Local author, publisher part of Christian Book Event Nov. 8

Who would have thought that a small book and a small publisher from a small town in a small state would win a national award by a small publishers’ association?

"101 Surprises! Sayings with Scriptures You Didn’t See Coming" by Wilma Shepard Caraway, published by Fruitbearer Publishing LLC, won the 2014 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award in the Gift Book category.

Candy Abbott, who designed the pocket-sized 222-page gem, knew that Caraway had been collecting sayings and matching them up with Scriptures for years. What Abbott didn’t see coming was that Shepard's’s book, originally compiled for fun and family, would have such broad public appeal that it would capture the attention of the CSPA judges and win the gift book category.

“That makes you an award-winning author,” Abbott said. To which Caraway replied, “And that makes you an award-winning publisher!”

"101 Surprises! Sayings with Scriptures You Didn’t See Coming" was featured in the Christian Small Publishers Association’s 2014 product catalog where Fruitbearer Publishing also promoted seven other titles. All eight books were on display at CBA’s International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta, Ga., where the catalog was distributed to 1200 Christian retailers.

Caraway says, “If you have ever said, ‘A Little bird told me,’ ‘By the skin of my teeth,’ ‘Don’t wear out your welcome,’ or ‘Flattery will get you nowhere,’ you have quoted the Bible.”

It all started when Shepard read Obadiah 1:15. “I realized it was the same as saying, “What goes around comes around,” she said. “From that moment on, everyday sayings seemed to jump out at me - in conversations, songs, comic strips, on buttons, billboards, and TV - so I kept my Bible handy and began searching. Every time I found a verse that matched the saying, it surprised and delighted me. When I had collected enough for a book, Candy and I put our heads together and she took my raw ideas and turned them into a masterpiece.”

Caraway's book and other Fruitbearer titles, including the "Christmas Faith & Fun" anthology, will be featured, along with 20-plus local Christian authors, at The Book Event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8, hosted by Delmarva Christian Writers’ Fellowship at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown.

"101 Surprises! Sayings with Scriptures You Didn’t See Coming" is available at Chardon Jewelers in Georgetown, Heritage Jewelers in Seaford, the Mustard Seed in Milford, as well as Amazon.com.

For more information about the book, contact Caraway at 302-337-7181 or wiletc@comcast.net. Abbott, Fruitbearer Publishing LLC, can be reached at 302-856-6649, info@fruitbearer.com or www.fruitbearer.com.