Bonnie S. Calhoun is the Founder and Publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine . She is also the Owner and Director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance which is the parent organization for the magazine.

In addition to her passion for spreading the word about Christian fiction, Bonnie is also an author of suspense/mystery thrillers. She recently signed a co-authored two book contract with Abingdon Press. The first book will be released in 2011 and the second in 2012. She is represented by Terry Burns at Hartline Literary.

Today I welcome Jim Hart of Bethany House publishers. Jim abandoned the dead end career path of the history PhD to instead enter the lucrative world of marketing Christian books when he realized that publishers, unlike research universities, actually have budgets. Also, dissertations take a lot of work. He lives in Minneapolis and doesn't really have a moustache. Jim can be reached at: jim.hart [at] bethanyhouse [dot] com

Jim, tell us about your job!

As the Internet Marketing Manager of Bethany House (and Chosen Books), I have a few different roles in promoting our books online. Overall, I oversee the presence of our books online wherever they might appear. This includes managing the Bethany and Chosen websites as well as making sure everything about our books is correct on retailer websites, catalogs and databases.

I also develop the online component for each book’s advertising and marketing campaigns, which includes everything from using traditional banner ads (you’ll usually see one here every month) to brainstorming unique ways we can promote books online. In conjunction with this, I also function as the publicist for all online venues, including traditional media websites, smaller/personal sites, social networks, and bloggers. Finally, I manage some author websites as well as act as an Internet consult for our authors when they need ideas for their own websites and online profiles.

Doing that for just our fiction authors alone would keep me pretty busy, but I also get to work with Bethany’s non-fiction titles (great Christian living books and some wonderful resources for families, among other things) and with the Chosen Books division (and let me plug some of the memoirs Chosen is publishing: they’re as dramatic and powerful as any novel!). I really have a wonderful opportunity to work with some fantastic authors who have great stories to tell and great messages to convey.

Here at Bethany House—and the rest of Baker Publishing Group—we’re looking forward to 2010, having come off a strong 2009. In the past year we’ve launched a few bestselling new series from some beloved authors. Beverly Lewis’ SEASONS OF GRACE is still performing strongly on The New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and Tracie Peterson’s SONG OF ALASKA marks her return to a setting that readers keep requesting—and one she love to write about.

We’ve also brought out great debut suspense novels from Don Hoesel and Shawn Grady, and we’re excited about their second novels coming in 2010. Our other new novelist for 2009, Jackina Stark, just released her second book, Things Worth Remembering, in October. Her emotionally gripping novels are winning a following among fans of literary-bent fiction.

Like last year, we’re looking forward to introducing more new authors to fiction fans in 2010. First up is J. Mark Bertrand who’s debuting this spring with Beguiled, a romantic suspense novel co-written with bestselling historical romance author Deeanne Gist. Bertrand is also launching his solo debut, Back on Murder, just a few short months later, so you won’t have to wait long for more fantastic suspense—and if you are a

fan of crime fiction, Back on Murder is not to be missed.. (And don’t worry—we’ll see more historical romance from Deeanne Gist in 2010, too.)

For you historical readers, summer will see two debuts: a humorous romance from Karen Witemeyer–perfect for fans of Deeanne Gist and Cathy Marie Hake--and a novel full of adventure and romance—with a western flair—from Yvonne Harris. If you like Tracie Peterson and Tamera Alexander, you’ll want to check this one out.

Finally, for fantasy fans, we’re excited about the summer launch of Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl, a great new voice in epic fantasy.

However, it’s not just debut releases that you have to look forward to from Bethany House. We’ll start off the year with The Hidden Flame, Davis Bunn and Janette Oke’s sequel to The Centurion’s Wife, that continues to explore the world of the early Christians.

Julie Klassen has received critical acclaim and a growing fan base with her first two Regency novels, and The Silent Governess won’t disappoint. And fans of that era, as well as fans of great literature, will be excited to see our Insight Edition of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Just like our release of Pride and Prejudice last year, expect more background information, fun trivia, and inspiration in this edition of Austen’s classic.

Spring also brings new releases from Lisa Wingate, Siri Mitchell, Stephanie Grace Whitson, Delia Parr and Lauraine Snelling, as well as a new series from Judith Miller set in the Amana Colonies of Iowa. This summer, look out for new titles from Kim Vogel Sawyer, Cathy Marie Hake, and Nancy Moser; a move into historical suspense from Paul Robertson; more edge-of-your-seat action from Shawn Grady; and a wide-screen thriller from Robin Parrish. And that’s just Spring and Summer--who knows what the rest of 2010 will bring? (Well, the editors do, but we in marketing have enough to keep track of for right now... )

So…how can you keep track of all these new titles? First off, if you’ve got a blog, but you’re not on our blog reviewer list, please sign up! Just visit www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers, and you’ll get periodic emails alerting you to books available for review. You can also find our full list of available titles, non-fiction as well as fiction, at bethanyhouse.com, and you can search for books from all the divisions of Baker Publishing Group there as well (fiction lovers, don’t miss all the great books Revell has to offer!). You can also find excerpts, discussion questions, author interviews and book group resources all on our website.

You can also keep tabs on us at (Facebook) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/bethany_house), download first chapters at Scribd (www.scribd.com/bethanyhouse), and watch author videos on YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/bethanyhouse) – be sure to check out Mark Bertrand and Deeanne Gist talking about working together on Beguiled or catch the four-part documentary on the town in North Dakota that decided to claim itself as the real-life counterpart to the fictional setting of Lauraine Snelling’s historical RED RIVER novels.