JGStewart brings up an interesting point about how apps might affect the way authors write. I think that there might, indeed, be some paring back on the arcana that finds its way into certain narratives. On the other hand, I think that’s just part of the evolution of literature–with authors being subject to the dictates of their time. I’m not sure Tolkien (or Tolstoy) for that matter would get away with their brand of expansive writing in today’s market.

Thanks for all the good feedback!

I just completed a young adult novel, The Empress Chronicles, which is based on a revisioning an actual historical character, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria. In building a digital platform, I’ve given the character a blog: http://empresschronicles.wordpress.com/; but looking ahead, I see lots of possibilities with the right e-book app. Links to various sites (Victorian corsets, let’s say, or Vienna’s Sisi Museum), but also, since the book is a fantasy with the main conceit being that a magic spell allows one to rewrite history, I can see text disappearing and reappearing on the page in pivotal chapters. Very Disney, actually!

Makes me wonder though–if apps become an expected part of a book release (a la DVD extras), what does it do to the books themselves? Will authors write differently if they know they no longer have to strike a balance between narrative and atmosphere–if they can rely on an app to fill in the blanks? Would Tolkien be Tolkien if all the songs and linguistics and endless histories weren’t baked into the narrative?

Me, I’d like to see apps specifically for e-readers that let the reader alter the appearance of the ‘book’. Like skins for your web browser. I want to read Company of Liars in a 19th-century letterpress font, on a vellum background, with the first letter of each chapter illuminated like a medieval scroll; and then read Zero History in some neo-futuristic sans-serif font on bright ivory stock. And I’d like to be able to pick from a variety of cover options, or better yet remix my own from a library of images, fonts, and layouts. And then upload my version to the author’s website, where other fans can vote on it, and the best one wins some kind of prize…

But there I go again – drinking during business hours.

~JGS

ps – *love* the Fae-Goggles app as well!

It’s an ideal vehicle for offering a reader more. The occasional author interview at the end of a book is somewhat interesting, but how much more enlightening would it be to show a reader what has gone into the genesis of the book.

Love this idea!

Coming from a technology background, I’m constantly thinking in terms of what kind of enrichments a website and/or an app could offer readers. Readers want to connect with the worlds authors are building and the characters they’ve created. Apps and enhanced websites are a great way to bring readers further into the story world. The reader can actively engage with the world, and that engagement doesn’t have to end when the reader is finished reading the book (and waiting a year or more for the next one to come out).

The TV show Sons of Anarchy has a great app that came out last year filled with all kinds of backstory information viewers don’t get from the show. I’d love to see this kind of technology incorporated into more novels. I’m definitely working at incorporating it into my own WIP. It’s something I deliberately think about while I write.

Re: Suzi – What fun! Those sound like great ideas. I’d definitely download an app that showed me where the fae are in my area.

My story is an urban fantasy, and the fae are all around us, but we don’t notice them. The second app is a “Google Goggles” type app, where you can view something through the app (and camera) and see where the fae are located in your area.