Steven Lyle Jordan's Blog, page 66

Worldfarm One and the End of the American Century

When I originally wrote Worldfarm One—the story of a man from the United States who travels to Brazil to work, and learns the hard way how hard immigration can be—I expected there to be comments about the characters, about the sexuality and sex-role-reversals, the casting-couch business practices, the feed-the-world model, the prejudice, even my descriptions of Manaus and the surrounding Amazonian regions in the book.

I was surprised, therefore, to discover the greatest number of comments generated by the book were about the idea that the United States would, in the future, lose its status of "greatest nation of the world," and because of economic hardships, American citizens would be forced to immigrate to other countries with greater opportunities to make a living.

I remember being roundly criticized for even suggesting the United States could "fall," and that it was not the great country it once was.  I was also soundly drubbed for suggesting that the United Nations, once the U.S. was forced to give up its dominant place in the world, would finally rise to become the dominant world government it was always meant to be.  The comments were equally emotional, maintaining the U.S.' everlasting sovereignty while emphasizing the U.N.'s ineptitude and pathetic worldwide track record.

Still, I stood by my story, understanding the fact that, so far, every world empire had eventually fallen, and there was no reason to assume the U.S. would be any different.  At one point, "all roads lead to Rome."  Today, Rome is being abandoned for more lucrative parts of the world, while its government struggles to remain solvent.  At one point, "the sun never set on the British Empire."  Today, Brits are part of but one country in the European Union, an organization that they certainly can't claim to run, and all the other territories have been given up, one by one, having proven too tough to keep under the British umbrella.

And this week, an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education came along to back up my assertion.  In "The American Century Is Over—Good Riddance," author Andrew J. Bacevich singles out an essay from Life magazine that proclaimed the 20th century as "America's century," in poetic, patriotic and ultimately self-serving language.  Bacevich credits the article as almost single-handedly raising the American consciousness to the point of accepting the U.S. as the greatest country in the world; said consciousness coloring the things we did and the way we interacted with those in and out of our country, and eventually convincing the rest of the world that we were right, after all.  The flood of immigrants to our shores, our dominance of world affairs, our military position, all stemmed from that overblown sense of greatness.

Then the article describes how far America has slipped, in might, influence and financial power; how America struggles under the weight of its own meltdown, and as it does, loses the ability to command others.  Bacevich proclaims that the 21st century will not be owned by the U.S., though he draws back from naming our successor for century-ownership.

Those who saw this coming have suggested other countries… China is a popular guess, being the next great superpower after the U.S…. but China has issues, too, and a prodigious weight to overcome themselves.  This is the case in every one of the former superpowers, and most of the medium-sized countries besides; the era of the dominant country—any country—may be over.

I think it more likely that all countries will come to appreciate that, without large and powerful countries to throw their weight around (and who can decreasingly afford to do so anyway), the world will be better off being run by a central government overseeing the governments of the countries… much like the government of most countries oversee the activities of state governments under their wing.  A truly cosmopolitan government will finally bring about a truly cosmopolitan world, and a fair sharing of resources amongst all our peoples.

Is this an inevitable development?  Not really; we could still see larger countries, or those with specific military might or other valuable resources, hold sway over the rest.  But in the long run, this will be counter-productive, and I'd like to think that at some point, cooler (or more practical) heads will prevail.

When and if they do, we can only hope that a One World Order will be able to govern the people—for the first time, all of the people—better than individual governments can manage now.

Worldfarm One and the American Century

When I originally wrote Worldfarm One—the story of a man from the United States who travels to Brazil to work, and learns the hard way how hard immigration can be—I expected there to be comments about the characters, about the sexuality and sex-role-reversals, the casting-couch business practices, the feed-the-world model, the prejudice, even my descriptions of Manaus and the surrounding Amazonian regions in the book.

I was surprised, therefore, to discover the greatest number of comments generated by the book were about the idea that the United States would, in the future, lose its status of "greatest nation of the world," and because of economic hardships, American citizens would be forced to immigrate to other countries with greater opportunities to make a living.

I remember being roundly criticized for even suggesting the United States could "fall," and that it was not the great country it once was.  I was also soundly drubbed for suggesting that the United Nations, once the U.S. was forced to give up its dominant place in the world, would finally rise to become the dominant world government it was always meant to be.  The comments were equally emotional, maintaining the U.S.' everlasting sovereignty while emphasizing the U.N.'s ineptitude and pathetic worldwide track record.

Still, I stood by my story, understanding the fact that, so far, every world empire had eventually fallen, and there was no reason to assume the U.S. would be any different.  At one point, "all roads lead to Rome."  Today, Rome is being abandoned for more lucrative parts of the world, while its government struggles to remain solvent.  At one point, "the sun never set on the British Empire."  Today, Brits are part of but one country in the European Union, an organization that they certainly can't claim to run, and all the other territories have been given up, one by one, having proven too tough to keep under the British umbrella.

And this week, an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education came along to back up my assertion.  In "The American Century Is Over—Good Riddance," author Andrew J. Bacevich singles out an essay from Life magazine that proclaimed the 20th century as "America's century," in poetic, patriotic and ultimately self-serving language.  Bacevich credits the article as almost single-handedly raising the American consciousness to the point of accepting the U.S. as the greatest country in the world; said consciousness coloring the things we did and the way we interacted with those in and out of our country, and eventually convincing the rest of the world that we were right, after all.  The flood of immigrants to our shores, our dominance of world affairs, our military position, all stemmed from that overblown sense of greatness.

Then the article describes how far America has slipped, in might, influence and financial power; how America struggles under the weight of its own meltdown, and as it does, loses the ability to command others.  Bacevich proclaims that the 21st century will not be owned by the U.S., though he draws back from naming our successor for century-ownership.

Those who saw this coming have suggested other countries… China is a popular guess, being the next great superpower after the U.S…. but China has issues, too, and a prodigious weight to overcome themselves.  This is the case in every one of the former superpowers, and most of the medium-sized countries besides; the era of the dominant country—any country—may be over.

I think it more likely that all countries will come to appreciate that, without large and powerful countries to throw their weight around (and who can decreasingly afford to do so anyway), the world will be better off being run by a central government overseeing the governments of the countries… much like the government of most countries oversee the activities of state governments under their wing.  A truly cosmopolitan government will finally bring about a truly cosmopolitan world, and a fair sharing of resources amongst all our peoples.

Is this an inevitable development?  Not really; we could still see larger countries, or those with specific military might or other valuable resources, hold sway over the rest.  But in the long run, this will be counter-productive, and I'd like to think that at some point, cooler (or more practical) heads will prevail.

When and if they do, we can only hope that a One World Order will be able to govern the people—for the first time, all of the people—better than individual governments can manage now.

Review of Star Trek: The Immortal Coil

I'm well past the time when I would gladly devour Star Trek novels; in fact, I left that era before The Next Generation and subsequent Trek sequels ever came along.  Still, there's a draw to Trek novels… the well-detailed history of Trek lore gives the reader a background universe that, at times, seems richer than real life.

It was with this inherent background, and the promise of the book, that I picked up Star Trek: Immortal Coil.  The book promises to answer a question that has nagged the Trek universe for decades: Star Trek: The Original Series seemed to run into androids and artificial intelligences every few weeks; when the Next Generation came along, it seemed Commander Data (and later, his brother and "mother") seemed to be the only ones anyone knew about or had ever heard of; so what the heck happened to the universe of androids?

This being a Next Generation story, it naturally centers around Data and his investigation of a lab accident that leaves a familiar to (Next Generation viewers) android researcher in a coma and another, more noted researcher dead.  In investigating the accident, Data discovers an android-related agenda with a deep and surprising history.

Speaking of the deep history of Star Trek; as with most Trek novels I've read, Jeffrey Lang treads a fine line between dredging up valuable bits of Trek history to fill in gaps in his story, and throwing in archaic bits of Trek lore seemingly to impress the reader with how much Trek he knows.  Familiar names and places, obvious references to moments in TV episodes, serve to keep the Trek geek laughing and drooling like a… well, like a Trek geek.  There may be a few moments when it seems a bit too much, especially to someone else who knows all of these references… but only a few moments, which pass quickly.

Most importantly, Lang weaves a bridge that finally connects the related but separate tapestries of The Original Series and The Next Generation into an aesthetically-pleasing whole.  True, there are still a few gaps between the two tapestries, but the largest holes have been well-filled.  It leaves the reader very satisfied at the outcome, and makes for some delightful moments of recognition.

The one real complaint I had with the story–and this is coming from a Gene Roddenberry geek, not just a Star Trek geek–is that Lang dredged up a name from another old Roddenberry project and used it in this book.  Once I recognized the name, it had the effect of telegraphing about half the plot for me, which took some of the surprise out of the story.  Trust me on this: If you happen to see a name that sounds vaguely familiar… don't Google it.  Just let it ride, and keep reading, and you'll enjoy this story even more than I did.

Read an E-Book Week 2012: Same great content, easier to find freebies

Once again I've thrown in my hat with Rita Toews, designing and producing a new website for Read an E-Book Week 2012.  (And why not?  Web design is my day job.)  We both felt it deserved the new look, what with the Canadian Parliament passing a motion this year establishing the month of March as Read an E-Book Month and all!  (Want details?  You know where to go.)

I had no qualms about putting my own projects on hold to do this.  Rita's efforts to promote Read an E-Book Week every year have been exemplary, and I think we all agree that promoting reading in general, and ebooks in particular, is a noble and valuable cause.  Also, while Rita may be a great promoter, she's not an HTML expert, and her website skills are not quite up to major site design. 

When she came across me a few years back, she asked me if I would help her in that area, and I was delighted to accept.  The improved look of the site has had a lot to do with its increasing popularity over the years, and my taking over the design aspects of the site allowed Rita to concentrate on adding content.  The result: A professional-looking site with lots of great material.  If you're looking for more information about ebooks, searching for references to pass on to others, or just looking for free books to snag, you can do worse than to check out Rita's site.

This site also accomplishes a goal of mine, which is to improve my exposure on the web, to help sell my own books.  I'll be doing a REBW promotion for the month of March, which I will detail soon.  And then it's on to my next project… whatever that may be.

4-Star Review of Verdant Pioneers

The following is a review of Verdant Pioneers from Sift Book Reviews:

Verdant Pioneers was a real page turner for me. I haven't read a ton of space operas, but I have to imagine this story is one of the better ones. Take a look at the description.

The city-satellite Verdant has spent a year out in deep space, moving from system to system in search of the raw materials it needs to survive, fighting off terrorist factions that seek to force their return to Earth influence, and unsure of Earth's state. No one on Earth knows Verdant's status, either, and both sides are afraid of aggression from the other.

And when the deep-space discovery of the age is spoiled by the unexpected disappearance of one of their freighters, Julian Lenz and his staff must make a difficult decision: To take Verdant into hiding, perhaps forever; or to return to Earth, and risk Verdant's survival. 

This book is a sequel to Verdant Skies; however, considering this is my first read of the series, I think it stood on its own perfectly well. There was at no point in the story that I felt like I was missing something that must have happened in the first book.

With so much action and drama there was always something new to hold my interest just as one of the other sub plots would wind to a close. There was plenty of romance as well. The passionate moments were way more explicit than I think they needed to be, but they were never vulgar. These scenes definitely grant Verdant Pioneers an R rating; but with just a few scenes turned down a bit, this story could easily broaden its audience.

This story had a multitude of characters and I have to admit I had a little trouble keeping track of them all as well as how all of them intertwined with each other. I'd occasionally have to break my flow to search back in the book to refresh my memory, but it never took too long.

The faster than light mechanism used to explore far away by "translating" instantaneously from one location to another by means of an on board machine reminded me of the Battlestar Galactica TV series (2004) . Just like with that show, I did not want this book to end. I award this book 4 stars and will definitely be going back to read the first in the series as well.

Matching metaphors: Ebooks and cable television

A recent thesis by Stefan Larsson, entitled "Metaphors and Norms – Understanding Copyright Law in a Digital Society," received a lot of attention for examining the metaphors being used to quantify digital products like ebooks, MP3 files, etc. The thesis asserts that the many problems holding the ebook industry from a stable, sustainable state have been the result of applying the wrong metaphors to ebooks, for instance, comparing it to physical goods like printed books, to limited data like an email, or public presentations like a website.

In the arena of ebooks, that discussion has predictably covered a lot of apropos and inapropos territory, effectively providing plenty of evidence in Larsson's assertion; but thanks to his well-informed attack of the problem of recognizing digital products, quite a bit of the discussion about and following the thesis has been exceedingly intelligent and well-considered.

Of the themes and arguments that frequently circulate this subject, two, I feel, stand out.  One is a comparison of the ebook industry to the cable television industry of the late-twentieth century, and its method of justifying its services to its customers.  The other is the idea, very popular among digital fans, that the concept of digital product "theft" is inaccurate, since there is no actual "loss" of product in the instance.

Both of these comments are vital to the discussion because the first represents a set of metaphors that might suit ebooks better than most product/services; and the latter raises an important concept also touched on by cable services.

I remember when the first cable TV services were rolled out in our area (yes, I'm that old—so shaddap before I swat you with my walking cane); and right away, consumers were trying to figure out how to "steal" cable signals from neighbors, what rights they had to run lines through their homes and create multiple outlets out of one, and why they were suddenly paying for something they used to get over-the-air for free (excepting the cost of a television).

The customer's logic was that the cable companies weren't "losing" anything through cable sharing. It was the same show, whether they got it over-the-air or from a spliced cable, and they'd never paid for it before. In one sense, it seemed a logical argument.

The cable companies didn't see it that way: They were, in fact, creating infrastructure and providing a customized access to video materials, even if they didn't create the materials themselves; in short, they were providing a service to customers, and customers were free to pay for the service, or get their TV elsewhere (re: More limited number of stations, over-the-air).

Cable services put a lot of effort into working out those conceptual problems, mostly through massaging laws and offering value-added extras to their services (more channels, premium content, adult content). They have been largely successful over time in satisfying customers that they are getting a valuable commodity for their money (content quality notwithstanding), and getting legislatures to back their assertion that their services could not be "pirated" without prosecution.

Though no security system is perfect, the cable industry has always relied on one simple deterrent to prevent unauthorized cable use: Denial of service.  With a comprehensive individual identification system in-place, the industry is (supposedly) capable of identifying a cable scofflaw, anywhere they go, and based on past indiscretions, refuse them access to their cable service.  And despite the average consumers' complaints about the cable industry, few of them are willing to risk the loss of it by blatantly unauthorized use of cable signals. Today, most customers do not obsess over attempts to "pirate" TV signals, and are unlikely to complain much about it… they are more likely to complain about not liking the content on the 500 channels they pay for.

"Theft" of ebooks is, in many ways, similar to cable "theft," in that strictly speaking, there is no loss of physical product involved; it is considered a theft of service, the idea that you are legally expected to pay for their services provided (creating a digital form of the book), or go without (read a printed book, or nothing). If a reliable system designed to identify scofflaws and deny them access to ebooks was in-place, the market would largely self-regulate and a stable industry would result.

Therefore, ebooks should be considered in the context of software and broadcast services, as a digital file created by a service and offered by a provider (and therefore requiring the mutual agreement of the customer to compensate the service/provider for their work as requested), and protected by the same statutes (and roughly the same methods) that prevent unauthorized re-broadcast or reuse of broadcasts. This makes much more sense than looking at ebooks specifically and solely as analogues to the physical products that they replace, a model that has proven to be unworkable in the marketplace even if it seems logical on its surface.

From this foundation of more appropriate metaphors, we ought to be able to make the required adjustments for the realities of the internet and digital devices to ensure the proper adherence to these considerations.  The cable system provides many workable analogues to creating and policing an ebook service/provider industry that could be acceptable for consumers and profitable for industry.

For instance, the understanding that cable companies provide goods/services made by others is a good parallel to the ebook and its sale to others.  Though the ebook itself may practically have zero cost, it is understood that cost was generated in creating the ebook, packaging it and delivering it to the consumer, and this is what is being paid for. Once obtained, the consumer can use the book according to agreed-upon parameters (initial use in perpetuity, and sharing with the immediate family/household).

It is further understood that the delivering of the ebook product to a consumer assumes certain rights of the creator and distributor, and limits the rights of consumers in re-delivering that product to others; in other words, control over copying and redistribution of the ebook to others. In the same way that you are not permitted to copy and rebroadcast an NFL football game (to public groups, or for monetary gain) without permission from the rights holders, so you would not be permitted to copy and redistribute an ebook to others without permission from the rights holders.  It does, however, allow the creation of "backup" copies of the ebook, as many as reasonably desired (it is assumed that 1 or 2 copies would be typical) as long as they are not redistributed to others.

This also protects against the independent creation and redistribution of an ebook whose original work is still owned by a rights holder.  Just as it is illegal to independently create DVD copies of, say, Jurassic Park, and redistribute those copies to others without permission of the rights holders, so it would be illegal to create and redistribute copies of an ebook, without permission from the rights holder.  It covers the book without specifically involving the provider/distributor, just as the movie Jurassic Park would be covered independently of the broadcast provider, say, Verizon.

In another example, cable's convention of selecting a location and allowing anyone with access to that location access to cable's services is a good parallel to the social system of the immediate family/household group that share that household's products and services.  An ebook system that can be accessed by an immediate family/household group would facilitate the communal sharing common to that group.  Though this does not quite equal the sharing of printed books that can extend beyond the immediate family/household, it is a reasonable and understandable compromise for ebook producers and consumers.

Of course, the cable system does not cover every aspect of ebooks, but it provides a good guideline towards establishing a public- and industry-wide set of reasonable rules and guidelines with which to create and transact ebooks in public and private.

One of the reasons the cable system works is that people tend to be tied to certain households, and provide information regarding those households' occupants and use, to the cable provider.  The provider uses this information to determine the suitability of a location and its occupants to receive their cable signal, with the understanding that a violation of their rules regarding locations and occupants can merit the blocking of their signal to those locations.

A similarly-effective system must be in-place in order for the cable TV metaphor to be applied to ebooks, otherwise the system will not be enforce-able at any level.  This would require some method of identifying a user, and their methods of access to their ebooks, as well as those of their immediate family/household.  In a way, each person would become the equivalent of a household, and their equipment would need to be registered or identifiable to them, like a cable receiver and attached televisions or wireless network, to allow it to access the product.  Perhaps some combination of user ID code and biometric identifier would suffice to provide all the identification a user and their equipment would need.  And these codes would have to be protected against tampering, in the same way that a cell phone's internal systems are designed not to be altered by the user to, say, piggyback a call on someone else's account/line.

Though this seems, on the outset, to be a lot of bother for an ebook, the steps are not that out of the question, and to some extent, have been accomplished with present-day technology.  Again, the cable industry provides ample examples of the effectiveness of the model, and by extension, its applicability to other models.  When you consider an entire industry at stake, the effort required to create a sustainable ebook market and infrastructure would be eminently desirable and workable, and worth any additional effort required by industries and consumers to support it.

The alternative would be an ebook market that is not sustainable, not supportable, and not profitable for its creators and providers, which would eventually cause an cessation of large-scale book writing and production for the masses.  Though some argue that this would be a good thing for literature, removing all monetary value and consideration from writing, most understand that there are a significant number of excellent writers and book producers who work for monetary gain only, and such a measure would only deprive the world of some of the best writing available; an end to the era of writing—or, if you will, a return to an era of a few amateurs of mixed talent and a bit of time amongst their other obligations to write, creating literature that will ultimately not be seen by more than a tiny fraction of the population.

In cable parlance, it would be the equivalent of shutting down the 500 channels in crystal-clear reception, and being left with 2-3 local stations of dubious quality.  I suspect that few of us would want to go back to a television world like that, if a few dollars and some household accountability could maintain what we have.  And like so many other things, consumers usually demonstrate a willingness to pay, and even suffer a few impositions (like heightened security), for something they perceive to have value.

But the question is completely up to the consumer: They have the final power to accept a cable-based sustainable infrastructure for ebooks, or to drop reading like a hot potato, and allow it to fade into obscurity with such treasured art forms as tap-dancing and voice-mimicry… relics of previous centuries, abandoned and barely missed in this century.

Read an E-book Week is now a MONTH! (in Canada)

Sent to me by Rita Toews, founder of Read an E-book Week—she has lobbied the Canadian government, with fantastic results:

Great news! By virtue of an Order by the 41st Parliament of Canada, First Session, Motion M-293 was passed declaring the month of March Read an E-Book Month!

The Order reads:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize that the ePublishing industry has created economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, authors, publishers and e-reader manufacturers; (b) recognize that e-books present significant benefits for seniors and children; (c) recognize that e-books are an environmentally-friendly alternative to books; (d) declare the month of March as "Read an E-book Month"; (e) support the goals and ideals of "Read an E-book Month"; and (f) encourage Canadians to observe "Read an E-book Month".

Rita goes on to say:

"I'm proud to see that Canada has taken steps to recognize the innovation of e-book entrepreneurs and the value this new technology brings to society."

And just as we were wondering what great new thing we'd be able to bring to REBW 2012! Today, Canada; tomorrow, ze vorld!!

How biking can save us

Oh, look… another infographic! One of these days, I have to make one of these myself… but for now, you can enjoy this one about the power of bicycles to transform our world.

I can attest to some of the data below… for instance, weight loss.  I lost about 15 pounds in a year of riding just 2 miles from home to the local MARC station, then another 1.5 miles from Union Station to my office.  I admit I do little biking to shop, but I tend to combine trips, and if the store I want to hit is between the station and home, I stop along the way.

Created by: Healthcare Management Degree

Excerpt of The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker

Enjoy this excerpt from The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker, available on my site and other ebook outlets.

The excerpt begins with a defining moment for Carolyn Kestral, commander in the Galarchy Rangers, and how it sets her on the next stage of her life, that of a freighter captain.  The excerpt also introduces some of the people that will work for her on the freighter Mary.

The Kestral Voyages were my answer to Star Trek-type light science fiction, or sci-fi.  In fact, I originally developed the characters back in 2001 as a possible future Trek series, when Paramount was winding down on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and supposedly asking for public opinion as to what to do next.  (I say "supposedly" because, with hindsight, I refuse to believe Paramount was ever going to listen to the audience when it came to what show to create; they quite obviously thought they knew best in every way.  Hint: It was the Paramount execs that pushed Seven of Nine onto Star Trek: Voyager, not the Trek execs.)

Once Paramount had decided to go with Voyager, I let the characters sit for awhile, then I picked them back up with the idea of writing a story with them.  The first thing I did was to create a new setting, a universe that wouldn't be like the Star Trek universe with thousands of intelligent aliens, all of whom could speak (in English!) to us.  I never thought it was at all realistic or likely that there would be aliens about; more likely, given the cosmic scales of time, we'd either meet a race that was still a few evolutionary stages behind us, or we'd arrive to find the ruins of a long-dead civilization.

So I wrote about a universe where only one alien race had been found, and the Galarchy was made up of nothing but humans on terraformed worlds.  Indeed, some of these humans were genetically altered from the human baseline in order to more easily survive on those worlds, but not to an extreme; and so every genetic alteration was still recognizable as human (or at least humanoid), they could all eat most or all of the same foods, they all had vocal cords and ears capable of communicating in English, etc.  To me, this made so much more sense than Trek's universe.

One thing I kept from Trek was the idea of a faster-than-light warp system.  Star Trek's warp system is something I consider completely impossible in the Trek iteration, and in fact in most depictions of it in sci-fi.  However, FTL travel has become an accepted trope in science fiction at any level; even if you don't have weird aliens or exotic hardware, it's considered okay to bend the rules of galactic travel and make interstellar trips as easy as a trip to the next town.  Using an FTL drive meant I didn't have to limit the number and type of worlds available to my story, and I didn't have to cram them into a single solar system.

Ironically, it wasn't long before I'd created my new Kestral universe that I saw Firefly, the Joss Whedon series that presented a world of terraformed planets and moons in one solar system!  Firefly's characters didn't need FTL flight to move around, so science seemed satisfied.  (Yes, another caveat: I'm pretty sure all of those planets could not fit into the "Goldilocks" habitation zone around a star, and it's the one aspect of Firefly's universe that is never discussed.  Also, Whedon uses the old "gravity on spaceships" trope, since it's so much easier than forcing your actors to do all their work in wire rigs.  For the record, I kept that trope for Kestral, too.)

But even with these largely superficial similarities, the Kestral Voyages came out as unique, a great set of characters on a workable universe.  And thanks to that universe, they were a lot of fun to write, and easily lent itself to two sequels.  I've been advised to continue to write Kestral stories, more than any other book or series I've written, and if I ever develop a serious following, I'd bet the Kestral series is one of the few things I'll be remembered for.

Enjoy the excerpt.

SLJ books are great for the "Gift of E"

This year, the "Gift of E," that is, giving ebooks to those you love for the holidays, is very popular.  Unfortunately, some ebook-sellers make you jump through a few hoops to gift those ebooks to others.

At RightBrane, we make it easy.  You can buy any of the books from the RightBrane site with no DRM or device controls that make it hard to move files about.  Once you buy, simply send your ebook as a gift email, or put it on a thumb drive or memory card.  That's it!  No device-swapping, gift cards or multiple accounts required.  Giving ebooks can't be easier than that!

So this year, try introducing someone you know to the books of Steven Lyle Jordan.  They'll appreciate the new book… and I'll appreciate a potential new customer!

Happy holidays, and happy reading!