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Published: October 1, 2012
Wondertown is a full-length fantasy novel from Mac Fallows that includes twelve original songs—each one an extension of the story sung by the characters themselves- and seventeen illustrations from acclaimed illustrator, Emrah Elmasli.
The story centres around Neil Abbott, an undersized, introverted eleven-year old boy with the ability to tell about people by touching their possessions. He doesn’t fit in either at home or at school and rarely speaks to anyone, with the exception of his grandmother, who has a secret talent of her own.
One day, after a particularly difficult week, Neil asks his grandmother if she thinks he’s normal, and she responds by telling him the remarkable story of an unlikely hero, who long ago crossed the five parts of the world to free his only friend from a demon lord. Filled with hidden meaning, vivid images, and songs that bring the characters to life, Wondertown is an unforgettable journey to a place inside each of us few of us dare to go.
The Economics of Change
Some economic models just don’t work. Lots of products that make sense for the consumerare derailed by the associated costs- the cost of production, the cost of delivery, even the cost of building awareness- in which case, the product simply never gets made. But sometimes, when demand is sufficient, the broken economics can actually lead to a change in the way things are done.
As it turns out, there was sufficient demand for books that didn’t make economic sense for traditional publishers and agents to spark a change in the publishing industry, for example. New genres and art forms, not to mention new voices, have found ways around the upside down economics of the traditional publishing world to the reader. These days, more and more authorsare shouldering the risk and reaping the rewards without the usual business partners. And perhaps even more importantly, they’re evolving their art form much more quickly than traditional publishing ever could- or even wanted to.
Musical stories are just one example of a genre that traditional publishers have been unable to seriously consider, given the economics, and would likely never develop on their own. Publishers have long since acknowledged that interest for a musical book by J.K Rowling and Adele, for example, would no doubt be sky high; however, on the whole, the risk attached to such a book would outweigh the potential rewards. Traditional publishers don’t know anything about music, and there are a lot more costs involved in producing a musical book than there are producing the regular kind. Add to the mix that we’re talking about a market that is completely unproven and you end up with a genre that will never see the light of day… unless artists themselves develop it. Fortunately for the reading public, that’s exactly what’s happening in this case- and many others. Where this takes us is anybody’s guess but one thing is for sure: readers are going to play more of a role than ever before in the evolution of the book industry. And that’s a good thing.
~ Mac Fallows
A huge thank you to Mac Fallows for sharing this awesome guest post! :)
About the Author:
Reclusive writer and composer Mac Fallows first began pitching the idea of a musical book for teens and adults to music and book publishers in the late eighties. But without the technology to support his vision, he didn’t get far.
So instead, he set out to travel the world in search of new challenges . . . and stories. He went on to write and produce over 100 songs in a dozen languages in places including Dakar, Mumbai, Prague, and Santiago for singers including Youssou N’dour, Shankar Mahadevan, Pape and Cheikh, and Kavita Krishnamoorthy.
Along the way he lived with taxi drivers and their families, camped in farmers’ fields, butchered bulls, sold tea, raised chickens, translated travel contracts, worked as a session musician, a construction worker, a teacher, and toured the biggest festivals in Europe as a member of one of Africa’s most celebrated bands.
Wondertown is the first true musical story he's published. It includes a full-length fantasy novel, 12 related songs and 17 illustrations.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot approximately this, such as you wrote the ebook in it or something. I feel that you could do with some p.c. to force the message house a bit, but other than that, that is excellent blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.
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I haven't seen this book before but it sounds amazing. I like the blog post too but my eyes are still on that book. Great guest post :) Thanks for sharing Maida ;)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting guest post! Thanks for sharing, Maida. I haven't heard of this book before, but I really like the sound of it, and the cover is stunning, too. :)
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