Crow's Rest Book Trailer, and the Making Of

Today's the day that I get to share my book trailer for Crow's Rest! Since I made this video myself, I wanted to give a little behind-the-scenes info on the images.

But first--the book trailer! And make sure you have the volume on; you won't want to miss the soundtrack.




Hope the trailer entertained and intrigued you! You can find pre-order and Goodreads info on Crow's Rest here.

These are all my images, by the way, which saved me a tremendous amount of licensing fees. I did end up buying a program to give the whistling of my original song a little reverb, and then bought some stock audio of the crows, so the entire trailer cost me $3.89!

First off, once I had the script finalized, I knew I wanted to set the mood and place the story into its setting. To open the trailer, I used a few photos set in the Sierra foothills town that inspired Crow's Rest--and its haunted Castle. Here's another look in case they went by too quickly:

This is taken from the town cemetery, looking towards the Castle

This is an interior shot of the haunted Castle--which was abandoned for years after it did its duty as a boys' reformatory--and the perfect shot to accompany "Rumors that strange happenings are on the rise"

The exterior of the Castle, with one of the turrets that helped earn it its nickname (it was more properly called the Preston School of Industry when it opened in the 19th century)

With the setting established, I moved on to the characters: Avery, Daniel, and the corbin. The shots with the (human) models were actually taken as test photos for a possible custom cover shoot, and I didn't want them to go to waste--and I think they work really well here.

Uncle Tam is the caretaker for an historic cemetery, so Avery and Daniel spend a lot of time hanging around tombstones

The corbin picture is actually of a rook in Ireland--we definitely don't get these birds around here! But the crows that flock around my garden won't hold still for pictures, and I loved this ones's soulful expression.

For the trailer, I added a little violet to his eye color and cropped in tight on his face

 For a photo to depict the passage to Faerie, it was no contest--this lovely view is of the Stourhead Estate gardens, taken from inside the grotto

And the next one is the ruins of Kilcatherine church, which date back to the 7th century

That cheeky raven pic is from a trip to Bryce Canyon, but this post is already rather long so I'll skip adding that one! I just wanted to give you all an idea of what you can do with images that might already be in your photo collections, and that you don't need to spend a lot. For the links on the Power Point tutorials that helped me create this book trailer, see my post from November 24 here on Operation Awesome.

Making a Book Trailer in Power Point

I've just spent the last week and a half or so making a book trailer for Crow's Rest, and I wanted to share a video that was really helpful. My first attempt at the trailer used my own video footage (which means it's free, and no rights and permissions to get hung up later) but I wasn't completely happy with that. It felt too disjointed, since some of the footage ended up being more metaphorical than actually illustrative of the script.

So I looked around for some tutorials on Power Point (I'd never used the program before) and found this video very helpful


It walks you through animation, transitions, and even adding narration, in an easy-to-understand tutorial. He also includes instructions on how to format your presentation so that when you export it as a video, you'll have an HD-quality YouTube video. Even if you are familiar with Power Point, you may find some tips and tricks in here that you didn't know.

I watched it once, and then dived into my own slide show, and referred back to this video a few times when I got stuck. The process wasn't nearly as intimidating as I thought it would be, and if not for my creative perfectionism that led me to endlessly tweak the script and image choices, it would likely have only taken me a few hours to create a book trailer using this method. And now that I'm more familiar with it, I could see using this technique to create some vlogs or videos for schools to use.

I also wanted to share another tool that I used to create an original soundtrack for the trailer; it's an app called LoopStack. There are other, similar apps out there, but this one was free to try on Android (you pay $1.99 to unlock more expanded features, but it's still a bargain) so I gave it a shot. Pretty easy to use, once you get the rhythm of it.


I encourage everyone to give a try on a trailer for their book--working on the script alone makes you look at your story in a completely different way. Even if you never share it with anyone (we'll be doing a reveal on mine soon), it will definitely help you visualize elements of your story and characters in a new media.

Music and Memory

I've started on my sequel to Crow's Rest (its working title is No Man's Land) and a couple chapters in I realized I was having trouble finding the tone of the book. In the past, I haven't worried about that too much in the drafting stage, but with this book the tone is going to direct several plot-forks in my outline. (Plot-forks are too real things! Don't make me show you my literary license)

I was thinking about how when I would come back to the Crow's Rest draft after an absence, two songs helped get my brain in gear for writing (Firethief by Karine Polwart, and the song I wrote for the book which will appear in the book trailer). But No Man's Land didn't have a song just yet, so there wasn't a tool I could use to drop me into the story.

To fix that, I spent some time rewriting lyrics to an old English folk song, variously called A Blacksmith or Blacksmith Courted Me. Now I have song lyrics that are particularly relevant to the story and plot, plus singing it puts me in the frame of mind to continue in the Crow's Rest world.

Do you ever use music in this way? It's a little more specific than a playlist, but I'm sure they'd be considered close relatives!

Poison Me Blog Tour and an Amarok Amazon Daily Deal!!

Blog Tour Schedule

Poison Me by Cami Checketts

Jake Merrill was raised by his grandmother, Ruby, and her hilarious friends. After a suspicious death at the retirement home where Ruby lives, she enlists Jake and Chanel, the beautiful activities director, to help her find the killer.

But secrets Ruby has kept for decades threaten her family and the man she’s always loved but could never have. Chanel’s unstable ex-boyfriend, a presumably dead relative, and vicious criminals add to the confusion. Time is running out as Jake, Chanel, and Ruby desperately search for clues to solve the murders and fight to save those they love.

Praise for Poisen Me

Poison Me made me laugh out loud and thoroughly enjoy myself. I wish I had a friend like Ruby! Snappy dialogue, romance, and a strong sense of family made this book well worth reading.

Rachel Ann Nunes, bestselling author of Line of Fire and Before I Say Goodbye

Purchase Poison Me

Author Cami Checketts

Cami is a part-time author, part-time exercise consultant, part-time housekeeper, full-time wife, and overtime mother of four adorable boys. Sleep and relaxation are fond memories. She's never been happier.

A portion of the proceeds from Cami's books will be donated to The Child & Family Support Center. For more information on this worthy cause, please go to www.cachecfsc.org

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Blog Tour Giveaway
$50 doTERRA Oil basket and $35 wholesale membership, $50 Kate Ryan Skincare GC, $50 Amazon GC.  Ends 3/30/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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AND!!!

Our very own Angie Townsend's Amarok is an Amazon Daily Deal!! Get this awesome book for just $1.99 today only! For a sneak peek, check out the book trailer :)

Book Trailer Release for Jennifer Armentrout's OPAL!

We are so excited to be a part of the trailer release for the third book in the Lux series, OPAL!!!

Opal (The third book in the Lux Series) 

Available in both print and digital version on December 18, 2012

Amazon 

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Official Opal Book Trailer 

Check out Jennifer L. Armentrout on the following sites: 

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Cover and Trailer Reveal!! Lisa Amowitz's BREAKING GLASS

I am very pleased to take part in the cover and book trailer reveal for my dear friend Lisa Amowitz's upcoming debut novel, BREAKING GLASS. I had the pleasure of reading this book this weekend and it was AWESOME.

Without further ado, here is the incredible cover and trailer :) (and p.s. Lisa is not only an amazing author but a very talented artist as well. In fact, she creates covers for several publishers and was able to do her own cover. I've got to say - this is one of the best covers I've seen. Love it!)

Le Blurb:

On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he's not sure whether they're real or if he's losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.



BREAKING GLASS is coming from Spencer Hill Press next spring! Congrats Lisa!!