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The first time I had Samuel Adams beer, it was because Spenser drank one and really liked it. I figured why not try one? I did, and I liked it.

Product placement has long been a staple in movies and television shows. How often, when you watch a TV show, does someone's laptop have the ubiquitous Apple logo on its cover? In books, however, the product placement, like Spenser drinking Sam Adams, has been about telling the readers something about a character.

But, as the wave of multimedia advances into the book market and e-books take up a bigger niche, can product placement be far behind? After all, if Spenser's going to drink a Sam Adams anyway, shouldn't Robert B. Parker receive some money for the people who click through the mention to the Sam Adams website? Affiliate programs work this way all the time. If a certain number of people click through to the website, you get paid for the traffic.

I'm up for a few extra bucks, especially if I were going to use that brand in my story anyway. (My character, Shane Black, is partial to Magic Hat beer, which you can't get in Florida.)

Less comforting is the prospect of cash-strapped publishers inking deals with companies for product placement in their e-books. It's one thing for Spenser to drink Sam Adams because the product says something about the character. It's quite another for him to drink Miller Genuine Draft because the publisher inked a deal with Miller Brewing Company.

To be fair, forced product placement isn't on the horizon yet. E-books are still a niche, and will continue to be so until the price of the hardware comes down. But down the road, your e-books will almost certainly have room for ads, and will allow you to click through to supporting information about a specific passage. If you'll be able to do that, someone will certainly find a way to make money from it.