Dear Friends and Kind Readers:



Gosh, I haven't posted since April, because I have been so busy with teaching (I teach creative writing at NYU), writing (a few articles for Bark here and there), performing and writing music (I am lead singer in a rock band and a kirtan band), and lots of other administrative bullocks.



I also had a big setback with my spine, related to gardening, which sucks. One really needs a spine to get around. Literally and figuratively.



Mostly I spend a lot of time not-writing. And you all know how time consuming that can be.



I once had a writing professor who said: the only thing harder than writing is not-writing.



For me, the only thing harder than not-writing is trying to catch up in the digital world. (Which is the primary time-sucker these days, and the sole reason I do not have time to write).

So let's cut to the chase:

I have yet to read an eBook, and yet I am re-issuing an extended eBook of REX AND THE CITY; TRUE TALES OF A RESCUE DOG WHO RESCUED A RELATIONSHIP. The projected launch date is late August, 2011. So one month away, basically.

I am panicked. I am entering new territory with no skills or knowledge whatsoever. It's like climbing Everest in heels and a sundress. Not my terrain.



I am reaching out to you for advice.

What kind of features does an eBook offer--in terms on content, I mean. Links? Photos? Deleted chapters?

What do you enjoy about "expanded" eBooks? How can I engage the reader in a digital way? I mean, to me, books are about content--the story, the prose. Now they're saying I need a soundtrack too, and interactive material. WHat might that be?

What the heck is an eBook at it's core?

I'm still reading yellowed copies of Jane Austen....I am so not "wired". In fact, to me the term "wired" still think that term means hopped-up on Starbucks....

That I am. Techie I am not.

Help!