Lollygagging Vengeance Trailer

The trailer for Taking Vengeance trailer is done!
The final version is 2 minutes long, granted, with a great harp muscic/score by my daughter.  The music is worth listening to all on its own.

 Click to view trailer.  Be sure to have the sound on.

That said.  I can see where some people won't like it because it doesn't quite follow the story. ...  That said, I like it for it's playfulness and irreverence. There are a few anachronisms, but they add to the fun.

The proof will be in the pudding, ie. if my sales increase. Incidentally, I have no way to tell if Taking Vengeance is selling.  I do know that no one has reviewed it yet. Caverns?  It's doing the freebie thing.  Maybe some five or so people download it a day.  How's that for spectacular?  At least there's only one posting up now and all the downloads go in one place.  

Bad Haiku:

                                      Heir in Danger
                                     4

The King’s men dig trap

While the stripling heir hunts game,

Guard dogs on leashes.

Heir hunts through forest,

Sees deer in meadow grazing,

Stalks deer.  Dogs stalk heir.

Dogs chase.  Heir sees earth

Disturbed, jumps the hidden trap,

                                                  Runs through stream. Trees hide. 


The Next Big Step:

Somewhere in all my copious free time, I have to figure out how to get an author's site co-ordidnated ... as opposed to the Half-Elven world website ... up.  Am looking at Wordpress, but haven't figured it out yet.  Frankly, the internet makes me feel stupid.

One great thing though ... my controlled vowel pre-primer script is out to beta readers.  And, I'm in the process of outlining a new Half-Elven story featuring Mariah investigating tales of a wolf terrorizing the northeastern coast of the Marches. --  I'll leave you to guess whether it's a werewolf story.

Of Writerly Things and Marketing...

Cavern Between Worlds 

is up on Smashwords
You can read the story for free.

"All life has disappeared from an ocean rookery far from shore.  Captain Hattenel, a Half-Elven ranger, joins Voron, a disreputable sea captain, to explore the mystery, only to be catapulted into a dangerous world inhabited by dog-headed magic workers." 
Cover and Formatting by Tiger Author Services.  
 

Web Stuff:

The process of correcting my mistakes on my blog title. 

Kristen Lamb rubbed my nose in my blog mistakes in a recent blog about how writing about writing is wrong ... or at least counter-productive.  Why?  Well, for one thing ... writing a blog is one way to keep your website updated.  Probably the easiest way, in fact.  So, what if you snag a reader, maybe a fan, rather than a writer friend.  ...  Hey, you got two different audiences there.  ...  I see the problem, but don't have any solutions.  Any suggestions?  Does anyone have a solution besides two blogs.  [One blog is hard enough, time-wise, to do.] ... Yeah, I'm still blaming Roni Loren for puncturing my balloon.

So far, I decided to keep the blog title since I've been blogging with it for over two years.  I put "M. K. Theodoratus", "grumbling" in the blurb. 

Readers are coming to the blog from Goggle searches.Maybe, I'll get more searches with the new title ... if Kristen Lamb's right.  Maybe, not.  Whatever, all new followers and commenters are welcome. 

Trailer Teaser:

Just learned that there are awards for book trailers:  the Moby Awards.  Galley Cat has a series of links for the 2011 winners if you care to take a look:  best and worst trailers.  

The Next Bad Haiku Chapter: 

                                     Secret Hero:

Boy roams dark forests,

Not knowing who he is. Ma’s

silent unto death.

The boy’s guard teaches

Sword skills, cunning forest lore,

Battle skills and more.

The rumors don’t die.

Villagers gossip, tell tales.

False king hunts again.

Cover Art 's Here & More

Cover Art
Taking Vengeance:

Artwork: Marge Simon

Don't know what progress has been made on getting the printing on the cover.  I thought I'd wait until today to bug the publisher ...  after I take my friends good jewelry to the estate buyer ... and whatever else rears its time-consuming head.  I think I'm going to get five chapters revised today?

One thing surprised me.  The WolfSinger Publications site mentions the book is coming out in trade paperback ... or maybe that got misplaced from another pub.  Another thing I have to ask them about.

Okay.  I have trailers on the mind too, just one reason why I enjoyed Got YA's blog on book trailers so much.  Actually, they've posted 20 reasons to like their blog.

My trailer for Taking Vengeance?  The script is done and the work under way.  My daughter will be doing the music.  Fortunately, she has a huge number of special effects pedals.  They were made of guitars, but she's used them to good effect with her harp.  Yeah, I'll be posting it along the side.

All in all, I don't know what I'm learning here -- except to paddle fast enough to keep my head above water.

Once I get "Taking Vengeance" semi-settled, I'll be self-publishing a short story which has been rejected by all the major and semi-major- paying zines.  Another Half-Elven story:  Cavern Between Worlds.  "They" say sales increase with the number of e-offerings you have listed ... but I don't think "they" mean that two pieces are enough.

The Pause That Annoys

The book trailer saga complicated itself again.  Thought I had all the pieces together so that I could start on the thing so it'd be ready to to place it just before the novella is published.  1)  The publisher hasn't gotten back to me with answers on book cover and publication date.  2) The artist wants royalties.

Simple enough on the face of it, but it just means more work.

I want to write.

In the meantime, I'm editing "Dark Solstice", yet again.  About half done.  I've delete some verbiage that slowed down a couple scenes.  Bottom line:  It pays to let a manuscript lay between revisions.  You notice the clinkers better.

Now, since I don't have any emergencies screaming to be solved, I'm going to read blogs.  I may even leave some comments here and there.

Book Trailer Progress

How's the book trailer progressing?  I think it is.

Yeah,  I'm still sweating the making of my first book trailer.  Sweating, not because I'm worried, but sweating because it's hard work ... and time consuming.  But then, book trailers seem to stay on YouTub forever so it should be worth the effort, someday.  

Did get the music part nailed down ... though not "done", but it's nice to know what I want is possible.

From what I see on AW Water Cooler and from searching "making book trailers", the things seem to be a popular topic.  If you are interested in seeing what the "big boys" are doing, you might check out:  In Search of the Ultimate Children's and YA Book Trailer.  They've got some interesting examples. 

On the personal end:  I'm getting quick responses from a book trailer maker ... who likes my daughter's harp music.  Granted the elf and Celtic harp music is sort of a cliche.  But then, my daughter's playing isn't the usual stuff most harpists pluck from the strings.  [plug:  You can get free samples of her music.]  Funny thing, though.  In my various Half-Elven stories, no one plays the harp ... that I can remember.  Drums.  Fiddles.  Whistles.  No harps.

Has anyone had a positive or negative experience with book trailers?  I'm doing this to increase name recognition ... and hopefully, to sell some "books".  Who knows how successful it'll play out. 

[Books is in quotes since what's being published is a novelette since I think it's too short to be classified as a novella.   Have you noticed that quite of few e-publishers do short stories as singles?]

Chasing Book Trailer Makers

On to the next step in promoting "Taking Vengeance" ... the book trailer.

I've been looking for someone to make one for me after my daughter told me her learning curve was going to take too long.  [She'll still help me with the music.]  There are all sorts of links on Goggle and Yahoo telling how I can do my own.  Read enough of them to be tempted to try my hand at doing a trailer.  But, I should hope I'm not dumb enough to use my first effort to promote my book.  If I do decided to waste my time learning, you guys will be the first to know.  Windows actually has a movie ap or some such thing waiting to temp me.

Did turn a little growlly when I emailed ten trailer makers and only two responded.  Guess that's all I need ... but still, there's such a thing as having a professional attitude.  Good news?  One of them was in my price range ... I think.  We're still talking.

One thing is certain.  Researching stuff on the web is a major time-suck.  I had three of them going on at once ... and wondered why I wasn't getting any revising or the update on my projects done.  At least, I think the trailer thing is out of the wheel-spinning stage.  Now, I'm still researching publishers and weird-fantasy agents.

Believe me.  Agents, who've paid their dues and lined up contacts in the industry, are worth their weight in gold.  Even with e-publishing I think this is true.  Has anyone else noticed how the ebook rankings in the New York Times mirror the print book ones?

Immersed in a Master Craftsman's Mind

 The Writing Lesson ...

I'm savoring master craftsman Laurel K. Hamilton's new mass paperback, Skin Trade.  Wish  I could just sit and devour, but I've got too much other stuff demanding my attention.  In a way, I've already taken the bait.  Her opening hook is masterful.  "I'd worked my share of serial killer cases, but none of the killers had ever mailed me a human head."  The first sentence of the book rips your cheek out it lodges so firmly.

Even more impressive is the way she weaves the series back story into the first 4 page chapter.  She leaves out some things, but who cares.  I don't think this book will disappoint.  Hamilton has so many themes running through the Blake series that she  must had quite a time squeezing the references in.  At least, Blake seems to have gotten over her puritanical upbringing.

I'm about a third of the way in.  I don't know if Hamilton intended comments to be funny, but I found myself laughing out loud when characters referred back to situations from other books. Another bit that had me sitting back and thinking:  Hamilton gives an argument against those thinking commercial fiction is dumber than literary fiction when Blake raises objections to joining a witches church because it's too Gnostic.  How many Christians know what Gnosticism is?

Progress ...

My big bitch of the moment isn't getting an ending on Voices, though that bothers me.  It's getting my agent files set up so they are usable.  How many times have you read agents complaining about about sending inappropriate queries?  I gather it's one of the prime newbie mistakes.  I also gather you increase your chances of sending a partial (or full !!!) if you send something the agent is interested in.  --  A quick example.  I'd be wasting my time sending my stuff to an agent who only represented Christian romances.

Two of the best places I've found to get in depth agent info ... besides individual agent blogs ... are Casey McCormick [Literary Rambles] and Chuck Sambuchino [Guide to Literary Agents]  I think I've mentioned them before.  Well, this week-end I've been combing through their archives searching for agents who like fantasy.  

And, no.  Not all agents who like paranormal and/or urban fantasy do magical realism.   If you do sword and sorcery, the agent pickings get even slimmer.  So, I'm putting together a master list of agents who might be be interested in the kinds of fantasy I've written or have in my idea files.  My problem is complicated by having several adult, young adult, and middle grade manuscripts as done as I can make them.

Some examples I just stumbled across.  Michael Bourrett of Dystel & Goderich is looking for gritty, blue-collar YA paranormal.  For a few minutes I thought There Be Demons would be a good fit -- until I read he doesn't want science fiction or high fantasy (with magical creatures).  Then, I would love to query Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency -- but she only does kid's stuff and doesn't have anyone in her agency that does adult, that I can tell.  --  It stands to reason that I think I'm an "exceptional" writer.

So, my manuscript files reflect my mind -- a Crazy Quilt.  Which makes me wonder if other writers stick to one genre specialty or do they bounce all over the place until they land on an idea that's publishable.

One thing I'm not doing is only bobbing like a dippy bird transferring agent info.   I'm "studying" book trailers on YouTube.  My NYC daughter, being a musician, knows a little about promoting yourself on the web, has promised to help me. 

Then, there are all those lovely trailer reviews at 1st Turning Point.  This week Rick Taubold points out the good points of a trailer for a children's picture book.  I found it interesting they used both English and Chinese in the production.  Whatever, I hope I can come up with something half as good for "Taking Vengeance".

Trivia ...

Disappointed the gurus trying to jump start the economy.  The old man stuck his foot through the bottom sheet.  Did I buy one of the many sets prominently displayed for my buying pleasure?  No, I dug around even though my back was cranky until I found a single fitted bottom sheet the right size.  Who cares what color it is?