Guest contributor: Sarah Towle
Two years ago this month, in July 2009, I had a light bulb moment. That’s when I realized that the book I was writing was never meant for print.
Since 2006, I had been developing the requisite three sample chapters plus proposal for an interactive travel series for kids. Not just any series, mine was to be chock full of treasure hunts, map and trivia challenges and, most importantly, it would illuminate history through story; more specifically, through the stories of lesser-known individuals who helped shape their times. The title of the series: Time Traveler Tours.
But no sooner was I ready to present my project to agents and editors when the global economy crashed and the publishing industry model as we then knew it was upended by advancements in digital technology.
“Great concept,” I was told. “Excellent execution,” they continued. “But we’ll never be able to sell it.” The reason: it did not fit comfortably on any one bookstore shelf. It was too multi-disciplinary (read: too risky in these crazy times). Man, was I bummed!
But having always been a bit of a free-range chick, I refused to give up on the project. I considered self-publishing, made an A5 mock-up to test with a group of 48 teens, and learned from them exactly what I needed to hear: Learning history through story was fun. They loved the “voice” of the narrator and enjoyed digging deeper into her experience with the treasure hunts and trivia challenges. But they did not like having to stop at each new location to read the voice of Charlotte. They said, “it was too much like school.”
That’s when I held an iPhone for the first time. “Do you think it would make a good app,” I asked the kids, digital natives all. “Yes,” was their resounding reply.
So in August 2009, I was back in the hen house, reformulating the project for a 21st century format, what I would come to call a mobile StoryApp Tour. History revealed through those who made it. The past in the palm of your hand. The next generation of tour guide for a new generation of traveler.
Fast forward two years to July 2011 and the launch of my first interactive StoryApp tour, Beware Madame la Guillotine: A Revolutionary Tour of Paris, for iPhone and iPod Touch. Follow in the footsteps of Charlotte Corday, in this daylong itinerary, as she buys her weapon, hunts down and kills Jean-Paul Marat, is imprisoned at the Conciergerie and finally gets her head lopped off at the Place de la Revolution.
As Charlotte spins her personal yarn, she explains her motives for murder and reveals the story of the French Revolution. Her narrated tale is accompanied by archival images with the option to turn the text on and read alongside the audio or turn the audio off all together. "Chapters" are delivered in short segments punctuated by hunts for historical artifacts dating to the Revolutionary era, interactive trivia and map challenges as well as optional additional information (like a book “text box”), all of which allow users to interact with history while obtaining a vivid understanding of the sites visited along the way: the Palais Royal, Café Procope and Conciergerie.
Once Charlotte’s StoryApp finds its place on Apple’s virtual “shelves", we plan to produce the same tour in French and English for both iOS and Android. Then, three more tours will follow – to the Ancièn Regime, the Napoleonic Era and late 19th century Romantic Paris – and I have ideas for many others besides. That is, assuming I haven't laid a rotten egg!
Want to know more [urls provided below]:
Visit the Time Traveler Tours website and blog.
Check out the project Kickstarter campaign.
Find Beware Mme la Guillotine in the App Store.
Like the Time Traveler Tours on Facebook.
Follow ParisAppTours on Twitter.
