook.
So there's I've got a page called Katy Morgan author.
So I'm kind of posting updates there.
And yeah, we'd love to interact with people on that if they've got questions or, orthoughts or comments, love to have them.
(34:47):
I've also got a website, which is Katy hyphen Morgan dot co dot UK.
But I confess it's currently down for maintenance, I need to sort it out.
But
Listeners in the future may be able to find me there.
in the future.
If you're a future listener, you can check it out.
But what I'll do is I'll put a link to your Facebook author page in this episode's shownotes so people can click over there and connect with you that way.
(35:15):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you so much, Katy.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for chatting all about your books and your faith and your life.
It's been fabulous having you as a guest on the Christian Book Globe.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I just want to give a really big thank you to the sponsors of today's episode.
This is the book God Whispers Our Life Changes by Michael and Delaine Selkeld.
(35:37):
That book is available now from their website, GodWhispersForLife.com.
Do go and check it out.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Christian Book Blurb.
Don't forget we come to you every month, in fact, twice a month on the 1st and the 15th.
So it won't be long before I'm back again.
with another Christian author talking about their books, their lives and their faith.
(36:00):
So click that subscribe button.
Clickity, clickity, click.
Click that subscribe button and keep up to date with everything that's happening here onThe Christian Book Blurb.
Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to seeing you really soon.
Thank you and goodbye.
Thanks for listening to Christian Book Blurb with your host, Matt McChlery.
(36:21):
Do give it a like, give it a share and let your friends know all about it.
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