Thomas Nelson is trying an e-book experiment with the release of author Beth Wiseman’s latest novel.

The first half of her Need You Now, out today, is being offered in digital format for 99 cents, with the second portion going on sale in mid-April, when the full electronic and trade paper editions will also be available.

“As e-reader devices become more affordable and thus plentiful, the more readers we have, and the more we’re able to experiment with how best to reach that growing part of our consumer base,” said Allen Arnold, senior vice president and publisher, Thomas Nelson Fiction. “We fully embrace the e-book revolution and are working to make sure Thomas Nelson Fiction leads in discoverability of our authors in this time of exponential e-book expansion.

Known to date for her Amish novels, Wiseman is expected to surpass a million books in print in 2012 after less than four years as an author. Wiseman plans to follow Need to Know, a contemporary story not set in an Amish community, with both Amish and contemporary fiction. “I hope readers will take away from Need You Now what they do from all of my Amish novels. No matter what story I write, I’m always going to write inspirational Christian fiction. There will always be a message of hope,” she said.