Interview with ENTWINED Author Heather Dixon

By Dan Haring



Me again. Ilsa is under some crazy deadlines, so she asked me to take her turn this week. A few months back I did an interview with author Heather Dixon, and I thought I'd share it here, as she offers some great advice and information.

 I've been lucky enough to know Heather for almost 10 years now. She was a year ahead of me in the BYU animation program, and it was a blast getting to know her and working with her. If you follow her Story Monster blog, which I suggest you do, you'll find she has a wonderfully dark sense of humor. It's even better because it's hidden beneath such a sweet exterior. Her debut novel ENTWINED is a fantastic read. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did! (It's pretty long, so make sure you click through)

I had to research the 12 Dancing Princesses because I'd never heard of the fairytale before. First off, I have to say that it's pretty rad that you're on the wikipedia entry for it. High five for that. What drew you to this fairytale originally, and how did the idea for the retelling come about?

Ooo, I scored on Wikipedia? Awesome ^_^ I'll have to check that out. I started the story back at the beginning of 2006, when I was taking a bunch of dance classes and majoring in animation. The story, with its silver forests and ballgowns and waltzes, is intensely visual and when it struck me, I couldn't get it out of my head. I had to write it down. (It helped, of course, that I grew up in a large family--with 10 brothers and sisters, I felt a special connection with a story about 12 sisters ^_^)

You're also a storyboard artist. How does boarding inform your writing? Do you ever board out scenes before you write them?

I often don't board out scenes I'm writing (it's often more time-consuming than the words), but I do like to draw beat boards to the chapters--quick sketches that mark the mood, staging, and tension of the piece. Strangely enough that's been helping me with pacing, because once I sort out which beat boards to draw, those are the marker points in the story that need the most focus.  

That's a really cool method. In my own writing, I sometimes sketch out maps or layouts of buildings to help me keep track of where things are taking place. Do you do anything like that?

You bet! It's especially helpful with staging, & world-building too I think. Right now I'm working on a story with a steampunk ship, which involves looking up a lot of airship & seaship diagrams, then mapping out what this certain ship would look like. It makes the story & scenes quite a bit more distinct I think.

Do Book Trailers Work?

by Michelle Gagnon

Last week, Harper Teen unveiled the book trailer for my upcoming release, DON'T TURN AROUND. Pretty cool, because they managed to snag a spot on the Entertainment Weekly website, so for a (very) brief few minutes there I almost felt famous.
And I have to say, all bias aside, I think it's a killer trailer.

But that being said, does a book trailer drive sales the same way that a film trailer does? A lot of authors spend considerable time and money having trailers produced. I did myself, a few years back, when my second adult thriller BONEYARD was released. I was pretty pleased with the result, and that remains my bestselling novel. But I have to confess, I think that has more to do with the amazing cover it had, as opposed to the trailer.

There are some trailers that, frankly, I've loved. My friend Daniel Handler has a fantastic one for his latest YA release WHY WE BROKE UP. It's laugh out loud funny; my daughter in particular loves to watch it over and over. But did it manage to drive sales? That's the frustrating thing about marketing: no one can say for sure.

So I'm curious: has a book trailer ever compelled you to purchase a book that you might not have picked up otherwise? And what are the best (and hey, why not: worst) book trailers you've ever seen?

❤ SPLINTERED has a face! ❤

by A.G. Howard

Most of you have probably seen Splintered's cover by now, but I wanted to slobber over ... worship .... kiss ... er ... present it on this lovely black background because I'm beyond thrilled with how it turned out!

The cover was designed by Maria Middleton, and given life by the mystical / melancholy artistry of the lovely Nathalia Suellen (aka Lady Symphonia).

My favorite thing of all? That these ladies somehow captured Splintered's eerie yet sometimes kooky mood while still retaining a fairy tale feel. Then they kicked it up a notch and highlighted some pivotal details: the tiny key around Alyssa's neck, and the bugs, flowers, and vines that taunt her throughout the story.

Now that you've seen the outside of my book, here's a peek at the inside. Crank up the volume and enjoy!

And to prove it's not all about me, I'd like to share three other beautiful covers that are eye-candy blips on my visual radar (IOW, so yummy I'm torn between licking them and hanging them on my wall):

*SWOON*

Thanks for indulging my cover ❤! What recent covers have caught your attention and/or your imagination?

Coolest Book Trailers Ever

by Michelle Gagnon

So I have a few releases coming out in the next year, and I've been debating whether or not it's worth doing a book trailer for them. I've done one in the past (and one was done without my even knowing about it, for a college project, which was kind of cool). But I wonder whether or not it's really worth it. Do people watch trailers? And if they do, does it convince them to buy the book?

Here are a few truly great trailers that made me reconsider making one:

My friend Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, did this hilarious one for his latest YA release, WHY WE BROKE UP...



I also love this one for a book I recently read, Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT, even though it's a bit more standard (and considerably less funny):



And finally, one from Cassandra Clare's CITY OF BONES (which has actually been greenlit to be a film, although that doesn't mean there are any guarantees...)



The truth is, rarely does an author get the chance to produce a Hollywood film-style trailer complete with all the bells and whistles. So do you err on the side of doing something a little different, a la Daniel Handler? Or do you try to hit your main plot points to give readers a sense of the storyline?

More importantly...what are the best book trailers you've ever seen?

The Making of a Book Trailer

A note from Jennifer Archer

I was so excited when Emily Greaser, the motion designer of the book trailer for my YA novel Through Her Eyes, agreed to guest post about her process.Although I have previously written several novels for adults, this was my first book trailer. I found the process of collaborating with Emily on the project to be fun and exciting, as well as a wonderful new creative challenge. It was so surreal seeing certain elements in the story come alive through graphics, motion and sound. Emily did an amazing job of capturing my vision and the tone of the novel. Working with her on the project was a wonderful experience, and I look forward to collaborating with her on the design of more trailers for my future books. Since Emily can explain better than I the creative progression she went through in order to arrive at the beautiful and eerie finished product, I asked her if she would share her process with us, and she graciously agreed! So without further ado . . .  here’s Emily!  

_____________________________________

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to your readers about my work! As a motion designer, book trailers provide me the perfect opportunity to utilize my design skills, and to jump right into visual storytelling by combining beautiful graphics, typography, photography, and live footage. When Jennifer and I first discussed the possibilities of creating a trailer for Through Her Eyes, the ideas I had were electric. The main character, Tansy, exists on the brink of two different worlds. I was intrigued by the challenge of visually communicating a mood of tension, along with an edgy and exciting aesthetic for readers.

I began the process by asking Jennifer to send me a rough script of the content  she wanted to communicate to the audience. From there, I jumped straight into the “visual concept phase” of the design process. A large part of this phase involves researching and sorting through stock photos and footage, as well as my own media libraries... and then mentally absorbing the material in order to establish a visual direction.From there, I brainstormed and storyboarded my ideas in order to pitch them to Jennifer. We exchanged thoughts and ideas about the storyboards, and discussed budget in order to know how much stock materials the project could afford. We eventually chose a direction based on some of the thematic elements, including text on a page, photography, crystal pendants, and the contrast between color and black & white. We also decided that the technical approach would be based on still photos combined with typography.

Next came one of my favorite and challenging parts of the design process... the sound design. Fortunately for this project, I was able to find the perfect audio track. This is one of my favorite parts of the process because the audio is so key in inspiring and driving a project. However, often times it's not so easy to find (or afford) the ideal audio solution, and in those cases, I choose to hire a sound designer to join the collaboration and to create the perfect audio track.

During the animating and editing phase, Jennifer and I were able to consistently communicate back and forth in order to reach a successful solution. I would create a draft, we would talk about revisions, and then I would reply with a next draft. This is another part of the process that I really enjoy, because it is true collaboration... two professionals feeding off of each other's creative energy. Also, in my experience, working with authors usually results in smooth teamwork due to the fact that our creative processes are very similar.

The experience of working with Jennifer was extremely positive and professional, and I look forward to more collaboration within the realm of book trailers. We are both very proud of the finished trailer for Through Her Eyes and think it captures beautifully the tone and subject matter of the book. I hope you enjoy it!   -Emily Greaser

WATCH THE TRAILER

 

After earning a BFA in graphic design at Montana State University, Emily Greaser completed her education at Vancouver Film School in British Columbia, Canada.  Since then, she has spent time traveling and gaining experience through a variety of freelance projects, spanning from Seattle, Washington all the way to Sydney, Australia. Significant projects include:  Book trailers for award-winning author Jennifer Archer and  NY Times Bestselling author Linda Castillo, a series of logo animations for K2 Skis, and a series of visual effects composite shots for a feature film produced in Australia.  Emily currently resides in New York City, and can be contacted through her website www.emly.net 

Visit Jennifer Archer's website