Robin Cook gets dot-com fever

One of my favorite novelists is Robin Cook. He is the pioneer of the medical thriller genre – with perhaps his most well-known title being Coma. In all, he has written 25 NY Times bestsellers.

Now he is moving to the online world. That is, Cook is teaming up with Vuguru, which is Michael Eisner's digital movie studio. Cyber Group Animation is also involved.

Basically, there will be a prequel – on the web and mobile – for Cook's upcoming work, Foreign Body. The debut will be on May 27, 2008. And, yes, I certainly look forward to it.

To get some perspective on all this, I interviewed Chase Norlin, who is the CEO of Pixsy (an online video search company). According to him:

"Perhaps the most notable aspect of this deal is the continued progress of the 'made-for-Internet' programming model, which reflects the inherent cost efficiencies of content production for this medium and the potential for a significant web-wide distribution impact. Tying this into the launch of a new book is a unique Hollywood-esque tie-in that makes a lot of sense."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook. He also operates DealProfiles.com.