Thom Rainer on Killing Cockroaches

A couple of days ago, I caught up with Thom Rainer, the President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. B&H Publishing, the publisher of my new book Killing Cockroaches, is a division of LifeWay.

To my knowledge, I’ve never met Thom. Truth be told, I’m not sure that Thom has any idea who I am. Nor do I believe he has any idea I’ve published a book with his company. That said, I sent him a random email message the other day and requested an interview regarding the book and other publishing questions. Here are his responses:

TONY: What was your first reaction when your team told you they wanted to publish a book about killing cockroaches?

THOM: I thought it was a metaphor for the way people react to Brad Waggoner, the head of B&H.

TONY: Is this the first book B&H has ever published dealing with killing insects?

THOM: Probably, though some of my books have been used to kill insects.

TONY: When I visited the B&H offices a few months ago, Ed Stetzer was no where to be found. I don’t think he actually works for you. Tell me the truth. Do you actually ever see Ed Stetzer in your offices?

THOM: Ed who?

TONY: Is it true that Ed is jealous of my book and now he also wants to write a book about killing insects?

THOM: Ed who?

TONY: Do you think you could take Michael Hyatt in an arm wrestling match?

THOM: Nope. Mike would take me. He is a runner and is in much better shape than I am. By the way, I think he’s doing a great job at Zondervan. What a minute. It’s Thomas Nelson. It is Thomas Nelson, isn’t it?

Watch for more compelling interviews in the coming days.

And stop killing cockroaches.