PRESS RELEASE: September 1, 2008
Take A Free Read On the Internet Highway
Entire Short Novel Online & On the House
No gimmicks. No registration required. And best of all–no fees.
Oh, and BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer).
In days of high gas prices and a yo-yo stock market, it’s a rare
treat to stumble upon an item offered totally free, no strings attached.
“A Christmas Castle”, a novella by Central New York writer Thomas
J. Prestopnik, is one such find. And in the age of the Internet, you can
enjoy this freebie while lounging around in your bathrobe and slippers.
“A Christmas Castle”, the writer’s fifth work, will be the first one
presented online in its entirety before publication in book form, free
for anyone to read on his official website www.TomPresto.com. In
this heartwarming story for adults and older teens, eight-year-old
Jack Mason glances up at a shooting star on Christmas night in
1966, resulting in a life-altering chain of events not revealed until
eighty-two years later.
Prestopnik, a self-published author, seized upon the idea to
unveil his latest work in cyberspace at no charge, hoping to reach a
wider audience by allowing readers to test-drive one of his books to
see if the writing style and storyline appeal to them. By offering the
novella as an early Christmas present, he hopes to spotlight his
quartet of previously published works too, perhaps gaining some
lifelong readers. A 2009 book publication date is anticipated.
Self-publishing, while once an expensive choice for many writers,
has become an economical and time-friendly option in the age of the
Internet and digital printing, though one must yet harness that
sometimes elusive creative energy, stare at a computer screen for
months in solitary confinement and still produce the words. And while
marketing the book is often left up to the author, self-publishing
companies, referred to as print-on-demand publishers, typically
register their authors’ books on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble
booksellers’ websites for the public to order.
So Prestopnik, occasionally frustrated by wasted weeks or
months spent contacting publishers and agents, and also desiring to
retain the rights and creative control of his books, decided to test the
waters of self-publishing years ago. And while relishing the role of
writer but being somewhat the stereotypical reluctant author, he found
self-publishing a nice fit, able to work at his own creative pace without
worrying about deadlines, demands and the editorial whims of others.
While “A Christmas Castle” is aimed at a slightly older audience,
Prestopnik’s first four self-published novels are fantasy-adventures
geared toward pre-teens and up. The first, “Gabriel’s Journey”
(AuthorHouse 2003), is about a group of field mice who flee their
once-peaceful meadow in search of a new home to escape the
invasion of green-eyed beasts from across a country road. Gabriel,
who leads the mission, has his plans complicated after his best friend
Simon falls under the spell of the beasts.
The Endora Trilogy series comprises Prestopnik’s other writings
beginning with “The Timedoor” (Infinity 2005). Brother and sister
protagonists Christopher and Molly Jordan battle the evil Belthasar in
both his human and spirit forms–and in two different worlds–
throughout the three novels. Books two and three, respectively, are
“The Sword and the Crown” (Infinity 2005) and “The Saving Light”
(Infinity 2007). A sample chapter from each of these four books is
posted on his website.
Writing his books has primarily been a labor of love, and though
not earning a livelihood by publishing them, the dream is nonetheless
there, and nowadays, so are the means. For anyone willing to put pen
to paper or fingers to a keyboard, technology has paved the way for
individuals to produce a book on their own and release it when ready
like a small fish into a vast ocean.
And beyond that? Well for now, Prestopnik is quite content to let
the literary currents take his words, especially “A Christmas Castle”,
wherever they may, including hopefully to a few more home computer
screens.
Take A Free Read On the Internet Highway
Entire Short Novel Online & On the House
No gimmicks. No registration required. And best of all–no fees.
Oh, and BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer).
In days of high gas prices and a yo-yo stock market, it’s a rare
treat to stumble upon an item offered totally free, no strings attached.
“A Christmas Castle”, a novella by Central New York writer Thomas
J. Prestopnik, is one such find. And in the age of the Internet, you can
enjoy this freebie while lounging around in your bathrobe and slippers.
“A Christmas Castle”, the writer’s fifth work, will be the first one
presented online in its entirety before publication in book form, free
for anyone to read on his official website www.TomPresto.com. In
this heartwarming story for adults and older teens, eight-year-old
Jack Mason glances up at a shooting star on Christmas night in
1966, resulting in a life-altering chain of events not revealed until
eighty-two years later.
Prestopnik, a self-published author, seized upon the idea to
unveil his latest work in cyberspace at no charge, hoping to reach a
wider audience by allowing readers to test-drive one of his books to
see if the writing style and storyline appeal to them. By offering the
novella as an early Christmas present, he hopes to spotlight his
quartet of previously published works too, perhaps gaining some
lifelong readers. A 2009 book publication date is anticipated.
Self-publishing, while once an expensive choice for many writers,
has become an economical and time-friendly option in the age of the
Internet and digital printing, though one must yet harness that
sometimes elusive creative energy, stare at a computer screen for
months in solitary confinement and still produce the words. And while
marketing the book is often left up to the author, self-publishing
companies, referred to as print-on-demand publishers, typically
register their authors’ books on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble
booksellers’ websites for the public to order.
So Prestopnik, occasionally frustrated by wasted weeks or
months spent contacting publishers and agents, and also desiring to
retain the rights and creative control of his books, decided to test the
waters of self-publishing years ago. And while relishing the role of
writer but being somewhat the stereotypical reluctant author, he found
self-publishing a nice fit, able to work at his own creative pace without
worrying about deadlines, demands and the editorial whims of others.
While “A Christmas Castle” is aimed at a slightly older audience,
Prestopnik’s first four self-published novels are fantasy-adventures
geared toward pre-teens and up. The first, “Gabriel’s Journey”
(AuthorHouse 2003), is about a group of field mice who flee their
once-peaceful meadow in search of a new home to escape the
invasion of green-eyed beasts from across a country road. Gabriel,
who leads the mission, has his plans complicated after his best friend
Simon falls under the spell of the beasts.
The Endora Trilogy series comprises Prestopnik’s other writings
beginning with “The Timedoor” (Infinity 2005). Brother and sister
protagonists Christopher and Molly Jordan battle the evil Belthasar in
both his human and spirit forms–and in two different worlds–
throughout the three novels. Books two and three, respectively, are
“The Sword and the Crown” (Infinity 2005) and “The Saving Light”
(Infinity 2007). A sample chapter from each of these four books is
posted on his website.
Writing his books has primarily been a labor of love, and though
not earning a livelihood by publishing them, the dream is nonetheless
there, and nowadays, so are the means. For anyone willing to put pen
to paper or fingers to a keyboard, technology has paved the way for
individuals to produce a book on their own and release it when ready
like a small fish into a vast ocean.
And beyond that? Well for now, Prestopnik is quite content to let
the literary currents take his words, especially “A Christmas Castle”,
wherever they may, including hopefully to a few more home computer
screens.