Calgary Herald: Literature's Next Chapter

Spotlight

To register for One Child, visit onechildonline. com.

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Like Any Good Writer of thrillers, Jeff Buick knows the power of a good mystery.

But the mysteries he has constructed around his new book, One Child, go far deeper than mere plot points.

It's a war story that involves an 11-year-old Afghan girl with ambitions to change the world, high-frequency trading on Wall Street, an embedded journalist, a soul-searching soldier and a Moscow concert by U2. The mystery, at least plotwise, is how all these pieces fit into the puzzle.

But as the writer and cofounder of Calgary boutique publishing company Enthrill Entertainment, the 54-year-old author is also one of the self-described "puppet masters" who plans to "alter the way people read" as he cheerfully blurs the line between fact and fiction.

"You know there's someone working the strings," says Buick. "You don't know who it is and you don't want to know who it is. You just want to be in the game. That's what this is. If you talk to one of our characters, they will talk back to you in character. So how much is fact and how much is fiction? It's an interesting question. We don't really want the reader to be sure."

For one, you won't be able to read all of One Child until its release on Aug. 25. Instead, those who register on the company's website can get daily updates sent to their computer or e-reader. Each day a new "red book" will appear on the website, unlocking the story one chapter at a time over 30 days. Chapter 1 began earlier this week and the last chapter will be available on Aug. 25.

But readers can also visit the websites of fictional corporations from the story. They can converse with characters on Facebook. They can get audio updates from a made-up New York radio station and they can

watch online clips that

seem to place viewers on the front lines in Afghanistan.

By the time the final segment is beamed to registered readers on Aug. 25, which just happens to coincide with an actual concert in Moscow by a certain Irish band, those immersed in the process will have been fed a steady diet of news reports that forward the narrative while making references to real-life events.

Buick certainly knows how to bolster intrigue. The reality, of course, is that most of the One Child experience is grounded in fiction. The main characters are made up, the online clips were filmed in Alberta using actors and while the U2 concert certainly figures into the narrative, Bono and the boys aren't actually involved.

But judging by the aggressive marketing campaign, which Buick estimates will cost roughly $250,000, the Enthrill team aren't holding back when it comes to promoting the whole experience as ground-breaking. Marketing material includes phrases such as "new format threatens existing publishing model" and "History

is made!" Buick has even got a head start on branding, referring to One Child and future projects as "enthrillers." With a five-person management team that includes a lawyer, entrepreneur, architect and marketing guru, Enthrill's future plans are nothing if not ambitious.

"I hope that readers, when they come away from this book, start to demand of other publishers that they want more than just a book," Buick says. "They want content and an immersive experience like they had with One Child. If there's demand for it, the other publishers will meet it and we'll start to see the changes in the publishing industry. It's a bit of a front-runner."

A former geophysicist and real estate agent, Buick was born and raised in Calgary. The father of four and grandfather of one earned a reputation as a globe-trotting writer of fiction who often based his tales on topical, international themes. He has had five thrillers published out of New York -- and apparently 13 in waiting. But he also felt that traditional publishers often dropped the ball when it came to marketing.

Publishing, as with many industries these days, is full of people who are leery not only about the Internet's effect on how literature is delivered, but also on the attention span of readers. But Buick says publishers need to start looking at it as a tool rather than a threat.

"I think social media and the Internet can flesh a book out, make it more rounded and it can engross the reader even more than just reading the pages," says Buick. "Is the novel dead? Absolutely not. It's not dead. People tell me all the time 'Jeff, this is really cool. You're doing a lot of neat stuff. But I want a book in my hand, I want to hold it.' So, the jury is out on what's going to happen with a print book. Is it ever going to go away? No it's not. But I think what we can do with the Internet and social media, we can add to the experience. Instead of using it as a gimmick to just embellish it, we can make the experience more robust for the reader and probably draw in a larger demographic because of that."

evolmers@the herald.canwest.com

Read the online article on the Official Calgary Herald website