The road to success for first time authors can be difficult, and with controversial topics it can be even more so. But with new avenues of exposure provided by the Internet and social media have created a vast world of opportunity outside of traditional media outlets. Vassula Ryden's just released spiritual autobiography,
Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell: An Eyewitness Account of What is to Come, is a prime example of alternative marketing success as she has achieved considerable grass roots support with 1-Millions Likes on Facebook and 400,000 Talking Abouts along with hundreds of thousands following her activities on Twitter.
Largely unknown in the United States,
Heaven is Real is her foray into the American book scene and even before it hit the shelves, on March 13, it racked up considerable pre-publication sales through various outlets and hit #1 on BarnesAndNoble.com Top 100 list. Then in the first weeks after official release Heaven is Real hit #24 on Amazon.com, #3 on USA Today in the Religion category and #58 overall and #12 on the Publishers Weekly list. During her book tour, which started in the Northeast on March 20 and will continue on the West Coast until mid-April, Vassula encountered tremendous support while doing radio and TV shows throughout the country.
The astounding success of
The Bible series on The History Channel indicates that the American public is interested in religion and God. A large segment of Americans do indeed attend religious services regularly and take their faith seriously. Vassula's experiences indicate she has gone through a process that can be difficult for many to grasp, but throughout the world she has touched the lives of millions through personal appearances, videos, media appearances and her True Life in God publications.
In our turbulent times, the focus on God and faith has increased as people seek solace and support in their lives. Vassula Ryden is the kind of unlikely messenger that a loving and benevolent God would chose to be His messenger, and even a cursory knowledge of Biblical history proves this theorem out. In the Heaven is Real, But So is Hell, Vassula Ryden shares her encounters with God, and the many incredible miracles that have accompanied the messages she's received. She wants to share with us God's warnings to our modern world, and his call for us to turn back to him.
Book Overview of Vassula Ryden's Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell: An Eyewitness Account of What is to Come.
God's Education for Vassula Ryden
Church Unity: Vassula Ryden, Author of Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell, Explains on Radio Show
Changing the World, Vassula Explains the Messages from God
Warnings from God via Vassula Ryden
Why Vassula was Chosen as God's Messenger
Written Messages Received by Vassula Ryden
Heaven and Hell Do Exist
Good Will Triumph: Vassula Ryden, Author of Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell, Explains on Radio Show
Battling Evil & Mission Prep: Vassula Ryden, Author of Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell, on Radio Show
About Vassula Ryden:
Vassula Ryden, author of "Heaven is Real But So is Hell: An Eyewitness Account of What is to Come," is a Greek Orthodox Christian mystic with a worldwide following. Born of Greek parents, Ryden grew up in Egypt, until her family moved to Switzerland when she was a teenager. Then in 1985, while she was living in Bangladesh, she had a spiritual encounter that changed her life, as well as many others. Ryden was working on a grocery list when she felt the presence of an angel. "My hand was taken as if by an invisible hand, and I let it go because I felt he wanted me to write something," she says.
At the time of the encounter, she had no relationship with God and hadn't received any religious training. Soon after that encounter, God allowed Ryden to experience a painful purification process. After experiencing this dark and lonely time when she did not hear from God, she made the decision to fully surrender to Him and put God first in her life.
Since then, she has had thousands of similar experiences, transcribing "messages" from God in a different style than her normal handwriting. The messages have been compiled in books, videos and other materials, which are promoted and distributed under the title, 'True Life in God' after Vassula was told by God in 1987, I have chosen you as a blank canvas to fill it up only with My Work which I will name: "True Life in God."
Ryden also has what she calls "interior visions" of heaven and the future and has foreseen three important events, which came to fruition:
The destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001;
The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004; and The fall of Communism in the former Soviet Union.
But such "doomsday" prophecies are not the focus of her ministry. God's messages to Ryden emphasize His love and desire that all people have an intimate relationship with Him. They also stress the need for unity among Christian denominations.
Although she is Greek Orthodox, Ryden has a large Catholic following. She has cordial relations with many Vatican officials and presented a copy of "True Life in God" to Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
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