Here are a few of the projects we’ve finished up (newest on top):
Have you ever heard of Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia? We hadn’t…at least not until we were asked to edit Ayalew Adamu’s book What a Towering Achievement. Based on extracts from newspapers printed in the late 1800s through the early 1900s, Adamu has found contemporary writings describing how Emperor Menelik was a beneficent leader, bringing his country out of the darkness and into world politics.
Soon to be released via the I Street Press in Sacramento, it will be sought after by many historians.
The new version of Teaching to Intuition, by Edric Cane is finally out. His first edition was well received by many in the educational world, but based on feedback he received, he has re-arranged many of the chapters and has added more content, including a story that shows how kangaroos can teach basic math concepts. Not one to miss…even if you aren’t an educator. It gives an eye-opening approach to common math issues experienced by many.
Alan Castlerook has an exciting adventure story to tell in Pirates Never Bury Their Treasure. Here you’ll find the story of a privateer in the 1700s trying to evade capture by British naval forces. The book opens with the pirate Marteen having just stolen the ship of Captain Bird of the British Navy. Marteen then takes off in the military vessel, leaving Captain Bird and his crew stranded aboard a damaged and almost sinking pirate ship. Thus begins Marteen’s attempts to survive in the Caribbean seas as he tries to avoid capture by the now infuriated Captain—who is backed by the forces of the entire British Navy! You won’t believe what happens when the the two of them finally meet…and get caught in a tremendous storm. You’ll have to read it to find out.
We mustn’t forget one of the most entertaining books we’ve seen. If you’ve ever been annoyed at those telemarketers bothering you at the most inopportune times, you may actually feel sorry for them after you see what Ray does to them. His book, On the Phone with Ray: Real Conversations with Telemarketers, details conversations he has had in the middle of his day (some of which I’ve been lucky enough to have heard live).
It’s short, but that just makes for a quick read. You’ll stop at the end of each chapter and look around for someone, so you can tell them all about it. Definitely a sharable one.
We have also had the pleasure of critiquing some of M. L. Edson’s fine works, presenting us with a wide variety of topics to choose from. The works here range from a non-fiction account of time spent in prison (not as an inmate! rather as an English Teacher in a juvenile facility), Not Even a Shadow: Fifteen Months Inside a Juvenile Prison, to an action-adventure story of a family trying to survive financial difficulties…only to come face to face with a set of jewelry store robbers, Sierra Heist.
You can find more books listed on the Author Page. As well, we look forward to many more submissions from this author.
Point Hope is only one of Bryson’s fine books. He is quite the prolific author as he has more than a few books in the works—we hope to see more of them listed here soon. With a background in technology, many of his topics touch on how this world is changing…for the better?
In this book, a family gets back together upon the death of their father, only to find that he may have hidden away some treasure when he had been prospecting up in Alaska. The three brothers go in search of whatever might be left behind in the small town of Point Hope where they had spent their childhood, dreading what they might find. Trying to survive in the harsh weather, and following cryptic messages meant only for them, they soon track down information about a sunken ship from the 1900s: The Catherine Sudden. Having to work together to solve the mystery, they finally put behind themselves the awful feelings they’ve been harbouring towards each other and their father.
The first book from M. M. Rumberg we had a chance to read over was CodeName Snake: The Evil We Kill, a novel of intrigue in the middle of World War II. The way it’s written, it could have really happened—all the historical references are backed up by intensive research, but when Mr. Rumberg arrives at a book signing…carrying a 3×5 foot poster of that cover…he tends to really attract attention. That striking, bold flag is certainly a good way to get readers to look twice at his book.
Here at Turner Editing, we have worked with Mr. Rumberg for many years, reading and commenting on a few of his other works—current selections can be found on his website—and we look forward to many more years of entertaining stories from him.
We cannot recommend the Dictionary of Publishing Terms highly enough. Ingrid has done the writing world a favour by putting together this ‘dictionary’, though we have to take exception to the title as it isn’t a dictionary so much as it’s an exemplar. Each page from the title page to the index has explanations of what goes where in a final printed book. (Many of the items also belong in ebooks, so it’s good for that as well.) She doesn’t just tell—she shows. You can’t get lost when the answers are right there where the questions are.
Ever wondered what goes on the copyright page…or even what a copyright page is? How about a dedication or a preface…do you need one? What about building a table of contents…how do you go about even starting that? Where does the ISBN go, and what the heck is a colophon??
If you are concerned about how to put your final book together, with all the parts that surround your wonderful story, be certain to check out this book. It will give answers to questions you didn’t know you had, but if you’re hesitant to do it yourself, consider attending one of Ingrid’s workshops where she will walk you through the entire process.
One of the first full projects we worked on was Viva Villa: A book on the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Sam, the author, followed an interest in his heritage and researched Pancho Villa, but he found that the story told in US classrooms was a bit lacking, so he gathered his research, consulted other experts in the field, and put this book together. Initially he was trying to do it all himself, only occasionally consulting other writers, editors, and publishers in the local area. When he ran in to too many difficulties to handle, he finally turned to Turner Editing, who not only edited his ms, but also worked with him to do the layout, formatting, and even the cover! (We don’t usually do graphic arts, but he had most of it already designed, so we just had to assemble the pieces for him.)
If you’re interested in finding out more about how the US Army stormed through Mexico trying to capture one single person, consider reading this fascinating historical account.