COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, August 14, 2012 — Veteran epublishing innovator and digital publisher Patton Dodd has been named Executive Editor of Bondfire Books, where he will oversee title acquisitions and shepherd select authors from idea conception all the way through online distribution and sales, announced company Founder and President Rick Christian today.

“We worked quietly toward the soft launch in May of our first ebooks, including original titles from #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller Karen Kingsbury and The Message Bible translator Eugene H. Peterson,” said Christian, noting that burgeoning sales and opportunity enabled him to make this critical hire.

“We’re thankfully past the quiet stage and can now blow our trumpet boldly from atop Pikes Peak,” he said of his Colorado Springs-based firm, a sister company to Alive Communications, the nation’s largest literary agency for faith-based and inspirational authors, internationally known for its stable of New York Times bestselling authors.

“Bondfire Books’ distinctive of paying a 50% net royalty for ebooks instead of the industry norm 25%, while offering a grant of five-year renewable terms rather than for life of copyright, proved to be huge magnets for authors, and it’s a great coup to now have such a respected digital innovator at our editorial helm to guide and nurture them as we grow,” he added.

In his new post, Dodd said he plans to build “a diverse library of fiction and non-fiction ebooks that elevate authors and sell well in the digital space,” and also “to experiment with the future of reading through hyper-local niche books, serialized stories, socially-sourced books, multi-media enhancements, and news-driven content.”

“The exciting thing about epublishing today is that it’s a wet lump of clay. We’re going to try to shape it in a way that’s fruitful for everyone, attractive for authors, and exciting for readers,” Dodd said.

Dodd has been an integral part of the faith-based electronic media for years. His writing on faith and culture has appeared in a broad range of publications, from The Wall Street Journal and CNN.com to Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and The Shambhala Sun. Most recently, he served as Executive Editor at Patheos.com, the world’s largest independent website on religion, where he launched the Patheos Press ebook initiative. He earned a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Boston University, was also a senior editor at Beliefnet.com and an English instructor at the United States Air Force Academy.

Dodd is the author of My Faith So Far: A Story of Confusion and Conversion (Jossey-Bass, 2004) and last fall he wrote his first ebook, The Tebow Mystique: The Faith and Fans of Football’s Most Polarizing Player (Patheos Press, 2011). He and his ebook were featured on FOX News, ESPN Radio, and The Laura Ingraham Show, and he also covered the Tebow story for a number of national media outlets.

“I know from firsthand experience how powerful ebooks can be for writers and audiences,” he said. — RC

We sat down with #1 NYT bestseller Karen Kingsbury to discuss her exclusive Bondfire release, I Can Only Imagine.  In this short piece, Karen discusses her touching relationship with her late brother Dave, and his chronic struggles with addiction and journey toward redemption.

Bondfire:  What lasting impression did your brother Dave leave you and your family?

Karen:  Dave will always stand in our hearts and memories as a testimony to God’s faithfulness. Dave was a nice guy who wanted a good life. He wanted a steady job and a loving wife and precious children. While his own choices stopped him from reaching those earthly dreams, God gave him something far more beautiful – eternal life. Dave is proof that it is never too late to find faith, to seek the Savior, and to change the direction of a life. In his final six weeks, Dave was the happiest person any of us knew – and his joy wasn’t because of realized dreams. It was because he’d found a relationship with his Creator. When I heard news of his death, I was at a book-signing. A hundred people were waiting in line when my husband Donald seemed to suddenly show up out of nowhere, a strangely urgent and sad look on his face.
“Is everything okay?” I gave him a quick glance, concerned about the reader next in line.
“No.” He shook his head, tears in his eyes. “Karen, your brother died. He’s gone.”
The surreal feeling of that moment is one most people are familiar with. I walked with Donald to the back of the store and I called my parents. After a few minutes, I returned to the book-signing. The people in that store understood by then what had happened, and they formed a circle around me, praying for me and my family. The next reader in line said, “I’m sorry your brother never had any children. My grandson died last week at age 5 months. Maybe tonight Dave is holding him in heaven.” That image gives me hope – that Dave’s dreams of real life were not only met here on earth through salvation in Christ, but in heaven as well.

Bondfire:  What inspired you to release your first short work?

Karen:  I love writing Life-Changing Fiction™ – it is my calling, and what I pray God allows me to do until I draw my final breath. But I have other stories to tell, stories that are not fiction. Stories from my own life. I love what Bondfire Books is doing by giving me an avenue to tell those stories. I believe this story, the story of my brother Dave and his impact on our lives, is the first of many short stories I am privileged to tell through this vehicle. My reader friends will have another glimpse of my heart through these short pieces.

Bondfire:  What are you up these days aside from writing best-selling novels?

Karen:  Our family moved to Nashville, TN, last summer, and we are loving it. We love the emphasis on faith, the wonderful people, and the beauty of the area. We even love the crazy weather. This June, our oldest and only daughter Kelsey will marry Kyle Kupecky, a Christian artist, and the young man we’ve been praying for since Kelsey was born. The two of them are very special. They are working for my ministry while pursuing their passions of acting and singing for Jesus. Tyler is about to enter his second year of college, and he is moving to Nashville where he will finish up at Lipscomb University, a small Christian college. Sean, Josh, EJ, and Austin are at a wonderful Christian school here in town, where they are already acclimated with great friends and success in the classroom and sports fields. Donald has recently been hired to teach Spanish there, so life is full and God’s faithfulness and fingerprints are everywhere. We are soaking in these final days of child-raising, holding onto every moment and learning from the lessons God has placed along the journey.

A Full-Service Epublisher for Authors and Agents

Author Royalties Are Double the Industry Standard

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO., May 7, 2012 – Alive Communications, the leading literary agency for Christian and inspirational titles, today announced the launch of a sister epublishing company, Bondfire Books.

Bondfire Books’ debut list features ebook exclusives from a select group of authors, including #1 New York Times bestseller Karen Kingsbury and Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message Bible.  All of its titles will be sold through major online etailers and readable on all primary devices, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iPad, and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Rick Christian, founder of Bondfire Books and Alive Communications, said, “We aim to be a game changer by working with other literary agencies and paying all authors a 50% net royalty, essentially double the industry standard of 25%.  We will also offer 5-year renewable terms instead of the normal life of copyright.”

Bondfire Books will provide authors and literary agencies a comprehensive package of services, including digital file conversion, jacket design, social media services, copyediting, marketing, and digital piracy protection, backed by a special partnership with Rosetta Books in New York, the pioneering epublisher of Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen R. Covey, William L. Shirer, and Aldous Huxley.

“With Rosetta’s support and extraordinary relationship with etailers, we can ensure an author’s works are properly converted and well-advertised on all the major sites,” Christian said.

Bondfire will release new book-length properties, shorter works of 5,000 to 20,000 words, and special themed collections of sermons, speeches, magazine articles, and poetry.

“These can be successfully published as ‘ebook originals’ and help cross-support an author’s other works currently on sale in multiple formats,” Christian said, noting that Bondfire will also release select backlist books that remain commercially viable in the current electronic market.

About Alive Communications:

Alive Communications is a Colorado Springs-based literary agency, founded in 1989.  It is best known for such mega-sellers as Todd Burpo’s Heaven is for Real, which has been a #1 NYT bestseller for more than a year and has sold more than 7.5 million copies, as well as the Left Behind series (70 million copies), Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible (20 million copies), Karen Kingsbury’s novels (20 million copies), Lisa Beamer’s post 9-11 Let’s Roll! (1.5 million copies), and the Life Recovery Bible (3 million copies).  Alive has represented several dozen platinum authors and platinum books with sales exceeding 1 million copies, and more than a dozen of its titles have been #1 NYT bestsellers.  Motion picture adaptations of its books are also in production with major Hollywood studios, as well as with various independent producers.

Best-selling author, pastor, and Message translator Eugene H. Peterson discusses his first collection of poetry, Holy Luck,  along with several of his influences.

Bondfire:  Why is poetry relevant?

Eugene:  Poetry is relevant because it is basic language, using words not only to inform but to draw the reader into participation, using sounds and rhythms, images and metaphors to stimulate the imagination to enter the enter the language and be engaged with it.  As a pastor I am not only interested in telling others about scripture and Jesus but use words in such a way  that they live the words, the truth, not just know about them. Poetry is embodied language, not just ideas or abstract “truths.”
Bondfire:  Who are your favorite poets, and how have they influenced you?

Eugene:  There are several:

-    George Herbert — he was a pastor and explored the many dimensions of the spiritual life using his poetic craft with extraordinary skill.
-    Gerard Manley Hopkins — a priest who found ways to use words that bring the entire creation and life of salvation dazzlingly alive.
-    William Carlos Williams — the attention he gives to the ordinary prevents me from being condescending to the “ordinary”.
-    Wendell Berry — he manages to find a “sabbath dimension” in almost everything he touches.
-    Denise Levertov — she has taught me to be alert and present to the transcendent and take it seriously wherever I notice it.
-    Luci Shaw — her skill in finding beauty and truth in virtually everything she sees and touches keeps me grounded in holiness.

Bondfire:  How did you incorporate your poetry into your pastoral work?

Eugene:  Poetry keeps me attentive to the way words work, provides protection against cliches and manipulative language, alive to the ways metaphor works.  Interestingly, I almost never quote poetry in sermons or lectures.  It is more personal, keeping me attentive to the way the poetry in the Bible (the psalms and prophets and Jesus) keeps me involved in the language of prayer and faith, not an onlookers or bystander, getting the language into my gut not just my head.

From the outset, Bondfire Books committed to pay every author 50% of net royalties—double the industry standard rate of 25% offered by traditional publishing houses.  To help you better understand our reasons for this radical increase, here is a wonderful article by the Authors Guild from February 2011 detailing the math used by most publishers. Click here to see what inspired the launch of Bondfire Books!

Bondfire’s featured author, Elisa Morgan gives you a behind the scenes look into her career as an author, business leader, and tireless advocate for mom’s worldwide.

Bondfire:  Elisa, why are these three books, Meditations for Mothers, What Every Child Needs, and Mom to Mom, the most important books a mom can purchase?

Elisa: These are classic “Mother Elisa” books: written in an honest and real voice from a mom who’s been “there” and still doesn’t know “that” but somehow knows enough while holding tightly to God in the process. Enjoy!

Bondfire: What inspired you to want to start mentoring moms?

Elisa:  God’s call was clear on my life when I was recruited to apply to be the first president of MOPS International. I thought, “No way! I have no idea what I’m doing even though my kids were five and three at the time.” As I prayed and process, God directed my eyes to the other moms in the checkout at the grocery – and I saw in them the same need present in me. It seemed that God was saying, “Elisa, give me your deficits and I’ll make them your offering.” Moms don’t need perfect role models. They need honest and approachable mentors who can show them the next step and the next and the next.

Bondfire:  How did writing these books influence your own growth as a mother?

Elisa:  In these books I share many of my own mom struggles – with the permission of my kids! I’ve been keenly aware over the years that their stories are not my story though.  Their stories are their own. I’m responsible for mine – and to influence and shape theirs.

Bondfire:  What else are you up to these days aside from writing?

Elisa:  I lead the online resource, FullFill, a FREE digizine for women of all ages and stages to live out their influence. Check it out! I also am writing some new books, speaking a gob, and loving life alongside my now-adult children, my AMAZING grandson and my unmatched husband. Oh, and my two ginormous dogs – a rottie and a rottie-wanna-be.