Renaissance Hits The Internet
Auckland, New Zealand – Mike Reeves-McMillan's novel City of Masks may
be set in the Renaissance, but he's promoting it in distinctly
21st-century ways.
The former book editor has set up a weblog, echoing the journal
format in which the story is told. It features the author reading his
own work in a podcast, which can be subscribed to for free through
online services like Apple's iTunes and Podiobooks. He intends to release the
recordings as an audiobook when complete.
The cover illustration and the incidental music for the podcast were
both sourced from the Internet for free, with the permission of their
creators.
"I approached several publishers with the manuscript, but because it
didn't fit their neat genre categories they didn't know what to do with
it. So I decided to publish it myself – something that has become much
easier in just the past couple of years," Reeves-McMillan says.
"It's a tremendous time to be creative. There's so much that you can do
for little or no money that there just aren't any excuses left for not
putting your work out in the public arena. You can connect directly to
your audience, without going through a gatekeeper like a big publisher
or record label."
City of Masks is a swashbuckling adventure in a setting like
Shakespeare's Italy - complete with twins – except that law and custom
requires everyone to wear a mask and act in character with it at all times.
The action revolves around the innocent-minded envoy of a foreign power,
sent to the City to get him safely out from underfoot. However, he soon
becomes caught up in the intrigues of the city, including the activities
of a mysterious serial killer.
and in audio podcast from Podiobooks.
ends