Former Central Florida anchor Vanessa Echols releases new book

It has been less than three months since Vanessa Echols retired after 30 years at WFTV, but it looks like the former anchor has kept busy in that time and has just released a new book, “We’re in Heaven, and I Have Some Questions.”

Echols describes her first foray into the literary world as a combination of book, daily devotional and journal. “What I’ve done is I’m asking people to imagine being in heaven,” Echols said, adding that the idea is readers can see famous figures from the Bible in a different light thanks to some lighthearted conversation based on questions Echols has (such as, “Why did Noah bring snakes on the ark?” playing off Echols’ fear of snakes).

“Then, at the end of the conversation, I refer back to where the actual story is in Scripture, which is hopefully prompting people to actually go back and read the Bible.”

Following each story, readers can use a blank page to journal their thoughts about what they read, ask their own questions, “or just write whatever is on their mind and on their heart after they read it,” Echols said.

Though “We’re in Heaven, and I Have Some Questions.” has only been out for a few days, the print version sold out on Amazon less than 24 hours after Echols posted about it on Twitter.

“I’d always wanted to write a book,” Echols said of her decision to jump into the writing world, adding that the idea for the book was inspired by a conversation with a co-worker during her time at WFTV. However, she hadn’t had the opportunity to sit down and really work on the project until earlier this year, when she decided she needed to make her goal of becoming an author a reality. “I made this commitment at the beginning of the year, I am going to write this book and just see what happens.”

Echols hopes that the book’s humor, lighthearted tone and interactive elements will help it open up new conversations with family, friends and church groups who read the book together, as well as become a source of positivity in their lives. “For those people who are walking in their faith, I want [the book] to bring [them] joy.”

“We’re in Heaven, and I Have Some Questions” is available as an eBook at Amazon and the print version can be purchased from Archway Publishing.

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