The CatholiCity Message
Volume III, Number 14 – May 25, 1999
STRIKE GOLD!
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of the much-anticipated third novel from Bud Macfarlane, House of Gold. Everyone who has read this book has told us it is his best ever. It combines the sweeping epic scale of his first novel Pierced by a Sword with the same intimate characters of his second novel, Conceived Without Sin. (It is not a "sequel," however. It stands alone as its own separate story.) With this announcement, CatholiCity Citizens become the first people in the world to have the opportunity to read this book.
You can request this book online right now at:
We're sure that you will not be able to put this book down. We know that House of Gold will move you emotionally and spiritually, and that you will want to receive your own copy right away.
This book will inspire your soul.
We know these sound like amazing claims. During the editing stages, before we go to print, we always send out numerous manuscript copies to a group of folks just like you. Without exception, House of Gold blew them away. Here are a few typical quotes from your fellow CatholiCity Citizens:
"It should be required reading for every adult in America.""Guys, if you read one book in your life, make it this one. Powerful stuff. Move over, Pierced! House of Gold is now my favorite book of all time."
"This is Bud Macfarlane's Magnum Opus, his 'great work,' It will be cherished for generations by Christians with the courage to explore the timeless mysteries of our Faith."
"House of Gold kept me up all night for two days running. It's brutal, tender, passionate, profound, riveting, and simple all at the same time. Wow."
"A gripping, emotional roller coaster ride with a climax so satisfying that I wanted to run back to the front of the line to ride it again."
If House of Gold is going to have the same soul-changing effect that Bud's first two novels have had on hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide, we absolutely need to have your help with distribution. We're confident that you will love this book. The number of souls we reach in the crucial first few weeks of June could help Jesus influence countless more lives and souls in later months.
Every week, we receive letters and emails from fallen-away Catholics, Protestants, and even atheists who convert after reading these novels. We have a file of photographs of babies born because their parents changed after reading these books. How to explain this? Here is what the author himself has to say:
"It's not my writing skills. It's pure grace. These novels change people because of the all the souls who pray for those who read our books -- and because novels are an entertaining, unique tool for evangelization. As with my first two novels, I had hundreds and hundreds of priests, nuns, brothers, and deacons praying for me and for all who will read House of Gold."
"I also asked Saint Theresa of Lisieux, my patron saint, to take this book under her wing. She gave me a special gift with this book. I wanted to write a book to prepare Catholics for hard times -- a realistic, unsentimental book that looked suffering in the face with the eyes of faith. That's the kind of story God gave me."
"I asked Our Lady to give us a book that would help prepare any reader, Catholic or non-Catholic, for the Cross. I believe my prayers were answered."
Practically every book printed by Saint Jude Media (the publishing division of The Mary Foundation, the parent organization for CatholiCity) is distributed by folks just like you -- Catholics on the front lines, in the trenches, dealing with life's challenges in a hostile culture, and trying to bring our fallen-away friends and relatives back to the Sacraments.
Without your help, we're nothing. Mr. Macfarlane has finished the novel, at great sacrifice. We all work hard here at CatholiCity and Saint Jude Media, but we've never seen Bud pick up the cross and carry it the way he did to bring you this book. He went week after week after week with little sleep, producing the most beautifully-written book of his life on a month-after-month schedule a younger man couldn't match for days.
He doesn't write to satisfy his ego (he always jokes that his ego is too big to get any bigger). He writes because his only interest in life besides his family is to bring Catholics back to the Sacraments. There is no better way to say "thank you" to him than to get House of Gold -- get lots and lots of these books -- and give them away.
As a writer, his job is finished. Now it's up to you. We're counting on you. Go for it!
As always, the first copy if free, and multiple copies are available for a nominal donation so low it's downright silly. Shipping is free for the U.S., and we'll ship CatholiCity Citizens books the day your order smacks off our printer, June 7th, and on a same-day basis thereafter.
You can see House of Gold's beautiful cover right now, and find out more about the sensational and timely plot from there.
If you are not able to make an online request, you can also send a letter to Saint Jude Media via regular postal mail. The address, details, and a print-out request form are online in CatholiCity (outside the U.S., you must order online, thank you).
One last request: there are 14,000 people receiving this CatholiCity Message. We're hoping that every one of you makes a request today. It would be really neat if you were to forward this message to as many people in your email address book as possible, and multiply that 14,000 into tens of thousands. We ask this of you in the name of the souls who will be helped if you take just a few minutes to "multiply" the impact of this world-wide announcement.
Amen! And may God's gentle peace console your soul. We remain yours...
With Immaculate Mary,
Your Friends at Saint Jude Media and CatholiCity,
