Denver Broncos place kicker and two-time Super Bowl Champion Jason Elam and writing partner Steve Yohn, a Denver-area pastor, will release their first novel Monday Night Jihad ($19.99 hardcover) in January 2008. Published by Tyndale House (http://www.tyndale.com/), the thriller combines two passions of the American culture: the excitement of professional football and the intrigue of a spy adventure.


Elam and Yohn have crafted a story that takes an insider's view of football and blends it with an effort to thwart a terrorist plot. The duo leans heavily on Elam's fifteen years of experience in the NFL to create the realistic backdrop of professional sports. Yohn and Elam, both Christians, have woven elements of their faith into the story, providing insight into the some of the central conflicts between Christianity and radical Islam.


"Having competed against Elam for a number of years on the football field I've gotten to know him as a talented kicker and a great person," said Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and author of Tyndale's #1 NY Times bestseller Quiet Strength. "He has stretched that description to include talented writer."


"The genesis of Monday Night Jihad goes back almost ten years," says Elam. "My brother kept a journal of all the crazy football stories I'd told him over the years. About a year-and-a-half ago, I began to think what if I was able combine all those quirky stories with a terrorist element to create an action-adventure story. Through this story, I want to bring out why people of strong conviction do what they do."


Elam asked his friend Yohn to help him develop the idea. Initially, Yohn balked at the proposal, claiming he was a pastor not a writer. The two put their heads together and things began to click.


"Jason Elam knows football and a lot more," said Karen Watson, Tyndale's fiction acquisitions director. "This makes the writing team of Elam and Yohn a great fit for Tyndale. Their unique writing partnership produced a novel that quickly hooked our staff and will grip suspense and sports fans alike."


For more information on Monday Night Jihad, visit http://www.tyndale.com/.