@ AN ON-DISK NOVEL...?


\ It has been done

 Okay so it sounds a rather odd idea for a PD production but such a 
thing has in fact been done - several times I believe - by New
Zealand's Ivan Millett - the author of the on-disk science fiction
novel (100,000+ words!) "Deus Ex Machina". I know a lot of PD buyers
who've read Mr Millett's story (or at least obtained copies of it)
which proves there is indeed an interested market, albeit a small one.

 For those of you who've never seen it, Mr Millett's disk is very well
presented with each chapter of the story available to read using an 
above standard AmigaDos text-viewer. In a well-written introduction to
his work, Mr Millett points out that he has "sought various publishers
for "Deus Ex Machina" here [New Zealand I assume] and overseas, but
there is no getting away from the fact that this is not a `commercial'
book". What better reason for releasing the disk as PD...?

 The following two paragraphs are from MEGADISK, an Australian on-disk
magazine for the Amiga (early 1993) and a review of "Deus Ex Machina":


#   Unfortunately I am sure there is a lot more of this good quality
#   work being produced that will never be published and maybe one day
#   some clever soul will set up a "Teklanmeh" where all writers can
#   place their non commercial writings for access by those people who
#   would be interested, if they were ever published.

#   For now, PD Suppliers should be encouraged to stock other such
#   "novels" where authors who cannot get published for what are
#   really $ reasons (profit vs art) as an incentive to produce
#   further work.  The present incentive of being able to release "non
#   commercial" software through PD Libraries has undoubtedly made a
#   difference in the quality and availability of much of the Amiga
#   software being used world wide.
 
Unlike "Deus Ex Machina", the novel I intend to release is not sci-fi,
nowhere near as long, or in fact made up. It is a true story based on
real people and real happenings...

It is spring, 1988. Two young teenagers of the opposite sex are living
in a dull, unexciting world, unaware of each other's existence. Both 
are the victims of physical and sexual abuse. Both can not find a way 
to fit properly into society. But then - through some divine twist of
fate - they meet. And everything changes...

"The Crying River" was written in 1993, six years after the actual 
events took place. It's mainly a love story I guess, though not full
of the usual explicit stuff because firstly it's true (I am the
protagonist) and secondly it's about children, not broad-minded 
adults. If I can be forgiven for analysing my own work, I think the 
story will be a very rewarding read to adults and teenagers alike. 
There is a feeling of "escape" contained within, rarely felt in the
grown-up world. 

Because of its truth I feel very nervous about releasing it into PD (a
fiction novel would be a damned sight more easier to let go). The few
who've read it, however, have enjoyed it immensely and deep down I 
would like to share the novel with many others.

What do you think about the on-disk novel? Would you like to see "The 
Crying River"? Have you read and enjoyed "Deus Ex Machina"? Perhaps 
you've got a lengthy story of your own and would like to discuss the 
PD novel alternative with authors of a similar mind?

Write to me: Mr Andrew Campbell, 4 Alloe Field Place, Illingworth, 
Halifax, HX2 9ES. 

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