Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Interview with Jim & Karen Baney

Karen Baney
It is an honor to welcome Jim and Karen Baney, founders of Christian eBooks Today.com. I cyber-met Karen through an on-line author group and immediately detected that she is an efficient and dedicated marketing guru. I can say from personal experience that Nickels, one of her novels, is a  thoroughly enjoyable read  from beginning to end. Now we'll have the opportunity to learn about a new option for readers of Christian eBooks that Karen and her husband, Jim, have recently launched!

 Let's chat with them now...



Welcome, Jim & Karen.  Can you tell us what Christian eBooks Today.com is all about?
Jim:  Christian eBooks Today.com is a website that is for fans of Christian fiction and nonfiction.  It is a safe place to browse and learn more about great Christian eBooks without worrying about coming across any racy or explicit content.

Why did you start Christian eBooks Today.com?
Karen:  I’ve been an avid reader of Christian fiction since I was a young girl.  But, over the past few years as I started publishing books, I noticed that it was getting harder and harder to browse for Christian eBooks online without coming across some pretty embarrassing and racy covers.  I just wanted to find a good clean Christian romance book and find new authors.
In August, Jim joined the ranks of the unemployed, so I asked him what he thought about helping me launch a site for Christian readers.  It took some convincing, but he finally agreed to do it.
Jim:  Hey!  It didn’t really take much convincing.  I like the idea of being self-employed.
Jim Baney

On your Vision and Mission page on the website, you mention edgy Christian fiction.  Can you tell us more about this?
Karen:  Sure.  Over the past few years or even a decade, the Christian fiction market is changing.  Authors are writing more true-to-life characters that get thrown into some pretty tough circumstances, such as rape, abuse, abandonment, etc.  In fact, some of my novels fall into that category.
Anyway, there is a bit of a divide in readership.  Some readers don’t like the trend, while others prefer it.  We wanted to mention that we accept those types of books on our site so readers are not surprised if they come across something like that.

So, your site includes Christian nonfiction too?
Jim:  Yes.  We include a variety of nonfiction genres, too.  Bible studies, devotionals, self-help, Christian living and much more.  We really want the site to be a place where readers can find any type of Christian eBooks.

Who runs the site, I mean really?
[Karen glances at Jim and giggles.]
Jim:  We joke around.  I’m the chief operations officer and Karen is the CEO.  She has the vision and then I do all the hard work to make it happen.
Karen:  [elbows Jim]  I do some of the hard work, like marketing and writing content.
Jim:  Okay, okay.  I’ll give you that.

Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers?
Karen:  Yes.  We have a feature on our website under the “For Readers” menu called “Reader’s Choice."  This is where readers can fill out a form telling us about great Christian eBooks that they’ve read.  Each week, we will select one submission to appear on our website.  Then, once a month we will randomly choose a winner from all of the submissions (even if they don’t get featured).  The winner receives a $25 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  Readers can submit as many eBooks as they want.


Wow, that sounds great!  So, where can we see this new website?
Jim:  Visit ChristianEBooksToday.com.  You can also follow us on Twitter (@cebtoday), Facebook, or Google+.  Check our site daily for our list of free fiction and free nonfiction ebooks.
Karen:  Remember to sign up for our newsletter too.  Just click on the envelope icon in the upper right corner of our site.  Each week we email readers a summary of our key weekly features including: guest blog posts, great reads, author of the week, and the reader’s choice selection for the week.
Thank you so much for hosting us!



 Thank you, Karen and Jim, for visiting with us today!



I hope everyone realizes that the holidays are just around that sharp corner, turning October into November right before our eyes. Please consider taking the time to capture the stories of your aging relatives during the holiday season. Learn how with 7 Easy Steps to Memoir Writing: Build a Priceless Legacy One Story at a Time!, and may God shower blessings on you!


-Visit http://www.awriterspresence.com for links to various formats-





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