click for Cafe Okay
click for museum page of Clocktower Books, originally Clocktower Fiction, an Internet Pioneer publisher since 1996. Look for the ISBN prefixes 0-7433- and 978-0-7433- to distinguish us from imitators
click to visit the Clocktower Books website and museum (historical Clocktower Fiction website)

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Clocktower Books Museum

= World's First True E-Novels =

Museum Pages: Making Our Case. In these Museum pages, we want to tell the story of Clocktower Fiction/Clocktower Books, the small digital press in San Diego, California wherewith we published the world's first true e-novels starting in 1996. For all this, and more, we provide history and documentation here.…

Acclaimed Pioneering Magazine. We will tell you about our acclaimed pioneering SF/DF/H magazine that had a remarkable decade run (1998-2002 Deep Outside SFFH, morphing into 2002-2007 Far Sector SFFH).

= C&C Publishers =

Who's We? We were Callahan & Cullen or Cullen & Callahan, whichever you prefer. I'm John T. Cullen (Jean-Thomas Cullen, John Argo), the sole proprietor of the publishing house and its museum pages. Clocktower Books (originally Clocktower Fiction from 1996-2001) is still an active publisher with a very small, selective list including authors in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. I often write in the second person plural ("we") from nearly twenty years' habit of team play and working with a brilliantly gifted group of writers who have contributed much to this effort, and without whom this effort would not have gotten this far. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my friend Brian Callahan, who was my business partner and associate in ideas from our founding in 1996 to 2001, when he left to start other ventures (and still reached back to help with artwork and technical issues from time to time). Brian is currently engaged in the exciting development of an H. P. Lovecraft film festival in Portland, OR.

Capturing History. As ephemeral as history is, especially HTML pages, it is important to capture what remains of these significant moments in the digital revolution that burst upon the world of publishing in the mid to late 1990s. I have done my best to cull ephemera from across the Web, including the Wayback Machine and elsewhere. Many of us were passionately at work, often cooperating across long distances late at night with ideas and innovations. Around the twenty year mark of our founding, some of the old players have departed from the Web, others from this Earth. We celebrate them all fondly and respectfully, giving credit where it is due across the board. So let's get on with the business of documenting what we can for Clocktower Books and its many contributors.

= We Made History Starting in 1996 =

Offsite Museum Pages. Below are some of the most important museum websites from the twenty year history of Clocktower Books to date. They are listed in semi-chronological order here, but will be described more precisely in the Museum pages to follow on this site.

offsiteClocktower Books Domain created 6 June 2000. World's first true publisher of e-novels on line for download starting 1996 as C&C (Brian Callahan, John T. Cullen), became Clocktower Fiction in Fall 1997, then Clocktower Books in 2000 (still actively publishing; by invitation only). Lots of historical info at the CTB Museum pages at the Clocktower Books website.

offsiteJohn T. Cullen Domain created 2 July 2000. Now mainly active at Café Okay site as author and publisher. Continues Clocktower Books tradition with added features like San Dieoger (TBD).

offsiteNeon Blue Fiction 1996 [1996-1997; retired into Clocktower Fiction which became Clocktower Books circa 2000] Published the world's first true SF e-novel for download (This Shoal of Space, 1996-1997 in innovative weekly serial chapters. More info at CTB Museum pages.

offsiteThe Haunted Village 1996 [1996-1997; retired into Clocktower Fiction which became Clocktower Books circa 2000] Published the world's first true Suspense e-novel for download (Neon Blue, 1996-1997 in innovative weekly serial chapters. More info at CTB Museum pages.

offsiteDeep Outside SFFH 1998—Acclaimed web-only magazine that published established and new authors, including then and future noms & awardees of the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and other prestigious awards. See Enclyclopedia of Science Fiction (ESF) online among other resources. Many of these historic stories can still be read online for free, courtesy wise & generous authors.

offsiteFar Sector SFFH 1998—When John T. Cullen became sole proprietor of Clocktower Books and its imprints in 2001, he continued the magazine but renamed it Far Sector SFFH and published the stories at Fictionwise.com (now defunct). He ended the magazine's near-decade run in January 2007. With demise of Fictionwise in 2012, stories no longer readable through this venue.

site restored 2015 but main activity will be a folder at Cafe OkaySharpWriter.Com 1998 Started 1998, SWC was John T. Cullen's personal pro writing resource which he turned into an acclaimed portal and review site that was live until retired and offline in 2006. Named one of the Web's top 101 websites for writers by Writer's Market in 1999. To be relaunched as a writing blog sometime soon.

offsiteCoronado Ghost (still actively updating). John T. Cullen is the first person to plausibly solve the 1892 true crime at the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego. The Beautiful Stranger checked in under a false name, blew her brains out five days later on the back stairs, and the mystery became an instant national sensation coast-to-coast in the Yellow Press. She is the famous ghost who allegedly haunts the Hotel Del. Author's research is 100% historical—involves zero supernatural elements.