You'll create a web advertisement for your book. Here's a sample from Photoshow:
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Zk4Bq3DG
And here are directions and an example from Powtoon:
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/g9VrllelfC3/book-trailers-in-powtoon/#/
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Wizards Named Harry
There's just something about a hero who faces insurmountable odds that draws me into a story. Apparently, if you give him a magic wand or a staff, I'll read the entire series and be bereft when it ends. I fear that nothing will ever top J.K. Rowling's work, but Jim Butcher's Harry has instituted himself in my heart.
Harry Dresden has definite echoes of Harry Potter. He was orphaned, and he has a very small circle of friends. Okay-other than being a wizard-they don't have a great deal in common beyond those two details. And Butcher has written fifteen Harry Dresden books, with more to come.
But none of that explains why I so enjoy this character. If I'm going to "list" reasons, I'll have to start with his sense of humor. He generally quips when he's in dangerous situations, but even in casual conversation, you can expect a line like this: "Gandalf never had this kind of problem." In addition, Harry's friends always have his back, even when things are most desperate and he feels completely alone and isolated. None of us can ask for much more in life-that those who care about us always have our backs, or at least offer words of encouragement when most needed. Couple that with the thirty pound cat named Mister, and the mystical, giant foo dog Mouse, and I'm reading cover-to-cover as rapidly as possible.
I also love that Harry changes over the course of the series, and so do his friends. Butters is one of my favorite secondary characters. He is obviously terrified by the things he learns about the world, but he always throws himself into danger in order to help save his friends (and the world). No spoilers, but Butters becoming what he becomes in the last book is the most satisfying literary moment I've experienced in a long time.
At one point, I was disappointed with the seeming resolution of one storyline. It just didn't feel finished to me, and I kept expecting it to reappear. In Skin Game Butcher brought that storyline back in magnificent form. It explained an issue of seeming irrelevance that occurred over and over in the last several books, and I was astounded by this author's planning and execution of the plot line.
Butcher published Skin Game, book 15, in 2014, and he's started a different series. I'm pleased to read anything he writes, but I'll be thrilled when he brings Harry and his friends back for the next installment.
Harry Dresden has definite echoes of Harry Potter. He was orphaned, and he has a very small circle of friends. Okay-other than being a wizard-they don't have a great deal in common beyond those two details. And Butcher has written fifteen Harry Dresden books, with more to come.
But none of that explains why I so enjoy this character. If I'm going to "list" reasons, I'll have to start with his sense of humor. He generally quips when he's in dangerous situations, but even in casual conversation, you can expect a line like this: "Gandalf never had this kind of problem." In addition, Harry's friends always have his back, even when things are most desperate and he feels completely alone and isolated. None of us can ask for much more in life-that those who care about us always have our backs, or at least offer words of encouragement when most needed. Couple that with the thirty pound cat named Mister, and the mystical, giant foo dog Mouse, and I'm reading cover-to-cover as rapidly as possible.
I also love that Harry changes over the course of the series, and so do his friends. Butters is one of my favorite secondary characters. He is obviously terrified by the things he learns about the world, but he always throws himself into danger in order to help save his friends (and the world). No spoilers, but Butters becoming what he becomes in the last book is the most satisfying literary moment I've experienced in a long time.
At one point, I was disappointed with the seeming resolution of one storyline. It just didn't feel finished to me, and I kept expecting it to reappear. In Skin Game Butcher brought that storyline back in magnificent form. It explained an issue of seeming irrelevance that occurred over and over in the last several books, and I was astounded by this author's planning and execution of the plot line.
Butcher published Skin Game, book 15, in 2014, and he's started a different series. I'm pleased to read anything he writes, but I'll be thrilled when he brings Harry and his friends back for the next installment.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Oh, My
As I continue through Armada, I'm seeing signposts on nearly every page. Zack is having huge realizations on a regular basis. This has to happen, because he's found out that there really are aliens, and they really are planning an invasion of Earth!
Zack, along with the other top scoring players of the Armada and Terra Firma video games, is recruited by the Earth Defense Alliance to pilot drones to defend Earth against the imminent invasion. As he and the other recruits sit in an orientation session, the invasion begins, and all hands dash to their battle stations. As Zack takes his place, a computer voice tells him he must must agree to become a member of the Earth Defense Alliance.
I expected Zack to agree immediately; he's been playing this "game" for years, but he hesitates. His response "That's a little manipulative" (145) contradicts what I expected to happen. I expected him to agree without hesitation. Up until this point he has felt overwhelmed by the situation, but it all made sense to him. I think that this moment is going to lead to some internal conflict and cause him to begin to question the motives of the people who recruited him.
As Zack fights, he employs some of the strategies he's used in playing the video games, and they are successful. At one point when the alien ships are behaving exactly as those in the video game, he asks himself how the video company could "simulate the enemy's maneuvers and tactics" (151) so accurately. As he faces this question, I find myself questioning the reality of what is happening.
Zack, along with the other top scoring players of the Armada and Terra Firma video games, is recruited by the Earth Defense Alliance to pilot drones to defend Earth against the imminent invasion. As he and the other recruits sit in an orientation session, the invasion begins, and all hands dash to their battle stations. As Zack takes his place, a computer voice tells him he must must agree to become a member of the Earth Defense Alliance.
I expected Zack to agree immediately; he's been playing this "game" for years, but he hesitates. His response "That's a little manipulative" (145) contradicts what I expected to happen. I expected him to agree without hesitation. Up until this point he has felt overwhelmed by the situation, but it all made sense to him. I think that this moment is going to lead to some internal conflict and cause him to begin to question the motives of the people who recruited him.
As Zack fights, he employs some of the strategies he's used in playing the video games, and they are successful. At one point when the alien ships are behaving exactly as those in the video game, he asks himself how the video company could "simulate the enemy's maneuvers and tactics" (151) so accurately. As he faces this question, I find myself questioning the reality of what is happening.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)