If books can be digital, why not do new and interesting things only possible in digital format?
Running Flat is a completed 75-chapter web novel combining story, art, music, poetry & web functionality to do things impossible to do on the printed page. www.runningflatnovel.com
Immersed in the Story: Great writing immerses you in the world of the characters. Running Flat takes the next step. When the characters walk into a club where the Blue Method is playing, readers can literally hear the same music through the website the characters can hear in the story. When the characters are at an open mic, readers can hear the same poetry written and read by Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa.
Plus, the breathtaking photography of Tamara Ramos and the stunning illustration of Bethany Sellers brings you face to face with Jess, Maya, Jack, their circle of friends and those who would do them wrong.
The Reader Shapes the Novel: On the website, you decide how to read the story. Each chapter will be sortable by character and plotline. So if you want to read only the parts of the story that have Amadeo D’Onofrio, the man who once beat a man to death with a bag of doorknobs, you can click on his name and read just about him. If you want to read only the story about two people falling in love, you can click on that and read just that part of the novel. If you want to read the whole thing, in chronological order, of course you can do that too.
Synopsis: Jess Foley hasn’t given up on love, even if it has given up on her; Jack Baldwin has given up and is planning a graceful self-destruction; and Maya Hill is trying to escape her life working for Lito Avila and his team before it kills her. These friends struggle against the loss of love, overwhelming grief, and a man who once beat someone to death with a bag of doorknobs.
“Novel” Storytelling by Trenton’s Classics Bookstore Owner
An author, illustrator, musician and photographer walk into a bookstore…
Local Trentonian and Classics Bookstore owner, Eric Maywar, is creating of a new kind of storytellytelling in his blog-novel Running Flat (www.runningflatnovel.com) as he intertwines stories about people falling in love and smuggling and revenge. Combining storytelling, photography, illustration, spoken word and music, Running Flat accomplishes something that is impossible to do on the printed page....
Fascinating concept of combining novel, music, blog, email, video and photography. Full Disclosure: I helped build the web site. But the writing, the music, the photography are all top notch artists from Trenton, NJ and environs. I have only read about a dozen installments but those who sign up get the new chapters e-mailed to them. This is literally not something you can get in an e-book so I'm looking forward to more projects like these.
This was a really fun read. The narrative is past-paced and the characters are unique and likable. The online format allows the author to prompt the viewer to link to audio and visual imagery that enhances the ambiance of chapter settings. (In this way I was introduced to the Blue Method Group, a fantastic band.) My only complaint is that, like all good books, I didn't want it to end too soon!
So far this novel is AWESOME! The marriage of music, photography, and prose makes Maywar's novel a unique reading experience! I highly recommend this avant garde project!