This newsletter is mailed only to people who have subscribed through our opt-in subscription form at http://ecfans.com and contains news and updates about Jean Auel and her Earth's Children series, the biggest news being the April 30th release of her 5th book!! Diane in Cincinnati http://ecfans.com * * * * * Look Out for News Articles on Jean & SoS!! * * * * * Kerry - our wonderful contact at Hodder & Stoughton in London, just saw Jean and had this to say: "I've just got back from France and Jean was in splendid form... zipping in and out of caves - chucking spears with Jondalar's thrower ... chattering away to all the foreign journalists. All good stuff - and WHAT a beautiful part of the world!" So - be on the lookout for articles about the April 30th release of The Shelters of Stone! They should be popping up all over the place any Second now!! * * * * * Midnight Opening in London's Covent Garden! * * * * * Books Etc, James Street, Covent Garden, London WC2 will open their doors at Midnight on April 29th to allow the first copies of SHELTERS OF STONE to be made available to the public locally - just as the 30th begins! NO NEED TO WAIT ANY MORE! * * * * * The Age-Old 'First Edition' Question Answered * * * * * Pamela, our wonderful Crown Publishers contact tackled this one for me - as I've gotten this question from a number of fans and really wasn't quite certain of the explanation myself: "In answer to your first edition question, it's sort of confusing. For instance, The Clan of the Cave Bear must be in it's 50th printing (or more), but if you look inside the loc page of a new copy (library of congress page) it probably still reads, "first edition." An edition refers to whether or not the book has changed. So if Jean Auel were to write some new chapter or update Clan, the new books would be a "second edition". But first edition is also used to describe in the collectible world a collectible book and it refers to the first PRINTING. So if you grab a book you own (any book) and look on the LOC page you will see a bunch of numbers 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 for instance. If you saw that you would know that you had a first edition because the one is there. If the book had a 3 5 7 9 10 8 7 4 2 then you would know that is the second edition since the lowest number on the page is a 2. It might look a little different on every book. Like it could be 10 9 8 7 6 that would mean 6th printing. But it all refers to the same thing -- the print run. So when people talk about wanting to get a first edition Shelters they are really saying they want a first printing of Shelters." * * * * * Translations & Tours * * * * * Be sure and read the main page of ECfans.com for updates on the Author Tours in the US and the UK - as well as updated information on the available translations. I've gotten wonderful input from readers who found the information locally. Please continue to send me what you find - along with URL's to the information, when available! * * * * * Subscription Changes * * * * * Reminder - This mailing list is 100% self serve. All email addresses are kept private and are not used for anything other than mailings such as this one. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please use the unsubscribe link below - or use the form at http://ecfans.com and select 'unsubscribe'. It will take effect immediately. If you have an email address change, please unsubscribe your old address and subscribe your new one using the sign-up box at http://ecfans.com All changes must be made by you - as you are one of over 7,700 subscribers to this newsletter!