Wow. It's amazing what you can do with a few stock photos, some music, and iMovie. Ever heard of a book trailer? Yeah, me neither. At least, not until I started hobnobbing with fellow authors. Turns out, it's just as normal to release a book trailer as it is a movie trailer, and probably much easier to make. After a few hours of attempting to put it together in Power Point, I learned the hard way how difficult it is to convert to video. Turns out, iMovie is a heck of a lot easier to use. A few iMovie Youtube tutorials, a dozen stock photos, and a royalty free soundtrack later, and I'd created my own book trailer! It was a ton of fun, once I got through the learning curve. I look forward to putting together one for Book Two next spring, and hope to have some live action filmed by then. Anyway, without further ado, here it is. The trailer for Book One: When Darkness Builds, which will be available on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Google Play, and Kobo May 19th.
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We are the choices we make. Soon we all must chose between who we want to be, and who we know we were born to be. Ridiculously excited doesn't even begin to describe it. It's taken 19 years of research and 5 years of writing to finish this novel. To say that it is my life's work would be an understatement. For me, this book is about so much more than just selling copy. It's about telling a story. The people in this book are family. They are my longest-running friendships, my most devoted companions. They've stood by me through the darkest and best times of my life. Over time, I fell in love with people who don't exist, and the least I can do is make them come alive, if even only on the page. Earlier this week, I received the final versions of both the eBook and wrap covers for Book One: When Darkness Builds. There is something so amazing about seeing your work come to life in graphic. My graphic artist, Alexander von Ness of Nessgraphica, did such a wonderful job of bringing to life the feel of the book, and was amazing to work with. He was willing to make every tiny change I requested in order to get the cover just right. I can't wait to see it in print! Both the eBook and print version will be available May 19th. Edits are wrapping up and the cover is in the works. Book I is coming soon! "When Emma Grant was fourteen years old, she began to have the dreams. In a world still trapped in the aftermath of a devastating world war, Emergency Manager and Crisis Psychologist Dr. Emma Grant has been asked to speak at the first Constitutional Convention since the United States was founded. With the states coming together in a last-ditch effort to end a crippling energy crisis and the Constitution hanging by a thread, Emma must fight to keep the American government from falling apart. But when the convention takes a deadly turn, will Emma lose what may be her last chance to finally do something about the disturbing images plaguing her dreams? Or will she discover this is only the beginning? When Darkness Builds is the first installment in The Caldera Series. It's the story of Jon and Emma Grant, and the power they've been given together. To save the children of men." Until then, enjoy a sneak peak of just what's in store: From Book I: When Darkness BuildsJon dropped Emma hard onto a bench before joining Sam and Jared at the corner of the escalator. She winced and grabbed her shoulder as a white hot pain shoot through it and down her arm. That’s when she noticed the blood all over her jacket.
Emma had been shot. “Jon!” she tried to call out but couldn’t seem to make it above a whisper. Her vision began to blur as she stared at the blood on her hand, turned a dark red in the paleness of the moonlight. Emma had suffered more concussions than she could count and had, across the course of her career, broken at least one of every bone in her body, but she had never been shot before. Somehow, despite the intensity of the situation, Jon heard her call for him. He rushed back to her and passed his gun to Rachael, who was kneeling down on the floor beside Ephraim, trying to help him dress his wound. Though Ephraim’s leg looked considerably worse than what Emma imagined her shoulder did, he was a thousand times calmer than she was at the moment. Jon glanced back and forth between Emma and Ephraim. “Just try to buy us some time, ok?” he told Rachael. Rachael nodded and grabbed Ephraim’s gun and an extra clip as well before she left to join Sam and Jared back by the side of the escalators. “Jon,” Emma whimpered as he knelt down in front of her, the warmth of her tears even more noticeable against her cool cheeks. Jon put a hand on her face. “Emma, honey, listen to me. You’ve been hit. I’m going to have to take a look, ok? But I need you to stay calm. I need you to stay with me. Can you do that?” Emma nodded slightly. She knew how important it was that she didn’t pass out, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t stop shaking. Why was it so unbelievably cold in here?! Jon gently slipped her blazer jacket off her shoulders and slid the strap of her camisole down her arm. Either he was being extra careful not to hurt her or Emma was already in so much pain she couldn’t tell the difference. He wrinkled his forehead as he examined the damage. “Well, the good news is it looks like there is an exit wound,” Jon said before moving to the bench beside her to take a look at her back. Emma watched his expression in the moonlight that poured from the window behind him. For a moment she thought she noticed his face flush slightly pale. “The bad news is...” he added quietly. “You’re losing a lot of blood.” Ephraim pulled himself up onto the bench beside Jon and handed him a piece of gauze. Emma shuddered in pain, lingering for a moment on the edge of consciousness as Jon pressed the cloth hard against her shoulder. “Grant!” Sam called back to him, his voice ringing inside her head as hollow and echoed as the stairwell. “We’re going to run out of ammo eventually! We can’t hold them off forever!” Jon held the bandage to Emma’s shoulder and stared at her. He knew as well as she did that it was nothing short of a miracle that they had even made it this far. If they were caught, they were dead. Period. “Go,” said Ephraim from the other side of Jon. Jon turned to him and wrinkled his forehead. “What?” “You heard me, I said go. I’ll cover you. Just take them and get out of here.” “And then what, E? You going to shimmy back up the elevator shaft? Or climb out the window and scale down the side of the building?” “No. I’m going to do what I came here to do. Stop a bomb from going off.” “Oh yeah,” said Jon, lowering his voice. “And how exactly are you going to do that with a busted leg?” Ephraim pursed his lips together for a moment and stared down at the bandage wrapped around his thigh. The one that seemed to be more red now than it was white. “He can’t,” answered Emma quietly. “And you know he can’t. Not without help.” Jon turned back to her and clenched his jaw. “I said no, Emma.” “Damn it, Jon! Since when did you turn your back on the world?” “When they turned their backs on us!” he snapped at her. “Fifteen months, Emma. Fifteen long months they left me over there while you lay in a hospital bed dying. Haven’t we already done enough? Haven’t we already lost enough? Let someone else be the hero for once, because I’m done.” Emma shrank back and tried to pull away from him, not altogether unaware of how dizzy the sudden movement made her. She was already in enough pain, though, and wasn’t really in the mood to bear the brunt of his anger. Jon adjusted the pressure he was putting on her shoulder and softened his voice. “Look, I’m sorry, ok? Just calm down. You’re in shock and you’re not thinking clearly. We have got to get you out of here and to a hospital. You and Ephraim. And what about Jack, Emma? He sacrificed himself to save us, you know.” “So that we could lose ourselves in the process!? Hundreds of people will die when that bomb goes off. Probably more. What do you think he would say if he knew we could have stopped it? What do you think he would say if he knew that he saved us just so we could turn around and be selfish enough to only save ourselves?” Emma glanced over Jon’s shoulder at Ephraim for a moment before lowering her voice. It was becoming harder and harder to focus. “Why do you think he even did it in the first place? Because he believes in us. Because he believes in you. Do you really want to be the one to prove him wrong?” Jon’s face fell. He dropped his eyes to his lap and lowered his voice. “Emmy, I didn’t ask for any of this. I don’t want any of this. All I want to do is go home, with my wife, to my kids. Why is that so bad?” “Because, Jon, that’s not who we are and you know it.” Jon took a long, deep breath and shook his head, staring down at the ring on his right hand. “We are the choices we make,” he whispered to himself. “That’s right,” said Emma quietly. “And we made a choice, remember? Maybe it’s time we stopped hiding from who we really are.” In case you were wondering, I'm kind of new to this whole "novelling" thing. Christmas has come and gone, and with it went the original book launch date.
Que sera sera, right? I've hit a few snags, ranging from edits to covers to permission requests. But I haven't given up! (At least, not entirely. Though I really, really wanted to a couple of times.) The good news is, I hung in there and it was all worth it! Everything has finally come together to get this baby polished and out, and I'm excited to announce we are on track to have it ready and available by Spring of this year! As much as it pained me to have to push the launch date back, I look forward to all the changes that are being made to make the story--and the subsequent series--even better! So hang in there right along with me, and get ready for some previews and promotions coming over the next few months! "Hello, my name is Misty, and sometimes I can be a jerk. So please forgive me" Can we just start over, please?
pretend I didn’t say all those things I’d like to stop feeling like a jerk pinned to the ceiling I didn’t mean to sting I swear, and yet it just keeps happening again and again what must be wrong with me? to keep hurting to keep flirting with regret over and over I just want to forget Forget So can we just start over, please? pretend I didn’t mean all those things pretend I didn’t scream or think pretend I didn’t hurt or sink into this hole I keep digging deeper and deeper for myself? let go of the guilt that eats from the inside that burns and stings and lives and breathes So why don’t we just start over? Please. pretend I never felt these things just take a step back and relax forget the “what could have beens” and focus on the nows So, here goes: Hello, my name is Misty and I can be a jerk sometimes so please forgive me But if you really care about me as much as I do about you We can just start over and forget the past Focus on what’s right in front on what we have and this time, try to make it last Do you know how it feels
to burn alive inside To not know which way to go because both paths appeal to one side or the other The side of you that wants to do the right thing No matter what that trusts and sees and still believes And the side that just wants to be true that wants to be free to choose no matter what that’s tired of the pain and rage, and strain of being in a cage Stuck in the middle flaming, seering seeing double because it never ends the choices the paths the cliffs the traps Either way you hurt yourself either way you hurt someone else So which do you choose? The one that’s selfless that makes you less of yourself To make them smile while you slowly fade Or do you go the other way And one day pay for your mistakes? For the sake of a glimmer of happiness a tiny ray of sunshine today? Despite how it may seem
I do care what you say I notice each time That you look away When you answer my questions With a glance at the floor Mumble a few words Then say nothing more Despite how it may seem I do care what you think When it seems that I’ve hurt you My heart starts to sink When I watch your smile fade And realize I’ve messed up again How can you forgive me With how hard this has been? Despite how it may seem I do care how you feel In a way that I wish I could show you that's real When you almost can’t stand To sit by anymore When you chuckle politely Yet stare at the door Despite how it may seem I do immensely, insanely, irrevocably care And I hope that you know that Though I know it’s not fair When you glance my direction It feels like we’re so far away From where we both want to be But there's too much we can't say breathe
slow in and out you close your eyes the tears run down breathe slow you feel them burn your cheeks are numb you wait your turn breathe deep you hear it now the lungs fill up you don’t know how breathe deep it screams inside you can’t give in you try to hide breathe in you clench your fist your face turns red you start your list breathe in you wish they’d leave so they won’t see what’s up your sleeve breathe run you can’t stay here for if they come they’ll smell your fear breathe run and don’t look back for if you stay you know you’ll crack I wish I could tell you
I wish you could see That there is much more to this than just me A longing, a sadness, A weakness, a life A secret within me A past filled with strife I wish I could tell you I wish you could know Though I fear these are feelings I can’t ever show Perhaps if we’d met then Had been here before Perhaps if you’d known me You’d see so much more A war that’s within me A burning, I feel To me in this moment Is so very real That sparkle, that shimmer That gleam in your eye The heartbreak I suffer Each time I stand by When I very much want To say so much more But I’m afraid that I’ve been Down this road before A pain and a torment That’s too much to bear To earn my redemption I can’t return there Yet in this one moment As you smile at me It’s so hard to let go of The things you can’t see Two sides beneath Opposite, and yet Both are required To make the set The light and dark The love and hate The ying and yang The less and great I cannot see But do not fear I no longer wish To be here To understand And not to know To have reached the full And yet still go The pain, the loss The war within A battle which I cannot win For if I am to battle you You'll lose, I know And I will too He and she And you and me We all must fight Relentlessly Against the tide
And against the storm Against those things Of which we're born And there is nowhere Left to hide To run, to flee To bid to ride So we must ever face the rage Our mortal shells An endless cage And though I fight I know, I'll never win For the battle front Comes from within |
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