Friday, September 21, 2012

Guest Post: Only Scandal Will Do by Jenna Jaxon


Today's guest is Jenna Jaxon, author of Only Scandal Will Do. Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance who has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own writing.
Jenna lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.
She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate, because once she starts she just can’t stop.

                                                    Website / Facebook

Take it away, Jenna!

                                               Do You Believe In Magic?
There is magic in the book world. At least, I consider it magic.
My recently released romance novel, Only Scandal Will Do, has gone through the extremely tough process of writing, editing, cover designing, publishing and promoting - necessary steps to a fantastic product that will reach the targeted audience. Hard work? Extremely. Fun? Not always, though very rewarding. And as part of that reward, I’ve been blessed with a bit of the magic that I’ve dreamed about since I began seeking publication.
Only Scandal Will Do has its own book trailer.
Some people may not think that’s a big deal, but being in theatre as well as a romance writer, I understand how valuable it is for audiences to be able to see the vision you have of your book. The book trailer is that very opportunity. Yes, in our writing we are admonished to “show, not tell,” which we do with varying levels of success. But nothing can take the place of the visual experience of a story unfolding before you with colorful images and stirring musical accompaniment. We live in a world that bombards us with television, movies, video games, and music videos. And while the written word is still one of our favorite forms of entertainment, we still thrill to see books we love come to life on the big screen.
And while that is not going to happen on a big scale for most of us authors, we can experience that magic on a small scale--with a book trailer.
I had the great good fortune to win the lottery--not for mega millions, but for a book trailer. The fantastically talented Danielle Fine Tweeted one day that the next two people to Tweet her back would receive a free book trailer. Guess who was one of those lucky people?
Thus began an arduous, but so wonderfully rewarding, experience of creating a bit of movie magic--starring my very own hero and heroine from Only Scandal Will Do. I’d seen some of Danielle’s previous trailers and so I knew mine would be something truly special and magical. We talked, via email, and I gave her some ideas about what I was looking for, filled out her questionnaire, and got to work squeezing my 93K novel down into 56 words and 13 images—one was repeated as a theme several times and one (the final image) was the novel’s cover.
The magic is that those few words and images captured the novel’s plot, mood, and intensity perfectly. The soundtrack, music by Kevin McLeod titled “Five Armies” is also absolutely ideal for the trailer. To sing Danielle’s praises once more, the only suggestion I had for her was that the music should have the same sound as the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean. That was apparently enough feedback for her to find the perfect score. And her timing of images to music is flawless. I may be biased, but to me it’s mesmerizing.
As a promotional tool (which is its ultimate purpose), the trailer has been effective. It hasn’t had as many views on YouTube as I’d like (I think a million views would be nice LOL), but I’ve heard from people who have watched the trailer and said, “That made me want to buy the book.”
And that is probably the best magic of all.
Here’s the link to my trailer for Only Scandal Will Do. Take a look and experience the magic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdak1uQCpcA

Thank you so much for coming, Jenna! The trailer is great!

18 comments:

Jenna said...

Thank you, Rachel, for having me here today! I'm glad you liked the trailer and I hope others do as well. :)

Unknown said...

I always thought of books as making a wonderful magic. You get to live a whole life in one afternoon (if the book is really good) and still be yourself when you're done.
Congratulations on your new release.

Patricia Green said...

You do have a magical trailer, Jenna. I can really relate to your emotions about these little "commercials." And, rest assured, they do sell books. Your article was wonderful. Now take a break! :)

Jenna said...

You are right, Robin. Books in and of themselves are magical. How else can you be transported to different times and places? And I so love being prat of that magic! Thanks for coming by!

Mart Ramirez said...

Such an awesome book trailer!!

Jenna said...

Thank you, Patricia! I only wish I could take your wonderful advice. LOL But I've actually got six projects going on right now! So no rest for the writer, but at least I'm making some more magic. :) Thanks so much for stopping by today.

Brenda said...

The first time I saw your trailer I smiled--simply put, it is pure perfection. Plus it is your book come to life.

Congratulations on everything, Jenna.

Jenna said...

Thanks for coming by, Mart! I'm so glad you like the trailer. :)

Jenna said...

Thank you so much, Brenda! I think that same thing whenever I watch it (I'm down to once a day now. LOL). It packs a lot of the book into a minute and 26 seconds! So glad you stopped by. :)

Daryl Devoré said...

Your trailer is definitely magic.

D'Ann said...

I think sun on the fall aspen leaves is magic! Or maybe that's just me being meloncholy today. Either way, it exists! Great job, my friend!

Anonymous said...

Its a beautiful trailer. I love the music and the images. I didn't know you had won it though. How exciting!!!

Jenna said...

Thank you so much, Daryl! :)

Oh, D'Ann, I envy you having turning leaves now. If I'm lucky they'll turn here by Halloween! And yes, that transformation is magical also. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thank you, Sharon. Yes, I was absolutely thrilled to win it and couldn't be more pleased with Dani's work. Working with her was fantastic also! Thanks for coming by!

Unknown said...

So glad the magic worked for you, Jenna. Hope whatever comes next is just as magical.

Jenna said...

Thank you, Karen! And for you as well! :)

Sheri Fredricks said...

The reason I read fiction is to find the magic within the words. Wonderful post, Jenna. Love watching your video, too.

Jenna said...

Thank you, Sheri! You are right. The words are where the magic begins!

Unknown said...

I love your trailer. I need to find that kind of lottery...LOL I wish I could afford to have one made for Gambling On A Secret.

Congrats again, Jenna. Scandal is a WONDERFUL book.

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