The Back-to-School-You series will feature Web3 literary projects you can discover, learn from, and often even participate in. These new-media experiments may add social aspects, gamified experiences, or long-term collectible appeal to underlying creative assets.

Middle-grade writing is my sweet spot but every now and then I like to stretch myself.

I've tried writing picture books, but short books for young readers are more difficult to write than most people would imagine. Every word matters in its sound and meaning since these books are meant to be read aloud and also need to provide hooks for an illustrator to build upon.

Some years ago, I tried writing a young adult romance, which is also more difficult than most people would imagine. These books are emotionally intense, and drafting an opening chapter was so exhausting that I needed a palette cleanser. As an antidote, I wrote a light and funny short story about Hercules, drifted into my Greek Mythology period, and have never yet returned to the original YA.

Hercules Meets His Match

What is it?

I used "Hercules Meets His Match" as a free giveaway to newsletter subscribers. If you were an early subscriber, you may still have an ePUB copy that you received back in the day.

Where the Ancient Greeks told stories in which Herakles founded the first Olympic Games, my version has the hero stumbling upon an already-established Games on his way back from his Twelfth Labor. It works as a bonus Thirteenth Labor with a bit of a romantic twist.

Where can I find it?

In January 2022, a version of "Hercules Meets His Match" became the first work branded with the Cryptoversal Books imprint when I released a version through the PageDAO beta minter. Like all works in the ReadMe collection, the entire story is available to read without purchase. If you want to own the token, initial sales go to support the author while secondary royalties go to support the PageDAO community.

More recently, "Hercules Meets His Match" became my first original literary work to be tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is the gold standard medium among token collectors but that popularity comes with higher transaction costs than most of the other chains. Ethereum was required in order for the "Cre8ive Hercules" release to be compatible with the smart-wallets of the Cre8ors Collection, which I'll be discussing in a future newsletter.

The Cre8ive Edition on Ethereum is free to read and free to mint, except for the ETH gas fee, which varies with the level of activity on the blockchain. For the lowest cost, pick a lull time to confirm your transaction.

How can I get involved?

Read. Enjoy. Collect. If you like what you see, spread the word around. If you have a Cre8or, toss a copy into its smart-wallet.

You've Been Schooled on...

Vagobond Magazine, a Web3 lifestyle magazine released for Kindle and as an NFT on Polygon PoS and Tezos. I am proud to serve as Literary Editor and am always on the lookout for reviews and articles.

The Cryptoversal Gutenberg, the first complete Bible preserved in a decentralized and blockchain-authenticated format, released as a patronage token for the Cryptoversal literary ecosystem to honor the innovative spirit of Johannes Gutenberg.

"Hercules Meets His Match," the first work on the Cryptoversal Books imprint, available in the PageDAO Readme Collection on Polygon and as a free mint on Ethereum, optimized for Cre8ors Collection smart-wallets.

If you like what you've read, consider supporting my work by joining the VIP Membership tier of the Cryptoversal Newsletter, and be sure to visit the Cryptoversal Books website for more information on what I've been up to.

This newsletter is also available as a limited-edition collectible. Thanks for reading!