Rudolph Valentino - The Silent Idol

[rudyfan]

If someone has Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol on their holiday gift list:

20% off
Coupon Code (good through 12/31) NEWBLURB at checkout

http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/1644955

Blurb's Holiday Shipping cut off dates (US only):
Ground - Sunday, Dec. 12
2nd Day Air - Wednesday, Dec. 15
Next Day Air - Sunday, Dec. 19

Blurb has other shipping cutoff dates posted on their website here: http://www.blurb.com/gifts

Share with your friends!

[shaheena]

Thanks for the nice online coupons for both the book and your 2011 calendar!!! I've ordered both, so it looks like my holidays (and New Year) will be quite easy on the eyes...

I also hope-- as an admirer of both Rudolph Valentino and Arabian/Andalusian horses-- that perhaps some day we will see a 'Rudolph Valentino On Horseback' calendar. There is a gorgeous (but hideously reproduced) photo of him on page 75 of The Intimate Life of Rudolph Valentino that I would love to see enlarged and with proper exposure values. Both horse and rider are beautifully turned out, and the saddle looks very unusual. The man definitely had excellent taste when it came to selecting beautiful tack for his horses... Talk about a horsewoman's dream-date...

***sigh***

Speaking of the Valentino horses, I have seen photos of RV with Haroun, Firefly and Jadaan, but are there any extant pix of Valentino with either Yaqui or Ramadan?

[rudyfan]

Thanks for the nice online coupons for both the book and your 2011 calendar!!! I've ordered both, so it looks like my holidays (and New Year) will be quite easy on the eyes...

Heh, how nice!

I also hope-- as an admirer of both Rudolph Valentino and Arabian/Andalusian horses-- that perhaps some day we will see a 'Rudolph Valentino On Horseback' calendar. There is a gorgeous (but hideously reproduced) photo of him on page 75 of The Intimate Life of Rudolph Valentino that I would love to see enlarged and with proper exposure values. <snip>

Speaking of the Valentino horses, I have seen photos of RV with Haroun, Firefly and Jadaan, but are there any extant pix of Valentino with either Yaqui or Ramadan?

Valentino rides Ramadan in the early portions of The Son of the Sheik and (if memory serves) he's riding Yacqui in The Eagle. My book has a full page of shots of Rudy with Yacqui togged up in full western garb and tack in Palm Springs.

An RV on horseback calendar is a good idea. Hopefully I will remember this once the time rolls around for 2012! Oh and thanks for buying both the book and calendar.

[shaheena]

An RV on horseback calendar is a good idea. Hopefully I will remember this once the time rolls around for 2012! Oh and thanks for buying both the book and calendar.

Oh my, what a great thing to look forward to! And it's my pleasure to support anyone who does right by RV!

Also, just so I'm sure I've got the right names on the right horses, the picture I've seen of RV on Firefly shows the same horse (black or very dark bay, with a white sock on each hind foot) with the same tack that Ahmed the Younger rides at the beginning of Son of the Sheik. That horse is the one who does the rear-on-command and buck-on-command stunts when Gabah tries to mount him.

The Emily Leider bio identifies Haroun as the horse that Louise Dresser is about to mount at the beginning of The Eagle, and which Valentino 'borrows' in order to stop the runaway carriage. He's a light-colored (probably gray) horse, and I've seen a photo online that shows the jump over the guard-house gate-pole from the front, so one can see it is actually RV making the jump, Cossack uniform and all. His form was excellent, too-- he was most definitely a skilled horseman...

***sigh***

Jadaan I'd recognize anywhere, as I've seen multiple pictures of him, both with and without RV in saddle.

One of the reasons I am interested in pegging the horses properly is that I think that the horse Valentino is mounted on in the photo I mentioned in my first post is probably one of the other two-- Yacqui or Ramadan.

[rudyfan]

<Begin>

This is a GREAT deal!

20% off
Coupon Code (good through 12/31) NEWBLURB at checkout

Blurb's Holiday Shipping cut off dates:
Ground - Sunday, Dec. 12
2nd Day Air - Wednesday, Dec. 15
Next Day Air - Sunday, Dec. 19

<End>

I promise to stop now (until blurb has another sale)

[rudyfan]

I may have mentioned before that I was planning to offer a limited edition version of my book Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol. I'm not yet ready to accept orders, but I wanted to let people know that the limited edition is going forward and I'm getting a list of names together. No obligations, no arm-twisting.

The Details:

The book will be 11x13 in size and a hardback edition with an imagewrap cover.

It will be 240 pages (as the original) but it might have some newly appended photos thanks to the increase in size. I'm not quite sure at this point, but I think the larger pages will cut some of the text pages down by a few. So it will be 400+ images and possibly a tipped in special photo, also signed and numbered to match the edition.

The book will be hand-signed by me (and if I can schlep them over and if she agrees to, I'll have Emily Leider sign them too) and they will also be hand numbered to a limited edition of 50 copies only.

To those of you who have the paperback edition I am sure can attest to blurb's quality of product (and if you have not posted a review at amazon.com, please do so if you can).

As you will also know, blurb is not inexpensive, but it will be worth it. Unless blurb raises their prices (which they did with the PB edition) I am projecting that the book will cost $150. Shipping will be a flat rate $5 in the US and $15 outside the US. One hopes that it will be a collector's item as well as an investment because of the small number that will be prouced. My little ego would like to think the value of the collector's edition will go up as time goes by and copies are scarce. Of course, by that time I will be as dead as Valentino. Snort.

I'm hoping to have the limited edition ready for pre-order in May.

How to get on the list:

If you want to be on the list, it's simple, send me an PM and give me your name and email and I will put you on the master list. About 27 copies are already spoken for.

I'm excited to produce a large scale book of a size and quality that Valentino deserves.

Cheers!
Donna

[rudyfan]

I don't know why I did not get a notice from blurb on this, but through July 31 if you order and use the code (in all CAPS) JULYOFFER you will get a whoppping 20% discount off the book.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1644955

<End>

[LouieD]

I don't know why I did not get a notice from blurb on this, but through July 31 if you order and use the code (in all CAPS) JULYOFFER you will get a whoppping 20% discount off the book.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1644955

<End>

Is that on all books on blurb? If so, I could sell a few more of mine!

[rudyfan]

Is that on all books on blurb? If so, I could sell a few more of mine!

Louie, yes, it's blurb-wide. Use the code JULYOFFER until 7/31

Remember, it has to be in ALL CAPS to work.

[LouieD]

Is that on all books on blurb? If so, I could sell a few more of mine!

Louie, yes, it's blurb-wide. Use the code JULYOFFER until 7/31

Remember, it has to be in ALL CAPS to work.

COOL! Already put the word out on Facebook, twitter, and Google+!

[rudyfan]

In other exciting news (to me), my book is listed in the blurb bookstore as a "Staff Pick" this week.

That's awesome!

[rudyfan]

Blurb is still having 20% off their books.

The new promo code is: BLURB20

I do not know how long the promo code is good for.

Louis this is for you, too!

[LouieD]

Blurb is still having 20% off their books.

The new promo code is: BLURB20

I do not know how long the promo code is good for.

Louis this is for you, too!

Thanks, kid!

[rudyfan]

The HB edition is now ready for orders if anyone here on N-Ville wants to be on the list and isn't.

Scroll up for details or send me a PM.

Limited to 50 signed and numbered copies, 40 are spoken for already!

[rudyfan]

Another commercial, 20% is a good discount, thanks to blurb!

Go to blurb.com and at checkout use the code DONTDELAY (always in all CAPS) - that's a nice discount!

It's not official yet, but, very soon my book will also be available as an iBook (for iPads and iPhones) and I understand blurb is working on kindle, as well. I will keep you posted, if you are interested in a digital edition. I'm very excited for this to happen!

[rudyfan]

Natacha gave Rudy the slave bracelet and he gave her a moonstone watch (to keep the record straight). Now is time to plug my book as a perfect Xmas gift for any Rudyfan. Well, I hope it is a perfect gift!

Blurb has a promotion code for 20% off the cover price going right now. Blurb is also making noises about holiday shipping times, so if you want the book in time for Xmas (or want to tell someone [like your personal holiday elf] it is on your list and here's a discount code...) better order soon.

The 20% discount code is LYNDA22. Remember, with blurb it's in ALL CAPS and is applied once you've selected what you are ordering.

Black Friday Starts Now!

[Darren Nemeth]

I'm inspired to do my own book again. Thank you.

[rudyfan]

I'm inspired to do my own book. Thank you.

Darren, fabulous! Please post a link to the preview, I wanna see!

[rudyfan]

New blurb coupon code, good through December 11th

20% off the cover price of Rudolph Valentino the Silent Idol using the following code: RMNBLURB20 - brings the cover price down to $48. Jingle bells ringing!

[rudyfan]

FYI!
blurb is offering a discount of 25% off any books
Coupon Code (good through 4/2/2012) AMAZE at checkout

[rudyfan]

You've all seen the link to the book in my signature line. Yes, I'm proud of it. You can preview it by clicking that link.

If you do not have a copy, now is your chance to win a free softcover copy of the book.

What do you have to do to be eligible for a free copy? If you're on Facebook, all you have to do is "like" the book for a chance.

My goal is to reach 500 likes by May 6th (Valentino's birthday). Right now we have 143 likes, so there is a way to go to reach 500 likes in the span of 3 days. Yes, I am shamelessly trolling.

If you've already liked the book, you are automatically in the fishbowl to have your name picked.**

Here's the link to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rudol ... ark_t=page

Thanks spread the word and good luck!

** the winner will be drawn from a bucket of the names to ensure fairness in the silly contest on May 7th

[rudyfan]

Yes, it's true, Rudolph Valentino has now officially moved into the digital age. The iPad edition of the book is now available from blurb. If you have an iPhone (it will be teeny) or an iPad, you can now read and enjoy Valentino On The Go! Blurb's preview let's you see the first 72 pages of the book.

http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/51894-rud ... hotographs

Next will be the kindle version.

[rudyfan]

Okay, I've posted a giveaway via Goodreads for a softcover copy of my book, RV The Silent Idol. If you're on Goodreads, you can enter here for a chance to win it. http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/ ... hotographs.

Goodreads will choose the winning name and I hope whomever is the winner will be will like the book as much as I did in creating it for the Valentino/silent film fans.

Good luck! So far, 96 entries which surprises me! That's a lot of people!

[Darren Nemeth]

Okay, I've posted a giveaway via Goodreads for a softcover copy of my book, RV The Silent Idol. If you're on Goodreads, you can enter here for a chance to win it. http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/ ... hotographs.

Goodreads will choose the winning name and I hope whomever is the winner will be will like the book as much as I did in creating it for the Valentino/silent film fans.

Good luck! So far, 96 entries which surprises me! That's a lot of people!

Rudyfan,

I finally got around to getting around to scan my projection supply handbook from 1907 and am looking at companies who publish books like yours.

It will be a reproduction but in landscape format so two pages can fit into one.

I have a question, however. What file formats did you scan yours photos in? I'm doing 600 dpi scans.

There are a lot of engravings and tiny DPI images in the catalog and I am trying to decide which will translate into print form the best. I am thinking TIFF, uncompressed.

Again, congratulations on your books success.


Darren

[rudyfan]

Hi Darren

I used 600 dpi for my book (and some 300 dpi because I had no other option). I believe with blurb you can use PNG, TIFF and JPEG. I used PNG for most.

You might want to use "descreen" for the newsprinty/dot matrix images. Not sure if you are working b/w or color images.

I'm actually meeting with blurb people today (they're local to me) but I understand lulu and shutterfly also are doing some photobooks. My only complaint with blurb was the pricing. I have zero complaints about the quality of the product, but, the price of my book has increased over the 3 years since initially announcing it by almost $20. That has hurt sales, but, there have been no complaints about the content. Sadly, the only people making $$ off my book at this point is blurb. Oh well, I always said it was a labor of love and now, it really is!

[rudyfan]

I'm just updating here to let people know blurb has a new option on the table, connecting with amazon. As much as I have wanted to and lamented the lack of a true amazon presence for my book, I am not going to take blurb up on this option. Here's what I posted on the FaceBook page for the book this morning:

I wanted to let people know that blurb.com (the publishing service I chose for this book) has finally set up a deal which would allow the book to be sold on amazon.com. As much as I have wanted to have my book available for sale regularly with amazon, it would up sales, right? There is a problem. Blurb's price is already high (though the quality is fabulous and I feel well worth it) listing with amazon would force me to raise the price of an already expensive book to ridiculous levels ($100 for the paperback, for instance). This is because amazon is demanding a chunk, and blurb is not reducing their base price. I think doing that is not fair for people who want to buy the book. This is the reason I have chosen not to list the book on amazon.

Believe me, I never did this book to make a profit, certainly not! I've repeated and will repeat here again, it was a labor of love and allowed me to share rare photos of a star we admire in a format that is pleasing to thumb through. So, this long winded update is to remind you, you can order the book direct at the link shown here. The book is available in 3 formats (softcover, hardcover with a dust jacket and hardcover with an image wrap). Again, I am grateful and humbled by the people who have already purchased the book and have taken the time to tell me of their delight with it. It reminds me all the hard work was so worth the effort.

It's a drag, my book is still selling a few copies a month and would sell many more with the wider distribution of amazon. As you all know, I really struggled with blurb's price point from the getgo, but $100 for a softcover is just ridiculous and benefits me not at all.

It would be great to be able to republish using another service, but, all the whining I have done about pricing and such, you just cannot beat blurb's fine quality product. So, there you have it.