Just got the cover art for the new book. They’re going to have to add in the information that the foreword is by BGEN Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson USAF (Ret) - the last living 8th AF ace. I really argued with them over the cover. “The Bottisham Four” have been done to death (because it’s a great photo), but the Osprey Marketing team are convinced “this is the one.”
Tom, even though, you're pretty sure about the result on the choice of book covers, I'm still voting. The cover they chose is sleek. Its layout and color are bold -- and DRAMATIC!
CLEAN SWEEP: Bold and DRAMATIC -- It's a WINNER.
Now, Tom, I have something else on my mind, and it has been on my mind for a couple of days. I would like you to share with Jurate the feelings that we have for her. Please consider this gesture.
Dear Jurate,
We have come to respect and appreciate you. Some, perhaps, most of us have experienced very challenging circumstances. I cared for my husband, Mark, for quite a few years. Several of our emergencies were serious. I learned to be calm, to sense when to fight for him or be patient, not perfectly well but with diligence.
While you and the kitties may miss each other, I wonder whether your breathing is easier without the dander.
We feel with you, Jurate, and wish you to know our love.
I agree with Fern. but then, I usually agree with Fern.
and since my ability to know what will sell is the worst of anyone I know, I'm gonna stay out of those weeds.
a good way to have become a real estate billionaire in NYC would have been to solicit my opinion and then to have done the exact opposite. I was offered a fixer-upper brownstone in Park Slope for thirteen thousand bucks in 1968. I said nobody would ever want to live there. I said the same thing about Soho and Tribeca, so uhh....
David, it was wonderful to hear that you usually agree with me. We all need good company. I wish you had agreed about getting cards and notes to Jurate. If she liked hearing Tom tell her that his readers were looking out for her...how nice would it be for her to have cards and notes close to her...to have some loving hearts in the room with her? To see them before going to sleep and again when she awakens. I'm talking to you David, because you usually agree with me. Thank you. Rejected by Tom, it's hardly the first time.
Please take a HUG, David, I'm done. See you later.
why'd you think I disagreed? I completely agree. I just wouldn't want to suggest doing anything that might prove too stressful for the situation, so it's Tom's call.
and I'm ALWAYS inclined to accept any hugs I can get.
The planes in the air is my choice. It catches the eye better than the photo you'd prefer. Perhaps that other photo could be used on the back cover or on one of the dust jacket flaps.
Agreed, Mary ! If I was buying the book for my Navy Vet parents, planes in the air for sure . For me, I would like the personal connection of the pilot pic. But I’m not nearly the aviation buff my parents were. Osprey understands your base, TC.
Yeah, I would have gone for the Jug also..... That big honker had already eliminated a good bit of the Luftwaffe's good pilots by the time the P-51 showed up and Gabreski was a Long Island hero. He told us how he shot himself down - he was strafing a LW airfield and got really low to get hits inside a hangar. The P-47 had a tendency to drop the nose when you fired the guns. Col. Gabreski opened up on the target and didn't see a slight rise in the middle of the field; the Jug dropped down just a bit and caught the prop tips on that rise and he bellied in on the airfield he had just strafed. He was a guest of the Luftwaffe for the duration, and had a distinguished career after the war.
Although the planes flying are striking, for me the men on the plane stands out to me. The planes are in the air, but the real story is about the people flying them. I love the look of intensity between them.
I'm with you Karen. The planes in the air probably would lead to better sales. But how many times have we seen that? The plane on the ground is fascinating. How does that thing get off the ground? And most of all, what is the pilot saying to the ground crew guy? "Did you fix that thing I was complaining about?"
But I'm not a publisher either. Nor a nurse (but my Mom was - she met Dad in a WWII hospital in Italy :)
My husband will want the other image inside or on the back cover. Yes the airplanes are more dramatic for the front. The other reminds the reader that these were real people.
Interesting story. I have a special interest in the Philippines campaigns, both early and late in the war, and didn't realize there was a link between the pilots in the famous photo and the 17th Pursuit Squadron. I was reading a different story that the surviving P-35s were used to shuttle in vital supplies to Corregidor and take people out because the plane was set up to make it possible. "Buzz" Wagner, commander of the 17th, became the first American ace of World War II in the PI.
This P-35 was the last one on Bataan. Actually, it was the one flown by Lamar Gillet - the guy who shot down a Zero. They flew out the third week of March. Wagner was the first American to "make ace" (maybe, his claims are all solo with no backup) in the USAAF. There were three Eagle Squadron aces by then.
I agree with Fern (below). You're correct about the photo being "done to death" but on the other hand, I do not recall when I first or last saw the photo. I think the other one works somewhere in the book - hope there are other photos as well. You know there are lots of folks who have never seen the photo so it's yet another opportunity to teach more people about what was happening long before they were in the world. Just a thought.
Like the Spitfire and its stablemate the Hawker Hurricane, the P-51 is a lot more sleek and photogenic than the Jug, which is probably why the Mustang photo was chosen for its graphics. At one of our club displays at the Arizona Memorial some years ago, an old Aussie pilot commented on a Hurricane Mk.IIc model I had on the table. He flew Hurricanes from 1942-44, shot down one German bomber, and did a lot of strafing missions, but one of his regrets was that he never got to fly a Spitfire in combat or training. I wish I could have gotten his name as he had to go as his tour group was leaving for the hotel. He said that the Hurricane was a damn good plane but it just wasn’t as sexy-looking as the Spitfire…
Tom, even though, you're pretty sure about the result on the choice of book covers, I'm still voting. The cover they chose is sleek. Its layout and color are bold -- and DRAMATIC!
CLEAN SWEEP: Bold and DRAMATIC -- It's a WINNER.
Now, Tom, I have something else on my mind, and it has been on my mind for a couple of days. I would like you to share with Jurate the feelings that we have for her. Please consider this gesture.
Dear Jurate,
We have come to respect and appreciate you. Some, perhaps, most of us have experienced very challenging circumstances. I cared for my husband, Mark, for quite a few years. Several of our emergencies were serious. I learned to be calm, to sense when to fight for him or be patient, not perfectly well but with diligence.
While you and the kitties may miss each other, I wonder whether your breathing is easier without the dander.
We feel with you, Jurate, and wish you to know our love.
Fern, TAFM reader
I was just visiting her today and told her about all of you and your wishes for her. She smiled.
I agree with Fern. but then, I usually agree with Fern.
and since my ability to know what will sell is the worst of anyone I know, I'm gonna stay out of those weeds.
a good way to have become a real estate billionaire in NYC would have been to solicit my opinion and then to have done the exact opposite. I was offered a fixer-upper brownstone in Park Slope for thirteen thousand bucks in 1968. I said nobody would ever want to live there. I said the same thing about Soho and Tribeca, so uhh....
I Laughed Out Loud. Welcome to the club.
I least I'm in excellent company.
I laughed out loud.
I figure that if I've made you laugh, it's a good day.
I'm being completely serious.
David, it was wonderful to hear that you usually agree with me. We all need good company. I wish you had agreed about getting cards and notes to Jurate. If she liked hearing Tom tell her that his readers were looking out for her...how nice would it be for her to have cards and notes close to her...to have some loving hearts in the room with her? To see them before going to sleep and again when she awakens. I'm talking to you David, because you usually agree with me. Thank you. Rejected by Tom, it's hardly the first time.
Please take a HUG, David, I'm done. See you later.
It wasn't rejected by me. I don't have the address at hand at the moment (I just know how to get there).
why'd you think I disagreed? I completely agree. I just wouldn't want to suggest doing anything that might prove too stressful for the situation, so it's Tom's call.
and I'm ALWAYS inclined to accept any hugs I can get.
The planes in the air is my choice. It catches the eye better than the photo you'd prefer. Perhaps that other photo could be used on the back cover or on one of the dust jacket flaps.
I just sent that idea to my editor. The open space is perfect for the blurbs. We shall see. If your idea works out, you win a free copy.
Cool!
The Osprey team knows what’s doing. I like my planes in the air. And you know what you’re doing inside the cover! I’ll buy it.
Agreed, Mary ! If I was buying the book for my Navy Vet parents, planes in the air for sure . For me, I would like the personal connection of the pilot pic. But I’m not nearly the aviation buff my parents were. Osprey understands your base, TC.
They certainly do.
Yeah, I would have gone for the Jug also..... That big honker had already eliminated a good bit of the Luftwaffe's good pilots by the time the P-51 showed up and Gabreski was a Long Island hero. He told us how he shot himself down - he was strafing a LW airfield and got really low to get hits inside a hangar. The P-47 had a tendency to drop the nose when you fired the guns. Col. Gabreski opened up on the target and didn't see a slight rise in the middle of the field; the Jug dropped down just a bit and caught the prop tips on that rise and he bellied in on the airfield he had just strafed. He was a guest of the Luftwaffe for the duration, and had a distinguished career after the war.
Sorry, T, but for eye-catching I got to go with the planes.
Although the planes flying are striking, for me the men on the plane stands out to me. The planes are in the air, but the real story is about the people flying them. I love the look of intensity between them.
But I’m a nurse not a book publisher
I Laughed Out Loud. :-)
I'm with you Karen. The planes in the air probably would lead to better sales. But how many times have we seen that? The plane on the ground is fascinating. How does that thing get off the ground? And most of all, what is the pilot saying to the ground crew guy? "Did you fix that thing I was complaining about?"
But I'm not a publisher either. Nor a nurse (but my Mom was - she met Dad in a WWII hospital in Italy :)
My husband will want the other image inside or on the back cover. Yes the airplanes are more dramatic for the front. The other reminds the reader that these were real people.
that's the best idea.
The Bottisham Two cover was a great choice. Clean, appealing graphics jump out. Your writing will tell the story. Congratulations!
Interesting story. I have a special interest in the Philippines campaigns, both early and late in the war, and didn't realize there was a link between the pilots in the famous photo and the 17th Pursuit Squadron. I was reading a different story that the surviving P-35s were used to shuttle in vital supplies to Corregidor and take people out because the plane was set up to make it possible. "Buzz" Wagner, commander of the 17th, became the first American ace of World War II in the PI.
This P-35 was the last one on Bataan. Actually, it was the one flown by Lamar Gillet - the guy who shot down a Zero. They flew out the third week of March. Wagner was the first American to "make ace" (maybe, his claims are all solo with no backup) in the USAAF. There were three Eagle Squadron aces by then.
I would have gone with the P-47
You two are both airplane geeks. Your opinions don't count (any more than mine does). :-)
Which is why I'm in veterinary medicine and not marketing. ;-)
I Laughed Out Loud.
Hope you dumped on Monk Hunter too lol.
Oh yeah. I read Zemke's book, and he had nothing good to say there.
Bill Kepner is a vastly underappreciated American.
Same here.
I agree with Fern (below). You're correct about the photo being "done to death" but on the other hand, I do not recall when I first or last saw the photo. I think the other one works somewhere in the book - hope there are other photos as well. You know there are lots of folks who have never seen the photo so it's yet another opportunity to teach more people about what was happening long before they were in the world. Just a thought.
Like the Spitfire and its stablemate the Hawker Hurricane, the P-51 is a lot more sleek and photogenic than the Jug, which is probably why the Mustang photo was chosen for its graphics. At one of our club displays at the Arizona Memorial some years ago, an old Aussie pilot commented on a Hurricane Mk.IIc model I had on the table. He flew Hurricanes from 1942-44, shot down one German bomber, and did a lot of strafing missions, but one of his regrets was that he never got to fly a Spitfire in combat or training. I wish I could have gotten his name as he had to go as his tour group was leaving for the hotel. He said that the Hurricane was a damn good plane but it just wasn’t as sexy-looking as the Spitfire…
The only thing better you could have done was get a shot of a Jug with Hub Zemke lol.
Personally, I am in complete agreement.
Always "flying" Tom, so I have to choose the 2 in flight.
Price is no object for good writing, sir! You're worth it!
I like the Mustangs Airborne! Sorry boss!