August 1, 2011 – As a lover of books and technology, I’ve spent a lot of time the past few years investigating how to combine them. The proliferation of tablet computing, and the need/availability for interaction, have pushed us to a point where a book can be more. Terms like enhanced eBook, interactive eBook and others have been bandied about; but whatever the term, adding multimedia to a print book turns it into something more.

We also recently have been working with non-profit organizations, such as my friends at the Texas State Historical Association, helping them to take their unique and valuable content (most of it in print format, or even out-of-print) and get it into a digitized, interactive medium…into a format that will continue to promote their goals of education, research, preservation and membership.

I stumbled across the work of some fine people utilizing HTML5 to build enhanced eBooks. With the current ePub standard, there is no standard support for adding multimedia; Amazon’s Kindle format provides some, but only on certain platforms.

With these converging trends, technologies and paths, I’ve put together an app for the Apple App Store that is an experiment of sorts; a proof point, if you will, that not only can you build an entertaining enhanced eBook, but that utilizing available content that you can use this content as a bridge to sustainable funding for non-profits.

With that introduction, we are happy to announce:

Cecil does the GRAND CANYON holding a poptart

If you want to reflect back on a trip you made to the Grand Canyon, one of the eight natural wonders of the world, or you just want to imagine one, this app will take you there.

With proceeds benefiting the Grand Canyon Association, this Grand Canyon app follows the author, friends and guides as they:

• hike down Bright Angel Trail;
• raft one hundred miles down the Colorado River;
• hike the so-called “Death March” hike to Thunder River and Surprise Valley;
• visit Havasu;
• brave Lava Falls (and live to tell about it);
• helicopter out from Whitemore Wash.

Containing hi-definition videos, hundreds of photos, maps and the story of the journey, this multimedia application will be sure to remind you of your own trip to the Grand Canyon…or increase your desire to visit.

Dusk Before the Dawn, Ketchersid’s first novel, is now available for Kindle, Nook and other formats. This book was a Finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year awards in 2006.

Also, look for The Last Klick by Robert Flynn to be available in Kindle format soon. Originally published in 1994, this is the story of war correspondent Sherrill O’Connell, who heads to Vietnam to escape the death of his daughter. What he finds there is a world of unreality, distorted by the new media. Because of an instinctive reaction to sudden danger, he becomes a hero. His own story becomes the good news that Americans want to hear.

At Smashwords, eBooks can be viewed or downloaded in multiple formats, such as HTML, ePub (open industry format, good for Stanza reader, others), LRF (for Sony Reader), Palm Doc (for Palm reading devices) and other popular formats.

Dusk Before the Dawn was a finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award.