August 6 is an important date for me, the on-sale date of “The Story Of Rose: A Man And His Dog,” my first e-book original and already a bestseller on many lists two weeks before publication date. This book is a big step for me, and also for Random House. A step into the future for both of us, an experiment. It’s the first e-book original for either of us. The book will cost $2.99, less than a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s and it is a gorgeous book with video for those who wish it and photographs for others.

I’ve decided the right and perhaps surprising way to kick-off this digital book and digital book tour would be  in my bookstore, Battenkill Books in Cambridge, N.Y., at 6 p.m. August 6. I will talk about this book, why I did it, how e-books affect my writing life, what I think will happen in my future.

I do not believe that e-books harm books or book reading. Rather, digital tablets are triggering a golden age in writing and story-telling. More people of different ages and backgrounds are reading more books less expensively and more readily than ever before in human history. I need to be a part of that if I am to survive as a writer. I want to be a part of it because I love it.

Connie Brooks will perhaps disagree.  It has been nearly impossible for independent bookstores to find a way into this market or to break the growing stranglehold companies like Amazon and Apple have on digital publishing. She will talk about the impact e-books are having on her bookstore and many other bookstores, including the fact that even if she could sell them, which is difficult, she would only get pennies.  Connie is a good friend, and she says she has been getting earfuls from my angry readers who don’t want to read my books on a Kindle, Ipad, Nook, cellphone or computer. We’ll air all of that out.

I never imagined writing a book that sells for $2.99 and I love this book, which is a full and original work and a tribute to my wonderful dog Rose who died last year. The book is the most innovative project I have ever worked on in publishing, redefining what book is for me and how narrative works. I can’t wait to do another. I am very proud of it – my text, photos and videos – and am very excited about it. I think it’s appropriate to launch this book in a bookstore I love and to have an open and important discussion about what it means. Connie will also be able to take pre-orders for “Dancing Dogs,” my collection of short stories out in September (I’m doing a talk and signing at Battenkill on September 25), and “Lenore Finds A Friend,” my next children’s book, also out in September. Connie will also have copies of my other books, which I will be happy to sign. It will be a new kind of reading. My wish is that I can mark the e-book and that Connie will sell plenty of my paper books.

I think it’s great to have this conversation in a terrific independent bookstore, my bookstore. Seems right.

We will not be recording this talk or streaming it live, alas. It’s a distraction and we don’t have the equipment for it. Connie invited me to bring Red, so I might just do that – his first bookstore appearance. Please, no other dogs. A distraction for me and others.  If you want to learn more about “The Story Of Rose,” help me kickoff  this radically different book, and join in a discussion about the future of e-books, writing, bookstores and publishing, please come and see. The store’s number is 518 677 2515.