[stathan]

Apoligies to all if this seems a trifle odd, but I have been directed here by a guy who informs me that a poster here called Mastrap may or may not be able to help me.


I have reproduced my original post on a UK forum which prompted the PM from the guy who suggested that Mastrap may be able to help.

Once again please accept my apologies for this rather strange request for help, I would PM the poster mentioned but I am unable to find any private message facility here.......

Reproduced post............


"On a rather odd topic I was wondering if anyone here had any publishing contacts?

The situation is that I have been in possession for a number of years now of a manuscript written by a very good friend of mine detailing his true life experiences as a mercenary in the Angolan civil war which still stutters on to this day.


The book details the true life experiences of two 19 year old friends who after reading about the civil war in the Sunday papers contacted the journalist responsible for the article and were directed to the recruiters of the CIA backed rebel forces and subsequently were sent out to Angola and fought in the war.


Their role in the conflict was particularly poignant as some of you older readers may recall that there was National and International outrage at the lining up and murder by firing squad of 14 of their British colleagues on the order of ex British paratrooper Costas Georgiou (aka Colonel Callan) who was the commander of the the mercenary forces of UNITA the rebel force in the North of the country.

The subsequent capture of Georgiou and his trial and execution for war crimes by the Cuban backed Angolan authorities was covered daily by the international media.


The book which in my (perhaps slightly biased) view is better, more humorous and more graphic than any that I have read of the genre, and quite frankly knocks the efforts of Andy Mcnab and Chris Ryan into a cocked hat for entertainment and interest value.


Apart from the quite incredible story about these two lads, which is particularly relevant as a documented history of the conflict as it then was (1976) due to the the author and his friend being in fact the aforementioned Colonel Callans personal radio operators and who had travelled out to Angola with, and were familiar and friendly with the majority of the murdered British Mercenaries.


The author was in fact the last Mercenary to get out of Angola alive following the collapse of the rebel UNITA Forces after trekking alone for a fortnight through enemy held territory to the safety of neutral neighbouring Zaire.

For authenticity he is mentioned in the autobiography of the Famous British mercenary Peter Mcaleese.


My apologies if this long winded post has bored you and I offer, nor ask for any comment on the morality of the actions involved in the Book, however it is in my opinion a fantastic read and deserves a wider audience.



I have tried on and off for some years to get through to a publisher who may be interested in printing, however as those of you who may know about these things may be aware, most if not all publishers will only deal with Literary agents to whom you first have to get to read a synopsis of your book and who then may forward it to a publishers.


My problem is that after many attempts, I cannot get any of these literary agents to even accept a synopsis to glance through. They either already have loads of other projects or do not deal in the 'War Genre'



So I was just wondering if any of the broad church of people on here had either, any contacts, or advice from past experience on how I might gain more success in getting hold of a publisher who may express an interest.


Thanks in advance for any response."

[MindFad]

Publish and be damned!

Publish and be damned - Self publishing, independent publishing and books on demand for self publishers.

That is Mastrap's company. Check it out. Lots of people have had a lot of success there.

[IceEnclosure]

[KeriVit]

So, where's mastrap?

[stathan]

Cheers mate.

I'll contact him through the details that you've provided, thanks.

[Chuckit]

There is no Mastrap.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

There is no Mastrap.

True; it’s reality that’s bending, not Mastrap.

[Mastrap]

Oy. Here I am.

A couple of things: Publish and be damned - Self publishing, independent publishing and books on demand for self publishers. is currently morphing into Spire Publishing. What started as a hobby and something to do in my spare time has grown into a proper business with partners and merchant accounts and accountants and all sorts of stuff - and it was time that that was reflected in both the name and attitude.

Also, we're not a publisher - we enable (yes, I hate that word too, but it's the only one that works) authors to publish their own books on their own terms without having to resort to vanity publishers. This means that we do not buy the rights to manuscripts, nor do we market books - that's up to the author.

Take a look at our website, if what we offer is of interest let me know.

[Big Mac]

That's pretty cool Mastrap. Congratulations on your success.

[stathan]

Cheers Mastrap


I'll be in touch.

[turtle777]

No threads about members. Ban him !




(j/k)

-t