Content Strategy

A few years ago, Ken Hagemann was drawn to what he thought was the future of cookbooks. Lured by the ease and searchability promised by e-books and apps, he purged most of his old school volumes. But instead of a digital culinary epiphany, he found only disappointment. "You can't get the spirit and the intent of the author," says the 46-year-old systems analyst and avid cook from Arlington, Virginia. "You can get 100 recipes that cover the Italian regions, but that doesn't make it an Italian cookbook."

Soon after turning out the latest James Bond novel, British author William Boyd agreed to write another thriller based on a world famous brand. The Land Rover. Boyd's nearly 17,000-word story, "The Vanishing Game," coming out Wednesday as a free download through Amazon.com, Apple and www.thevanishinggame.com , tells of a 35-year-old British actor named Alec Dunbar and the troubles he encounters when a pretty young woman convinces him to deliver a flask filled with clear liquid from London to Scotland. His transport is a certain four-wheel-drive vehicle.