Announcing in his latest blog that his new release, Immanuel's Veins (Thomas Nelson), has been "banned" in Holland for being too racy, he wonders if Christian publishing should "force our characters to wear turtle necks and long sleeves?"

Dekker defends Immanuel's Veins—vampires, seduction and sacrificial love in 18th century Russia—as "a passionate tale of God's love for his bride, perhaps the most Christian book I've ever written." Yes, it is sensual in parts, he admits, "but no more than the sensuality expressed by King Solomon, to whom I've dedicated the book."

A variety of savings compete for the attention of Labor Day weekend shoppers.

There is a strong focus on pre-buys, with LifeWay Christian Stores and Berean Christian Stores seeking advance purchases of Third Day's Move, due out next month.

LifeWay has the CD available for $9.99 (regular price $13.99), with a free copy of the band's Chronology, Volume One. Berean lists the forthcoming release at $10.97 and offers a free copy of the group's latest recording, Revelation, citing the pair as a $29.98 value.

Looking further ahead, LifeWay also offers a pre-release deal for Chris Tomlin's And If Our God Is For Us, not due out until mid-November. Advance purchases at $9.99—$4 off the usual price—qualify the buyer for a free copy of the Sixsteps Records 2010 New Music Sampler.

Other LifeWay offers see Israel Houghton's Love God, Love People and Jeremy Camp's We Cry Out: The Worship Project reduced from $13.99 to $12.99 and $10 respectively.

The LifeWay emailing includes a Labor Day Weekend Sale coupon for 33% off any one full-priced item, while Berean's promotion offers $10 off any in-store purchase of $30 or more through Sept. 1. The Berean emailing also reduces Casting Crowns' Until The Whole World Hears from $13.99 to $10 and The Afters' Light Up The Sky from $15.99 to $10.

Family Christian Stores, meanwhile, goes to the movies. The chain promotes the Sept. 24 theatrical release of Like Dandelion Dust, the movie based on Karen Kingsbury's book of the same name, with an exclusive $5 behind-the-scenes documentary. It also prices the new movie edition of the book at $11.99, down from $14.99.

A separate Family emailing highlights VeggieTales' new It's a Meaningful Life, with a pre-buy price of $12.97 on the October release, twinned with a free VeggieTales Lessons for a Lifetime triple feature. The chain also promotes its Oct. 2 premiere event, when the new film will be screened in stores.

Parable Christian Stores feature Emily Colson's Dancing with Max, pricing the memoir at $14.97, down from $16.99. Mardel Christian & Education offers Max Lucado's Out Live Your Life for $17.99, $7 off the regular price, and David Platt's Radical for $10.99 instead of $14.99. Mardel also takes $10 off the new Family Reading Bible, pricing it at $29.99.

In a blog posting with that title, he says how disappointed he has been to find so many peers who say they don't have the time to read the books they sell—or simply don't enjoy reading.

But, he says, in the current economic environment, "we must all become avid readers or we will die... No Christian retailer worth their salt can afford to ignore this aspect of their business. We all need to commit to put down our iPods and cell phones, turn off our televisions and take a Facebook fast.

"Making time every day and certainly every week to  immerse ourselves in books and authors that God has given us the privilege to represent has to be one of our biggest business priorities."

The U.S. Director of CLC International, overseeing a publishing house and eight stores, adds: "This may be a little harsh, but for those that say that they really do not enjoy reading, I would suggest that maybe they are in the wrong business or they need to reconsider their priorities.

"If a person is running a Christian retail store and really does not enjoy reading and still wants to stay in the business, they must at least have someone on their team who loves to read and can help instill this passion in the rest of the team... Reading is not optional for us as Christians and retailers, it is essential. Praise God that he has gifted so many people to put words together in such a way that they can actually change lives "

Almack is a member of Christian Retailing's editorial advisory board. Read his complete blog at http://faithlit.wordpress.com/