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Romance? There's an app for that...
Published: 5/24/2012 4:39 PM
Last Modified: 5/24/2012 4:39 PM


And how does YOUR virtual garden grow?

One of the books that landed in my mailbox this morning was "Coming Up for Air," by Patti Callahan Henry. It is a novel about a woman in a loveless marriage, who rediscovers an old flame when she begins digging into her own mother's past.

It looks to be a somewhat familiar story -- described in one cover blurb as "an affecting Southern tale about second chances and banishing the ghosts of regret...romantic storytelling at its simple best."

What makes it a bit different from the dozens of similar books that arrive here daily addressed to "Book Editor/Tulsa World" is that Henry's novel has its own app.

According to press release that accompanied the book, the app, called "Wildflowers," is "The first mobile app social game inspired by a novel."

"Game" may be a bit misleading: What the app does is allow the user to "send virtual wildflowers to their friends." Each flower "has its own meaning and includes a personal message from the sender, allowing users to convey wishes of hope, love, encouragement, inspiration and more."

So it's really more like sending an text message on floral stationery. But, instead of an impersonal list of received messages, the app will create "an in-app meadow (to) allow users to look back over all the wildflowers they have received -- reminders of the vitality that others see in them."

As Henry, who helped develop the app with technical folk at Armchair Media and Chronicle, said, "I told the developers that you should be able to send a wildflower to a friend while standing in the grocery store line. It should be that easy to reach out and let a friend or loved one know you are thinking of them."

And, unlike Henry's novel, which sells for $14.99, the "Wildflowers" app is free.


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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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