Book Videos

Book videos seem to be the latest, greatest way to market books. All over my various author loops I see messages from writers who've just put one together for their latest baby. Some have music, others don't.

But do they really work? There are several companies now who put these together. The first one to look at this medium was Circle of Seven Productions. When they began, no one else was doing this and so they were able to trademark the term Book Trailer. Other companies have since trademarked "NovelTease", "Expanded Books" and "VidLit".

It comes down to this: Does the impact of imagery carry more impact than words?

According to my latest Romance Writers Report, it very well may.

One of my favorite authors, Christine Feehan, has had a 700% increase in web traffic since she started showing book videos on her site. Yikes!

I'm nowhere near ready to spend the money to make one of these, and I don't have the technical expertise, software or, indeed, the patience to learn to do it on my own. So, for the time being, I'm just gonna sit back and appreciate the book videos my fellow authors are running.

In case you're interested, here are some of the companies that offer book videos:

Circle of Seven Productions
Pizzazzy Productions
VidLit


So, any thoughts to my question? Do videos sell books? If you saw a well-made video by an author unknown to you, would it entice you to buy his/her book?





"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work -- and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't." ~Lucille Ball

To All Our Veterans

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, following World War I. Even though the Treaty of Versailles (signed on June 28, 1919) was the official end to World War I, the actual fighting ended seven months earlier on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day officially became a legal nationwide holiday in 1938, and the name changed to Veterans Day in 1954.

As I researched information about Veterans Day, I came across a list of wars the U.S. has been involved in since our earliest days, starting with our own American Revolution. Then we move on to:

War of 1812
Mexican War
Civil War (or War of Aggression by the Northern States, depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon you grew up on)
Spanish American War
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Persian Gulf War
War on Terror

I'm not making any sort of political statement here. My grandfather (now deceased) and his son, my uncle, fought in World War II. My dad is a veteran of the Korean War. I have the utmost respect, admiration and appreciation for all those who serve in the armed forces.

Thank you, to you and your families.

And God bless.

"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no man behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that, when they return home, we leave no veteran behind." ~Dan Lipinski

Illegal Aliens

You know, we have a real problem with illegal aliens here in Arizona. Every year we have over a hundred people who die in the desert, trying to get into America illegally to make a better life for themselves. (Or to continue to conduct themselves as criminals, which, can I just say... Y'all can keep your criminals. Stop sending them to us--we have enough of our own!)

Well, I recently discovered that Wal-Mart is contributing to this problem by employing aliens:


LOL!




"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy." ~Lucille Ball

Yay! It's The Day Before Friday

I have to work a full day today and tomorrow--we're in the middle of our benefits open enrollment, plus my boss went off to visit her granddaughter for an extended weekend, so I'm providing HR coverage.

I'm exhausted already. LOL

Before I head out, here's a little somethin' to start off your day...


Yeeeeeehawwwww!



"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else." ~Erma Bombeck

New Review For THE CLAIMING

4 Hearts!

From Anita at The Romance Studio:

"The Claiming by Sherrill Quinn is a steamy futuristic romance designed to stimulate the imagination. Kassinda was afraid of her lover’s vampiric nature, but she never completely stopped loving him.... Rhys is definitely all alpha male when it comes to dominating the female and delighting the senses beyond belief... For a fiery passionate romance that will stimulate the imagination, I recommend The Claiming by Sherrill Quinn."


Read the full review here.

Read an excerpt or buy.





"A man can be short and dumpy and getting bald, but if he has fire, women will like him." ~Mae West

Proof of Global Warming

I've been doing some research on global warming for my next Praetorians book. And I believe this picture is proof enough:


A picture's worth 1,000 words. Yes, indeedy.

~ * ~

Hey, hey! There are still a few movie quotes no one's guessed yet from Saturday. Scroll down and try your luck.

I'll give you some clues:

#5 is an old Western with John Wayne.
#13 starred John Travolta.
#15 is from the daft mind of Mel Brooks.

Does that help? *G*




"Brevity is the soul of lingerie." ~Dorothy Parker

Tall, Dark and Handsome...Or Not

I confess, I grew up watching the Lawrence Welk show. We never missed it. And my young heart pitter-pattered whenever Tom Netherton came on to sing. Not only did he have a sexy voice, but he was tall (6'5"), handsome, and...blond. Golden blond hair that was shiny and thick, just begging to have feminine hands comb through it. (Hey, come on. At that age, I wasn't thinking of doing anything else!)


So, last night, as I was surfing the 500 or so cable channels (all right, yes, I exaggerate, but you know what I mean!) and finding nothing interesting to watch, I landed on the local PBS station and guess what was on? Lawrence Welk. And just as I tuned in, Tom Netherton came on to sing.

*sigh* Even thirty or so years later, my heart still went pitter-patter. And, of course, I had to look him up on the Internet and see how old he was and if he was still alive. He's almost 60! And looks great, I might add. He's aged pretty well. Take a look:


*another sigh* Why is it that men seem to age better than women? Really. It's just not fair!

All right. Y'all 'fess up. Any Lawrence Welk celebrities you crushed on when you were younger? Or, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about cuz you're just babes in arms, who's your biggest celebrity crush?

~ * ~

Oh, and there are still plenty of movie titles for y'all to guess from yesterday's blog...




"I don't know much about being a millionaire, but I'll bet I'd be a darling at it." ~Dorothy Parker