The British Railway Stories - Paperback now out!

[60800]

Could be worse BB, I was thinking Lincoln............

[manna]

G'Day Gents

I was thinking Grantham, even though I knew the signals were wrong, (never been to Leeds Central, which probably means most of us on here to )

manna

[StevieG]

G'Day Gents
" .... (never been to Leeds Central, which probably means most of us on here to ) "
manna

...Certainly applies to me

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

It closed the year after I was born, explaining why I didn't clock it!

[Marvin]

There are at least two other book series centring on anthropomorphic steam locos complete with faces: 'Sammy the Shunter' & 'Jimmy the Jinty'. There are also 'friendly engine' events at Ribble Steam Railway which have steam locos with faces. If none of these had problems with the Awdry estate I don't see why 'The British Railway Stories' should either.

(edit: Thanks to the post I was replying to being removed, this now seems to have come from nowhere - but if I remove it I pass the same problem on to Blink Bonny's post below)

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

The problem isn't the Awdry estate. It is whichever money-grabbing "features" company has bought the rights. HIT entertainment (who have recently sold them) used to demand such high licencing fees that the Worth Valley only made a profit on their events when the buffet and souvenir sales were included in the figures.

The Awdreys were tickled pink that anyone should imitate them!

[2002EarlMarischal]

Simon, I am most impressed with your work and must say it seems to be perfectly complimentary to the Thomas series, providing a vehicle that will hopefully extend the interest that young children develop thanks to the charm of Rev Awdry's work.

When visiting a preserved railway or model railway exhibition I am frequently concerned with the average age of those attending because I feel very strongly that we need to keep the hobby alive so generations in the future will continue to benefit from the sight of steam both 12 inches to the foot and smaller.

A fun, educational series of stories that bridges the gap between Thomas and the types of interest covered by this forum, is a marvellous idea. I commend you for persevering with your idea and wish you every success.

All the best for 2012!

Jim

[S.A.C. Martin]

Jim, you've got it in a nutshell, thank you - I only wish people would see past the very necessary faces (after all, what betetr way to convey emotional content than through faces?) towards the stories and history portrayed.

I've done so much work in the research stage for the books, I am hoping it will pay off in terms of education and entertainment.

Which is what it's all about really.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

As I said before, Simon, I hope it works out for you. Not only entertaining but educational, seeing as real classes and real locations are involved in the drawings.

[S.A.C. Martin]

It's been the whole aim of the excercise really - education whilst entertaining. I find it's more rewarding using real history as the basis for the stories, it provides that backdrop which gives the characters and the scenarios a greater believability.

I didn't get it right with the model series, partly due to originally working as part of a team, but once producing the videos on my own, I'd like to think the characters developed better and the overall effect (if not the graphics) was better.

And with the books, there's so many stories out there to tell. So much potential for this to run and run and, as said previously, provide that stepping stone from Thomas as a toddler to this in the 7-11 age bracket, to real railways thereafter.

But I want to get it as right as possible in the story and artwork stage. Build the best base from which to work on.

[60800]

I definitely agree with the idea of this filling the 7 - 11 age gap as I went straight from Thomas (when I was about four) to real locos when I came face to face with Green Arrow at York station and I sort of missed out on quite a bit. If there had been this series and the books around when I was a little kid (not too long ago mind you) I would have got to my current stage of knowlege a lot quicker whilst being interested in the real locos at the same time and I would probably know a lot more about the LNER than I currently do too.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Just to say the book is due out on the 15th July on Kindle, shortly followed by iBooks and most mobile phone eBook services, and Barnes & Noble, later in the year.

[2002EarlMarischal]

Simon, I wish you huge success with this culmination of your efforts. It is quite an achievement to have reached this point. Please let us know how the launch goes.

[S.A.C. Martin]

The British Railway Stories Ltd

The company, "The British Railway Stories Ltd" has today been registered with Companies House, and is active from today, with myself as sole owner and shareholder. The incoming company secretary is J.P. Martin.

There is not at this time (unsurprisingly!) any intention to float the business on the stock market, as all we have currently is a company registration and a company account. No premises, no merchandise (as yet...), no assets, and no employees or employee structure in place yet.

However, this is the first step towards creating a new and viable business, which I am determined to see through and producing quality children's literature and films in the years to come.

We already have a superb fanbase, a very active and profitable YouTube channel, and the first eBook on the way (Tale of the Unnamed Engine, coming July 15th on the Amazon Kindle, then on iBooks, Barnes & Noble and other eReaders in 2012 ), along with some test footage for the new series on YouTube, coming late 2012.

To say I am delighted is something else! I have always wanted to run my own business and now is the best opportunity to push it forward.

Secondly, the ISBNs for the Kindle and ePub versions of Tale of the Unnamed Engine have been confirmed today, as:

ISBN 978-0-9573377-0-1

For the Kindle version, and...


ISBN 978-0-9573377-1-8

For the ePub version (which will be out on iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and a whole host of other eReaders and mobile phone platforms. Full details will be confirmed after the release of the Kindle eBook).

And finally...I am happy to announce a special offer for anyone who purchases the eBook, on whatever format they choose.

We will be giving a discount of £1.14 off the cost of a hardback copy of the eBook, which will be released in strictly limited numbers towards the end of 2012. The offer runs until the 15th July 2013, and while stocks last. I will be personally signing every single copy.

So, with just 11 days to go until the book is released - the countdown starts here...

Simon A.C. Martin

[S.A.C. Martin]

We have a link:

Tale of the Unnamed Engine - Kindle Edition

I've already identified a few details which are wrong - publication date is 15th July 2012 and there's an erroneous "and" in the title description - and these will be fixed today - but there it is, in the Kindle store, more or less ready for sale!