News for Luke Fans and My Forumite Pals

stephen · 26 March 2024, 07:09 PM

This has not yet been released anywhere else. I wanted to share a bit of news as a salute to my old Forumite pals before Schiffer's press releases go out. You guys are getting this first. Thank you for your support for my Luke work dating all the way back to the November 2000 monument restoration. This is for you:

1) The 2nd edition of THE STAND: The Final Flights of Lt Frank Luke, Jr is set for release November 28th and is now available on Amazon for pre-order.

2) Schiffer was very generous, making the book one of their premier releases for the new season. It will grace the cover of their fall catalog. I'm delighted that they're making it one of their big pushes this autumn. They said it was one of the best works they had released in the last 20 years (their words, not mine) and I'm very grateful for that level of support from them.

3) Thankfully, Russell Smith's amazing original art work will remain, this time as the back cover.

4) And a special treat for those of you still reading... Bonfire Legend pictures has optioned the book for a four-part feature film series. The first three scripts are finished and the fourth will be ready within days. My extensive meetings with the producer and screenwriter netted a sworn oath that the story will be told as accurately as cinematic time compression allows.

I'm not allowed to say much more at the moment, having just been released from a Non Disclosure Agreement. But I wanted the folks here to get it first. Thanks again!

Stephen Skinner, author
THE STAND: The Final Flight of Lt Frank Luke, Jr.

Volker_Nemsch · 27 March 2024, 01:27 AM

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... and it reminds me of some great days in France in 2007.

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Barrett · 28 March 2024, 03:32 PM

Tremendous news, Stephen. Sharing widely, especially here in Arizona Territory.

Frederic Mason · 30 March 2024, 11:33 AM

Stephen, can you say whether there will be more added photos, data, info, etc, in second edition??

stephen · 31 March 2024, 06:52 PM

Absolutely yes! Schiffer asked me for at least another 20,000 words. I exceeded that and they actually asked me to edit it down just a bit. I don't recall how many new photos are included but I think it's 40+.

MASTIFF · 1 April 2024, 06:03 AM

Amazon shows the first run as 320 pages and the latest as 544 pages.

AAC Cadet Leader · 7 April 2024, 07:32 AM

Marvelous news, Stephen!

stephen · 17 April 2024, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MASTIFF

Amazon shows the first run as 320 pages and the latest as 544 pages.

I can tell you that there is considerably more information in the second edition, but not a full 224 extra pages. They have condensed the format from 8.5x11 to 8x10 which automatically adds more pages due to physical space limitations and compression.

Comparing page counts gives the impression that there is maybe 40% more material when in reality there is about 20% more actual content. Hope that helps!

stephen · 17 April 2024, 10:32 AM

And some of the new content was released in my latest presentation at the OTF seminar a few years back, some of it was available privately in the companion volume titled The Quest, and then some of it has never been released at all.

Basically I've taken everything learned since 2008, everything that was edited out of the original manuscript and everything from The Quest, then added new photos, an index and a bibliography and put it all in one book.

CjBobrow · 17 April 2024, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephen

And some of the new content was released in my latest presentation at the OTF seminar a few years back, some of it was available privately in the companion volume titled The Quest, and then some of it has never been released at all.

Basically I've taken everything learned since 2008, everything that was edited out of the original manuscript and everything from The Quest, then added new photos, an index and a bibliography and put it all in one book.

LINK to the talk...