But Douglas Clegg , who has serialized his novels via the Web, has a different take on King's announcement. It took me 12 years to complete my novel, You Come When I Call You . I'd like to think that readers on the Internet will allow King the creative vision to take what time he needs to deliver the best novel possible. Writing fiction ain't like delivering groceries. A strategic alliance is also a possibility.
Industry analysts suggest a strategic alliance seems the more likely of the two scenarios.
When The Wall Street Journal first hinted at the talks over a week ago, Dr. Henry C. Yuen, chief executive of Gemstar, declined to comment. LiveReads , a new digital publishing firm, has released an interactive e-book version of Orpheus Emerged, a previously unpublished Jack Kerouac novella. The characters in Orpheus Emerged are based upon the new friendships that Kerouac was forming with Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Lucien Carr and others. But perhaps more important than its literary merit is how this e-book takes full advantage of a PC's multimedia capabilities. Enhanced with footnotes, bibliographies and journal entries, Orpheus suggests what the book of the future might look and sound like.