A Novel of America on the Back Burner

I've put my online writing project on hiatus while I develop commentopia, a new 'super-blog' inspired by my work as a Reader's Digest editor.

commentopia brings you the best comments curated from the top news sources of the web.

Thousands of readers' comments are sifted for intelligent, thoughtful and on point discourse of lasting interest. I hope you'll become a regular visitor to the site that is updated throughout the day.

Since beginning work on A Novel of America, my vision of the project has gone beyond the idea of simply writing a manuscript online. Words are the core, of course, but I believe web-based storytelling must employ all available facets: video, sound, images, interactive media. Here are three excellent examples of “novel” innovations on the web:

The Kindle edition of my book, Brazil, has an Illustrated Guide linked to each chapter and to my travel journals that reflects the kind of cross-platform on which A Novel of America should evolve when time permits a return to the work.

In the future, too, I will seek to make this a collaborative effort with other creative talents well-versed in the artistry of the web.