Discoveries and What Shall I Write? have both been available as e-books as well as trade paperbacks for the past year or so. And like many other authors, I've been considering digital editions on a wider scale. In fact, Between the Spaces of A Writer's Life first came out as an e-book.

I know I will always love the physical feeling that holding an actual book provides. I just hugged a new hardback - a seaside mystery - after it came in the mail, overjoyed to discover new (to me) authors in a new series. And then I remembered how I used to hug books as a child.

That said, I can see physical books eventually being considered antiques, as portrayed by Captain James Kirk in one of the Star Trek episodes/movies. Forgive me, Star Trek fans, for forgetting which one, but as a published writer since my teens, the scene itself made a lasting impression at the time. Books will be antiques?!

Although we're not there at the antique store yet, except for rare "old masters," we don't have to wait for the 23rd century. Everything will soon be available electronically in our lifetimes, if it isn't already. And since in many ways we want to ride the waves of the future, we will need to have our work available in a digital edition as well as the beloved hardback and paperback versions. So write on!