By Dennis Abrams

With the launch of Demibooks Composer, an iPad–based software platform, Chicago-based Demibooks, Inc., has freed authors and publishers from the need for outside book app consultants. With Composer, as stated on the company’s website, “the interactive nature of the book app is extended into the creative process. This means the entire authoring process is interactive.”

Taking free advantage of the iPad’s user-friendliness, Composer leverages the iPad’s touch interface, sound recording ability, camera, touch interface, and more with an advanced set of special effects that allows even the most non-techie of authors to bring their books to life. Objects can be made to float or bounce around the page; and objects can be assigned real-life properties such as gravity or stickiness, which is triggered when readers touch the object. Composer’s “Behaviors” feature set allows authors to customize even the most basic movements and animations. Other features allow for the layering in of audio, video, and other special effects synchronized with the author or artist’s own illustrations to help to create a truly interactive reading experience.

Demibooks CEO Rafiq Ahmed said, “Digital storytelling is evolving in incredible new ways. We created the Composer platform to let anyone compose their own interactive books. Publisher keep creative control while dramatically reducing development costs. Self-published authors and illustrators finally enter the market with business models that work. We will continue building on our platform and look forward to sharing more developments in the near future.”

Composer is available for a limited time as a free download from the App store at http://bit.ly/getcomposer. The Demibooks Print Shop Services allows authors the ability to publish their books to the App Store starting at $499.