Novel way round the credit crunch (From Stourbridge News)

Novel way round the credit crunch

10:20am Wednesday 31st December 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

A WORDSLEY sci-fi author who has just launched his second online novel with a major ebook retailer believes digital publishing is the future for cash-strapped literary fans.

Jon Hartless, whose fantasy novel The Contentment of Eric Williams is now on sale at Double Dragon Ebooks, reckons credit crunch hit and eco-friendly readers will be turning to the web instead of the High Street to get their fix of brand new literature.

The 35-year-old IT tutor (pictured) said: “Over the last few years, the internet has come to inhabit a central part of our lives, in work and play.

“And web publishing is an increasingly large business. You can now pick up a good read online as well as in the shops, but because the web does away with pulping forests, drinking reservoirs of ink, and clogging the roads with haulage trucks, the overheads are a lot smaller; that is reflected in the cover price of a typical web-based book.

“While at the moment most internet publishers concentrate more on fantasy, science fiction, and romance, there are more and more dedicating themselves to other genres - and this will soon mean there is something for everyone.”

Jon’s second book, a time travelling paradox weaving comedy drama - set in the Spherical Dimension where billions of realities exist, retails on Canadian website Double Dragon Ebooks for $5.99 US dollars.

He said: “That works out at about £3 or £4 for a brand new book.”

The Contentment of Eric Williams can be downloaded direct from www.double-dragon-ebooks.com in a variety of formats, including Rocket-eBook, Hiebook, Adobe PDF, MS-Reader, Mobipocket, iSilo, Franklin eBookMan, and Palm Doc.

It is also soon to be available as a paperback for readers who still prefer traditional print.

Jon’s first sci-fi comedy novel An Officer and a Blob is also available from Double Dragon Ebooks.

And he hopes it won’t be long before his new novella Romanticism Lost, also set in the Spherical Dimension, makes it onto the site too.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)