Book Trailers Part 1 - Introduction & The Blurb Spot

With the Academy Award Nominations just announced and The Sundance Film Festival under way in my backyard, I thought I'd take a moment to investigate the odd intersection of writing and film-making: the book trailer.

The idea behind the book trailer is the same for a movie trailer - to titillate a prospective audience and produce sales. Books and film have much in common, the one often being the germ of the other, both being narrative and costing the reader/viewer about the same, depending upon the amount of popcorn your date wants and if you have an e-reader or no.

Like film trailers and the movies they’re selling, there’s a wide range of budgets and quality in book trailers. This is one of the problems. A great book can have a crappy trailer and vice-versa. It’s like the cover of a book: forget the writer, a graphic artist can sell a bad book or bury a great one. Book Trailers can bring many new artists to the scene; script-writers, filmmakers, editors, actors directors, technicians. More cooks to the stew.

I’ve seen a lot of book trailers. For this series of blog posts, I’ve arbitrarily put them into five categories describing their primary approach

• The Blurb Spot,
• The Mood Medley,
• The Narrative Snippet,
• The God-Awful Infomercial, and
• The “Hey Looky Here!”

All these categories necessarily overlap in places but my general categorization works fine and would be a good grouping for any book-trailer award shows that might come along.

Because I like my blog posts to be read while at stoplights on smartphones during rush hour and in the commode on iPads when the shampoo bottle just won’t hold your attention, I’m going to limit myself today to looking at just the Blurb Spot today, so you can get on with you day.

The Blurb Spot

In many ways the Blurb Spot book trailer is the truest form of book-tease. It is often literally the visual representation of the back of the book.

Let’s check out the trailer for Tammy Maas' debut novella A Complicated Life in a Small Town.



Yeah, it’s cheesy with the voice-over narrator, the text appearing as he says it, easy video effects and  stock photos, but it works. Tammy told me that she was approached on FaceBook by the producer of the trailer and got it done cheap and quick.

This to me is the essence of the Blog Spot category. It’s simple, visually interesting and creates the precence on the video side of the internet, where all the young wipphersnappers go for their pokeymons and wheely shoes.

You see, cheesy as Tammy’s trailer is, it has been seen by 250 people. That’s reach. That’s what we’re trying to do as new authors. Whether these translated into sales I don’t know, but Tammy has a YouTube presence to compliment her FaceBook, Twitter, blog and bathroom stall graffiti. Penny for product it’s as effective as anything she could have bought. And different.

Take a look at this trailer for The Crimson and The Frost by John Williams and James Colletti.




This is similar to Tammy’s in many ways, but the quality is clear step up. Instead of stock photos, we get some stock footage. The effects are better, flying text is mostly omitted for the interesting underlying visuals and the creator used some slick graphics for the title. All-in-all, very well done. (I’d have dropped the phrase “epic proportions” like a hot piece of kryptonite, but then again maybe it’s a callback to something in the book.)

This trailer is simple and compelling and compliments the book.

I consider the production of this video a fluke. It was made by one the the writers of the book who is in fact a video editor by day and he did it on his spare time with his equipment and talent. Lucky. This level of gratis personal video professionalism is not within the wheelhouse of most authors, but commissioning a video of this quality would not break the bank. There are plenty of starving video artists out there who'll love to hook up with a starving writer and make a starving deal. They too could use exposure.

This one  the cost is absolutely nothing. Take this next one for Beautiful Monster, a spooky book by Mimi A. Williams and Jared S. Anderson.

This is one of my favorites for many reasons. First it’s simple and effective. The narrator’s voice is omitted and a compelling soundtrack is added, which puts it close to the Mood Medley category. The visuals are stark, dark and best of all, the book’s own cover.

The trailer stays focused on what it’s doing - directing you to a book. The text is straight from the back of the novel, or could be, and the graphics are interesting without being distracting. And best of all, Mimi herself made it on her computer over a weekend. Mimi is not a professional video editor. She does not have a studio at her disposal. She has a computer, a mouse, some free software and a cup of green tea. This is the magic of modern technology. Nearly 300 views and a visual presence for a literary achievement. Well done.

Like Williams’, the next one is on the border between the Blurb Spot and the Mood Medley, but I’m putting it here because of the text it uses. Take a look at Isaiayan Morrison’s trailer for Deamham.



If you don’t know who Isaiayan I should probably tell you that she plays video games professionally. It is therefore probably not a surprise to hear that she too made her own book trailer. She said it took her all of two hours to do. Yeah, I know. If wishes were fishes we’d all have awesome book-trailers.

Knowing that the author herself made this trailer makes it all the more personal and meaningful. Particularly since the music, an emotional artform if ever there was one, is so prominently featured. At least I think so. Beyond the gripping music, the simple use of text adds to creating a curious mood. I’m interested in the book. I know it to be darker than the video would suggest, but the video is cool and that’s something. In fact, that’s something great.

Not all of us have the skill or talent to produce our own videos, but then again, with computers and a little effort, maybe we do. And if we don’t, there are people who do, who can create something for us.

And that’s the key: To be out there.

I’m going to be looking at other book trailers, more expensive ones, flashier ones and more famous in the weeks ahead, but I think it’s important to start here with these simple Blurb Spots because of their relative value. You can easily commission such simple videos or make them yourself and thus quickly and cheaply achieve effective YouTube social media presencing (Did I just invent a word?)


Next week - Mood Medley

S.P. Miskowski helps with the new pets

S.P. Miskowski
Doesn't like my Christmas present

S.P. Miskowski comes by the Blog Mansion to talk horror, books and short-sighted Christmas presents.

Johnny: How was your Christmas? Get anything good?

S.P.: One of our nephews came to visit. So my gift was a glimpse at the life of a 16-year-old. Pretty great, really.

J: I have one. Terrifying, but maybe it looks different from a distance. Hey, I gotta do something, grab that hose.

S.P.: What are we doing?

J: My wife surprised me with a new dolphin aquarium. Six dolphins rescued from The Cove.

S.P.: Weird. What’s that noise?

J: Mittens. We gotta hose him off.

S.P.: In the kitchen? Is your wife okay with this?

J: Yeah, So you’re from Georgia originally? What is it about the south that spawns horror writers?

S.P.: A fairly recent history of brutality, insanity, and despair. Mostly.

J: Is it common in Georgia to have initials for a first name?

S.P.: Yes. My dad was called P.T., a nickname for Paul Taylor (Poage). Many Southern people use initials because we have names that are overlong or strangely ornate. I had an uncle named Posey Dorsey Skelton. All of my aunts had middle names. Eudora Welty said poor Southerners substitute unique names for things they can't pass along, like money or land. Maybe that's true.

J: Do you think that maybe your parents were filling out your birth certificate and just got distracted? Like your name was supposed to be Spamela or Spinach or Spazzamatron?

S.P.: I'd love to say yes. Actually, the initials caught on in grad school. Before that I'd used them only on manuscripts. When my ex-husband took off I paid for the divorce and made the initials part of my legal name. And everyone at school called me 'S.P.'

J: Georgia….

S.P.: Why are three dolphins on your kitchen floor?

J: Yeah, so there’s a little delay with the tank. UPS mis-shipped it somewhere.

S.P.: They shipped separately?

J: Ebay. Avoid the spout-hole, but keep them moist.

S.P.: That one's looking at me funny.

J: That’s Margaret. I think she’s pregnant. She doesn’t like the floor.

S.P.: Who would? How long have you had them like this?

J: They were wrapped and under the tree Christmas morning. It was so cool seeing the bows and ribbons flapping around. Most had gnawed through the paper, but the effect was magical.

S.P.: They smell pretty fishy, my friend.

J: Keep the hose on them. When they dry out they get fussy and smell more. Okay, so S.P. is your actual name. I’m named after my father. I’m a “Junior.” I have a cat called Junior. It’s a girl. There she is. She keeps licking Mr. McChirples there. I don’t think he likes it. My kids named the dolphins. They named our cat before they knew her sex and it stuck. But I think they got the dolphins right. What’s your cat’s name?

S.P.: His name is 'Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.' We call him Remo.

J: Is he named after the movie or the Destroyer books?

S.P.: The movie. Our cat is an incredible kick-boxer. When he was a kitten his fighting skills reminded us of Fred Ward.

J: So you write books. How’d you get into that?

S.P.: I wrote my first book (a very short one) when I was about eight years old. I was always writing as a kid, entertaining myself and my parents. Then for years I wrote short stories. I never expected to write a novel until a few years ago when Knock Knock occurred to me. The more I wrote, the more complex it became.

J: So I feel I should know you but I don’t. That’s dumb because we both work for that tyrant Kate Jonez at Omnium Gatherum, at least a little. Tell me about yourself.

S.P.: Much of my life has centered on writing. I never expect friends to read my stories or books, but I have to say, anyone who hasn't read my work probably doesn't know me very well. My work isn't autobiographical but the way I present the world in fiction reveals more about me than I offer in conversation. In conversation I'm a listener.

J: With the awesome Kate Jonez, you edited Little Visible Delight, a great anthology featuring awesome writers (like me!). What’s that about? Where’d that come from?

S.P.: Is that dolphin still looking at me? Well, Kate and I wanted to edit an anthology together. And we wanted each writer's voice to come through. Obsession seemed like an excellent theme, with the potential to be both universal and extremely personal.

J: Tell me about your Skillute Cycle.

S.P.: As soon as I completed the novel Knock Knock, I had new ideas about the story. I imagined the history of the midwife and how she came to live in this strange, little town. I wondered where Ethel, one of the main characters, drove off to, when she left Skillute. I thought about the little girl, Ruthie, at the end of the novel. I saw her as a continuation of the spooky cycles of motherhood and violence presented in Knock Knock. So each novella covers a different part of the story you don't see in Knock Knock, with characters and timelines overlapping. How you see the whole story depends on the order in which you read the books.

J: Knock Knock and Delphine Dodd were shortlisted for a Shirley Jackson Award. Tell me about that?

S.P.: I've been in love with the stories of Flannery O'Connor and Shirley Jackson for many years. To have Knock Knock and Delphine Dodd nominated for Shirley Jackson Awards meant a lot to me. It's a nice tap on the shoulder that says maybe I really am in the right place, doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I hope so.

J: Our next anthology should be about envy. I have an idea.

S.P.: I love envy as a theme, envy and revenge. Everyone experiences envy at some time, but how many people act upon it and in what way? Fascinating.

J: We'll see. Okay that’s enough. Grab that bucket of fish.

S.P.: Now what?

J: Bubbles is upstairs in the bathtub. Jaws is in the guest room and Nosey Doris is in the master suite Jacuzzi. They’re probably hungry by now and Jaws’ sheets have probably dried out a bit.

S.P.: Where’s the tank?

J: Last they have tracking it was in Boise. But that was New Year's Day. Haven’t heard since then.

S.P.: He looks pretty mad.

J: He is and he bites. We think he’s the alpha. That’s why he gets the guest room. Keep away from the mouth. Just toss the fish on the pillow. He’ll flop around until he gets it. Oh, he made a poopy. We’ll have to clean that up.

S.P.: Yes, you will. Don’t you have a pool?

J: Had to drain it after some laser beam equipped sharks put holes all through it. But enough about the Mansion, tell me about “dark fiction.” How do you define it? What draws you to it?

S.P.: You know, I don't think anyone can choose dark fiction. An affinity for fiction that doesn't promise a way out, or any confirmation of our best hope, is something that comes naturally. When people adopt a cynical professional interest in dark fiction, because they think the market is somehow better or easier to break into than mainstream fiction, that attitude shines through and ruins the storytelling. You have to have a dark heart to write dark fiction. You have to wonder, truly wonder, if everything we do is worthwhile or entirely pointless.

J: Tell me about your journey to get published. I’m always curious how writers break in.

S.P.: I have no idea how to break into anything. A close friend with whom I exchange manuscripts and notes while revising gave Knock Knock to her agent, and she loved the book. We sent it to some publishers. Two editors were quite interested. But they didn't know which category to fit it into--horror, suspense, literary, women. Ultimately they passed because they were not sure how to market it. Then Kate came along, because we were friends on Facebook. She expressed an interest in the novel and my idea for three accompanying novellas, and I was happy to work with her. She's a wonderful fiction writer, and a brilliant editor. So the books found a home at Omnium Gatherum.

J: How did you get such great blurbs?

S.P.: I just asked writers whose work I admired if they wanted to read the books and consider writing blurbs. Everyone said yes. Only one person couldn't do it, and she was a very busy author whom Kate had approached informally. The blurbs are swell, and I can honestly say I'm a fan of the people who wrote them. It would never occur to me to ask for a blurb from someone whose writing I didn't love and respect.

J: What do you think of debut occult thriller, BEATRYSEL, now available on Amazon and at The King’s English Book Store in Sugarhouse?

S.P.: I think it's a book I haven't read yet. But it certainly looks like a dazzling debut. You're very imaginative.

J: Hostage swap? I’ll send you a Beatrysel and you send me your cycle. That’s four for one.

S.P.: Perhaps when the dolphins have settled down and I've written this last novella of the Skillute Cycle, yes. I think your book looks like a real treat.

J: Who besides me and my debut occult thriller BEATRYSEL, now available on Amazon and at The King’s English Book Store in Sugarhouse, have influenced your writing?

S.P.: Janet Malcolm, O'Connor and Jackson, Kurt Vonnegut, Zoe Heller, and more recently Lynda E. Rucker and John Ajvide Lindqvist.

J: Where on the interwebs can peeps find out more about you?

Amazon Author Page
Knock Knock
Delphine Dodd
Astoria
Little Visible Delight

Interviews (not as good as this one, but they're out there)

http://trumpetville.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/the-spirit-of-place-s-p-miskowski/

http://www.gothic.stir.ac.uk/blog/an-interview-with-s-p-miskowski-part-one/

http://www.gothic.stir.ac.uk/blog/an-interview-with-s-p-miskowski-part-two/


My installment of The H Word column, "In Search of Horrible Women" in Nightmare Magazine--

http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/nonfiction/the-h-word-in-search-of-horrible-women/

J: Make sure there’s water in that tub.

S.P.: Uh, Johnny. There’s no dolphin in here.

J: Damn. Bubbles got out again.

S.P.: Where can he go?

J: She.

S.P.: She.

J: Last time I found her heading toward the neighbor’s koi pond. Yep, there she is outside.

S.P.: How’d she open the window?

J: Opposable fins.

S.P.: What?

J: Fukushima.

S.P.: Oh. Oh dear.

Federal Law and author courtesy requires me to say that Russell Dickerson designed the covers for Knock Knock, Delphine Dodd, and Astoria. Good work Russell!

Jenniffer Wardell – Party Aftermath

Jenniffer Wardell
Author, Vacuumer

Back in April I had Jenniffer Wardell over to the Blog Mansion to celebrate the release of her first book, Fairy Godmother’s Inc. and challenge her obviously misguided devotion to the Monkees over the Beatles. Sheesh. That was back in April you fool – you know, way back in 2013. So I caught up with her these many months later to check up on her. We spent the time cleaning up after a party.

Johnny: Still like the Monkees more than the Beatles?

Jenniffer: Always

Johnny: That’s just sick and wrong, but if my teasing won’t change your mind I don’t know what will.

Jenniffer: I may be crazy, but I'm crazy and loyal.

Johnny: Lucky for you, they also come cheap. They were willing to come serenade us for as much beer as they could drink.

Jenniffer: I think they've drunk too much. I'm pretty sure I just found Davy Jones here under the crepe paper.

Johnny: Good. Keep looking. Still two guests and one drummer unaccounted for.

Jenniffer: Quite the party. What were you celebrating?

Johnny: Wednesday. So you’re a few months a head of me on the book thing with a different publisher. If you had to describe the experience in one word what would it be?

Jenniffer: Exhausting.

Johnny: Okay, one word is a stupid limitation, please expand your answer to more words.

Jenniffer: After all the work it took to get the book together, and to finally get it accepted for publication somewhere, most authors think that the work is over. It turns out that it's just beginning, and nothing we've learned in the process of getting there is the slightest but of help.

Johnny: Watch the glass. Those damn Russians would toast and toss their glasses on the floor. I don’t get it. They were drinking Pepsi. Anyway, what’s been your favorite part of the new author experience? Watch the glass – I told you.

Jenniffer: Readers. They make the experience a joy.

Johnny: And of course what is your least favorite thing about the experience?

Jenniffer: Marketing. As a writer, I'm much more comfortable watching people from a distance than I am interacting with them and asking them to do things.

Johnny: Good answer. Oh, congrats on the Whitney Award nomination.

Jennifer: Thanks.

Johnny: I understand you and Neil Gaiman are chums now. Tell me about that.

Neil Gaiman

Jenniffer: I worship the man, as do most fantasy fans, and when a store displayed our books together I was so thrilled that I immediately had to tweet a picture (and, of course, tell every single person I've ever met). Neil, being the most wonderful man on the planet, saw the picture and responded to my tweet. Naturally, I fainted.

Johnny: So can you hook me up with his agent? I invited him but I’m not sure if he showed up.

Jenniffer: It takes a very complicated ritual to summon him. You need a half a cup of mermaid scales and a lawyer's lost joy just to get the process started.

Johnny: You were working on Dreamless last time we talked. What’s up with that?

Jenniffer: I'm in the last legs of the editing process, which has been a beast. One character changed dramatically while I wasn't looking, and I had to take a couple of stabs at figuring out how exactly an undead wraith would talk to people it doesn't want to murder. I think I've got everything solved, though, and hopefully I'll be able to wrap things up shortly.

Johnny: How goes the sequel to Fairy Godmothers Inc.?

Jenniffer: It lost the shoving match that all my plot bunnies have to go through, so it's currently been pushed to the back of the queue. I have, however, written a brief epilogue to "Fairy Godmothers, and posted it on my blog: http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com/2013/12/fairy-godmothers-inc-epiloguethe-swing.html

Johnny: So Jolly Fish Press is going through a big transition now, moving from Ingram to IPG, the Independent Publishing Group. How’s that been for you?

Jenniffer: Beast Charming got pushed back into 2015, which was tough, but things happen during transition periods. It's too early to see what the other changes might be, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Johnny: I invited them over too, but I don’t think they could find parking. Plus Kirk said Wednesday wasn’t a good enough reason for a rave. Like I need a reason.

Jenniffer: He's very picky that way.

Johnny: What do you think about book signings? Waste of time or good times?

Jenniffer: Honestly, it depends on the people. I've had some terrible experiences, but I've also had some absolutely lovely ones. I never know what a signing will be like until I get there.

Johnny: So with all this writing how far have you gotten in Beatrysel, my debut occult thriller now available at Amazon and The King’s English Bookstore?

Jenniffer: Beatrysel? Oh, I ... uh ....

Johnny: Uh huh…..

Jennffer: Honestly, I just finished the book and I loved it (next challenge: When to find the time to do some posts....) So much horror sacrifices genuine emotion, but yours explored the full depths of it and still managed to deliver a chill. Well done, sir. Well done.

Johnny: Those poppers are still smouldering. Speaking of which, what promotions have been the most successful for you?

Jenniffer: Kindle sales. No one can resist a bargain.

Johnny: Okay, enough shop talk. What else ya’ got going in your life?

Jenniffer: I have no life other than writing (and reading, of course) but I love it that way. When my book makes a top 10 list I'm as happy as if I'm the one who managed to do something interesting.

Johnny: And reading Beatrysel, my debut occult thriller now available at Amazon and The King’s English Bookstore. Don’t forget that.

Jenniffer: Actually, I need new reading material. When's your next book coming out!

Johnny: I've got Eleanor coming out in July. It begins the trilogy.

Johnny: And your links.

FACEBOOK
BLOG
AMAZON
BARNES AND NOBLE
TWITTER

Johnny: Oh god. There was a cigarette butt in that glass.

Jennifer: Why are you drinking leftover booze like a homeless person?

Johnny: I’m a writer.

Book Review: ONE BOY, NO WATER by Lehua Parker

Nihui Shark Saga, Book 1
ONE BOY, NO WATER

One of the great powers of reading has always been its ability to translate a reader to a different place. In the time before easy travel and mass communication, the only way a land-locked reader could visit the Pacific was in a book. Readers flocked to titles for their locations as much, if not more, than their stories. When a great location was fleshed out and the people there made real was combined with a ripping yarn that titillated the imagination, a classic was born. Those elements that made Treasure Island great have fallen out of fashion as writers can rely on shared knowledge.

But the formula still works and is as powerful as ever. Witness One Boy, No Water, by Lehua Parker. This gem of a book, young adult, is the embodiment of what location fiction can be. Taking place in Hawaii, the story follows the coming of age adventure of a rather unusual boy, Zadar, found as an infant on the lava rocks jutting into the sea where sharks are known to be.

Zadar is allergic to water. With his brother Jay and adopted family to help, he must face the school bullies, his strange history and his rare condition all while living on an island surrounded by death for him.

I loved this book. The story is gentle and endearing. The characters warm and sympathetic. The setting lush and hypnotic. No, it's more than that. The absolute strength in the book is the setting. Parker not only makes us feel the sand between our toes, smell the salt in the air, taste the mahi, but she also sits us beside the locals as family to share in their jokes and stories.

This is done by the use of "pidgin" the specific Hawaiian dialect spoken by the natives. Her language, dialog and description. is sung in the tilting cadences of the inhabitants, seeded with Hawaiian words and phrases. This measure of authenticity raises the adventure story to its own genre niche - Pacific Literature and is to my knowledge the only book of its kind.

After reading One Boy, No Water, I felt enriched on multiple levels, culturally as well as artistically. It is a short, but important book.

And there'll be more. The book ends open for the next book in the series which I understand is due out any time - One Shark, No Swim. Zadar's adventures will continue and I'm glad of that.

Robert DiBella in Cuddle Therapy

Robert DiBella Tense Thriller Writer

After reading a bit of Robert DiBella’s book, Memoir of a Variable, I realized here was an author who needed some fluffy fuzzy cuddle time. I took him to the petting zoo complex at The Blog Mansion.

Johnny: It’s five layers of every increasing cuteness.

Robert: Why?

J: To soothe your troubled soul. I saw Memoir of a Variable. It’s trouble. Here have a cat.

R: It’s a thriller. There’s supposed to be –

J: Shhhhh. Hold the cat.

R:  You’re lucky I’m a cat person, I have two lovely cats at home named Trixie and Alice.

Trixie and Alice

J: Alright, now isn’t that better?

R: Ouch. It scratched me.

J: Yeah, that’s what they do. Now, with you soft indoor voice, tell me about your book.

R:  Memoir of a Variable tells the story of X, an assassin for the secret CIA subsector Grey Sector. After years of cold, ruthless, professional killing, X doubts that what he’s doing is for the greater good. When X is tasked to kill Samantha Freedman, the outspoken lesbian daughter of a conservative senator, he cannot pull the trigger. Instead he saves the girl, and they are on an international chase through Western Europe.   

J: Awesome. International intrigue, action, lesbians. Awesome. Next is the bunny room. Less scratching there.

R: I don’t trust bunnies, their ears are too big and they’re always hopping around.

J: I have to assume that since your main character is from New York, as are you that the story is autobiographical. How old were you when you killed your first target?

R: Ha Ha. That’s confidential… naw I’m not an assassin for the CIA, but ever since I was a kid spy stories have always inspired me. I have always admired authors like Tom Clancy or Ian Fleming, it’s always been a dream of mine to create the next James Bond or Jack Ryan hero. Memoir of a Variable is written in first person so some of my one liners and mannerisms do come out in the text. I have had family and friends who read the book come up to me and say ‘I could see you saying that.’  

J: Hold back on the negative energy. The bunnies are soft goodness. Hold the bunny. Feel the bunny.

R: It pooped on me.

J: Yeah, that’s what they do. Where’d you get the idea for the book if not your own secret assassin life?

R: When I first got the idea for writing X, gay rights was a big topic in the news and I thought it would make a provocative back drop for a thriller. My friend was entering a short film competition, so I wrote him a three minute screen play about a hitman who kills a lesbian, and then I thought what if he saved her instead? So I wrote a forty-five page screenplay which then, somehow, I transformed into a novel. 

J: How’d you get into writing?

R: I started taking writing seriously in High School. Mineola High School has some amazing teachers who encourage their students to be creative, I used to write short stories for my twelfth grade English class. Than in College I took a playwriting class where I really got hooked on storytelling.   

J: This is where we either go to the poo-flinging monkeys or kittens.

R: How do we choose.

J: Answer wisely. Who are your favorite authors?

R: Well there’s you and your debut occult thriller, BEATRYSEL, now available from Amazon.

J: Kittens it is.

R: Didn’t we already do those?

J: No, those were cats, these are kittens. More mewing, less scratching. More cute. Who else are your favorite authors?

R: As I said before I love Clancy and Fleming, I’d also have to add Brendon Dubois, Sharon Shebar, Barbara Novak and Jefferey Deaver to the list. That’s a lot of kittens.

J: Tell me about the research you did for your book.

R: I looked into different clandestine units of the CIA, and other intelligence organizations such as MI-6 and Mossad, because X is a worldly character I wanted to make sure my descriptions of the settings were spot on. I spent a lot of time on Google Earth mapping out X’s locations and roads that he would actually take to reach his target.

J: Are you feeling the calm of the fuzzy fluffy cuddle rooms yet?

R: Yes, I feel very calm indeed. Kittens will do that to even the craziest of authors.

J: Next stop puppies. It’ll be loud, so I’ll ask this before we go in. How did you go from writer to author? How’d you land a publishing deal? How hard was it? Okay, got it? Good. Here we go.

R: Ugh, I’m not a fan of dogs.

J: What?

R: [Inaudible speech, deafening barking and licking sounds]

J: What?

R: murblewup

J: How's that?

R: HELP!

J: Cuteness overload. Good. To the last room!

R: That was terrifying. I’ve never been mauled by puppies like that before. I’m covered in puppy spit.

J: Yeah, they do that. What was your answer about getting published?

R: This was my first novel I knew nothing about how to write a good query letter or anything, I was just sending out to anyone I could find. Then a friend of mine and fellow writer Pat Shands got a short story of his published in a Rainstorm Anthology, he told me to give them a try. I sent it in and after three weeks of review they accepted it. 

J: That must have been stressful. Now to remove the last of your tension.

R: Is that an airlock?

J: Yep, but this is the best room yet. After the five rooms of fuzzy fluffly cuddletime, you’ll be writing children’s poetry.

R: I don’t think I’m cut out for that.

J: Tribbles!

R: Really?

J: Yeah relax on that big one there.

R: That’s not a chair?

J: No, that’s a tribble. They get big if you don’t eat them.

R: It is soothing.

J: Feel all that violent tension slip away.

R: Yeah.

J: Before we lose you forever in bliss, tell me where on the internet my people can find you?

Amazon
Twitter

J: Thanks for coming. I hope I didn’t ruin your career by taking the edge off you.

R: No I... hey wait. This tribble just gave birth on me. And that one too. They’re all having babies all over me.

J: Yeah, they do that.

Christine Haggerty is a mutant author

Christine Haggerty
Mutant Author

Christine Haggerty is still fresh from the release of her first novel, The Plague Legacy: Acquisitions, last Friday. She dropped by the Blog Mansion to compare mutants and talk books.

Johnny: Congratulations on your book. Pretty exciting isn’t it?

Christine: It’s definitely better than being transmogryphied into an intergalactic mutant with an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

J: Yeah.... I was thinking the same thing. Good thing that kind of thing never happens. So, tell me about your book. Give us your pitch.

C: The Plague Legacy: Acquisitions - Cameron Landry is a plague orphan shipped across the ocean to be sold as a slave in a new civilization. Of course, he’s not one of the cool guys—the kids who have mutated into superhumans because of the plague. Cam’s supposed to be one of the immunes, but things are more complicated than that as Cam discovers something special about himself.

J: Have some tea?

C: Oh, my God! What the hell is that?

J: That’s Luna. My Metaluna mutant. She works for me.

C: Where’d you find it?

J: Her. She has feelings. I don’t know what they are, but I’m sure she has some. Or one at least. I’ve seen her hungry. And I told you, She comes from Metaluna, the distant planet from This Island Earth. Surely you’ve seen that.

C: I’ve never seen one this close before. Is that spaghetti on her eyes?

J: Mutant cataracts, I think. Just don’t hit her exposed brain, okay. She’s very vulnerable there. I thought you’d like her because she’s a mutant.

Luna, Beauty Shot

C: I’m not biased, I’ll give her a shot. Of course, my mutants are still mostly just human beings from Earth, more like enhanced humans that mutants. Here, Luna, how ‘bout a hug?

J: Immune, mutant, no-code. You have a complex situation of engineered plague in Acquisitions. How’d you come up with it?

C: (Face turning red.)

J: Oh, ooops. Yeah, take it easy, Luna. I need Christine to breathe so she can finish the interview. I’m sure she will give you another hug before she leaves.

C: (Gasping.) She’s quite a lover. Anyway, you were asking about my inspiration for the premise of The Plague Legacy. I’m a history minor and always had a fascination with early European history, particularly the Black Plague and the Crusades. This is my version of history repeating itself.

J: Who’d you model Cam after? And Tara? Is there a Devon in your life?

C: Cam is modeled after my somewhat moody and temperamental teenage son, Liam. Of course, Liam still has two living parents and goes to high school instead of fighting off mutant bullies. Tara and Devon, and many of the other characters, are both formed from the residue of my years teaching at a residential high sch—.

J: Sorry about that. Luna’s claws don’t do well with china.

C: It’s only tea.


J: And mutant spittle.

C: What?

J: Luna drools sometimes. You always have to consider that when she’s around.

C: What will it do to me?

J: Did you drink any tea?

C: Yes.

J: Well just have a cookie. There’s antidote in them.

C: What cookies?

J: You didn’t get any?

C: You ate them all.

J: Well, uhm, you’ll probably be fine. Luna get some more cookies.

C: It’s eating through my clothes.

J: Here’s some baking soda. That’ll stop it.

C: Now it’s eating through the baking soda. Is this your plan to get me naked?

Luna being Sassy!

J: What makes you think any of this was planned? I mean, past the cookies and the tea and the mutant who drools acid?

C: (Glare.)

J: Tell me about your journey to get published.

C: My journey mostly involved being in the right place at the right time. I had decided to ditch my career in education to be around more for my kids and to give the writing thing a real shot. I went to a conference and learned the basics of building a fan-base, joined a writing group, and started making connections. I suppose it helps that I can write, too.

J: Tell me about working with Fox Hollow Publications. Are they nice?

C: Fox Hollow Publications has been amazing to work with. I think altogether I really lucked out becoming connected to them.

Luna sad –  
fetching more cookies.

J: How many books do you foresee in The Plague Legacy?

C: The Plague Legacy will be a trilogy. Each book will have its own plot arc as well as the arc for the series. I know it drives some people crazy to deal with uncertainty at the end of a book, especially when you have to wait until the next one comes out to continue the story, but I promise I’ll only do it to you twice.

J: I know the first one just came out, but when can we expect the next installment?

C: The Plague Legacy: Assets will be released Fall 2014.

J: The mutants in your book don’t have exposed brains. Why not?

C: I thought exposed brains would leave them too vulnerable. The mutants in Plague have weaknesses, but they are more emotional than physical.

J: Who besides me and my newly published debut occult thriller, BEATRYSEL, now available on Amazon just in time for the holidays, do you find inspiring?

C: I was inspired by classics like the Lord of the Flies and Brave New World and by modern young adult dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games.

J: Where can my readers find out more about you?

Website/Blog
Amazon
Goodreads
Facebook
Fox Hollow Publications
Twitter: @chaggerty99

J: Great, here’s Luna with more cookies.

C: I can’t pick them up.

J: You’re just not used to your new claws. It’ll come to you.

C: I feel funny.

J: I can see your brain. Wait a minute – Luna, are these antidote cookies? What do you mean we're out? Don't blame me. They were delicious. Now look at lovely Christine. She's mutating. Don't just stand there Luna, get the exoskeleton polish.

Teresa Joseph-Franklin is a poet and I show it

Today is special and you should I know it
For the first on The Blog Mansion, I bring you a poet

To vex my guest
And please the rest
We shall converse
In only verse

Teresa Joseph-Franklin is a poet of some renown
I met her on the internet, not actually in my town
She writes free form in England, cozy in her home
Where she bundles up her poems and binds them into tomes

JOHNNY – O! Teresa, O Teresa!
How many books have you written?
I own Simply Magically Beautiful
And let me tell you I am smitten!

TERESA – To write each would be a very long verse, so a brief response would be absolutely free!
 BUTTERFLY WINGS
That soars with the wind
Light as the breeze
Gentle and soft
Their colours so beautiful
Beautiful as everything that lives and breathes

J – When do you write your verse?During your good times or your worst?

T – Time is of the essence
And there is nothing like the present
When the moments of inspiration come with content
Filled with words, images, with no pretense

The words just happen in good times and bad
There is no plan, just a fixture my lad
Now that cannot be all bad

J – When your muse sits upon your arm,
And whispers in your ear
What subjects does it make you write,
What themes do you hold dear? 

T – It all depends on the mood
The theme, the topic of day
But this day holds dear as ‘Love is for Real’
Is so special in everyway

J – I just might bring a tear
But since I have you here
I have to ask
It is my task
Why chose you this career?

T – I stumbled, rumbled
Rummaged through the career
Deep, deep down inside was bud
Waiting to blossom, just like a flower waiting to bloom
Even though at times there was so much gloom and doom
But I made it through and shone a light on the darkest of glooms

J – How came you first to print?
Was is easy
Was it hard
Was it slow or a just a sprint?
 
T – My first endeavour to print came with a poetry competition
With loads of renditions
Commendations as a great poet of the great but not late England
It was easy peasy to get into print
But by jove it was a sprint
I’d never known such hurried dots and dashes
Sign here, sign there, oh and over here my dear
Sadly I am more cautious with the sprint
As there is a dog eat dog out there and they do not really care
When this poet writes and composes there upon her certain pose
With heaps of love, tenderness and flair
It’s all there
For all to read, enjoy


J – Bleed and write and worry, share
To put your soul and thoughts on paper
For what?
For whom? 
For what awards have you received? 

T – Oh this is so, so embarrassing, 
There are loads which I have listed below
Of which I am not going bellow
Or sing.

Top Ten Female Poet of UK 2012
United Press UK, March 2012

What Lies Within a collection of poetry
Forward Poetry UK, March 2012

Top Ten Poet of UK
United Press, June 2012

Through The Eyes Of A Poet
United Press UK  - July 2012

Poets of 2012

The UK Poetry Library, August 2012

Best Poets And Poems Of 2012
World Poetry Movement, August 2012

Poets of 2012
 The UK Poetry Library, August 2012

End Of Days a collection of poetry
Forward Poetry UK, September 2012

International Who's Who In Poetry 2012 
September 2012

Into The Shadows a collection of poetry
Forward Poetry UK, October 2012

Who's Who In American Poetry 2013
September 2013

Poet Of The Year 2014
United Press United Kingdom, November 2013

J – Tell me in Haiku
Your current project’s progress
Refrigerator

T – oh no not Haiku !
that is the worst to write
...

 
J – Perchance, pray tell, of where upon the net
Such able clickers might seek thee out anon
And share upon this humble page the links
Of glory and acclaim that art of thee 

Teresa's BLOG
Teresa on FACEBOOK 
Teresa on TWITTER 
Teresa's author page on AMAZON &
Teresa's PINTERST

Heartfelt Baring All (volume one) kindle ASIN: B00COSI5W6
Paperback edition below with ISBN
•    ISBN-10: 1484878388
•    ISBN-13: 978-1484878385

•Heartfelt Baring All (volume two) kindle  ASIN: B00CO9QPV8
Paperback edition with ISBN
•    ISBN-10: 1489549269
•    ISBN-13: 978-1489549266

•Heartfelt Baring All (volume three) kindle  ASIN: B00DI8MG6C
Paperback edition ISBN
•    ISBN-10: 1490492151
•    ISBN-13: 978-1490492155

•Sunburst and Flames kindle edition ASIN: B00D9TXNEY
Paperback edition
•    ISBN-10: 1490491104
•    ISBN-13: 978-1490491103
•Mystically Beautiful kindle edition ASIN: B00CK8DL4W
Paperback edition
•    ISBN-10: 1489505105
•    ISBN-13: 978-1489505101

•Simply Magical kindle edition ASIN: B00E2UU2LQ
Paperback edition
•    ISBN-10: 1491059443
•    ISBN-13: 978-1491059449

•Living Under The Same Sky kindle edition ASIN: B00DQYAA1Q
Paperback edition
•    ISBN-10: 1490909281
•    ISBN-13: 978-1490909288


J – Thanks for visiting
This blog is a hit
You’ve been more than patient
To put up with my shi – enanigans

T – Thank you for having me Johnny honestly