Tim's Update # 1

Welcome to the Bava Book Update Blog.

The reason for this blog is simple. Our previous Update page was controlled by Donna, which meant that, whenever I wrote a new update, I had to submit it to her and then wait for her to find time in her busy schedule to post it. With this blog, I can do all this myself and get the information out much more spontaneously.

Don't expect this blog to be as detailed as the Video WatchBlog, or as regular. I won't be posting updates every day, or even every week. But as things happen that are worth telling you about, you can read about them here... and the blog should get more interesting and a bit busier as we approach the Finish Line.

Our last update was posted on October 1st. Since then, our time has been spent compiling and completing the book's mammoth index (presently at 35 pages prior to final layout), and producing two complete issues of VIDEO WATCHDOG (#s 123, which was mailed last month, and the forthcoming 124). VW 124 is being held back from release until March, allowing us to maintain our bimonthly schedule through next Spring. This plan gives us the first three months of the new year to work exclusively on the Bava book and get it out the door.

Where things stand: This week, Donna is putting the finishing touches on VW 124 and buckling down to her final work on the book's layout -- inserting the illustrations, making sure they all look right, and designing the layout for a few still unfinished areas of the book (namely, the front and back matter). My own final work on the book amounts to perusing the manuscript one last time, dropping in some last-minute additional text to bring it up to date, and compiling a proper Mario Bava Filmography. The Filmography is something I long resisted, feeling that the book itself -- which follows a chronology -- was the filmography, but as a friend pointed out, if I don't provide one, someone else will inevitably base a filmography on my work and take credit for it. So I have to go through the manuscript and make a formal list of everything Bava worked on. My tasks shouldn't take too long; it's Donna who has the harder job ahead of her.

Over the past few months, we have also been auditioning a number of printers here in the United States and in other countries. We've looked at some beautifully printed books, and also some "dummies" (blank books) that show us how our book is going to look. We're looking at a large hardcover that weighs between 12 and 14 pounds, depending on the paper thickness we finally choose. We may try to whittle the weight down to 10 pounds, if possible. To read a 14-pound book is not easy, and as pretty as this book is going to be, I spent a lot of time writing it and want the writing to be read and appreciated.

One thing that everyone in this final round of printer candidates tells us is that the printing of our book will take three months to produce and deliver. Therefore, since we are devoting three months to finishing the book, that means -- if we need all of March to finish our work -- the earliest delivery date for the book would be sometime in June of this year. It's possible we'll finish ahead of schedule, in which case the book could be delivered sooner. We can't promise that... but we can promise to let you know here, on this blog, when we do finish and send our pdf's to the printer we finally select.

So for us, through the end of March, it's going to be book! book! book!

To recap: At present, we expect MARIO BAVA--ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK to appear sometime in the late Spring or early Summer of 2006.

Also, if anyone has any questions about the book they would like to submit, we can make an ongoing Q&A part of this blog. Just click on "Contact Tim" and send your question. We'll either get back to you directly or deal with your question here. Thanks!