Book Trailers:

Today I made a book trailer for Assassin P.I. My first ever. And it got me thinking. WHY?

Why in the world was I spending time on creating a video about my book? Was I wasting my hard-earned money on a useless venture? Would anyone care? Would it help entice others to purchase my story? Would anyone even watch it?

I should have been at a soccer tournament today, cheering my son on. Or at the birthday party my daughter was invited to and attended without me. Or decluttering my house in preparation for putting it on the market. But I wasn't. Instead, I was creating a book trailer.

Book trailers can be a great way to spark interest in potential readers. Sort of like a commercial would. Now, in my mind, a good book trailer should do 5 basic things.

1. Match the tone of the book by using the right music and images
2. Get people curious and asking questions about the plot
3. Leave readers wanting more
4. Get people talking 
5. Entice people to buy your book

Here's an example of a great book trailer for a picture book I happen to have in my classroom. It's a great story and a good example of how effective a trailer can be. 

Effective, right? I hope you all run out to buy this picture book. I promise you'll love it!

So it was this marketing mindset that I attempted to create my own book trailer. Now mind you, it was my first time but in truth, it wasn't all that hard. Time consuming, certainly, but not difficult. I spent my morning scouring the web for suitable, noir-inspired images (which I then had to pay for). I used Fotolia and spent a whopping $20. Once I'd selected the perfect pics, I had to figure out how to wrangle them into video format. I used Animoto.com because I've used it before. It's pretty simple and straightforward. The only problem was that I was using a trial version. In order to remove the "Free Trial" watermark, I had to sign up and pay for a month-long subscription to Animoto. No biggie. $14 well spent. (I found an online discount code)

Or so I thought. Both the song and theme I'd used, were not included in that "Personal" level of membership. In the end, I wound up paying additional money ($27 and change) to upgrade to the "Professional" level in order to use the song I'd selected. But it was worth it.

By the time end of the day, I'd spent a grand total of $62. Hopefully it was money well spent, money I'll recoup in the form of book sales. At the very least, I had fun creating it and wound up with a product I'm proud to show off. 

So here it is. You tell me. Was it worth the time and money I spent? 

Book Trailer for Assassin P.I. 

Cover Reveal: Assassin P.I.

This past weekend was a flurry of excitement for me. While I scrambled to complete my final edits in under four days, pen an eloquent back blurb, condense it down to a witty-but-short Facebook hook, write my acknowledgements page (while trying not to forget anyone), and come up with a heartfelt dedication page,  my son had a yard sale for his Mountain Bike Club (which I missed), and a soccer game (which I also missed). 

AND as if that wasn't enough to deal with, my Mister and I took time out to tour a new model home, which we then decided to purchase. We're buying a new house! EEK! 

But despite all the chaos that is my life, I survived. Good thing too, because there's only two more weeks until Assassin P.I. hits Amazon's virtual bookshelf! Although a little birdie told me it will be up for presale very soon. Can you believe it? The suspense is killing me. I have so many fun scenes I want to share with you all. But I can't. Not yet. But soon, I promise. 

In the meantime . . . would you like to see the cover for Assassin P.I.?

You ready for this? 

Coming Soon!

The wait is almost over.

Coming Soon: March 23, 2016

Assassin P.I. News

I've got big news! 

So, a couple months ago, I entered into a Pit2Put pitchfest on Twitter. Here's how it works. You tweet your logline - a one sentence description about your book - along with a couple of hashtags to indicate which genre your book fits in to. Here was my pitch:

The vigilante justice business gets mighty complicated when the killer you’re tracking . . . might turn out to be you. #Pit2Pub #A #RS

Editors and agents are standing by watching their twitter feeds. If they stumble across a pitch they are interested in, they favorite your tweet. Within seconds of posting the above tweet, Deborah Nemeth of Carina Press favorited it. EEK! My heart stopped and then I reached for the phone. Who to call first? My husband? My sisters? 

While on the phone to my hubby, I got another favorite, and then another. Cheryl Yeko from Soul Mate Publishing was interested in my manuscript as well. By now I was on the verge of hyperventilating. By the time I'd called everyone in the family, I had 4 publishers interested in my little old noir romance. Now what? 

After giving it some serious thought, I decided I was only interested in working with either Carina Press or SMP. I quickly finished my final edits, gave it one last read-through, and hit submit.

Fairly quickly, I heard back from Cheryl from SMP. Based on my synopsis, she wasn't so sure she could take on a hero with such a shady past (and trust me, Jack Gaines is definitely not squeaky clean). I could see her point. Jack was a risky character, but one I truly loved writing. He deserved to have his time in the spotlight, so I suggested making a slight alteration to the ending. Cheryl agreed to give him a chance and I sent her my revised manuscript. 

Waiting is always the worst part, no? After what seemed like forever, I finally heard back from Carina Press. After careful consideration, they'd decided to pass. They felt my story worked better as a mystery rather than a romance, but they invited me to submit to them again. The rest of their feedback was spot on, and while I was sad they were rejecting my manuscript, I appreciated their comments. 

The very next day, I kid you not, I heard back from Soul Mate Publishing. They wanted to offer me a contract. Hallelujah! 

I immediately called my hubby and told him the good news.

"Are you going to accept their offer?" he asked. 

"Of course I am!" After calling my sisters and the rest of my family, I filled out my contract and sent it back to be signed. And now the waiting begins again. 

Months ago, I created these promo cards in hopes that someday Assassin P.I. would find a home. While Jack and Angie scurry off to get their final polish, I'll leave you today with a bit of tease. 

Romance Weekly - #lovewritechat

Welcome back for another fun-filled edition of Romance Weekly. Each week, a group of romance writers will answer three questions for your reading pleasure. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to travel from blog to blog, learning more about our eclectic group of authors who span the globe. And don't forget to leave a comment. We love comments.

This week's questions come from author Joanne Guidoccio. You can learn more about Joanne's books on her website:
http://joanneguidoccio.com.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Scenario: A Hollywood producer is interested in your book. Can you come up with an enticing logline (plot summary of 25 words or less)? 

Here's my logline for my current work in progress, Assassin P.I.

The vigilante justice business gets mighty complicated when the killer you’re tracking . . . turns out to be you.

2. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 

Gerard Butler has always been my inspiration for down-on-his-luck assassin Jack Gaines. Jack is an old-fashioned kind of guy, who values justice above all else. Unfortunately he's living in a corrupt city where the cops are as dirty as the streets. Think Chicago, circa 1940's.

Gerard Butler has got the right amount of alpha male sex appeal that will make the ladies swoon, balanced with the acting chops that would allow him to pull Assassin P.I. off.

And did I mention that he's damn sexy? He just might be yummy enough to help everyone forget that his character is a serial killer. And a little bit of eye candy never hurt anyone.

When it comes to Angie's character, I picture Monica Bellucci in the role. When I first started looking for inspiration, this photo immediately grabbed my eye. She's got the whole wide-eyed innocence act down pat, which is the perfect description of my Greek goddess, Angie.

Angie is a gal who knows how to use her good looks and charm to get anything she wants. As a burlesque performer-turned Gal Friday, it's a skill that served her well. Especially when it comes to dealing with her ex-lover, Jack. Whenever the two are together, the flame is reignited.

Too bad she's setting Jack up.



3. Does the storyline of your novel compare with any films out there?
Someone once compared the storyline to Dirty Harry meets Dexter. I'm not sure if that's an accurate depiction, but I love the comparison. Vigilante justice at its finest!

That's it for today. Now it's time to head on over to Collette Cameron's website to see how she answered these questions. And while you're there, check out the cover of her upcoming book.  http://blueroseromance.com.

See y'all next week!