Simply Sci-fi
Jedi Knight
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2014
- Messages
- 428
Hi everyone,
I'm pleased to say that my book is finally available for pre-order from Amazon. The eventual page count, price and release date has yet to be finalised because the publisher is still working on it (its currently being advertised at £30). What I can confirm is that it will include 60 plus rare and previously unreleased photos in B & W and appendices of the Palitoy range and comics saga. Amazon has a price guarantee where the eventual price of the book is what advance buyers will pay. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Phenomenon-Britain-Blockbuster/dp/1476666083
Starburst magazine has already given me 9/10 in a breathless review. I'm willing to send out copies of the book on PDF to influential reviewers, bloggers and podcasters. I'm very pleased to have Tom Berges on my side, in writing the foreword and helping to generate publicity. I'd like to thank everyone here who helped me along the way.
I'd really like people's help in emailing The Forbidden Planet, to ask when the book will appear in their shops. The more enquiries they get, the better chance they might take notice. [email protected]. It would be great if people could post review on Amazon of Goodreads if they've already read an electronic copy.
This is a book that I'm sure that everyone who has an interest in Star Wars will enjoy. It's a genuine time travel experience, with the reader taken a completely linear journey through the golden age of Star Wars in Great Britain. I hope people will be as amazed by the information that I uncovered as I was!
Craig.
***Update*** The final version of the cover has been released and some 'teaser' photos. I'd like to keep people guessing as to who is dressed as C-3PO (here in Britain) and where Vader is making his appearance.
If anyone asks me how to describe the book, I say that reads a bit like a novel, in a very story-teller like way. It begins right in the middle of the action, in the first week of June 1977, when Star Wars had opened big in America and Britain started going Star Wars crazy almost from that point onward. The staff at Palitoy had six months to get ready for the UK release of the film and all-new interviews explain how they did it. There is so much in the book that its difficult to sum it all up. I've covered the release and reviews of the films. The toys, comics, novels and other publications. The merchandising and publicity and the people behind it. The peripheral merchandise. The radio series broadcasts and Star Wars on Video and television including the viewing figures. I tracked the progress of the films town by town by spending countless hours in archives, looking at actual copies of old newspapers and magazines. The re-releases of the films at the cinema, the double and triple bills. The TV adverts and the programmes with SW content, complete with broadcast dates. There is a detailed account of the Lucasfilm cross country event and I even tracked down the local newspaper that advertised and reported on it.
I've spoken to fans who were aged four to nineteen at the time and I have followed their progress through the years and their Star Wars experiences - including some of the members here. I interviewed all of the "main" fans who had contact with the media who did a good job representing all of us crazies. Nobody will argue that the book is packed and I'm sure that who ever reads it will have a fantastic ride from 1977 through to the end of 1983.
All that's required now is the sequel that tells the story from 1984 to the present day, if I can get a little help from my friends!
Craig.
I'm pleased to say that my book is finally available for pre-order from Amazon. The eventual page count, price and release date has yet to be finalised because the publisher is still working on it (its currently being advertised at £30). What I can confirm is that it will include 60 plus rare and previously unreleased photos in B & W and appendices of the Palitoy range and comics saga. Amazon has a price guarantee where the eventual price of the book is what advance buyers will pay. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Phenomenon-Britain-Blockbuster/dp/1476666083
Starburst magazine has already given me 9/10 in a breathless review. I'm willing to send out copies of the book on PDF to influential reviewers, bloggers and podcasters. I'm very pleased to have Tom Berges on my side, in writing the foreword and helping to generate publicity. I'd like to thank everyone here who helped me along the way.
I'd really like people's help in emailing The Forbidden Planet, to ask when the book will appear in their shops. The more enquiries they get, the better chance they might take notice. [email protected]. It would be great if people could post review on Amazon of Goodreads if they've already read an electronic copy.
This is a book that I'm sure that everyone who has an interest in Star Wars will enjoy. It's a genuine time travel experience, with the reader taken a completely linear journey through the golden age of Star Wars in Great Britain. I hope people will be as amazed by the information that I uncovered as I was!
Craig.
***Update*** The final version of the cover has been released and some 'teaser' photos. I'd like to keep people guessing as to who is dressed as C-3PO (here in Britain) and where Vader is making his appearance.
If anyone asks me how to describe the book, I say that reads a bit like a novel, in a very story-teller like way. It begins right in the middle of the action, in the first week of June 1977, when Star Wars had opened big in America and Britain started going Star Wars crazy almost from that point onward. The staff at Palitoy had six months to get ready for the UK release of the film and all-new interviews explain how they did it. There is so much in the book that its difficult to sum it all up. I've covered the release and reviews of the films. The toys, comics, novels and other publications. The merchandising and publicity and the people behind it. The peripheral merchandise. The radio series broadcasts and Star Wars on Video and television including the viewing figures. I tracked the progress of the films town by town by spending countless hours in archives, looking at actual copies of old newspapers and magazines. The re-releases of the films at the cinema, the double and triple bills. The TV adverts and the programmes with SW content, complete with broadcast dates. There is a detailed account of the Lucasfilm cross country event and I even tracked down the local newspaper that advertised and reported on it.
I've spoken to fans who were aged four to nineteen at the time and I have followed their progress through the years and their Star Wars experiences - including some of the members here. I interviewed all of the "main" fans who had contact with the media who did a good job representing all of us crazies. Nobody will argue that the book is packed and I'm sure that who ever reads it will have a fantastic ride from 1977 through to the end of 1983.
All that's required now is the sequel that tells the story from 1984 to the present day, if I can get a little help from my friends!
Craig.