The trailer is here, and the site is live...

Well, here we go.

It's the start of... oh, what is it the start of? Time will tell, I suppose. It's partly up to me and partly out of my hands, like everything else.

But it's an exciting day for me. The trailer is now available at the brand-new GraceandWitherbloom.com and you can find it on YouTube here.

I thought a lot about the trailer. I knew I wanted to do one for a long time. I think I decided to do it about halfway through writing the book. But the contents of what it would be changed a lot in my head. I wanted something fairly straightforward that also gave a real taste of the "feel" of the book. Some were probably a bit too ambitious and above my means currently and some just felt too much like a boring advertisement. So what I settled on was presenting the speech that opens the first book, The Girl Who Died Backwards.

(Oh yes, I forgot to mention... the first title and synopsis is up! You can read it on the website if you haven't already.)

But I digress. Once I decided on that speech it just felt right. I found some really wonderful music from composer Kevin Macleod that felt absolutely perfect, as though it had been written for Grace & Witherbloom. I put together the words with the music, with myself providing the dramatic reading. Maybe I was up too late, but while recording it I thought it didn't sound too bad and maybe I could use it as-is for the trailer. It would certainly be easier than going out to find someone to record the lines.

I woke up the next day and listened to what I had recorded, and realized I might have gone temporarily insane the night before. Just to confirm, I had my partner and my best friend Laura listen to it. Laura laughed out loud about 10 seconds into it. Everyone should have a friend like Laura. She saves you from doing some really stupid things. She and Paul both agreed that, while it was nicely dramatic, it had one flaw. My terrible, terrible British accent. Now, I was under no illusion that I was able to mimic a British accent well. But I thought it wasn't terrible. I was very, very wrong. I am no Gwyneth Paltrow.

This realization firm in my mind, I then reached out to various message boards I was a member of for a suitable reader. A volunteer stepped up. His name is David Nagel. His website describes him as a "spiffingly nice guy" and I certainly can't disput that. He went through about seven takes, patiently listening to my feedback and doing a great job in the process.

We are only ten days away from the launch of The Girl Who Died Backwards! It's almost impossible for me to comprehend that all the time working on the book is now going to see an actual result. As I said, it's impossible for me to gauge what sort of reaction the books will get. But to me it's going to be an accomplishment just getting them out in front of people.

So... late...

I am up insanely late... it's Sunday morning and my sleep schedule is pretty much shot now, I suppose. But it was totally worth it! I just finished the trailer for the book! So the site might launch in full as early as Monday if I can get the last couple of things wrapped up I need to. I just thought it was worth making a post to commemorate the occasion.

Book 1 is Locked... and a bit of Art.

Book 1 is "locked." This is my fancy way of telling myself to quite reading it over and over and move on to other things! So yes, it's all ready to go. So why not release it tomorrow? Well, I have one more thing to attend to before then. That thing would be the book trailer. My voice artist sent a first go and it was very good. I gave some notes and am awaiting the next round of takes. I'm very excited to see how it turns out! Once that is completed to my satisfaction I can add the music and do some mixing. I still have to put the visuals together for the trailer. I've got solid ideas on what I want that to be, it's just a matter of waiting to see how the timing on the sound works out before putting it together.

And with that... all will be set! Amazing.

The plan is to launch the website officially along with the trailer very early in February. Then the reveal of the first book's title and synopsis will follow about a week later, followed by the book itself a week or so after that! And then it's all officially on.

In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to share a "mood" drawing I did shortly before writing the book. One day I'll go into detail about the genesis of Grace & Witherbloom. But the basic idea has been percolating in one form or another since the end of 2007! Before I started to write the actual book in October of 2008, however, I wanted to get a quick visual down to get into the mood I was trying to evoke with my words. In fact, you could interpret this scene as taking place mere moments before we first meet Josiah Witherbloom and his niece Helen Grace...

Ramping Up

Well, this is a strange feeling. The time draws nearer, and I feel a bit like someone throwing a party. I'm filling up the balloons, taping up the streamers, getting the centerpieces ready and checking on the hors d' oeuvres. All in the hopes that someone will arrive! It's an interesting moment. I've been with the characters and these stories for a very long time now. So it's strange that the time is swiftly approaching that will see them released to the world. I'm not so much worried that everyone will like it. I know enough that not everyone will. I just hope enough people actually find it.

Self-publishing through Amazon feels like the right thing to do. I decided to do it about a year ago. But let's face it, it's hard to get any momentum behind a book even if you're with a major publisher. I'd like to think part of it is the quality of the book, but part of it is just good promotion and a lot of luck. So, yes, part of my fear is that I'll throw the party and no one will come.

But you know what? If such a thing were to happen, it's still going to be one hell of a party. I've ensured that by writing a book that I really, really like. I would read this book. I would enjoy this book. And I'm not exactly easily pleased. That's always been my main impulse and my main benchmark for quality. I suppose, typing that now, this could be somewhat egotistical. But I know such an approach doesn't mean everyone will like it. But I hope most do. I feel like if you do something you enjoy then you're sure to connect with some people, right?