Great news! The boss (short for very-hard-to-get-approval-from general manager of Catapult Press) approved the manuscript and the cover (after a bit of consultation with my design assistant), so Give me a Break is all set to go. Here's the cover & the blurb. I'd really appreciate it if you could share this post with your social networks - use the buttons at the bottom of the post. If you want a print version, it's important that you fill in the form below because lots of requests will make it happen more quickly. Give me a Break, a young adult magical realism novella by Tahlia Newland will be published on ebook by Catapult Press in early June 2012. A print version is planned for later in the year and will include the short story collection, A Matter of Perception. The blurb Sixteen year old Carly wants to write her own life and cast herself as a superhero, but when she stands up to a bully, the story gets out of her control. Dylan, a boy who supports her stand, turns out to be a … [Read more...]
To eread or not to eread, when, not if, is the question
There’s been a lot of speculation around about the future of paper books. Some say they will disappear, but some people still swear that they will never get an ereader. Realistically I think it’s pretty safe to say that print books will never disappear entirely, just as live music and theatre haven’t disappeared with the advent of electronic performances. Children will still learn to read on paper books and picture books and non-fiction will always be around in print – books on gardening, cooking and art for example. Paper books may even become a luxury item for those with the space to house them & money to afford them. Old books will become more valuable as their kind becomes rarer. However, if you’re reading fiction, it’s not a question on whether you’ll get an ereader but when. The trends that create the future are already here and the results will only be exacerbated as time goes on. Here’s why you’ll end up getting an ereader even if you think you won’t You choice of … [Read more...]
Why you need an ereader.
I’m going to tell it to you straight and you might not want to hear it, but here it is… you need an ebook reader. ‘Nah,’ you say. ‘I like real books. I like the way they smell and feel.’ You still need an ereader. “Nah,’ you say. ‘I don’t like looking at computer screens for long periods of time.’ Neither do I, but good ereaders don’t have back-lit computer screens; they have something called ‘e-ink’ that approximates normal print on paper. No backlit pixels to make your eyes sore. So, you still need an ereader. ‘Why?’ you say. ‘I’m perfectly happy with my print books’ Here’s why you need an ereader. The books are cheaper, and there’s masses that you can get free. Ones that are out of copyright & their authors dead ,and ones that authors are giving away to get a greater readership. Don’t even think about the pirated ones – that’s morally and legally wrong. An ereader gives you, via the internet, access to books that you would never have found before. You can support … [Read more...]
Choosing an ebook reader.
This is the second post in a series on ebooks and ereaders. The first of this series was on the pros and cons of ebooks. Now let’s assume that you’ve decided to buy an ebook reader. The first thing you notice is that there’s a lot of different ones, they do different things, take different files and are different sizes. So how do you choose? First you need to know some basics. E-ink is the format you want for the screen, because anything backlit is the same as reading on a computer, ie hard on your eyes. Most of them are e-ink, but some cheaper ones aren’t. Not all ebook files are useable on all ereaders. The main ones are mobi files (can only be read on a Kindle unless you know a secret -see more below) and epub (can’t be read on a kindle). PDF’s are accepted by most readers but they do strange things format wise in many of them, so epub is becoming the industry standard for non Kindle readers. But if PDFs aren’t security protected, they can be changed into epub using a free … [Read more...]
The Pros and cons of ebooks
When I first heard about ebooks, I thought, ‘no, I’ll stick with paper and ink’. Like many readers, I couldn’t imagine snuggling up on the couch or in bed with a piece of electronic equipment. But now, I have an ebook reader and I do snuggle up with it. I also carry it in my handbag where the print sized copy just wouldn’t fit. Not only that, but I also buy a lot more books than I did before. What are the things we love about printed books? Books feel good to hold. Each one is a unique and tangible entity with a different weight, size, smell and texture. You can have them signed by the authors and look at their lovely covers. You can easily write notes on them ( in pencil of course) They show how much you love them by their dog ears and tatty covers. What’s the down side of print books? They cost quite a lot, fall apart, take up space ( do you ever have enough shelf space for your ever growing collection?), are heavy, ( have you tried traveling with a book or shifting house with … [Read more...]
