The February hardcopy and online issue of the Liguorian, (a 100-year-old Redemptorist Pastoral Publication), printed a review of my book, Young in the Spirit. The review said, “Mary K. Doyle’s brief writing is brimming with practical encouragement and pastoral guidance grounded in Scripture as well as in respected theological, psychological, and social works.” You can see the review here at: http://www.liguorian.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=9&Itemid=76

I pray throughout the process of writing anything, even short blog posts. Little books such as  Young in the Spirit take years to research, write, rewrite, edit, and publish. It’s a very long time to wait–and a lot of prayers–before any indication of how they will be received.

Whether in a major publication or on Amazon, reviews are vital to a book’s success. How else does a potential reader know a book is worth their time and money? They also are helpful to me. Of course I hope for ones that are positive, but constructive criticism also is important in guiding me toward future works that are informative and inspiring.