Minor Adjustments Book Trailer

So I decided to hop on board the book trailer bandwagon and create something for Minor Adjustments, officially coming out next week. A huge thanks to the brilliant Jon Schmidt for allowing me to use one of his awesome compositions. Love him!

What do you think?

Ideas Versus Execution

I've always been an idea person. Ideas come to me all the time; thoughts that sneak into my mind while I empty the dishwasher, mow the lawn, or try to catch a few extra Zs on a Saturday morning.

I'm sure I had some good ideas growing up, although I don't remember most of them. However, one idea I had when I was a sophomore in high school is still as vivid as it was the day it came to me.

Our high school band was traveling from Hawaii to Florida for the Citrus Bowl parade, and I thought it might be fun to make a sign to hold up during the game--something silly like, "Aloha! We made this sign just to get on National TV!"

The reason I remember this idea is that, unlike most thoughts from that era, I acted on it. I shared the thought with some friends and, armed with markers, paint, and a bed sheet, we made the sign. We smuggled it into the game in my xylophone case, waited for just the right moment, and unfurled our queen-sized banner.

A camera wheeled over, the red light went on, and people all over the country saw our sign. We had our fifteen seconds of fame, all because I had the courage to execute on an idea.

I'm sure you've noticed by now that even the best ideas fall flat when the execution doesn't measure up. Have you ever picked up a book or gone to a movie, excited by the title and synopsis, only to experience terrible disappointment at the result? That's failed execution.

In writing, successful execution requires a number of things: clean prose, interesting voice, likable characters, and solid story structure. Execution takes time and effort.

And it takes courage. Because executing an idea is to risk failure. And the bigger the idea, the bigger the risk.

Every book out there started as an idea. The thing that separates the published works from the ideas scratched in notebooks is the courage, effort, and determination to execute on that idea.

*****

In an act of shameless self-promotion, I would like to share with you a the execution of an idea I had more than half a year ago. I present for you the Bumpy Landings Teaser Trailer.



In connection with the release of the trailer, I'm holding a contest on my blog. Visit www.donaldjcarey.com for the complete details.

The Upside of Down Book Trailer Teaser

by Rebecca Talley



What do you think?

How do you feel about book trailers? Have you seen some amazing ones? Do you watch them? Do they influence your book buying habits?

"Altared Plans" Book Trailer Contest

by Rebecca Talley

Who doesn't love contests?

I want to spread the word about my LDS romance Altared Plans. After all, what better Christmas gift than a light-hearted romance novel?

I created a book trailer and would love to have you post it on your blog or on Facebook. If you do, I'll enter you into a contest to win a $20.00 gift certificate to Amazon. Here's the rules:

1. Post my book trailer on your blog or on Facebook. Here's the url to pick up the embed code.
2. Leave a comment here and let me know you posted it and the address of your blog or Facebook page.
3. Deadline to enter is November 15th at midnight. I'll choose a random winner on November 16th and post it here. Be sure to check back to see if you've won.
4. You can enter each time you post it to a blog or post it to Facebook.



Thanks for participating in the contest and helping me promote Altared Plans.

My book trailer is out!

By Heather Justesen

Just had to share. This has been several months in the planning and creating stages so I'm totally excited to see it. A big thanks to Stephanie Fowers for filming and compiling the video, and the Kevin Mathie who wrote the music (isn't it gorgeous?).



In other news I've had an interview and a couple of book reviews this week.

Cindy Williams interviewed me for her blog Writer's Mirror on Wednesday.

Danyelle Ferguson at Queen of the Clan blog reviewed my book. Danyelle has a non-fiction book coming out next summer which I'm totally excited about.

Tristi Pinkston, author and reviewer of many fine books, reviewed my book on her blog.

A big thanks to all of these ladies! My big local launch party is happening at the Fillmore, Utah library tomorrow from 10 AM to 1 PM if you or anyone you know lives in the area, invite them over.