​Silver Sands Books specializes in books that make technical subjects easy for non-technical people to understand. So far we've concentrated on publishing and telecommunications. We also produce other books, blogs and websites.



The company was started in 2008, by someone with about 40 years' experience in writing and publishing. We published one book in 2008, three books in 2009, six in 2010, ten in 2011, cut back to three in 2012, and then published three or four each year after that.



SILVER SANDS is a beautiful beach and state park on Long Island Sound in Milford, Connecticut—our home town. Charles Island is about a half mile from the beach, and people get to it at low tide by walking on a sandbar (technically it's a "tombolo") that's covered at high tide. Famous pirate Captain Kidd was in Milford in 1699 before being arrested for piracy and murder. He may have buried treasure on the island. If anyone found it, they kept it a secret.



GREEN PUBLISHING: For technical books which require frequent updating because of changing conditions, Silver Sands Books uses "print on demand" (POD). It's a process that greatly reduces the time, cost and waste of traditional publishing. Specialized POD printing companies manufacture and distribute books to online and "bricks-and-mortar" booksellers when they are ordered—even one book at a time. Many publishers of all types and sizes use POD.

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With POD there are no "remainders" to be sold for a buck a book. There are no unsalable books to be shredded and mulched. There's no storage expense, and books don't become obsolete before they can be shipped. There are no wasted trees.



POD books are manufactured "just-in-time" like the efficient Kanban system that Toyota developed for making cars with minimal parts on hand. People get fresh books at a reasonable price and the books look as good as books made the old fashioned way.

EBOOKS (electronic books) exist only as digital files. They are made to be read on PC screens, cellphones and specialized e-book readers provided by a growing list of companies including Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble. Ebooks don't require paper, ink or glue to manufacture and can be transported without trucks and stored without bookshelves.

 

CURSED ISLAND? Charles Island was allegedly cursed three times.


1.The first curse was brought in the 17th century by an Indian chief, whose tribe fought for the island which they felt was sacred ground. After settlers defeated the Indians, the chief said, "Any shelter will crumble to the Earth." No building on the island has lasted more than a few years.
2.The second curse was supposedly brought by Captain Kidd in 1699 when he buried his treasure there. Captain Kidd cursed with death anyone who attempted to dig it up.
3. The third curse was supposedly brought in 1721 by five sailors who stole Mexican emperor Guatmozin's treasure. Guatmozin put a curse on the stolen treasure. After four of the five sailors suffered tragic deaths, the last sailor hid the treasure in the basement of a Milford tavern. When it was discovered by a drunk searching for beer, the fifth sailor transported it to Charles Island, moving the third curse with it.

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​Legend says treasure hunters discovered an iron chest in 1850. As they attempted to open it, a "screeching, flaming skeleton descended from the sky. It lurched into the pit where the chest was, sending forth a shower of blue flames." The treasure hunters dropped their tools and fled from Charles Island. They returned the next day and their tools were gone and the digging site had been smoothed over, as if they'd never been there.



(The photo at the top of the page was not taken at Charles Island or at Silver Sands Beach, but it's a nice picture. The Charles Island photo is from RJFerret. The beach photo is from The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The flaming skull photo is from www.123rf.com​​​)



Our general website, with more books