The German language edition of my DeForest Kelley book DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal is available NOW. The cover (front and back shown below) is lovely & publisher and translator are over the moon!
It will make its first public debut at FedCon next weekend. Both Bjorn Sulter (publisher) and Thorsten Walch (translator) will be there. I think Thorsten plans to read an excerpt or two from it.
I will be getting a personalized copy after the convention. Bjorn and Thorsten will both sign my copy and then Bjorn will ship it over to me. I can’t wait to add it to my collection.
It feels special to officially be an international author now! I’m feeling mighty fine about that. I just hope it sells well enough to make the men who worked so hard to get it to this point a bundle of money. It was truly a labor of love for Thorsten. He has been working on the translation over 20 years. He started with the first edition I put out and had it well along before I put the second edition out, which had an additional 55 pages of anecdotes and other information in it, so he had to go back to the drawing board and take out what I took out of the first edition and insert what I put into the second edition. Not an easy task. I think he just ended up translating it all again based on the second edition, but he tells me that it made for a much better translation, so he’s glad it happened. He says it’s one of his proudest projects. (That’s because he loved De from afar — they corresponded — and he wants to help enhance his legacy beyond what he did as an actor, which this book does.)
I wish De and Carolyn were here to see it. Heck, I wish my mother and father and grandmother were here to see it. Grandma came from Germany by way of Ellis Island in the early 1900’s, before 1910. Here it is 112 years later and one of Germany’s grandchildren (me) will be returning to Germany by way of a book. That feels amazing to me. Now if I can just get MYSELF to Germany before I’m shoveled off this mortal coil, my bucket list will be complete! (I’m not holding my breath…)
My heart will be in Germany all this week and through the weekend, wishing the very best for the launch. I want the fellows responsible for the German language edition to benefit MIGHTILY from their dedication. I don’t want a dime of royalties until Thorsten and Bjorn have recouped all their outlay for the translation hours and publication costs, and I will be adamant about that.
