[Translated from Portuguese]

Due to the popularity of the Internet, the difficulty in accessing Brazil's literary market is no longer an obstacle to writers who intend to divulge their works. This is the case with Cubatense writer and cartoonist of Povo de Cubatão, Alfredo Karras, who has signed a contract with virtual Australian publisher Smink Works Books. The result of this 'on-line' association will be the publication of the book Be (Ser) - released towards the end of October and the first release of the company.

Karras says the work is a fable with the principal theme of spiritual evolution. "It is a story of very cruel and greedy night who serves an equally cruel and greedy king. The character is betrayed by the king and as a result discovers the moral values he previously disdained," explains the author.

According to Karras, the publication of the books on the Internet is very advantageous to authors, because it eliminates the expenses of paper and distribution and the profits are larger, proportionally. "In average, in Brazil, with a big publisher, you can't get more than 5% and the payment is biannual or annual. With Smink Works, I will receive 30% and the payment will be quarterly," he says. Before making contact with the Australian publisher, Karras placed an advertisement on the site www.freelancewriting.com." On December 31, I received an email from journalist Suzanne Male. She had created a virtual publisher and asked me if I would like to send a synopsis. The kind of literaure she was looking for was exactly what I created", says the author, whose main influences are the writers Richard Bach and Saint Exupéry.

Tributes - In an exclusive interview with Povo de Cubatão, by mail, Suzanne said she decided to publish Be because the book is philosophicaly inspiring. "It has some excellent life advice and considers some of the big questions that we all face," emphasizes the journalist. She didn't economize on tributes to Karras, who is also the author of The Falcon and the Wind, published in 1995. Be has obviously come from the hand of a very thoughtful man who has spent much time musing on life. The beautiful illustrations are just a bonus really. I wish every illustrator was a good creative writer!"

The electronic publisher's address is www.sminkworks.com/br.

Text and photo by Dojival Filho
This article appears courtesy of Povo de Cubatão