Making a Book Trailer

Swag Bag Giveaway

The winner of the Swag Bag is llamannerdymom.
Please contact me at dakota@dakota-banks.com.
If I don't hear from you within 3 days, I'll choose another winner. 

Thanks to everyone who left comments!

Having failed in my last attempt to make an exciting book trailer myself, I learned a lot for my next try, with Deliverance: Mortal Path Book 3. Why even consider making a trailer myself? The type of trailer I wanted wasn't the still photo with text overlay that was the least expensive type. The kind I wanted was full of action and music. It would cost up to $3,000, and I would have limited opportunity to make adjustments to it. I like tinkering with things myself, getting everything just the way I want, without having to worry about whether I'm on my third change or my thirtieth. That plus the cash outlay convinced me to try my hand again.

Last time, I made a video with my own video camera and narrated it myself. The lighting was poor, the filming was jittery, I can't believe my voice sounded like that, the script was lame, and there was no action. (If you want to see this trailer, click here--and brace yourself.) I don't display this one on my website - I'm not sure if I ever did.

One of the first things a professional trailer production company wants from the author is a working script. Another reason I hesitated to go to the pros was that I didn't have a script and couldn't seem to come up with one. I seemed to be writing one almost as dialogue between two characters - focused and limited in its representation of the Big Picture. I finally threw out all my drafts of that script and wrote a new one in five minutes. It dealt with concepts rather than details. Shazam! Pictures began forming in my head for the visuals to go with the words. To see how high-level this script is, here is the one that freed me:

Sumerian demons survive to this day
causing chaos, destruction, and death
with the help of Immortal human assassins.
Maliha was an Immortal assassin
until she defied her demon
and became a rogue with a new agenda ...
balancing lives she’s taken with lives saved.
Immortal Jake is Maliha’s true love
or is he?
Maliha’s mortal friend and partner
is kidnapped.
Maliha must watch him die
or accept a sinister new master.
She’s damned if she does ...
and damned if she doesn’t.
Is there a way out for her?

Notice that it's broken into short lines that are easy to read and dramatic when presented one per "page" of the trailer. This is the first step in making a quality trailer yourself. Each of these lines suggested an image to me (except lines 2 & 3, which go together with the same image). I looked for places to purchase still images, video clips, and music, and ended up using istockphoto.com, which in my opinion has the best selection. (Others are bigstockphoto.com and shutterstock.com, plus many more.) These are media that you purchase a Standard license to use, and don't have to pay any royalties per use.

I used Windows Live Movie Maker, a program that came with Windows 7 and is available as Windows Movie Maker in earlier versions of Windows. You might want to play around with it by using some family photos and text overlays just to get the hang of it. You'll end up with a nice movie you can share, too.

When you select images or video clips that go with your script, you can initially download a "comp" - complimentary - version with a watermark that can be put into place in your trailer to see how you like it before you pay for it. This is very useful! I ended up building my entire trailer, including the music, from comps so I could see how it flowed before buying any of the media. There finally comes a time when you have to lay down your bucks, though, because the watermarks are a dead giveaway that you're using unlicensed media. Before distribution, then, pay for everything and substitute the real stuff in your movie.

In my case, I used Photoshop to crop some of the images, but there are a lot of image processors for simple editing, like Picasa, that will do the job for free. You may end up buying a video clip that runs for a minute and only want to use 20 seconds of it. You can do that kind of editing right in Windows Movie Maker, which allows you to specify how long each image or clip stays visible on the screen.

Ah, music! Wonderful, talented people write original scores (with symphonic performances, no less!) just for movie trailers and I found a perfect match for mine. I ended up buying two trailer productions, one for the main part of my movie and one for the section at the end that I use to display quotes I've obtained for the book. I'm really fussy about music and I found that the variations in volume from one part of my purchased music to another didn't sit right. I used a program called MP3Gain Pro to automatically even out the volume level without losing too much off the top or bottom. The results were terrific, but as I said, I am fussy and you can get along without this step.

Total cost: about $400. Plus some time finding the right images and sound, and learning to use Movie Maker. It was a rewarding project for me and I know I'll confidently tackle making the trailers for my books from now on! And here it is:

Do you make video clips of your own and upload them to YouTube? If so, post your link below! How do you think the trailer turned out? Leave a comment and you'll be entered in a giveaway of my Swag Bag: a tote bag, signed copies of Dark Time and Sacrifice, bookmarks, pens, and magnets. If you want me to be able to contact you if you are the winner, include your email in a disguised way. Otherwise, you'll have to come back and check the top of this post to see if you've won after the deadline. The giveaway ends at midnight CST on February 1st. All my giveaways are international.

Easy Tweet: On @superntrlUnderg Blog: @dakotabanks talks about making a trailer for Deliverance; enter to win a Swag Bag! http://dbanks.me/yHMen3

Fun Times In Dallas!

Congratulations to Amy of Virginia who won the signed copy of Forbidden Nights with a Vampire! Thank you all for the comments! Please come back next month on the 25th for my next giveaway! Happy reading!

This last Sunday, I had the pleasure of being invited to the American Library Association's midwinter meeting at the Dallas Convention Center. Not only did I get to meet wonderful librarians from all over the country, but I met lots of readers, too. The highlight of the event (at least for me!) was the booksigning at the HarperCollins booth where a looooong line of readers and librarians received an advanced copy of Phineas' book. Yes, they received Wanted: Undead or Alive two months early!

I'd like to thank HarperCollins for printing all those advanced copies and giving them away. How cool is that? I'd also like to thank all the fabulous people who came to the signing. They drove from all over Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Some drove four hours so they could get their hands on Phineas. I'm including some of their photos here. Thank you!!

The secret is out. Phineas is falling for that sassy werewolf, Brynley! Unfortunately, I don't have any advanced copies of Phineas' book to give away. So today, I will give away a signed copy of Forbidden Nights with a Vampire which stars another vampire/werewolf couple, Phil and Vanda! Just leave a comment about your favorite Love at Stake couple for a chance to win. International entries are welcome. Good luck!

Some inspiration for worldbuilding

First, good news - there's going to be a brand new gadda story seeing print. The Black Star Killer will be published in Damnation and Dames, a paranormal noir anthology from Australian publisher Ticonderoga Press that will be out later this year. The Black Star Killer uses the gadda that I invented for my novels, but instead of being set in the modern age it's set in Chicago in the 1920s. Great fun.

I've just returned from seventeen days in beautiful New Zealand. The differences between NZ and Australia are huge - the colour, for starters. NZ is green. This is a wonder to us in shades of brown Oz.

We did a bit of touring around and saw some remarkable sights and I thought I'd share them with you.

This is Rainbow Falls, near Kerikeri. Right by the side of the road, just walk a few metres and you're seeing the power and majesty of nature at its finest.

This is Tane Mahuta - Lord of the Forest. The largest kauri in NZ (50 metres high, 18 metres in girth) and thought to be around 2000 years old. It's so big, there's an entire separate environment of plants and animals living in the canopy. One of the most magnificent things I've ever seen.

Some of the forest near Tane Mahuta - just stunning.

The amazing bark of a kauri tree - I just loved the patterns and has different it looked to regular bark.

And this is the inside of a toilet! The entire thing is done up with these tiles, with all sorts of strange mosaics and artefacts within. Very weird.

I hope one of these pictures inspires you and if not, that you've enjoyed some of the natural (and not-so-natural) wonders of New Zealand.

Upside of Darkness

I’ve faced the same demon for the last six years. I call it ‘Future Earth.’ This is a post apocalyptic dystopia, one I’ve created for the Q E series. It’s not an easy place to be. Writing it, at times, made me ill. But there is a powerful upside to darkness. It can expand the mind.

My worlds clash and the contrast is part of the enlightenment.

Future Earth is a technological hegemony where geo-engineering has failed, most known species of flora and fauna are extinct, women are denigrated and the only currency is drinking water. Not a nice place for my main characters, Kali and Nell, to grow up.

But adjacent to this is Gaela, a pre-industrial, agrarian based, magical hegemony where genders are equal and all life revered. It’s through these contrasting worlds I explore issues of gender, race, aggression, social constructs and environment. Also sentience, and love. Lots of love, even in those very dark places.

On future Earth all but human kind is considered an it. Object. Expendable. On Gaela, everything—people, animal, rock, tree, river, storm—is a thou. As Joseph Campbell said, our whole psychology changes when we see the world as a thou.

How? It turns out the brain can’t tell the difference between a dream, a memory, a fantasy or ‘reality’. If we are emotionally engaged with the story—seeing it unfold through the eyes of the main characters, frightened when they are in danger and uplifted when they fall in love—it’s the same, to the brain, as if the events were really happening to us.

This is the magic of speculative fiction. It takes us to a place where the question what if . . . becomes true. By going there in the mind, new neural pathways form, connecting us to the experience of things like gender equality and reverence for all life. From the contrasting worlds, readers may gain a deeper understanding of themselves and where life as thou can lead. From that point a different future becomes possible because we have, for a moment in time, lived it.

How about you? What dark stories have shown you the light? I’d love to hear about them. Comments welcome.

Kim Falconer is a Supernatural Underground author writing epic science fantasy novels set in the worlds of Earth and Gaela. Kim’s latest series is Quantum Encryption. You can find out more about her at kim.falconer.com or her daily blog The 11th House. She posts here on the 16th of every month.

Maybe I'm NOT Old....

Last night, I had a lovely date night with my husband. Dinner at PF Changs, browsing the Apple store, stopping by Starbucks, and coming back to a kid-free house and peace and quiet. Okay, so there was a moment of worry when, while waiting to be called for our reservations, three really rowdy toddlers threatened our evening. But, they were nowhere near our table and it ended up really nice.

It made me wonder about the things we did as teens and younger kids that we don't really do much as adults. Good things. Things that shouldn't be forgotten -- like dating. I can't tell you the last time I've ridden a bicycle that wasn't stationary in a gym or roller skated around a cul de sac. Or even playing with my hair and make up in the mirror to try new things! I used to do that alot. Now, it seems I've had the same make up style since I was sixteen. Luckily, it's never been a trendy sort of art style for me. Okay, so I haven't given up video games in my old'er' age, but wow, there are so many things I haven't allowed myself to do since I got married and had children.

So this year, I'm going to try a few. Maybe borrow my kid's bike to try it out. Maybe actually ice skate with the family instead of sit on the sidelines and take pictures. Any other ideas for things I can try out? Anything you used to do that maybe you're not really too old for now and just told yourself it wasn't mature?

Let's get younger this year!!!

Heather/Sable

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

This is just filler to push the poem down.

The lawn is pressed by unseen feet, and ghosts return
Gently at twilight, gently go at dawn,
The sad intangible who grieve and yearn....
                                                    --T.S. ELIOT

I've always loved a good ghost story.  Put me in a spooky old house full of creaks and moans, thunder and lightning crashing, a mystery, a tragedy, or a love story, and I'm in heaven, which is why I cannot WAIT to see this upcoming movie, A WOMAN IN BLACK:



(Yes, it's Harry Potter all grown up, but more importantly, it's a good, old-fashioned ghost story!)

As a storyteller myself, I couldn't resist trying a hand at a few ghost stories of my own, and one is about to be released as in ebook form:

GHOULS NIGHT OUT

A missing bridesmaid, some embarrassing relatives, and a "girls night out" gone bad land Nicki Styx in the middle of a murder mystery. Can she expose the killer, put a poor girl's soul to rest, and still look calm, cool and collected while wearing the ugliest bridesmaid dress on earth?

GHOULS NIGHT OUT was originally published as part of the Avon anthology, WEDDINGS FROM HELL, but as of January 17th, it can be downloaded as a stand-alone e-book for only $1.99!

(I absolutely love this new cover, btw.)


  

Let me warn you, GHOULS NIGHT OUT is a modern-day ghost story - it has no creaky old house and no thunder and lightning, but holds plenty of scares, spookiness, and more than just a bit of dark humor.

If you'd like to read an excerpt, you can do it HERE. And if, by chance, you feel a cool breeze on the back of your neck while you're reading it, don't be scared... maybe ghosts like to read, too!

Do you think ghosts exist?  What would you do if you saw one?  (Personally, I'd run as fast as my legs could carry me, because I'm a HUGE chicken!)  :)

Cover Reveal and Giveaway

THANKS FOR COMMENTING! THE WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY:

gatormom163

Amy Valentini

Bonnie

CONGRATS!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Have you made your resolutions? Or, at least taken a deep breath and resolved to make 2012 a good year? Good. Me, too! And boy, oh, boy, I'm starting it off running. I have three books coming out between now and the end of May and a fourth due in March. The holidays over, I flipped over the calendar, and...wow. I'm still blinking at it, a little stunned.

The books coming out this winter/spring? (I have covers to reveal, one of which I just received minutes ago!)

A WARRIOR'S DESIRE (Release date Jan. 24th)

This is book 3 in the Esri series for Harlequin Nocturne that began with my publishing debut, THE DARK GATE and continued with DARK DECEIVER. I'm so excited that these last two books are finally hitting shelves! And if you have an ereader, they're very affordable. Just $3.82.

From the back cover:

Former navy SEAL Charlie Rand embarks on the most dangerous mission of his career when he dives through a portal to rescue the only person who knows how to seal the gates between the Esri faery land and the world. But meeting up with his guide and companion through the adventure, the beautiful Tarrys, turns out to be his true revelation. As the pair traverses the dangerous plains, the Forest of Nightmares and the crystal mines of Esria, they’re pursued by beings who seek to kill Charlie and enslave Tarrys. But the greatest danger of all becomes the love that grows between the couple, a love that threatens to doom their mission to save humanity.

WARRIOR RISING (Release date Mar. 20th)

This is book 4, and the exciting, action-packed conclusion to the Esri series.

I don't have the back cover copy for this one yet, but here's a brief blurb:

Enemies turn into lovers as Harrison Rand and the Esri princess, Ilaria, fight to keep the evil King Rith from destroying both worlds in this pulse-pounding conclusion to the Esri series.

A BLOOD SEDUCTION (Release date May 29th)

The Vamp City series will be a five-book continuing-character urban fantasy/romance.

From the back cover:

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world...one who knows nothing of the power she wields. Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see--and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her. What Arturo can't do is forget about her--any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission--his to save his people, hers to save herself. But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red. Welcome to Vamp City...

So what am I giving away? A signed copy of A WARRIOR'S DESIRE to each of three commenters! (Yes, I've already received my author's copies, so I can put them in the mail this weekend.) Just weigh in on your cover preference. In general, do you prefer covers with just the hero, just the heroine, or the hero and heroine both? (I've got all three covered here, so there is no wrong answer!)