VMI AUTHOR KIMBERLY CASH-TATE SIGNS MAJOR CONTRACT WITH THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS
VMI congratulates Kimberly Cash-Tate for landing a contract with Thomas Nelson for her Romance Series. “We are always glad when one our authors that we helped mentor can move up and receive major contracts like this,” said Bill Carmichael, CEO of VMI Publishers. “We have had several of our authors do this and it is always something we are very proud to announce.”
Congratulations Kimberly, you deserve it!
[Read the news release from Thomas Nelson Publishers:]
Thomas Nelson expands contemporary women’s fiction roster, signs Tate to contract
Thomas Nelson Fiction is pleased to announce the signing of Kimberly Cash Tate to a contract to write contemporary romantic fiction. The division continues to grow its offerings in this genre, signing talented authors to write books appealing to all women who enjoy Christian fiction. Kimberly Cash-Tate is best known for her popular nonfiction book More Christian Than African-American, in which she shares her personal journey: from growing up without God in her life to transformation through accepting Christ in 1994.
She is an alumnus of the University of Maryland, College Park and The George Washington University Law School. She spent nearly ten years practicing law and is now devoted fulltime to caring for her young children. Tate has also established an extensive library of devotions on her website.
“We could tell immediately that Kim's voice is special. She has an incredible heart for ministry, and we knew that the deep faith she would bring to her books would capture female readers’ hearts and uplift them in the way only a faith-filled story can. Her stories will offer so much to so many,” said Ami McConnell, Senior Acquisitions Editor. Tate’s first Thomas Nelson novel, as of yet untitled, is set for publication in the fall of 2010.
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COACH BILL McCARTNEY SIGNS NEW BOOK CONTRACT WITH VMI PUBLISHERS
The man who took a downtrodden University of Colorado Buffaloes football team to a national championship and then inspired millions of Christian men to stand up for God and family as "Promise Keepers" has signed a contract for his next book, “Two Minute Warning” with VMI Publishers.
Co-authored by Aaron Fruh, this book is the culmination of Coach McCartney’s passion to see unity come to all believers and warns of the signs of our generation and how Christians can respond to what seems to be shaping up as God’s end times. The book will unveil five “warnings” that God is bringing to His church and how we can adapt to them and embrace them. Because of its motivational nature the book will enjoy a wider audience than just those interested in Israel and end time events. The book will be written to attract Christian and Messianic leaders as well as the millions of men and their families who were impacted by the Promise Keepers movement.
"We are delighted to have a man like Coach McCartney select VMI as his publisher," said William Carmichael, CEO of VMI Publishers. "We believe in the message of this book and believe it can have a powerful impact on the entire Christian movement in the tumultuous times we live in,” he said.
The book is tentatively scheduled for release in the latter part of 2009 under VMI’s DeepRiver imprint.
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CHRISTIAN BOOK SALES RISE IN TROUBLED ECONOMIC TIMES
Whenever there is a crisis, either personally or nationally, people instinctively turn toward their spiritual nature. Tragedy, crisis, and stressful situations seem to drive most of us toward seeking God for answers.
Christian Trade Association International reports Christian product sales are still growing in double digits...despite the global economic shakedown. One distributor's sales are up 40% over last year. "We see the world economic news and are amazed how little it is impacting sales of Christian resources," said CTAI president Jim Powell. "In truth, there's a lot of good news out there about how, even in economic turmoil, God is increasing the distribution of life-transforming products and resources that honor him," he said.
This seems to be a trend whenever tough times surface. Following 9/11, Zondervan reported that in the week after the tragedy, retailers ordered 750,000 copies of Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey. And sales of Bibles jumped over 25% from the previous quarter. Many booksellers reported brisk sales in the self-help and spirituality genres, while publication dates of new titles were pushed forward, and some books that had sold well -- or after 9/11 had the potential to sell well -- were reissued or given additional print runs.
During hard times, Christian and inspirational titles tend to be much more popular. Christian bookstores get more traffic and the religious sections of stores like Barnes & Noble do well. Websites like Amazon attract people to seek for answers. "When you look at [times of] war, or even the previous recessions, we saw increases in our Bible sales of 10 and 20 percent," said Gary Gin, general manager of Christian Publications.
The same is true now in the global economic crisis we face. "There is a fundamental felt need by many people for something spiritual in their life," said Tod Shuttleworth, a senior executive at Thomas Nelson Publishers, a leading Bible publisher. "That fundamental need doesn't go away. In fact, you could argue that it increases in bad times."
While many industries might suffer huge downturns during this current economic crisis, authors and publishers of Christian and Inspirational titles will do well. The reason is that most of these books have real answers that bring courage, faith, and comfort to those seeking help. The Association of American Publishers said religious book sales, which are 5% of the total market, grew 37% last year, compared to flat sales for general hardcover and mass-market books.
The latest in spiritual advice is available everywhere from Amazon.com to Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Books are also a good option as gifts during an economic downturn. They are less expensive, while providing hope and healing to those in distress.
"What we provide customers, especially if they're tightening their belt, is a very affordable gift alternative. It's affordable. It's something people can specifically relate to," said Tami Heim, president of Borders.
