In the Margins #5: Celebrating Tremors at 30 and the original Highlander
Plus win Highlander and Tremors books
It’s been a manic month here as my new Highlander book hit bookstores (online) and headlines (in print and online), while a new Tremors documentary arrived on YouTube and a new Tremors Blu-ray was announced!
Read on to win copies of both my Highlander and Tremors books, plus a poster of the Highlander book cover - or subscribe via the ‘Subscribe now’ button to be in with a chance of winning all three…
There can be only fun!
After talking about it for A Very Long Time, A Kind of Magic: Making the Original Highlander is now out in the UK and shipping globally from my publisher’s HQ here in Edinburgh. I know a number of fans in the US, Canada and Europe have bought copies, and it’s been fantastic seeing Instagram and Twitter posts with photos of the book.
A Kind of Magic has almost sold out of its first print run and a new batch is being printed as I type - signed copies are still available from the publisher, which come with a limited edition booklet of photos we couldn’t fit in the actual book. This is the only way to get the booklet, which is limited to 1536 copies.
The book is due for release in the US in early December, a few weeks later than originally planned, which is mainly due to unexpected demand - my publisher needs to make sure there are enough copies available for the day of release.
A few UK newspapers ran some features on the book’s release in September, including this piece in The Sunday Post and this one in The Herald.
Here are those order links again:
Direct from UK publisher (signed/personalised with ltd edition booklet)
I also recently added it to Goodreads in case you want to add it to your Want to Read list.
You can find the book on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Win a poster and copy of A Kind of Magic
To celebrate both the book’s release and the news that Ben Morris, the illustrator who created the stunning cover for A Kind of Magic, has released A2 prints of it for sale on his Etsy shop, and he’s shipping them worldwide.
I’m giving away a copy of A Kind of Magic and the poster to one reader of this newsletter - if you received this email in your inbox then you’re already in the prize draw!
If you’re reading this post on Substack and want to enter the draw, just subscribe via the ‘Subscribe now’ button below - I’ll choose a winner on Saturday 31st October and be in touch soon after for an address to send a signed copy of the book and a signed print of the poster (signed by myself and Ben Morris) to.
New Tremors documentary AND Blu-ray!
Away from Highlander, anyone who mainly signed up to this newsletter to read about Tremors is in for some good news, as a few big things happened recently that should excite all fans of Graboids and Burt Gummer!
First up, there’s a brand new 30th anniversary documentary now on YouTube, featuring brand new interviews with Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Ron Underwood, S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock… and me! I was invited to London in 2019 to film a new interview and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
I’m not in there quite as much as Mr Bacon, but I believe a longer version of all the interviews will be on YouTube in the coming months…
In other Tremors news, it was recently announced that the first film will be released on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray on 14th December in the UK and North America by Arrow Video, meaning the old version of the film that received many complaints from fans has finally been retired and a brand new one struck.
I was asked by Arrow to be a part of the release, and I recorded a new commentary for the film and wrote about the sequels for a new book that’s part of the set. There’s also a commentary from S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Ron Underwood, plus hours of extras, including the Making Perfection documentary mentioned above and much, much more.
I’d urge all fans to try and secure a copy of this limited edition set before it sells out. Although I suspect a standard edition of the restored film with the commentaries and documentaries will come out in 2021, this is your only chance to get the new book and bonus disc.
Here are a few handy links to buy the set:
Blu-ray
Amazon UK / Amazon US / Arrow UK
4K UHD
Amazon UK / Amazon US / Diabolik US link / Arrow Video link
Tremors 7!
In yet more Tremors news, this month sees the release of Tremors: Shrieker Island in the US on 20th October (Amazon US link) and in the UK on 16th November (Amazon UK link), something I never thought I’d see when I finished writing Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors in 2015!
Win a copy of Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors
I mentioned my book on the Tremors franchise above, so it seems only fair to offer a copy as a prize to subscribers of this newsletter - currently it’s available to order via Amazon UK or Amazon US.
As with the Highlander book, if you’re subscribed to this newsletter then you’re already in the draw, but if not, just subscribe via the ‘Subscribe now’ button and you’ll be eligible.
I’ll pick a winner on Saturday 31st October and will be in touch soon after for an address to send a copy to - please note this won’t be a signed copy.
That’s all for this issue as I realise I’ve bombarded you with information, videos and links - please note that if you buy anything from Amazon by clicking on the links above, I’ll get a few pence/cents back from them for sending you their way. You won’t pay any more for the item and it’ll help me out a bit in the run up to Christmas - feel free to clear your browsers cookies if you’d rather not be a part of this brazen money making scheme!
In the meantime, I’ll be in touch soon with any news from the world of Highlander and Tremors (assuming that’s why you signed up to this newsletter) - I’m off to read Ian Fleming’s Moonraker as part of my James Bond reading challenge, and to listen to more of The Divine Comedy’s back catalogue on Spotify, which has just been re-released… it takes me back to being a student in the 1990s, good times…
Keep watching the ground!
Jon