Making Video Trailers

I’ve been working on video trailers for all our books. I finally finished the last ones. I doubt they make much difference in book sales, but I think they are a fun way to introduce readers to the books. Most of them are posted on our website.

A lot of people spend a great deal for professional videos for their books. I must admit I’m too cheap for that!

Mine are put together using PowerPoint and Microsoft MovieMaker. Choosing the right music is the biggest challenge. Fortunately I have over 10,000 songs on my iTunes, nearly all of them from CDs I own.

All of the trailers are now on YouTube:

 The Art of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed5KkCKUQGA

An Aspen Grove Christmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CA0x1K575Y

Directions of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrStb8z39mI

Seasons of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-6Oqruyzk

Snowflake Secrets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4MkJqHZQag

31 Months in Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx4DheNEKk

 Lakeview Park: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfF_0p2vK-0

Ghost Writer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uJ7--CpEok

Murder… They Wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1JQ8emjE2A

Murder in Paradise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPlxJWw98mA

What do you think about video trailers? Do they encourage you to read books? Do you enjoy seeing them? Let me know.

Anniversary Dinner

Yesterday, September 4, was our forty-eighth wedding anniversary.

Larry got home from jury duty hot and tired. It was much too warm to cook, so we finally decided to repeat our wedding supper.

Just like this year, we were married on the hottest day of 1965 in a church (Marengo Avenue Methodist Church in Alhambra, California) with no air conditioning. The wedding was at eight at night to try to avoid having to serve a meal, small children, and some of the heat. We succeeded on the first two counts...

Four hundred twenty-five people attended a truly memorable service during which my veil kept drooping. But all that mattered was we were finally married.

The day had been really hectic, and neither of us had eaten. We had a cake and punch reception. (Try to get away with that today!) Since we were mere children—I was only one week past my nineteenth birthday, and Larry was twenty-one—and we had to pay for most of the wedding ourselves, this was easier. I worked for the baker, Mr. Brown of Lucille Brown's Bakery, so he gave us the cake as his gift. (It was truly the most beautiful one he ever made.)

Mom had prepared cold cuts and salads back at the house after the service, but we wanted to get on the road to Crestline. (Larry’s folks were members of the old St. Moritz Club, and they rented us a ‘chalet’ for our honeymoon.)

We were driving out the freeway after ten at night when we both realized how hungry we were. We pulled off at Peck Road in El Monte and ate hamburgers at Denny’s. (I was and remain a cheap date!)

So last night, we went to Denny’s again!