Pelican Book Group, a division of Pelican Ventures LLC, is introducing a new fiction imprint, Pure Amore. With its initial titles releasing in October, Pure Amore will be the first romance-genre imprint to promote abstinence before marriage.

Nicola Martinez, editor-in-chief at Pelican, expects the content of the books to be embraced by Christians and non-Christians alike, but had a specific goal in mind with the new imprint.

“I wanted to produce something that would help young people to see how precious the gift of their virginity is to their future spouse,” Martinez said. “The truth is that each individual is worth waiting for, and lovemaking is intended to create a bond with only one special person. To believe and act on this one truth will, across the board, increase self-worth and peer respect, strengthen marriages, cut the rate of unwanted pregnancy and so many other things. As a Christian publisher that publishes romance—promotes lasting love between a man and a woman—I felt we could definitely do something to promote chastity.”

In spite of the success of titles such as Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You, Martinez hopes the Pure Amore imprint becomes an alternative for many readers who prefer romance novels with more heart and less heat.

“Many non-Christians share Christian values, if not faith in Jesus Christ, so romances that uphold Christian principles, especially on matters of chastity, the sanctity of marriage and the golden-rule principle, for example, fit into society better than any other romance genre,” Martinez said. “Unfortunately, as with many forms of recreation, anything labeled as ‘Christian’ is oftentimes avoided, even by Christians, because it's viewed as preachy or sanctimonious. We aim to change that! Offering wholesome, realistic fiction that upholds Christian principles but isn't didactic is what we strive for at Pelican.”

The first Pure Amore novel, Just One Kiss by Wendy Davy, will be released Oct. 1.

Additionally, Pelican is offering books in the “Sisters in Spirit” series, which are similar in tone and principle to the Pure Amore books but are shorter. The first book from “Sisters in Spirit” is Aileen’s Song by Marianne Evans, a multi-award-winning author of Christian fiction.

Pelican Book Group titles are available to stores through Ingram Content Group.

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