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VirtuaLiterature™
Press Release
San Clemente, California
October 17, 2000
Stephen Cosgrove has focused
his writing career exclusively to the teaching of values to children.
Starting with the Serendipity Series in 1974 he has written over
300 children's books all of which have sold well-over 80 million
copies. Regardless of the success of his value-based books Cosgrove
felt limited by the linear adventure that was necessitated by the
printed storybook form. Like others, he looked at the internet as
a way to expand a traditionally presented story and disappointedly
watched as developers launched children's sites that were nothing
more than crude forms of existing entertainment. Cosgrove was sure
there could be more.
All
the while, buzzing in Cosgrove's mind was a phrase used by his great-grandmother
when, as a child, he would bring her a found bug or other savory
item. "My, oh, my!" she would laugh, "Sakes alive!
What have you there, child? Sakes alive!"
That
oft-spoken phrase became the central theme of the SakesAlive series
of books, Fiddler, Grampa Sam, Pricilla, and Ira Wordworthy. To
enhance the value-based stories, Cosgrove created SakesAlive E-mail
Adventures, a web-site supported by a unique e-mail system where
the child can write to the characters from the books, and delightfully
the characters write back. In concert with art director, Carolyn
Davis, and web-master, Roby LaPorte, a very intricate and unique
web site, www.SakesAlive.com was officially launched this week.
The
SakesAlive E-Mail Adventure books are available at all local grocery
stores or on the web at BookBuyBook.com. Give one of these books
to a child. Not only will they learn a valuable lesson as they read,
they will learn to write and have fun doing it.
Web-site
Information:
http://www.sakesalive
http://www.bookbuybook.com
http://www.web-pop.com
Stephen
Cosgrove Quotables
"I have
always been a self-starter."
"When I can't get somebody to do it my way, I do it myself.
Early on I learned that I had to be a one-man band. Case-in-point:
Serendipity. In 1974 when I couldn't find a publisher to do my books
my way, I did just that. I became the publisher and subsequently,
over the next two years, sold 2 million copies. A year ago I couldn't
find anyone that would share my vision about web-enhanced books
and stories. So I created and over-saw the design of SakesAlive
and Web-Pop Readers."
"It isn't fun being a one-man band. But when you want to dance
and there ain't no music, you best pull out the kazoo and start
tapping your shoe."
"The internet is a wonderfully designed box, no more, no less.
Unless a box is filled with content, it is just that, a wonderfully
designed box. That's why so many internet companies are failing,
they continue to build more boxes but forget to put anything inside."
"SakesAlive is an extension of my creative process. To visit
that site is to understand how I process a story in my mind."
"To me a story has no beginning and no end. It is a non-linear
event that comes from and goes to anywhere. To go somewhere with
a story you only need ask the basics: who, why, what and where."
"My fascination with the internet is that when a story becomes
interactive the edges of reality can be easily blurred, enhancing
the experience."
"SakesALive E-Mail Adventures are great fun. Where else can
you go and write a letter to your imagination? Better still, where
else can you go where your imagination writes back?"
Mfg.
Information:
81/2
x 11" hard cover books
Reinforced Binding
32 pages
Fully Illustrated
$7.99 msrp
Printed in the US
Published by DreamMaker, LLC Woodinville, Washington
(949) 369-1474
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