
THERE IS SOMETHING I NEED YOUR HELP WITH. Right now, I am 70% of the way through my update and rewrite of the Second Edition of my 1994 book, “The Serpent & the Cross”. This has been described as “an encyclopaedic exposé of the historical development and modern growth of Neo-Gnosticism (otherwise known as the ‘New Consciousness’ or ‘New Age’) in both the secular world and the visible Church”. It is essentially a history of occultism in all its forms, from the time of the ascension of Christ to the present day. This is a serious tome for those who want to understand the way that spiritual history has developed — which is essentially ‘Church history’ because all history during the last 2000 years has been Church history — whether emanating from darkness or from the Light. I reckon it will be 850-pages when I have finished, which will probably be in March.
What I am trying to ascertain is this: Is there enough interest in such a book to warrant getting it printed as a distributable paperback, or should I just privately distribute it as an eBook to my friends and sponsors. At the moment, the latter option is what I am working towards, which is fine by me. I love doing my work for those who want to read in depth — which is comparatively few — so I will at least know that the eBook will be in the right hands.🙂
Here are brief extracts from just two of the many similar reviews of the first edition to give you a taste of its scope:
“This is a tract for the times, a block-busting apologia for revealed religion, a bulldozer to clear away pseudo-Christianity and bring the Church back to her Founder… For reference and for up-to-date quotations, this heavyweight should be in every Minister’s study and every public library — now”
(The English Churchman).
“A soundly researched book which is almost encyclopaedic in its content. The contents of The Serpent and the Cross may surprise and even alarm many, but it should be read by every Minister and Christian”
(Blythswood Book News).
So all I am saying here is this: Can you change my mind about it being an eBook for just my closest amigos? I agree with the above reviewer that this book “should be read by every Minister and Christian”. But when those reviews were written, there was no internet or social media to dumb people down. There were also many more local churches which had a ministry of the Word rather than the superficial (and often heretical) happy-clappy ministry absurd which has now infected most so-called fellowships. In those days, thirty years ago, most genuine Christians would happily wade through large books to educate themselves. They preferred Black Forest Gateau to doughnuts! But that was thirty years ago! Today, I would not want to waste a sponsor’s hard-earned money on printing a paperback book for nothing (and I do have sponsorship lined up for it, if necessary). So my question is this: Would there be enough interest in such a book today as a printed paperback edition among those who are in my wider circle and beyond? This is why I am putting out this post.
I look forward to your responses. You can either make a comment directly on this post or you can send an email to diakrisis-project@outlook.com . Over to you…
.

I an interested in this book.
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It’s hard to know what to say, Alan, as I feel all of your books should be in print. Personally my wife and I would rather read a printed copy, but I would take whatever form you deliver the book in.
Such a work as “The Serpent & the Cross” appears to be should simply by weight of its importance be in print — just as with your book on the book of Revelation.
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Being a fan of real books (no e-books for me), and already having a copy of your first edition, I know what a treasure this book is, and will be. You might recall my story about being on an airplane and telling a curious flight attendant that I believed your book should be required reading. (And the look on her face when she saw the title). : )
Well, I wasn’t going to ask for a copy of your 2nd edition, but why not? If you decide to print, put me down for a copy. Thanks & God bless you.
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Hi Jan, thanks for the comment. Just so you know, I have so far added more than 82,000 words compared to the first edition and I’m only up to chapter 9. That’s the size of a small book extra. So I think that the second edition will be a worthy upgrade. 🙂 Blessings from me…
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Hi Alan
I like the idea of just having a .pdf of your book. I would gladly pay you something for all of your hard labour in producting the book You are truly one treasure-chest of biblical information which…yeah…every modern christian should know about, i.e., you as a person and the many articles and information that you have kindly shared with us over the years. God bless you man.
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Thank you, Jim, for the kind coments and feedback. I’ve taken it on board. Bless you too…
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Why not both? I prefer a Book. One I can mark, dog ear the Pages, put thin strips of paper in to mark passages of interest. The question is economy of scale for printing. Would you need to pre-sell X number of Books to warrant a print run? If so how many and how much? The liklihood is I would buy ten to start. It is a Tome and therefore the Postage will not be insignificant. Will you have it printed in Singapore which is usually good value? The downside of an e-book is the need for a Device with which to read it. I am Kindle Free and intend to remain so. Also it is very nice to give your work away or, in the case of a print run, to sell it at cost. But pdf files can be corrupted, the Internet is subject to failure. Once you have clarified the minimum print run and cost, perhaps we will be able to answer the question more usefully. The Book belongs in Libraries and it is, in a sense, your readers and regulars job to promote the Book. You can’t do it all from Cornwall with limited advertizing funding. I hope you have a print run of a minimum of 100 – are there not enough of us to cover that? Others? Hello?
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Hi Peter, I have a very good and cheap printer in Bristol. Very professional and attentive. I would not have printing done in another country. I like to keep tabs. Regarding publicity, people do not bother. The Revelation book and this one should indeed be in public libraries but I do not have the distribution facilites. At present there are not enough responses to make a print-run of 100 doable. I don’t want my sponsor to be out of pocket. I will reappraise the situation in a couple of months. Blesings, Alan
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yes! I would buy your book if I could get my hands on a copy! 🙏🏼
Sylvie
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Hello Alan
I would buy a copy of this book.
Blessings
Fiona
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