Eerdman’s has the cover of Real Live Preacher’s Book on line and the usual marketing blurb.

Marketing is quite the thing.

Within months of the weblog’s start, thousands of people were coming to read Atkinson’s latest, and RealLivePreacher.com is now one of the most-read blogs in the world.

Maybe, maybe not. That’s a bit hard to qualify.
That is a statement that hollers ’sell this book!’
Or, ‘look who we found!’
It’s a crowded market after all.
I like the polite caution to churched people. I’m a stickler for language myself, but when used well it’s extremely effective. And RLP has never wasted a swear word or flinched from reality. Many writers using strong language sound purile or lazy. RLP has taken outrage on his blog from the righteous, now things move to a whole different level. Maybe given the market the editors softened things up. I’ll have to get my hands on a copy of the book and find out.

Anyone wondering about the spiritual side of Atkinson’s writing can expect challenges. One of Atkinson’s aims is to “find God in the seams and transitions of life, especially at the places where sacred meets secular.” He’s not afraid to explore the full spectrum of life, including the disturbing. No matter the subject, however, the common thread running through these essays is the search for God in it all.

It looks like Eerdmans is doing well by the Preacher. Readers of his blog have had the opportunity to watch the birthing of this book. It serves a publisher well to nurture a good author and his/her readers. There may well be a sense of belonging and loyalty in those who buy it that is undefinable.
You can fork out $14.00 US the end of August and prove the marketers right.:^)