Press Release
New editions released of two KLD novels!
July 27, 2022 - Fashan Books has released new editions of the Kirby Lee Davis novels God's Furry Angels and The Road to Renewal.
"This should solve distribution and pricing concerns we've suffered since their original release four years ago," said Davis. "This move also allowed us to finally offer God's Furry Angels in a large, full-color hardcover, pretty much as we originally intended."
God's Furry Angels bridges many genres: contemporary, fantasy, comedy, drama, action, supernatural, Christian. This illustrated novel reveals the playful antics of a wide-eyed kitten growing up in a budding American family. Observed through the eyes of two young newlyweds, an aging pet shop caretaker, his veterinary friend, a scarred street survivor, and that curious, irrepressible feline, God's Furry Angels explores the adventures that refine us, the temptations that divide us, and the divine will that binds us all together.
"God's Furry Angels by Kirby Lee Davis is the most beautiful Christian allegorical tale," reviewer Julia Wilson wrote after the first edition's 2018 paperback debut. "It is timeless and deserves to be on everyone's bookshelves."
​
The Road to Renewal also blends genres. Set in the mid-1990s, this eclectic novel focuses on a Christian newspaper reporter struggling with divorce. While reveling in his weekly Wednesday reunion with his daughters, this columnist crosses paths with a young believer battling his own demons. Their encounter hurls both men through a three-day barrage of anguish, seduction, and death. Davis weaves this tragedy with a unique mix of slapstick and satire, spiritual wisdom, childlike wonder, and bitter heartaches. The book's engaging scenes draw frequent laughs amidst their escalating conflict.
"I have read this book twice," reviewer Sonnia Weikel wrote in 2020. "The first time, I had not lost my youngest child. By the second time, I had. Life's challenges either strengthen you or break you. That is basically what you will learn from this book. You will also learn that God will give you the strength to overcome even your own doubts."
Relaunching these novels through Amazon.com allowed Fashan Books to finally offer The Road to Renewal in an ebook format as well as paperback.
"R2R uses specific fonts and point sizes to identify characters, so it took some time to find an e-format that fit," said Davis.
​
The hardcover edition
The second edition of God's Furry Angels comes in three forms and price ranges.
• The Kindle ebook provides one or more black and white photographs with every chapter.
• The paperback boasts one such image with nearly every turn of the page.
• The new hardcover delivers one full-color picture on every even-numbered page, and sometimes the odd ones.
These illustrations help make God's Furry Angels a satisfying tale for all ages. Reviewers praised this novel as "charming... powerful… intriguing… a pure delight."
​
In 2023, Fashan Books intends to rerelease the second novel in this series, A Year in the Lives of God's Furry Angels. This parallel novel shares daily highlights, mishaps, and other events before, during, and after those in God's Furry Angels. The second book also weaves its magic with pictures.
"With its return, we should have our entire catalog published through Amazon, alongside our other products," said Davis.
Last year's surprise success of The Spawn of Fashan: 40th Anniversary Edition led Fashan Books to move its entire print run to the world's largest bookseller and retailer.
"We first tested Amazon in 2020 with The Prophet and the Dove, the first novel in The Jonah Cycle," said Davis. "That went well. But when Spawn (a 'legendary' roleplaying game rulebook) became a bestseller in Japan, we took a new look at Amazon's publishing options.
"Amazon's print-on-demand arm produces quality products at prices below other printers we've tried," Davis said. "And it makes our titles readily available across most of the globe. That naturally appealed to us, for we had endured several complaints about limited access to our books, along with pricing concerns, which stand out even more with today's raging inflation. Our first rollout of The Road to Renewal seemed to especially suffer from those issues, which spurred us to test Amazon with The Jonah Cycle.
"But what really appealed to us about Amazon was its launch of hardcovers in select sizes. One fit our original coffee table format for God's Furry Angels, with one caveat: it required a horizontal binding."
​
The second edition paperback
About the author...
Davis discussed this in a recent blog at www.kirbyleedavis.com.
"At first, that seemed impractical," he admitted. "It certainly goes against industry norms, opening like a calendar or a laptop instead of a traditional book. But as fate would have it, I first pondered that option early on, after a printer mistakenly gave one of my landscape book proofs a horizontal binding. Looking it over, I thought that unique approach lent a new sense of creativity and fun to the reading process. So, when we decided to relaunch God's Furry Angels, I recalled that early proof and played around with different design options until I found a horizontal one I liked."
To learn more about these books, check out www.kirbyleeavis.com (i.e. where you are right now!) or Amazon.com.
​
​#christianfiction #christianbookclub #christianbook #catbook #allegory #comedydrama #fantasynovel #christianauthor #illustratednovel
​