Chatting on Saturday

It's Friday! And that means I will be chatting off and on all day tomorrow, Saturday, March 1st, at Beth Wylde's e-mail group during the Black Velvet Seductions Publisher spotlight day. You do have to join the group to chat, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/ , but it'll be a fun day of Q & A, excerpts, and prizes. Be sure to check in and you just might win a free book!

I hope to see you there!
Sherry

Off to See Stephanie Bond!

Hey, bloggers!

I'm sorry I've been absent for a few days, but my father has been ill and in the hospital. I am just now catching up on a few things and getting back to some normal "writer stuff"! I'm excited that this weekend I'm going to get the chance to attend a two day writer's retreat featuring author Stephanie Bond! I have heard Stephanie speak many times on tape from the RWA conferences, but I've never had the chance to hear her in person. She does some great talks on not only the craft of writing, but the business side as well. This Saturday she'll be talking about the difference between a good book and a great book, self-editing, and minding your writing business. Look out Stephanie! I have a few questions for you.

I'm also looking forward to a girl's night out with two of my writing pals, Margaret and Noelle. I'm sure we'll do a lot of brainstorming and share a ton of laughs. Ah, this means no cooking, and no wrangling the kids! Woo-hoo! But I'm sure very little sleep. ;-)

So, are you a Stephanie Bond fan? If so, tell me which books of hers are your favorites. I personally can't wait to get signed copies of her two Voodoo books---In Deep Voodoo, and Finding Your Mojo. Right now I'm in the process of reading Got Your Number!

And just a quick heads-up. I have a new contest coming to my website, http://www.sherryjames.com, in November. Be sure to check in to see how you can win a signed copy of Studs for Hire: Woman in Charge and other goodies!

Sherry

The Fun of Book Trailers

Okay, I'm finally getting back to actually posting on my blog. I've spent the last week tweaking, searching for just the right look that reflects me. I think I've found it. Anyway, today I'm excited to talk about book trailers. They are the newest, hottest trend in promoting books. They are basically like a movie trailer and are designed to give you a brief, but exciting synopsis of the book that it will, hopefully, intrigue you so much you can't live unless you read that story!

Being the creative soul that I am, I couldn't resist the temptation to do my own book trailers. I've done one so far for my first Ellora's Cave release, Cowboy Fling. After a lot of trial and error, I (for the most part) figured out the software and managed to create a trailer that reflects the book really well. It's short, snappy and fun. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to convert the trailer to the proper file formats for the various sights like Google video, Yahoo video, and You Tube, which I still haven't mastered. I think my choice of software has something to do with my troubles with You Tube. But I'll keep hunting and pecking in my software and hopefully will find a way.

Now that I have a cover for my new Studs for Hire book, Woman in Charge, I'm going to be creating a trailer for the Stud series. Keep your eyes open! My challenge so far with that trailer is finding just the right music. I did find one, but sorry, I have a hard time paying sixty bucks for 30 seconds worth of music. Guess I didn't like the tune THAT much! So, it's back to searching.

So, tell me what you like about book trailers? Live action? Still photos? Dramatic or upbeat music? Do you have a favorite book trailer? If so, tell me about it. Inquiring minds want to know! And enjoy Cowboy Fling!

Sherry