With a title sure to grab readers' attention, Fox News reporter Todd Starnes chronicles his weight-loss journey in his first book, They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick, releasing from Pathway Press in March. Starnes relates his journey being a 300 pound man to dropping down to 150 and running the New York City marathon. The book is comprised of humorous and inspirational essays like "Dear Jesus, Thank You For Butter," "Breaking Wind and Other Lessons in Humility" and "I Have Ugly Feet" and also features a forward from former Arkansas Governor and Fox News Channel television host Mike Huckabee.

Is it a publishing game of "Chicken?" Two publishers, Authentic Publishing and InterVarsity Press, are going head-to-head the same month (February) with books in response to the wildly successful novel The Shack by William P. Young and both books, at this point, bear the same title - Finding God in the Shack. InterVarsity's release, by author Roger E. Olson, originally slated for May, features the subtitle "Seeking Truth in a Story of Evil and Redemption" while Authentic's release, by author Randal Hauser, doesn't include a subtitle. Will the books cause confusion among retailers and customers? Will either publisher change lanes? Stay tuned.

After weaving a tale involving professional football and terrorist attacks in his debut 2008 novel Monday Night Jihad (Tyndale House Publishers ), NFL veteran Jason Elam once again teams with author Steve Yohn on Blown Coverage, featuring central character and football star Riley Covington. During mini-camp for his football team the Colorado Mustangs, Riley discovers a plot to awaken sleeper cells to attack America and his family.

Elam, currently a placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons, played for the Denver Broncos for 15 years and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in global apologetics at Liberty Theological Seminary. Blown Coverage is his second novel.

Tyndale is planning regional promotions in the Atlanta area for the book, including radio spots on the city’s largest sports radio station 680 The Fan, online advertising at the Atlanta Falcon’s Web site and book signings at area bookstores (to be scheduled). In addition, the publisher is also a main sponsor for the Atlanta Falcon’s Fan Appreciation Day on Dec. 28. National promotion will include print and online advertising Christian and general market sports media.

• Respect: Joseph respected God’s authority.
• Wisdom: Joseph was wise and knew his wisdom came from God.
• Grace: Joseph practiced grace in his relationships.
• Destiny: Joseph had a great sense of destiny and purpose that came from God.
• Perspective: Joseph’s perspective of life started with the sovereignty of God.

Josh Hamilton, a Texas Rangers outfielder and author of Beyond Belief (FaithWords), has made a believer out of ESPN The Magazine.

In the Dec. 15 issue of the sports publication, Hamilton was spotlighted as “possibly the most inspirational story of 2008.”

Yes, Dr. Phil, there is a Santa Claus.

Dressed up as St. Nick, Ed Butchart—author of More Pages From the Red Suit Diaries (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)—recently gave away 300 copies of the book on Dr. Phil.

Jon & Kate Plus 8—the hit reality TV series on TLC about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate, their fraternal twin girls and sextuplets—had an addition in a recent episode, but it's not what you're thinking.

In the Dec. 1 episode titled “It’s a Book,” Zondervan publicist Karen Campbell tagged along with the family as the show’s crew followed them to New York City for the Multiple Blessings media tour, with stops at the studios of Good Morning America and Fox & Friends as well as a taping with The 700 Club.

Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets—by Jon and Kate Gosselin and co-written by Beth Carson—was released by Zondervan Oct. 14. The book already has nearly 300,000 copies in print, and was in its seventh printing.

“Planning the tour was more time consuming than it seemed on the show,” said Campbell, noting that she was “too busy to stop and take pictures” with the famous family. “It’s a lot of work to make sure 10 people get to where they need to be on time. But it all went smoothly—not a single hiccup.”

Campbell was acknowledged on-camera during the episode, although she didn’t have any speaking parts. “I actually did tell one of the (Gosselin) girls that one of the books Kate signed was for my mom while I was on camera,” Campbell said. “It’s a show about the Gosselins, so I wasn’t expecting to talk on camera. I was happy there was an entire episode dedicated to Multiple Blessings. ”

Campbell was the lone Zondervan representative during the Oct. 16 taping. “They were great,” she said. “Jon and Kate were very friendly. It was nice to finally meet them after all the e-mails and phone calls, and the kids were just adorable.”

The growing importance of digital content isn’t a surprise to anyone, by now, but that trend is shaking up the publishing world in more ways than one. It’s challenging the traditional partnership between publishers and retailers, according to one observer.