As a resident of Sidney, married to the Japanese-born painter Kimiko, Steve Zio published his first novel Hot Springs (McArthur & Company $24.95), about a former website developer named Jason who searches for new connections while visiting hot springs in Canada, England and Japan. Links to Zio's promotional website are provided at the end of each of the 23 chapters to enhance the text with musical offerings, paintings, an interactive map, photos "and other innovative features." Although the stand-alone novel ostensibly doesn't need its technological bells and whistles, the companion website is clearly a marketing device that has enabled this experimental work to appear. 1-55278-564-5

[BCBW 2006] "Fiction"