This is a short podcast interview (recorded Nov 1, 2025) featuring Shelley and CJ Hitz interviewing Christian Book Academy member Jendayi (Jay) Harris. Jendayi describes how joining the Christian Book Academy community (around 2016, per host recollection) and relying on prayer, fasting, and peer support enabled her to complete her first book, Chubby Church, and subsequent sequels (referred to in the transcript). She highlights the community’s prayer support, technical and publishing help, virtual writing retreats, and that she now mentors others. She directs listeners to her book website, chubbychurch.com, for more information and says she is working on additional books about motherhood.
Questions this episode answers
November 1, 2025
chubbychurch.com
"Chubby Church" and a follow-up/sequel referred to as "Tubby to Church two"
Chapters
Welcome everyone. My name is Shelly Hitz.
And I'm CJ Hitz and we're here.
Today with Christian Book Academy member Jendi Harris. Welcome. Thank you. She also goes by Jay, so we kind of intersperse it. But Jendi found us years ago. I can't remember if it was maybe 2016 or so, but yeah. And has been part of our community and we've just watched her do so many things. This was her first book, Chubby Church and definitely a labor of love as well as the follow up sequels Tubby to Church two. But Jay, we just want to feature you today and the things that God is doing through your writing and some of the things that you found helpful along the way as you were writing your books.
Yes. I never heard of being a prolific author until I met Shelly and CJ and they had produced all these books. And I was just honestly doing a fast because I was that hurting around my book project. I was like God, what am I going to do and how am I going to do this? And feeling the burden of the calling to do it. And I just started praying and fasting on water, which I don't recommend to do too long anyway. So it was a short fast by about four or five days and I found Shelly hits and online and I'm like wow, a Christian writer person. It's like right up my alley. So I joined the group quickly and just they have been praying for me ever since. So this group has been supremely valuable. I could not have finished the group the books without them it just would not have happened. I needed, I'm an extrovert. So writing as an introverted task and it's very lonely, it's extremely lonely. Especially when you already have like a busy job, travel job and other things you have going on. So starting to write it and just having their support like their, the prayers number one. I always, I felt like I was like so needy.
So needy.
Like please pray for me because there is just whatever God's doing with this was just major. And the breaking down in me and sharing this story in this work needed a ton of prayer. So you get that in the community. You also get encouragement and support. So there's lots of rough days where you're just like things aren't coming across or you're not sure what to do or you have questions of how you're going to do this, what's that like what's going to happen? Literally every single question you can imagine, technology questions, writing questions, publishing questions are all answered in the group. It's like having. It's such a special thing to be able to post a question and get a bunch of answers or the right answer from C.J. and Shelley. For this group it's really, really powerful to have that available because there are so many questions when you get started. And then finally the community and the support has been outstanding. I've made new friends. We did virtual writing retreats which I highly recommend where you can get writing traction actually done. So many groups teach but they don't have the time to get the writing done. This group does both and so I was super impressed and very happy and again I would not have finished two huge books with research without the Author Academy. It just would not have happened. So there you go. Yeah.
And gendai is now a mentor in the group and is now being an inspiration to others. But we just, it's just, it's just been a joy watching you and seeing you progress through and finally press publish.
Well Jay, Jay is living proof that you can publish two big thick books and still be alive to talk about it.
Yeah.
And these are books that are like very well researched and it took just a lot of diligence and perseverance. So you know, I think that community aspect of you know, know finding a community that can support you was so key for you through the process. But we're so proud of you so we're cheering you on. We know there's a lot more books in you but where can people find out more about you if they want to connect with you further?
I would start with my book website. The chubbychurch.com is the best place and easiest to find. My name can be a little hard to spell. My next books are actually on mom stuff so I'm working on those and get getting reactivated in the group because the group is there, you know. So when I have a writing project it's always a go to place to get get re engaged and started.
So.
We'Re excited to see what's next for you and thank you so much for sharing just part of your writing story.
Yeah, thank you both so much. I'm so eternally grateful to you. It's just been unbelievable the amount of love, the Bible studies, the encouragement days, I mean the writing retreats, all of it is so, so much multiplication for other authors and I've seen many come through so your work is so not in vain. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome. Well, thank you so much for being here and we're like I said, cheering you on.