My Book Trailer

I teach and write--those are my jobs. But I like playing with technology too. Specifically, I enjoy using technology to tell stories. So I set out to make a trailer for my first two books. I feel like it turned out decently well, so I tried again with In The Shadow. So rather than write a bunch of words in my blog today, I decided to share my trailer. Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

I'm the author of The Shalan Adventures, of which In The Shadow is the third. If you want to learn more about them or me, you can go to my website. Or, if you're interested in purchasing my books for your Kindle, go to my Amazon page. If you're interested in ordering paperbacks, please consider using the links below:

 

Order Here

Order Here

Order Here








IN THE SHADOW is here!

Charlie Gesell's amazing cover!

I hope you aren't getting sick of hearing about this because I'm not sick of writing about it. Fair warning: I probably won't be for a few weeks--or months! It's partly because this is a new book and the excitement of launching a new story out into the world and seeing how everyone likes it is thrilling. But it's also partly that I just feel really good about this book. I feel like I've come a long way as a writer since Harsh Prey. Not to say that wasn't a good book, but, as with any skill, thoe more you practice, the better you get. And also, I just really feel good about the new character of Jenn Bezaleel. I think she's going to add a dimension and layer to the storyline that just wasn't there before. I hope you agree.

So, in case you haven't picked up a copy yet, here are the four ways you can get one:

The back cover

If you want to order a paperback online, there are two choices. Either one will cost you approximately the same, but the first is the one I prefer you use for a very simple reason: economics. If you use Createspace, you're buying directly from the printer, which means I get a bigger slice of the pie. If you are used to Amazon or just don't want another account, then that works too. If your preference is an ebook, then Amazon is the place to go too. The link above takes you to the page that allows you to choose either format. You'll eventually be able to get them at the other online retailers, though that's not true quite yet. It takes a few days for that stuff to cycle out.

The author

The third way is to go to J & M's Used Books on Blizzard Drive in south Parkersburg. They always carry my books and will be glad to sell this, as well as the other two, to you at the same price. It's easy to find. As you're going up Blizzard toward South High School (from the KMart end), it's in the little plaza on the left, beside the antique store.

The fourth way is the most fun for me and that is to walk up to me and hand me $10 in exchange for a book. That's more fun for you too because you don't have to pay shipping for the handing-over process. Plus, we get to actually talk to each other and I can sign your book for you. There's no link to click and not account to set up. It's just money-book-sign-smile-talk-laugh-bye! Of course, you can have me sign it if you buy the paperback online or from J & M's too, but in that case, you bring the book and hand it to me. I don't hand you money. That would be counterproductive. If you don't see me regularly, then mark October 17 on your calendar. I will be doing a reading and/or signing somewhere in the greater Mid-Ohio Valley area sometime that day. I promise I'll give you more information than that soon.

And once you finish this one, it's just another month or so before more Shalan fun appears in your inbox (assuming you're on my mailing list) with the prequel novella, "Harry and the Redheaded Angel."  It's the perfect way to usher in the holiday season. And speaking of holidays, have you thought about how all three parts of the Shalan trilogy would make an amazing Christmas present? I hope you'll consider it.

Less Than a Week!

In just a few days--five to be exact--it will officially be on the market. This book has been so long in the making that I honestly wondered at times if it would ever see the light of day. But it's here! The cover is finished and approved by the printer and the interior--after a stupid glitch on my part--is about to be approved. Which means that it will be ready for my final review and then off to print it goes! I expect to hear later today, or tomorrow at the latest. So I may be able to order them for my own sales as early as this evening! Is this real life?

Photo by Charlie Gesell
Model: Courtney Elizabeth Stackpole

In case you haven't seen it in the million places I plastered it on social media, here's the cover. I can't fully express how excited I am by it. I thought nothing could match the cover for Kisses and Lies (Thanks Michele Binegar!), but Charlie Gesell has managed to do it. He had the perfect model in Courtney Stackpole, whose face was the face of Jenn Bezaleel the whole time I wrote the book, and Charlie captured  that face perfectly. The setting as well. When he led Courtney and me down into that scary looking basement and showed me that dirty, cobweb-covered door, it was like he'd shown me an actual scene in the book.

And then he put Courtney in place and had her do a couple of poses. He showed me the raw pictures on his camera and then on his computer and I knew we were on to something. He and I had discussed the book for maybe fifteen minutes, and yet he had such a perfect vision for the tone I was trying to convey. He showed me an initial version of the picture after he'd done just a few edits on it, which made my excitement grow even more. I thought it had the chance to be really good. But nothing could have prepared me for the power of the image he'd created. When I looked at it on my phone I was speechless. I kept picking it up and looking at it over and over. I honestly had trouble sleeping.

But the next day is when the full impact of the image hit me. I pulled it up on my laptop and got a chance to look at it in more detail. The little things he added that made the picture an entire story in itself are what really impress me. The play of light and shadow, the bloody handprint on the floor, the look of sheer terror on her face, all of which was made even more pronounced by the gory color he chose. My only fear is that the book won't live up to the cover.

For those of you on my mailing list, you'll be receiving notice when it's officially up for sale. The target is October 1, but if all the ducks line up nicely, it may be a day or two early. And keep October 17 open on your calendar for a launch party. I'm considering a hybrid online/meat-world event, though I'm just not decided yet. I need to find time to sit down with my trusted advisor Pepper Potts and hammer out exactly how I'm going to do it. And by the way, the reason that the launch is so long after the book comes out is a simple one--that's the first day of the entire month that I have any amount of free time. I'm told it's bad form to throw a book launch party and not have the author there. In the meantime, feel free to buy the book and I'll sign it for you on the 17th.