I've received several inquiries as to whether/when XIANNE will be available as an e-book.

The answer is YES, and fairly soon (perhaps a couple of months).

This prompts me, however, to explain my personal feelings about this technological advancement, and why I did not employ it from the outset.

Let me be very clear about the fact that I absolutely see the convenience and practicality of the e-reader, containing multitudes of books within its magic e-reader innards. I'll probably own one myself before long.

However, I chose not to have XIANNE available in that format from the beginning--NOT to thwart sales, and not as some form of "old-fogey" protest, but--because from the time I was a young teen, I've dreamed of being a published author. This, of course, was due simply to the great love I had for books and those who wrote them. Never once, though, in all that dreaming, did I ever envision my stories--my WORDS--scrolling across the face of an electronic device. In fact, I know of no author who did. I wanted to write--to create--and I wanted to see my creation in the same form as those I had come to love from childhood. I wanted to see my name on the cover of A BOOK ON A SHELF....

I wanted to hold it, to flip through its pages, to BREATHE IN ITS SCENT....

Certainly an e-book is more practical. It saves trees; it saves space.

But once I obtain one, I can guarantee you that I will NOT loan it out, risking it not being returned.... I will NOT take it to the beach or poolside, risking it getting dirty or wet.... In effect, the e-reader will quash my loaning of literature, and much of my "outdoor" reading.

Technology is wonderful. I, myself, write science-fiction. But I am admittedly nostalgic for a time when we didn't have everything at our fingertips. No, I wouldn't want to do away with our advancements; I simply sometimes miss the way things used to be.

I am a book collector. In my life, I have combed through so many used-book stores and come away with so many treasures that I couldn't possibly relate all the stories to you--nor my elation each time it happened. Now, however, I have only to search online for that rare edition I've always wanted, click "add to cart", enter my credit card number, and a few days later, I can hold it in my hands. Somehow these victories ring hollow.... The thrill of the hunt is gone forever....

I do not apologize for missing the "old" days.

And I wanted my first novel, XIANNE, to be available--if only for a little while--in the format that originally inspired me to write...an Actual Real Book.