Two years ago, Frieda was locked up in the barn because she tried to eat all of the animals and dogs on the farm. Now she is my writing dog, taking up position outside my office and making sure I am not disturbed. I have never felt safer or more protected. She likes being by the wood stove, too, a far cry from her time wandering in the Adirondacks.

I am beginning to focus on my E-book initiative. First,an E-book original, “My Life With Rose.” I am also mulling some video bedtime stories for kids from the farm. Toots, the strange hen might be the first. I’m doing the E-Book with Random House, but I like the idea of doing smaller, quicker books on my own, charging perhaps $1.50. I like the Ipad App approach – low price, high volume. The blog and the photos would, of course, remain free, and the main focus of my writing will be paper books (which will also be sold as e-books.)

I do not share the view that e-books threaten writing in any way. I concede they threaten my income, although not my readership. And they have helped spark a revolutionary return to story-telling among all kinds of people, all age groups. Many of those people are turning to brick-and-mortar bookstores for information and community. This cannot be bad for writers or writing. I do not even begin to comprehend the notion that e-books are not books. The form and content of stories have been changing for centuries. I love the story, not the technology it comes in.  For those who say they are old-fashioned and want paper books, I would say, great, then get them, as I do. But I am in awe of any technology that brings my work into people’s homes and living rooms in a minute for less than $10. It hurts my checkbook, but stirs the heart of this writer. A miracle.

My decision is not to ever whine about Amazon or tablets, but to get going creatively, and make sure my work is something people want. That’s my job in the information revolution, and to present it in any form people wish to receive it. I don’t need to take sides, and this is not a battle in my mind. I love my Ipad and I love my bookstore, and spend money on both.

It will not, I think, be one or the other, but both. It does not need to be a battle of choices and lifestyles. Nobody, I think, will have to choose between one or the other.

That’s my game plan as a writer, and I will share this new chapter with you, paper and digital.