How I Made a Video

I hope you've seen my video for Outsider by now. Please share it with your friends: you can either send them a link, or you can go to Youtube, find the video and click on "Share." Then you can choose Facebook, Google+ or wherever you wish to share it.

Here's the link again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VihpR0pKQXE

I'd been wanting to make a video for quite some time, but I wasn't sure how to do it until I learned about Windows Movie Maker. I threw together a little test video to see how the software works, but I knew I couldn't get away with making a video using others' photos or drawings, so that was my first hurdle.

To solve it, I bought some Crayola markers and cut some sheets of paper into fourths. Each quarter was one of the images. I drew up a little storyboard so I would know what images I needed. Then I drew images on the paper and scanned them into my computer. Since they looked a little raw, I fixed them up using Paint. (This was the most time-consuming process of the whole video.)

Once I had my bundle of images, I imported them into Windows Movie Maker. I arranged them on the timeline at the bottom, and then I began adding effects and transitions. This took a while because there are an amazing number of these available! At first I only used fades, but then I began experimenting with dissolves, peels and other effects. It was kind of fun. (The most important thing I learned was to Save Project, so I could save my changes but I didn't have to finalize the video.)

Then I hit another snag: what music to use? I knew I couldn't use someone else's music any more than I could use someone else's images, so I was stuck. (I had some music lined up but couldn't use it because of copyright.) Fortunately, Youtube has free music available in their Audio Library, so I spent quite a bit of time going through that until I found something I liked. Actually, I found two songs and it took me several play-throughs before I could pick one that fit better with the video images. (I chose "Warrior Strife" by Jingle Punks. Great band name!)

Of course, the song I wanted was too short, so I had to paste it in there twice, cut off the excess and add a fade at the end so it didn't just end abruptly.

Then, after some hesitation, I pressed the "Publish" key and there was my video! I still had to upload it to Youtube, of course, but that wasn't so bad after the whole process of creating it.

In a way, this process was a lot like publishing Outsider itself. I created the story, spent a lot of time to format it the way I wanted, and then had to have the courage to press "Publish." I'm glad I did, in both cases.

I might make a video for Another Shot, but I think it will be a while before I have that much spare time, so don't hold your breath.

Thanks again for your support!

New Video

This week I mailed off two copies of In the Shadows to the Library of Congress for mandatory deposit. I didn't think they would get there right away because of all the nasty weather on the East Coast, but when I checked this morning, they'd arrived! That means they're in the Library of Congress! That still makes me grin like an idiot, even for the third time.

Here's another thing that makes me kind of happy: I made an actual video! It's on Youtube and everything. (You don't even want to know how long it took me to put this together.) Here it is:



I hope this will help get the word about Outsider to more people. Please be sure to share it with everyone you know! Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VihpR0pKQXE

What do you think? Is it passable for my first video? Should I try to make more? (Feel free to leave a comment below!)

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you'll be able to spend the day with someone you love.
"I love you" never goes out of style.

In the Shadows is now available for Kindle on amazon.com. Be sure to note that if you buy the paperback, you can get the Kindle version for only 99 cents!

I have the bookmarks, too. There was a bit of a misunderstanding, which meant that the printers called to let me know my order was ready ... before I could look at a proof! Fortunately, when I went to look at them, I decided they weren't bad. The green was a little darker than I'd expected, but I think it works with the green that's in the cover image, so I'm happy with them.

I just registered for copyright protection today. You can find more about how I did this here.

Here's the poster I created to put up at work:

I've had some good responses so far. I want to thank my loyal readers, who get excited every time I release a new novel. You make a huge difference and I really appreciate you!

Let's keep spreading the word, okay?

In the Shadows Now Available

That's right, it's finally ready!

I only missed the deadline I'd set for myself by ONE day, so that's not too bad!
(I published it on February 1.)

Here's the link to Amazon: In the Shadows  I'll try to add it to the right side of this blog like the first two novels.

I'm a three-novel author! Wow, it's hard to believe. This one was the most challenging so far, but "what doesn't kill you ..."

I want to thank the artist, Kristi Kranker, for the cover image, and I also want to thank CreateSpace for making this dream a reality.

I hope to have the Kindle version ready by tomorrow, so look for it on amazon.com in the next few days.

And please tell all of your friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, neighbors, etc., about the Penumbra series. Word of mouth is the best advertising, right?

Thanks again for your support!