I sent an absolutely wonderful weekend at the beach. The hubby and I rented a cabin directly on the sandy shores of the Gulf (oh, that was nice!). We spent a few days just lazing around and introducing little Jack to the wonder of the water.

Didn’t see any dolphins…bummer.

But I did get a chance to take some pictures for my still-shot trailer. Hopefully, I can get production work going on that this week.

I sure hated to pack up the Element and come back home. Reality can be so hard to face. Sigh. But at least I’m all energized now and ready to get some writing done!

I’ll try to post some pics later–the view from the beach house was truly awesome.

So far, I’ve gotten really great feedback on my planned book trailer experiment. (And I’d like to give a special thanks to Sheila of Circle of Seven Productions for sending me some very helpful trailer advice!)

I’ve now decided that I’m not going to do just one trailer–I’m going to make two. One will be a “still-shot” teaser (showing photos, text, using music). The second will be a “live-action” trailer–complete with actors and real settings.

You see, I have a problem. I can’t decide which trailer type I like best. I’m currently leaning toward the still-shot version for a few reasons:

1. Cheaper (and easier!) to make. Yeah, this is especially important to me since I’m trying it on my own.
2. More is left to the reader’s/viewer’s imagination (ex. a character’s appearance or voice). Readers can still have the freedom to imagine the characters as they wish without having the he-doesn’t-look-a-thing-like-the-hero-I-pictured situation that often happens when books are made into movies (or in this case, trailers).
3. Faster download time.
4. The still-shot trailers that I’ve viewed so far have been emotionally stirring. Perhaps it’s the still images, perhaps its the dramatic text–either way, I’m left feeling drawn….drawn to the story, to the characters.

But, I like the live-action trailers because:

1. You just can’t beat real people. I feel like they inject fire and life into the trailer.
2. I may be able to show more scenes from the book and thus give readers a better idea of what’s going on.

Oh, decisions, decisions. So, like I said before, I think I’ll just make both. 🙂 Then, when they are up and ready, I’ll get folks to vote and tell me why they like one version over the other. (So next time, I can just chose one trailer type.)

Here are some REALLY good examples of still-shot trailers:

Sylvia Day–Ask For It
Allison Brennan–The Hunt

And here are some REALLY good examples of live-action trailers:

Susan Kearney–The Quest
Christine Feehan–She’s got a ton on her site–but you have to go to the Members’ Only Section.

There are two upcoming paranormal romance releases that I cannot wait to get my hands on:

1. Ghost Hunter by Jayne Castle (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz). Basic plot: A powerful ghost-hunter fights to claim his runaway fiance.

I’m a HUGE Jayne Castle fan. She’s written a few stories about the intriguing world of Harmony (Bridal Jitters, After Dark, & After Glow ), and I am really, really looking forward to this installment.
Release Date: May 30, 2006

2. Dangerous Tides by Christine Feehan. Dangerous Tides is the latest release in the Drake Sisters’ saga (seven sisters with magical powers). This time, Dr. Libby Drake–the sister with the amazing gift of healing–gets her chance to find love. Release date: June 27, 2006

I just found out that Secrets, Volume 16 (featuring my novella, Never Enough) got 4.5 stars from the Romantic Times! I am thrilled! And so very, very happy to be included in a volume with the talented Chevon Gael, Sheri Gilmore & Charlotte Featherstone.

Even if it sometimes feels that way.

I have a few friends that I think would be exceptional romance writers. They’ve got great ideas, great grammar skills (cause, yeah, that’s important, too!), and they share a true love of the romance genre. One friend recently told me that she didn’t want to submit her work, because she was afraid a publisher would reject her.

Ah, rejection–that ugly publishing witch that folks don’t like to talk about.

The unfortunate fact is that most writers will be rejected at some point in their careers. Doesn’t mean the writing itself isn’t good; heck, sometimes it just means a story didn’t fit with a house’s schedule/line. But, well, rejection…it’s definitely something that hurts a writer–no getting around that.

Yes, I’ve been rejected before, and, yes, I’m sure I’ll be rejected again. But I’m also sure that no matter how many rejections I get, I’ll keep on writing. And, I’ll be in pretty good company:

Louis L’Amour–super famous western writer of more than 100 novels–received 350 rejections before he made his very first sale to a publisher.

Gone With the Wind–that epic classic–was rejected by more than 25 publishers.

Before selling his first story, Jack London got–are you ready for this?–600 rejection slips.

Chicken Soup for the Soul was turned down by 33 publishers in New York. (By the way, here’s a little known me fact: My first publishing credit was for a Chicken Soup story.)

The moral of this post? Rejection can happen to anyone. Doesn’t mean your story is bad. Doesn’t mean you should never write again. Actually, it just means that your story hasn’t found its perfect home, not yet. It means that you merely need to keep trying.

(And I got all these lovely rejection facts from one of my favorite, truly inspirational writing books, Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life.)