"The Adventures of Whatley Tupper" An absurd choose-your-own-adventure

[Rudolf]

A little bit of flagrant self promotion:

A friend and I wrote a comedic take on those Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80's, about a middle-aged, Magnum P.I. obsessed janitor in a crappy university. It's designed for the Kindle, which means instead of flipping pages you click on a link.

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-What...

It's a strange and complex book, but the great thing about a choose your own adventure is that you don't really have to read all of it. Just the more you read, the more cross-referencing jokes you'll notice.

And if you know anything about Smashwords, there's a limited time coupon for a FREE copy of it here: http://kerkhoven.wordpress.com/

Thank you for letting me take up some of your busy day. Of course, if you're reading posts on here, you're probably not really THAT busy, are you?
Rudy

[Natalie]

Hi Rudolf,

I think you're right. I must have a lot of free time at work seeing I'm playing on goodreads/Amazon. :)

As for this book some times self promotion work in your favor like this one. I took a peek at this book on Amazon and being a huge fan of Choose Your Own Adventure books I'm very excited to find this little jem.

Thanks for the link for the free download but I think I will actully purchase it on Amazon. After reading the wonderful review and see that it has some hyperlinks right in the book to take you from page to page is outstanding. I was worried it wouldn't work seeing you can only click from page to page. It really sounds fun and I cant wait to start reading it.

Thanks again for the suggestion. Happy Reading!

[Rudolf]

Hey Natalie,

Thanks for the kind words and potentially buying the book! I see so many ebooks for 99cents that I wonder if 2.99 is too much...

...and then I think about what I can buy for 2.99. A taco?

Thanks again, comments like yours make my day.

Rudy

[Natalie]

Ha-ha a taco yeah and many eBooks. :) I don't think $2.99 is high at all. You can't even buy a magazine or book for that price. You might be surprised but I bought a eBook on Amazon for $9.95 and 4 months later it was listed for $3.49. I was like holy shit. I thought the $9 price wasn't that bad seeing the book in stores for like $15. Damn I should have waited but you never know when or if eBooks will drop. So no 2.99 are a very good price.

Do you happen to have an ereader? I have the Kindle 2nd generation. Really would love to get the new one but seeing I just bought mine in march I better wait a little to get my use out of this one. These ereaders are an ingenious contraption. I don't know how I ever lived with out one. Its funny I was always that girl not wanting to get one for fear my library collect would dwindle but surprisingly it has grown and I’ve read twice as many books with the help of the kindle.
Happy Day!

[Rudolf]

No, I don't have an ereader. I'm like a drug dealer--I don't mess around with my product.


Seriously, I think I'm getting won over by the Kindle and will get one by Christmas. I used to be resistant to the idea, but I see how far they've come and it's completely changing the publishing industry. It's amazing that anyone can now publish a book and it's frightening that anyone can now publish a book. The question now is how does an author get noticed when there are literally hundreds of new books being released every day. I'm still learning...

[Rudolf]

Oh, and Natalie, if you do end up purchasing the book, it would be wonderful if you could find a few minutes to write a quick review of it on the Amazon site. Those reviews are so important at this stage of the game, and if you have any opinions on the book, it would be great if you could share them.

[Natalie]

Ha-ha dealer...send some of that good stuff over to me. :)

Yeah I hear you when it comes to everyone getting their work publish like its nothing now a days. I dream of one day having a book of my own but I don't see that ever happening. Who really wants to read dairy format and drug addict/recovery? It has been done so many times over that its starting to turn people’s brains into junk. Any ways the first draft sucks and I think I need to start draft two but I see that never happening.

As for the Kindle, boy you better break down and get one soon. You will be amazed and you won't believe all the books you will fall in love with. Yes there are a lot and your head will spin trying to figure out which ones to read. Also you can add music, to listen to while you read, use the dictionary on the kindle to help with big words you might not understand, and even check Wikipedia for articles you never thought you really needed to look up. Oh and you can transfer PDF files on the kindle. I have found it more useful then I thought I would. I even think the new K3 has better features but still my K2 rocks. It sure is a great addition to any book collectors’ collection.

You're all so right about reviewing books on Amazon. There are so many kindle books I would love to read but the description does not do justice. Most say "this book has been converted from the original version to fit this device." Yeah like that helps me pick out a book. So I mostly go off the review of people who posted on Amazon. Yes and don’t worry I will review your book. I can't help but review everything I read. It not only helps me remember everything I've read but helps other people find great books.

However I’m carious about the Choose your Own Adventure book. Did you first write it and publish it as a book and then converted it in to eBook format or did you start writing it for the eBooks? Just wondering. Cheers!

[Rudolf]

No, the book has not been previously published. We tried, but it's a tough one to publish in the traditional way. My friend Daniel and I wrote the book over a period of several years, emailing back and forth, each writing a section, leaving a few choices, and then passing it on, so we never really knew where it was going, which made it all the more fun. Because of this, it's really long for light comedy, which doesn't make it a great fit for a old fashioned book.

It sat in the netherworld of our harddrives until I heard about this Kindle publishing and realized that it was the perfect genre for these books. Being able to click on a link really smooths the whole reading experience...

Anyhow, thanks again, and I look forward (I hope) to your review!
Rudy

[Natalie]

Ok Good news. I just purchased the Book today on Amazon. I can't wait to start reading it. It’s going to be a fun read over this long weekend. Have a good labor day. Thanks again for the recommendation. :)

[Rudolf]

Thanks, Natalie!

I just updated Amazon with a slightly newer version with less typos. I hope you can forgive me when you stumble across them in your version...

...you seem like a forgiving person.

[Natalie]

Don't worry. Knowing me I won’t even notice them. I get more into the story then dumb typos. I’m glad you’re updating. It really gets me. Why do the kindle books have so many errors? Do they have typist that don’t re-read or do they not care. I have heard a lot of complains that the kindle books have a lot of typos. I guess it’s still great to have your work published. It’s an art really. Something you can call your own.

[Amber]

Ive nticed teh same thig abot the tipos. Wy dont peeple profreed there work? Jeez. How anoying. ;)

[Rudolf]

Until September 19th, "The Adventures of Whatley Tupper" is only 0.99 cents! That's cheaper than a Snickers bar! And with zero calories and NO aspartame!

[Rudolf]

Well, I think this is kinda cool. A few days ago my book, The Adventures of Whatley Tupper, was reviewed on the Amazon.com site by J.A. Konrath. As he was writing his own choose your own adventure book, he checked it out, and quite liked it.

"I checked out other interactive fiction ebooks, and this was one of my favorites. Lots of strange stuff happening, some wildly divergent threads, and a healthy dose of WTF keep this ebook interesting even after multiple reads.

Will this be the next big trend in ebooks? I sure hope so." -- J.A. Konrath on Amazon.com

Well, if you've stumbled upon this thread, perhaps you have yet another reason to at least try the sample (there's a 33% sample available at Smashwords).

Couldn't you use a healthy dose of WTF?

[Rudolf]

It's been a long time since I promoted this. Since my last post, "The Adventures of Whatley Tupper" has received a lot of nice reviews, including this recent one from Kate the Book Buff:

"When I was a kid, Choose Your Own Adventure(CYOA) books were big, and my favorite brand was the Goosebumps ones by R.L. Stine because the plot lines were significantly weirder and more twisted than your average CYOA. I think that is why I ultimately enjoyed The Adventures of Whatley Tupper–because it was super weird…. The plot lines are ridiculous in the very best way. The story lines are all fast paced and the flow of events is abrupt and awkward, but that is what makes it funny and entertaining. I really love just plain old weird, off kilter stuff, and Whatley Tupper totally fits the bill… for hours of disgustingly ridiculous fun, the book is a great price.”

It's only 2.99 at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-What...
(a 33% sample is available from Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view... )

Rudolf Kerkhoven