Recently, Harlequin held its first event in Second Life – a reading of The Reincarnationist (published on their MIRA Books imprint) and live chat with author M.J. Rose. The event was held in a venue built specially for Harlequin, an Italian piazza that recreated one of the main locations in the book. The venue is living on after the event. Residents can explore the piazza and adjoining church with crypt to find clues to the mystery in the book as well as a sample first chapter and additional information about the author.
One Degree sat down with Jenny Bullough, Manager of Digital Content and Interactivity at Harlequin Enterprises to discuss this foray into Second Life.
One Degree: What made you decide to hold an event in Second Life? How does it complement other events on the book tour? How did you get the word out?
We decided on Second Life for a number of reasons: because the unique nature of the virtual world would allow us to recreate settings from the novel; because holding an author Q&A in Second Life would allow numerous readers to interact with the author in real time from their own time zones; and because the theme of the novel is very much in keeping with the concept of a virtual world, as the protagonist is experiencing another, “second” life through intense past-life regressions.
8 Comments
