First-time author Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts has sold a quarter-million copies in less than a year, prompting publisher Zondervan to offer a free mobile app for the book’s growing readership.

In the book, Voskamp invites readers to embrace everyday blessings and take note of God’s gifts. The app allows users to chronicle up to 1,000 gifts through photos and texts, and gives users the ability to instantly share their gifts on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter (#1000gifts).

Christian chain stores are making deals today on what has become known as CyberMonday, the first Monday after Black Friday when retailers are offering big online specials.

Parable Group and Berean Christian Stores are offering free shipping on all orders today, as is Mardel Christian and Education with a CyberMonday promotion excluding shipping to Alaska and Hawaii. At Family Christian Stores, customers will have to pay 99-cent shipping on in-stock items.

Seasonal stories are starting to find their audience, with Christmas-themed tales taking four of the top 10 fiction spots in the latest weekly best-sellers list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

The rise comes as Christian Retailing’s special Christian Book Reader digital supplement promoting inspirational fiction for Christmas gift buying is made available for stores to distribute to their customers.

Revell and Bethany House shone for Baker Publishing Group in Booklist’s Top Ten Inspirational Fiction list from the American Library Association (ALA). Both Baker divisions were named twice on the list, which was dominated by historicals, thrillers and contemporary relationship stories.

Deadly Pursuit, the second title in Irene Hannon’s “Guardians of Justice” series, and Bathsheba, the third title in Jill Eileen Smith’s series “The Wives of King David,” were the two Revell titles selected. Lynn Austin’s Wonderland Creek and Davis Bunn and Janette Oke’s The Damascus Way were the Bethany House titles chosen for the list.

Worthy Publishing has signed New York Times best-selling author John Hagee, releasing The Power of the Prophetic Blessing: An Astonishing Revelation for the Next Generation in August 2012.

The new book “will offer a much needed prophetic word of encouragement and blessing for today’s readers and the generations to come,” said Byron Williamson, president of Worthy Publishing.

Sherwood Pictures’ latest movie, Courageous, will be released on DVD Jan. 17, with a special edition for Christian retail.

The Exclusive Collector’s Edition will include more than an hour of extra content not available in the general market version and will retail for $24.99. Also available only in CBA stores will be a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack with the additional material, retailing for $34.99. Both editions will be distributed by Provident-Integrity Distribution.

Christian retail stores are being offered a free marketing tool to help drive traffic and boost their Christmas sales.

A special digital magazine celebrating the power of inspirational fiction is being made available for them to send to shoppers.