Birthdays and Book Trailers

One of the things I’ve been looking forward to most with my new book coming out was the chance to see the book trailer Adaptive (my publisher) would put out for it. They do one for each of their novels, and they’re always pretty awesome. As the author, I haven’t really had any say when it’s come to deciding what the cover will look like, and I certainly didn’t have any say in the book trailer. How would someone else present my book in 90 seconds or less? What choices would they make as far as what scenes to put in, or what style to use?

Well, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll know that the trailer was released yesterday, exclusive to Barnes & Noble. You can see it in all its glory here.

I love it. It’s got just the right mixture of creepy and interesting. It uses quotes directly from the book (though I’m pretty sure Louis isn’t the one who makes that promise . . .). The carnival scenes are spot on. The memory selections are awesome. And then there are little details that if you know the book you know what they mean, but they’re subtle and not in your face: the cabinet in the mist behind the title, with just a hint of what might be glowing bottles. Twins in the stroller. Baseball. Space race. The movie projector.

This trailer was made by people who really get the book, and that makes me very happy indeed.

Will the trailer make any sort of a big splash for the book? I have no idea. It’s not like book trailers are the latest rage. (What’s the last book trailer you watched?) But it certainly can’t hurt it. I’d like to think anyone who watches that trailer will remember the book and be interested in finding out what happens in it. We’ll see, I suppose. But for me, just being able to see the trailer and how cool it turned out was a great feeling, and a lovely birthday present.

Oh right. It’s my birthday. I suppose I should talk about that for a moment as well.

I actually feel pretty great about my birthday today. I feel like I’m in a good spot at work, at home, and in my life. I’ve managed to lose most of the weight I wanted to, and I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve been in in probably 20 years. Home construction has been rocky, but we’re coming out on the other side of it now, and we can hopefully just put that bad contractor in our rear view mirror and never think about him again. The kids are doing well in school, Denisa’s have a great time teaching and baking, I have a new book out.

Life is good.

Of course, as I write that I realize that a lot of life comes down to perception. I do believe there’s a lot of truth to that glass half empty/glass half full thing. I mean, just last night I was sitting there on the floor of the new construction, sanding the walls in preparation to put a coat of poly on them, thinking over all the things I have to get done and trying not to hyperventilate. (Because dust.) How can I turn around today and say that things are going swimmingly?

Life is always a mix of good and bad. You can pick out the pieces that support the narrative you want to tell. You can have everything going your way or nothing. I personally find it more useful and motivating to look at the good. It helps pick me up for when I have to deal with the bad,

Anyway. Thank you all for the great birthday wishes. No need to get me a present. Just buy my book and review it online! 🙂