Please help me welcome the lovely Laura E James to my blog today. She’s here to celebrate the paperback release of What Doesn’t Kill You, and to let us into a little secret about her book trailer.

Laura:

The Secrets Behind the Book Trailer.

I’m about to divulge a secret or two, but before I do, I’d like to thank Abbey for inviting me here today to celebrate the release of the paperback of What Doesn’t Kill You. Thank you, Abbey. It’s lovely to be here.

I enjoy making trailers for my novels. As they are set in Dorset, with Chesil Beach for a backdrop, it means I get to spend a day out at the seaside in the name of work.

My third novel, What Doesn’t Kill You, starts with the hero, Griff Hendry, standing on Portland Bill, Dorset – a place that holds many fond memories for me. The scenery is spectacular whatever the weather, and when we first meet Griff, he is enduring some of the worst storms Dorset had seen in many years. He is wet, wind-swept and battling the elements. The footage for the trailer was filmed in the autumn of 2015, which happened to be mild and sunny, and there was as much splash from the sea as a sugar lump plopping into a mug of tea.

What was being filmed was this …

but what I really needed was this…

Besides a stormy day, I also required a Griff and an Ozzy, Griff’s dog. My husband gallantly volunteered to stand in as Griff, but I had no idea from where I could borrow an Old English sheepdog.

Hogan, a German Shepherd came to the rescue. He has a credit at the end of the trailer.

With a bit of jiggery pokery and a fabulous app called Waterlogue, the photo of my husband and Hogan went from this…

to this…

Using photos taken in the months leading to the digital publication, applying the Waterlogue app to produce a watercolour feel, (which matched the feel of the trailer for Follow Me Follow You, my second novel) and running the elements through Microsoft Movie Maker, choosing the music once it was uploaded to You Tube, I had the finished trailer.

https://youtu.be/iITCUM_fess

Steven Spielberg need not sweat. I’m no threat, but I had fun putting the video together and I’m learning all the time. I’m considering making a retrospective trailer for my debut from 2013, Truth or Dare?, with a view to keeping it to thirty seconds. Perhaps I should send the location scout out now …

Oh. That would be me.

Another trip to the beach, then.

I love my job

Laura E. James

Possessing little in the way of domestic skills, and with an insatiable hunger to write, Laura E. James found a much better use than cooking, for the family kitchen. Tucked neatly in one corner is her very small, but very tidy desk from where she produces issue-driven romantic novels, short stories, and flash fiction.

Living in and enjoying the inspirational county of Dorset, Laura is a graduate of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, a member of her local writing group, Off The Cuff, a founder of Littoralis, and one eighth of The Romaniacs, the RNA Industry Awards 2015 Media Stars Winner.

Published by Choc Lit, Laura’s debut novel, Truth or Dare? was nominated for the Festival of Romance Best Romantic eBook. Her second novel, Follow Me Follow You was a lovereading.co.uk editorial selection. What Doesn’t Kill You, the third in the Chesil Beach Book Series, is the first title in Choc Lit’s new Dark imprint ‒ compelling, emotional, hard-hitting novels. Not your typical romance story.

For further information, go to:

www.lauraejames.co.uk

http://www.choc-lit.com/productcat/laura-e-james/

www.theromaniacs.co.uk

www.facebook.com/LittoralisWriters

https://www.facebook.com/LauraE.JamesWriter

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