Joel Osteen, Branson celebrities attend Anomalos author's book signing

Books-A-Million, one of the nation's leading book retailers opened the doors to its new 15,500-square-foot store in Branson, Missouri in August. Among the Holiday books chosen by the national chain to be featured during the month of December was a sequel to the Dicken's classic "A Christmas Carol" by first time author, Donna Howell. Ebenezzer: The Final Years of Scrooge (Anomalos Publishing, 2008) picks up where the original story ends, answering questions many have pondered over the years concerning the original story, including what illness afflicted Tiny Tim, and deeper theological questions such as who the "spirits" were that visited Ebenezer Scrooge.

On December 20, 2008, Donna Lee Howell sat with four times the quantity of books the managers of Books-A-Million in Branson expected her to sign. As her first time at such an event, Howell had been warned that the typical experience involves bulking up the stock of a book to catch the attention of passersby's but that usually only a fourth of books would be purchased during a signing.

Halfway through her event and already almost out of “Ebenezer,” Howell was surprised when mega best-selling author and senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Joel Osteen, whose ministry reaches over seven million viewers weekly in the U.S. and millions more in nations around the world, entered the store and requested an autographed copy of Ebenezer. Osteen informed her that, if the book met expectations, he would be passing on "good words" through his ministry for the first-time author's work. 

As crowds of people gathered around Howell and Osteen, Jim Stafford of “The Jim Stafford Show” -- one of Branson, Missouri's most popular and longest running shows -- walked into the building and requested a signed copy of Ebenezer as well. As Osteen, Stafford and Howell talked, soon laughing about recent funny  radio commercials advertising Stafford's popular show in Branson, Branson’s well-known " Elvis" impersonator, who has his own show in the city showed up and purchased one of the last signed copies of Ebenezer...

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