Susan Schneider and my brother Steve with their grandsons, Ari (center), Ezra, and Max.
For as long as I can remember, my sister-in-law Susan Schneider has wanted to write a novel. She was a high school English teacher for most of her career, so the possibility of writing a book was not that far-fetched.
Amazon just launched a new store called “50+ Active and Healthy Living.” This is going to be a one-stop shop for hundreds of thousands of items including nutrition and wellness, exercise and fitness, medical supplies, personal care, beauty products, and entertainment.
If you are a true couch potato, then you know the joy of sitting home all weekend to watch TV. We have done this many times when we want to be anti-social or just plain lazy.
Bruce Willis
Trade reporters wrote that the Die Hard actor has a huge online music collection. This issue recently came to light when he was updating his wills and trusts. He regards his music as one of his most valuable assets. It is not necessarily what the music costs, but the sentimental value of his personal picks. Rumor has that the collection is worth tens of thousands but it might be higher than that.
Being that social media is a place where everyone chimes in, Willis’s current wife, Emma Hemming, tweeted that her husband was not going after Apple. Don’t quote me but I think someone said she and Bruce have no idea how this rumor got started. No one can verify if that was the real Emma Hemming, but that is not what everyone is now concerned about. Americans want to know who actually owns the downloaded music collections from iTunes?
It is not easy getting an answer. All reporter and blogger inquiries into Apple have so far gone unanswered. Twitter can’t even tell if Emma Hemming is Emma Hemming. They have no real way of knowing. Most people I spoke to about this situation over the weekend and from what I have read, said the only way we are really going to get an answer is to have the actor, who plays big screen action roles, lead the way. Apple will more likely pay attention to Willis, than us.
A British newspaper reporter, one of the first to bring up the entire subject, said Willis was concerned that the rights to his music collection would be “passed back to Apple, entitling his children to nothing.” It was also mentioned that the actor wanted it definitely documented that his children hold the legal rights to his music.
Long time music writers noted that when you download a music track from the iTunes store, you are really renting the content under license. Your next question should be, “Does that apply to music and books from Amazon?” The legal community is sure to have a field day with post-mortem music and book rights as more intellectual property is purchased through online stores.
Laura Huntt Foti
A year or two ago Laura Huntt Foti, a long time business friend of mine, told me she was going to write a book that included a soundtrack. I had never heard of anything like that so I was totally intrigued. Laura was a writer and she spent many years in the music business so I figured if anyone could do it, it would certainly be her. I didn’t quite understand how the words would be integrated with the music but I clearly got the premise.
Laura said that when she read books that were influenced by music she craved to hear the piece that was mentioned. She was especially influenced by Keith Richards’ autobiography, Life. “As I read it, several times I went to my desk to play songs that were mentioned—and even buy them when I didn’t already have them. If I’d had my Kindle Fire then, and if the music had somehow been integrated into the book, it would have been a much more satisfying experience. That became my long-term goal for book publishing.”
Laura has just pioneered this concept with her debut novel, The Cusp of Everything, which includes a 1970s era sound track. There are references to more than 200 primarily 1970’s-era songs throughout The Cusp of Everything, setting tone and time frame. “The original concept for the book was that it would be published as an e-book on Amazon or iTunes so that you could play clips seamlessly while you were reading, and buy the songs if you liked them,” she explains. “But I couldn’t figure out how to do it without completely interrupting the reading experience. So readers can go to the book’s website, www.cuspofeverything.com, and listen from there. It’s not ideal, but it will have to do for now.”
The Cusp of Everything is published by Prince Willow Publishing and available now from Amazonfor $11.95. The cover was designed by NorthSouth Studios. Cusp on Barnes & Noble (print): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cusp-of-everything-laura-huntt-foti/1110951939?ean=9780615628400
Cusp for iPad/iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-cusp-of-everything/id528864949?mt=11
Since 1996 Laura has worked as an independent writer/editor, researcher and social media marketing consultant through her company Sound Input. Prior to starting her consulting practice, Laura developed interactive programs as Senior Vice President of Philips Interactive Media. Previously she was Director of Marketing for RCA Video Productions (BMG) and Video Editor of Billboard. I met her back in the early ‘80s when she was Managing Editor of Audio Times.
In conclusion, other authors have tried to incorporate music into their fiction, but from what I can see Laura has taken it to its logical extreme. Rather than just a playlist of music to listen to, or music inspired by the book, music is almost a character in her book. It is completely integrated throughout the story in a way I don’t think has ever been done before.
Here are some other books utilizing a playlist or soundtrack in some way:
Leave it to Michael Nesmith: way ahead of his time! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prison:_A_Book_with_a_Soundtrack
Sex & the City 2 book/soundtrack CD: http://store.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city-2-book-and-soundtrack-set/detail.php?p=262840
Narrows Gate by Jim Fusilli: http://www.kindlepost.com/2011/11/author-spotlight-jim-fusillis-playlist-for-narrows-gate.html
Reversal by Eric Galvez: http://www.ericgalvezdpt.com/?page_id=6 (music starts playing immediately on this website)
Love Is a Mixtape by Rob Sheffield: (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Is-Mix-Tape-Life/dp/1400083036/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334962197&sr=8-1)
Twilight (music that inspired author Stephanie Meyer) http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_playlist.html
