(Nashville, Tenn.) June 26, 2006 - Mark Hall, lead singer of platinum selling and GRAMMY award-winning band Casting Crowns, releases his first national book titled Lifestories: Finding God's "Voice of Truth" Through Everyday Life, with writer Tim Luke, on Aug. 29. Lifestories, published by Provident Books, chronicles the people, events and life experiences that inspired many of Hall's award-winning songs on the band's self-titled debut album and its latest release, Lifesong.

"My sincere prayer is that Lifestories will not simply be read, but experienced," Hall said. "Furthest from my mind was the notion of entertaining; each chapter was prayed over as it was written-and invariably the prayer asked God to use this book to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. I prayed that He would use this work to help lead people to His Word, and to Him, so that He could encourage them, inspire them, instruct them, motivate them-and, if need be, convict and correct. I prayed for Him to save souls and to change lives."

"We are thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with Mark," said Dean Diehl, sr. vp of marketing for Provident Label Group. "He is a husband, father, pastor, songwriter and man of God. Now fans will get to experience Mark Hall 'the author' as he reveals a deeper look behind his music and ministry than ever before."

Lifestories is not a typical "artist book" project. There are no photos of the band or interviews with its members. Instead, readers will find a collection of true stories about real-life people and their extraordinary life experiences, many of which provided the catalyst for Hall's award-winning songwriting-producing five No. 1 radio hits and earning him the "Songwriter of the Year" award by BMI and the GMA for 2 consecutive years, propelling Casting Crowns to the top of the Christian radio and retail charts in its short two-and-a-half year music career.

For example, Lifestories reveals how Casting Crowns' current No. 1 radio single "Praise You in This Storm" was written for 11-year-old fan Erin Browning, who was diagnosed with bone cancer shortly after the band met her at a show in 2004. Through e-mails and phone calls, the band walked with Erin's family through its unimaginable personal storm. Erin passed away in fall 2005. Hall was so deeply touched by the unwavering faith of her heartbroken mother that the lyrics to the song were born. The song has remained on the top of the radio charts for 6 consecutive weeks to date.