Hello, all! I have some exciting news! One of my dear writing friends, Maya Joelle, just published her first book: Cathedral: A Collection. And as a beta reader for Cathedral, I am so proud to be a part of her promotion and launch team! First off, feast your eyes on this spectacular cover. Isn’t it gorgeous? *heart eyes* She designed it herself! OoO

Read on, friends, to discover more about Maya’s lovely book!

About Cathedral

Cathedral is a collection of poetry and creative prose about beauty in the midst of grief and joy in the face of great sorrow.

oh brave one,

oh broken, beautifully brave one,

remember.

remember that no matter how tiny the fragments this time,

how far apart they are scattered,

how long you must search,

he will help you find the pieces of the person you once were

and the image you once bore.

// to the broken ones

About Maya

Maya Joelle is a wordsmith, bookdragon, and avid forest enthusiast from Michigan. In addition to poetry, she writes high fantasy novels and short stories that turn into novels. When she’s not writing or studying, she is often found marveling at the beauty of creation through the wonders of nature, music, and friendship. She writes poems to remind herself and others of God’s goodness amidst pain and sorrow, for the glory of the Author who knows the ending of her story.

You can learn more about Maya through her online haunts, all of which can be found through her Carrd profile!

Book links

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Reviews

An evocative, ethereal, and poignantly real sketch of dreams, dawn, and darkness in our everyday life as members of the human race. If you don’t like poetry, you’ll like this anyway.

—The Grim Writer

[A] collection of short stories and poetry in a sequential order from sleep to wakening. Lovely pieces of poetry… overall a truly soul-satisfying work.

—Lemon Duck

It will change your life…. A collection of poems and stories that reflect the beauty of life and the pain of death with grace.

—Eva Grace

[A] pleasant read that you can pick up anytime you’d like to take in one “entry” or ten.

—Havalah Ruth Peirce

An illumination of God in darkness, a demonstration of God in the author’s heart, and a cry from both depths and heights to the Lord of pain and joy.

—Ellery

Q&A with Maya

How long did it take you to write Cathedral?

Cathedral was written over a period of 5 years. One of the earliest pieces in it is a poem I wrote for my piano recital in 2016, and I wrote the first poem in the whole book in August 2021!

How long is Cathedral?

Cathedral is about 6k words long.

Who were your biggest writing influences?

Some of my biggest influences (in terms of content) were N.D. Wilson, Andrew Peterson, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, and S.D. Smith. For style, I was inspired by the poetry of Allison Beery, Levi the Poet, Havilah Gael, EssieWritesPoetry, and Rebekah Elle Rosamilia.

What is your favorite piece from the book?

I think my favorite is my poem “goodbyes,” because whenever I re-read it I feel all over again the emotions that I felt when I wrote it.

you know what hurts more than goodbye?
the almost-goodbye.
letting go of someone you never quite knew
and knowing you cannot know each other

What inspired the title?

Read the book to find out! 🙂 It was partially inspired by the song “Cathedrals” by Tenth Avenue North and the idea that we are temples for the Holy Spirit, but the biggest reason I named the book Cathedral is a lecture by S.D. Smith I heard in 2017. You can read about it in my acknowledgements.

Cathedral: A Collection was released yesterday, December 17! Don’t forget to order the e-book and add it on Goodreads! Friends, Maya is an incredible writer. I promise that her work is more worth your time. So do her a solid and give her your support! 😀