Dear Jeff,

 

I heard you predict, on the "Charlie Rose" show last week, that the Kindle could spur a resurgence of interest in Dickensian serial narratives.

Those were welcome words, as were your enthusiastic comments about the Kindle generating "a high rate of experimentations that may lead to a few winners." As a writing teacher and a writer, I'm interested in the experimental role you suggested authors might play.

Your words, compounded by the comments of actual users on Amazon.com, helped cement my decision to order my Kindle Sunday night.

They also inspired an idea for one of the experiments you forecast: selling a serialized version of a Christmas story to Kindle readers.

Photo illustration: Jeremy Gilbert/Poynter & Amazon

Enter "The Holly Wreath Man," a 25-part serial novel written by my wife, Katharine Fair, and me, and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.

Since 2003 it's appeared in more than 60 newspapers and Web sites in the United States, Newfoundland and Australia. In 2005, Andrews McMeel Publishing published it in a beautiful gift hardcover. Naturally, it's available on Amazon.com.

With that in mind, it struck me that the "The Holly Wreath Man" could be a first of its kind on Kindle: 750-word, bite-sized installments auto-delivered wirelessly from Dec. 1-25, just in time for the holidays. (The story is also available as 25 MP3 files that could take advantage of your product's sound capability.)

Other e-readers

The Kindle is far from the first e-book reader, as this Wikipedia entry demonstrates.

Not surprisingly, my co-author and I believe "The Holly Wreath Man"  is a wonderful holiday story for all ages. But we have other testimony. (Check out the book's Web site.) These include positive feedback from familiar authors, Rick Bragg and Terry Kay, but equally important to us, from readers:

Parents and children have told us about their bonding by reading the story together.

Teachers say they've found it connects with troubled students.

Older readers herald a return to the newspaper serials of their childhood.

All of them seem to do what you say the Kindle does: disappear into the reading experience, whether it's ink on paper or pixels on a screen.

I’m looking forward to curling up with my Kindle, Jeff. And I can think of no better way to provide holiday warmth than to offer readers the chance to experience "The Holly Wreath Man," on their Kindle.

Thanks for the inspiration,

Chip Scanlan