SilkWords, a "Pick Your Path to Romance" site featuring interactive erotic stories, is rolling out some new, fun features and I have a press release with more details (full disclosure: I have a story with SilkWords):
SilkWords
Introduces Gaming Features
to Boost Interactivity and Social Sharing
to Boost Interactivity and Social Sharing
Bellevue, WA (March 15, 2015)
— SilkWords LLC, a woman-owned and operated publisher that offers high
quality interactive romance and erotica, this week launched a suite of gaming
features to boost interactivity and social sharing.
“Almost
exactly a year ago we launched the first version of SilkWords.com, which grew very
much from our gaming roots,” said Keri Multerer, SilkWords partner and
publisher. Multerer’s husband, Boyd Multerer — the design and development
muscle behind the brand — founded Microsoft Xbox Live and is the former
development director for Xbox One.
“At
launch,” Keri continued, “our brand of branched fiction blended romance and
erotica with light gaming functionality. With this launch, we’re taking that
game feel to the next level, while continuing to offer the same high-quality
content our readers expect.”
The new
features include a game currency (heart tokens) for purchasing stories, and
badges to reward readers for engaging with the site and interacting with other
readers. Heart tokens can be purchased, or they can be earned for actions like becoming
a member, signing up for the SilkWords newsletter, and promoting stories on
social media. Badges are status rewards, given to readers who reach thresholds
of reading and sharing. (The Social Butterfly and Top Reader badges, for
example.)
"Our goal with
these updates is two-fold,” said Sharon Fisher, SilkWords editorial director
and partner (also a Tor Books sci-fi romance author). “We want to boost the
level of interaction on the site, and we want to incentivize our readers to
share the content they love. It’s part of our phased approach to expanding our
SilkWords reader community.”
SilkWords
timed the launch to follow soon after its first anniversary, as well as the release
of the Fifty Shades of Grey major
motion picture. Erotic fiction continues to thrive as a genre, with popular
authors struggling to release stories fast enough to satisfy reader appetites.
(See http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/61926-scratch-that-itch.html.)
“Erotica
and branched fiction really are a match made in heaven,” said Keri. “We like to
think of SilkWords as ‘fifty shades your way.’ By making choices throughout
each story, our readers can choose to experience this popular form of fiction
at the level most appealing and most comfortable for them. It’s a great way to
experiment with reading different heat levels.”
In
addition to Pick Your Path stories, SilkWords offers Reader Vote stories, which
allow readers to collaborate with authors during story creation. SilkWords will
also soon be introducing its first Shared World stories, where authors will
create traditional, linear stories set in a story world developed specifically
for SilkWords.
SilkWords LLC (www.silkwords.com) is the go-to source for
interactive romance and erotic fiction. With gorgeous custom covers and a
clean, sophisticated design, our site offers a secure, upscale reading
environment and an enthusiastic reader community.
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If you’d
like more information about SilkWords,
email Keri Multerer (keri "at" silkwords
DOT com).