Friday, November 5, 2010

David Niall Wilson--Crossroad Press

(While I help the world discover As I Die Lying and what happens when a demonic serial killer's novel gets rejected while he's falling in love, David Niall Wilson is holding down the fort here. A truly gifted writer, he's also proven progressive with his digital publishing efforts at Crossroad Press. And to make this guy even more likeable, let's give away a hardcover copy of his supernatural thriller DEEP BLUE, the first of David's books I read, but certainly not the last. Simply comment within seven days to enter. Take it away, Dave)

My sons and I keep threatening to do a Kindle commercial where a guy is left tied up by kidnappers, or CIA agents, in a room where there is a kindle on the desk.  He hops his chair over, uses a pencil in his teeth to operate the keyboard, and the next thing you see is the door closing, a pile of ropes on the chair, and the cover of an eBook titled "Harry Houdini- How to Escape From Anything" on the Kindle.

When it comes to information, storytelling, and publishing, it's a very new world from that of only a few years back.  Arguments about whether electronic formats will ever "make it" have been replaced with discussions of how far can it go, and how can I get on board before this train leaves the station.  Half the time it seems that the entire train gets re-routed mid trip and you end up somewhere completely unexpected - and ultimately cool.

 As a writer, it's no longer good enough just to tell stories. You have to pay attention, because the audience is shifting, and so are the venues they choose for entertainment delivery.  We jumped from document files to pdf files to eBook files, to files you can read fully formatted on your phone in a matter of a couple of years.  You can personalize and adjust your reading experience in endless ways, have it delivered to you in the middle of a busy city street while you wait, and follow links to more books, or to places you can provide your input and feedback, without taking a step.

 Books used to come and go.  There was a pretty set time you could expect them to remain available, and then, if you wanted to find them you had to slog through piles and piles of used volumes, search libraries, and in only slightly antiquated times, crawl eBay until you found a copy.
 That's how my own love affair with digital publishing began. I wanted to bring back the books that came and went and give them new readers and new life.  I wanted to find those books people always bring up wistfully in comments like, "you remember that one book by so-and-so back in the seventies?  Wish I could read that again - it changed my life."

 At Crossroad Press I've been privileged to help a number of readers with quests like that, and a number of authors whose words languished in forgotten bins and on dusty shelves, and that makes me happy.  I've also found a wealth of books that never made it to audio format, and I've been able to bring a number of those to life, as well.  See, now Tolkein's words can be applied to other words … they have been there, and back again.  And there's no end to how far they can go in this wild, crazy digital world surrounding us.  I'm happy to be seeing a small mountain of them on their way.

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14 comments:

Bookhound78 said...

Ooo...a chance for a free book. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read any of David's work yet. When I get caught up with everything, I'm going to make a point to fix that.

I really like what's going on at Crossroad Press. There are some great titles by some awesome authors at an affordable price.

-Neal

Anonymous said...

I feel sad that sometimes so many books that weren't "Bestsellers" slide off into oblivion. I grew up with a schizophrenic mother who would throw my stuff away as a teen--including my books. I used to have the whole Logan's Run Trilogy, the Planet of the Apes paperbacks and comic books, etc. (You get the idea.) They would be thrown away while i would be out. I would try to hide them but she would somehow find them. It saddens me that sometimes the only qualification for books is what sells. Not all Best Sellers are really great books--some of them are instantly forgettable. Some of those old pulp horror novels and other books (I read more than horror) stay with you for days.

I am glad Amazon makes it easier to find old books but sometimes people treat them like commodities and want to sell them for outlandish sums of money, like Johnstone's Devil's series where they can fetch somewhere upwards of $229 for a mass market paperback! Sad.

The Undead Rat said...

I read Chet Williamson's SoulStorm years ago in college and loved it. It was a lot more than Introduction to Statistical Methods. And I remembered that story through a couple of decades of life.

A few weeks ago, David Niall Wilson's Crossroad Press made Soulstorm available in e-book and audio book format. (The audio book was read by Chet himself and he did a very good job).

I purchased the audio book and got e-book copies in all formats for free! So not only did I get to listen to an old beloved story, I get to put it on my Kindle (when I win one) and read it again any time I choose.

I can't describe how much I loved reconnecting with an old story. Nor the surprise at how much of the story I'd forgotten. It was immensely satisfying.

Thank you for that David.
Greg "The Undead Rat" Fisher

Betty: Reflections with Coffee said...

Cute commercial, and so true to life today. Reminds me of movies not too long ago where the character had to search for a phone (landline phone) or wait outside a phone booth. Nowadays, cell phones everywhere. Some day a director is going to forget, and have a character use a cell phone during WW II.
bmcbroom at gmail dot com

misskallie2000 said...

I understand what you are saying. Things are not the same anymore not even movies.
Since I don't have an ereader I really don't know if I will really like to have one. I love the feel of the book in my hand, the smell, turning the pages the whole enchilada. I began reading at an early age due to my health and looked forward to the new journey when I opened my book to begin reading. I know many readers prefer readers over books but I still am not sure.
Would love to win so I can read my first Wilson novel. Thanks for the opportuity to enter.

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

David Niall Wilson said...

I appreciate the comments and thoughts. Ms Jimmi - you might be interested to know that we are on the verge (fingers crossed) of getting to bring back the Johnstone books for Kindle from Crossroad Press. If we do you can get them for about $2.99 apiece...if that helps.

We can use all the support we can get. Also, just put up (for free) the catalog of ALL of our books (about 70) ... free download with free fiction...double goodness.

http://store.crossroadpress.com

Dee Martin said...

I love books, ebooks, any kind of books and I have added this one to my wishlist in case I don't win it. A commercial like the one you described would be awesome.

The only negative for me with ebooks is that I'm afraid physical bookstores will disappear. That would be sad. There is nothing like a bookstore/coffee shop combined. I would live in one if I could. Now I am off to check out Crossroad Press :)

deedeekm@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Enter me please!

ashleysbookshelf@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I have come across David's name a few times but have not had the pleasure of reading any his books.

dalelmurphy(at)gravesidetales(dot)com

James Rasmussen said...

I like the commercial concept and it's a great slogan for eReaders (and books) in general: Escape. Anytime, Anyplace.

jamesemr (at) gmail (dot) com

The Undead Rat said...

Geeze, I forgot there was a contest element to this -- a chance to win one of David's books was one of the reasons I came here to read the post.

Great post by the way.

:)

Thanks for the contest,
Greg "The Undead Rat" Fisher

theundeadrat (@) gmail (.) com

~ Mari said...

My sons and I keep threatening to do a Kindle commercial where a guy is left tied up by kidnappers, or CIA agents, in a room where there is a kindle on the desk. He hops his chair over, uses a pencil in his teeth to operate the keyboard, and the next thing you see is the door closing, a pile of ropes on the chair, and the cover of an eBook titled "Harry Houdini- How to Escape From Anything" on the Kindle.

HA! I love this! That would be great. :)

Author Scott Nicholson said...

Belated giveaway. Random.org says Neal Hock is the winner here. Stayed tuned for more great giveaways on the Haunted Computer carnival caravan.

Scott

Bookhound78 said...

Woohoo!!! I won something, I won something! :D

Thanks for the giveaway; I'm really looking forward to getting this book.

-Neal