Back in May I was asked if I would be willing to accept promotion to the rank of Provincial Grand Orator for the Masonic Province of Hertfordshire. To be asked to do this particular role is a great honour, and I accepted.
One of the reasons why I was considered for the role was the work I have done over the past few years researching Masonic history – particularly in Hertfordshire – and giving talks to Masonic Lodges in Hertfordshire, London, and Berkshire. I also wrote a book entitled BROTHERS IN ARMS AND BROTHERS IN THE LODGE about the part played in the First World War by the members of my Mother Lodge, The Grove Park Lodge No.2732. This was the second book that I had published via Lulu.com, and it was a small paperback.
Last Wednesday I was at a meeting of Hertfordshire's Research Lodge – the Veritatem Sequere Lodge No. 9615 – at Ashwell House, St Albans, and during a conversation I had with one of the guests they asked if a hardback edition of my book was available. When I said that it was not, he expressed regret as he would have like to have bought one.
On the drive home from St Albans I thought about what the guest had said ... and for the past few days I have been converting the text of my paperback so that it can appear in a hardback edition in the near future. That task is now complete, and the hardback edition of my book – with a new cover – should be available from Lulu.com later this week.
I was recently asked about the non-availability of another of my books – LA ULTIMA CRUZADA – which was published in 1993 by Caliver Books. I understand that copies can be bought from some second-hand book dealers, but that it is often priced well in excess of its original published price.
Having just converted one book from paperback to hardback format, I began to think about doing something similar for LA ULTIMA CRUZADA. I have continued to do research since 1993, and producing a revised, hardback third edition might make sense. It is certainly something that I am going to give some thought to over the next week or so. The only problem is that if I do choose to be diverted from the other projects I have been working on (e.g. my Napoleonic Portable Wargame book, renovating, varnishing, and basing my collection of 25/28mm-scale Del Prado Napoleonic figures, and my Portable Naval Wargame book), the dates I hoped to have them completed by will have to go back.
One of the reasons why I was considered for the role was the work I have done over the past few years researching Masonic history – particularly in Hertfordshire – and giving talks to Masonic Lodges in Hertfordshire, London, and Berkshire. I also wrote a book entitled BROTHERS IN ARMS AND BROTHERS IN THE LODGE about the part played in the First World War by the members of my Mother Lodge, The Grove Park Lodge No.2732. This was the second book that I had published via Lulu.com, and it was a small paperback.
Last Wednesday I was at a meeting of Hertfordshire's Research Lodge – the Veritatem Sequere Lodge No. 9615 – at Ashwell House, St Albans, and during a conversation I had with one of the guests they asked if a hardback edition of my book was available. When I said that it was not, he expressed regret as he would have like to have bought one.
On the drive home from St Albans I thought about what the guest had said ... and for the past few days I have been converting the text of my paperback so that it can appear in a hardback edition in the near future. That task is now complete, and the hardback edition of my book – with a new cover – should be available from Lulu.com later this week.
I was recently asked about the non-availability of another of my books – LA ULTIMA CRUZADA – which was published in 1993 by Caliver Books. I understand that copies can be bought from some second-hand book dealers, but that it is often priced well in excess of its original published price.
Having just converted one book from paperback to hardback format, I began to think about doing something similar for LA ULTIMA CRUZADA. I have continued to do research since 1993, and producing a revised, hardback third edition might make sense. It is certainly something that I am going to give some thought to over the next week or so. The only problem is that if I do choose to be diverted from the other projects I have been working on (e.g. my Napoleonic Portable Wargame book, renovating, varnishing, and basing my collection of 25/28mm-scale Del Prado Napoleonic figures, and my Portable Naval Wargame book), the dates I hoped to have them completed by will have to go back.
Congratulations, Bob.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you work on the revised LA ULTIMA CRUZADA first, leaving plenty of time to think about what you want to do with the Napoleonic Portable Wargame book. The latter, being a period with which you are less familiar, may require further research and you may wish to consider offering variants for different levels of action or different theatres of war.
Best wishes,
Arthur
Arthur Harman (Arthur),
DeleteCheers ... and thank you very much for your most helpful comment.
It would make sense to work on a revised edition of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA before my Portable Napoleonic Wargame book as I have yet to complete the renovation, varnishing, and basing of my collection of Napoleonic wargame figures. At present my interest in the latter is stalled, and I need to have them ready before I start serious work on the book.
I might also begin work on my Portable Naval Wargame book as I already have the rules written and play-tested. In theory it should not take too long to complete that project once I start, so who knows, that might be next on the list of things to be done.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI am with Arthur on this one -especially with a hardback version as my soft copy is showing the ravages of time!
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteTwo votes for LA ULTIMNA CRUZADA would seem to make it a very viable short-term project for me to get my teeth into ... and if I only sell two (one for you and one for me), it will be worth it!
All the best,
Bob
Maybe a silly question, but it was written about 25 years ago for a traditional publisher and a huge amount has changed in that time: do you still have a usable computer version of the text?
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in a new version as I've looked at it on line but never found even a second hand version available (save for the odd offer at a silly price).
Presumably the rights reverted to you when it went out of print so you are not caught in the modern trap where publishers claim PoD means it is still in print and can never revert.
Mike Hall,
DeleteI do have the original text on my computer, and over the years I have updated it so that it is compatible with newer versions of MS WORD.
As far as I know the publishing rights reverted to me some time ago, and as the original Second Edition is now out of print it is quite legal for me to produce a heavily revised Third Edition.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, your LA ULTIMA CRUZADA is something of a seminal work on the topic. I think you would be doing yourself and the wargaming community a great service by producing a third edition. How that might fit in with other projects though is of course entirely up to you!
Best,
Aaron
Prufrock (Aaron),
DeleteI took a look at my copy of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA this afternoon, and realised that I could turn into something much better ... but that it will require more work than I first thought. That said, it can become a project I work on when the mood takes me in the knowledge that when it is published, it should sell a few copies ... and won't ever be out of print again.
All the best,
Bob
With all your portable variations Bob, is there anything left for others to exploit or work on to add to the growing stable?
ReplyDeleteStephen Briddon,
DeleteI do hope so! I understand that Arthur Harman has plans for an English Civil War version, and has even made some suggestions about developing a Fantasy version. There still is plenty of scope out there for all sorts of variants. As Arthur Daley once said, 'the World is your lobster!'
All the best,
Bob