Behind the scenes

Several people commented on my book trailer for Blood Ransom because they recognized the young man who plays the part of Joseph in the video. Ivanildo was a part of our English camp last year and has been coming consistantly to the activities, ministry time, Bible studies, and English classes we've held since then. I thought it might be fun to give you a quick sneak peek behind the scenes of making the trailer.

From the beginning, when I started writing Blood Ransom, I had several goals in mind. First of all, I wanted a page-turning adventure that readers loved. (Isn't that what all writers want? :-)) And with the setting in Africa, I wanted to show both the beauty of the land and its people, as well as focus on an issue that was having devastating effects, not just in Africa, but around the world. For this story, and for Joseph's family, the issue is slavery.

When it came time to think about putting together a trailer to promote the book, I found the prospect exciting because I see my own stories play out in my mind like a movie. There was a lot of enthusiam from the young men who agreed to help help out, and even Scott was key in setting up some of the scenes as they played the role of captured slaves.


There was one point, though, that I remember so clearly as I snapped this photo of them standing in a row with their hands tied behind their backs. Chills ran through me, because I was reminded of how while this story was fictional and all the photos in the trailer were set up, this is happening in real life everyday.

What I enjoyed the most was hanging out with these guys and watching them have fun with the camera and photography. The hardest part was definitely getting rid of Ivanildo's smile. :-) In the end (after a half dozen takes) I thought he did fantastic! (If you missed the trailer, you can view it on my blog or here.)

What do YOU think?

Since we're talking about trailers and promotion I'd love your take! What do you think about book trailers, front covers, back covers, and word of mouth promotion? Or more specifically, what catches your interest in a book to the point that you're willing to invest not only your hard earned money, but a good chunk of your time. Leave a comment below. I'd really like to hear what you think.

And to learn about what's being done to save the lives of children caught in slavery, please click here to check out the blog Lynne and I recently started and read our latest post that deals with this issue.

Be sure and stop back tomorrow (Friday) as I'll be posting the last (and biggest) giveaway to celebrate Blood Ransom's release!

Be blessed today,

Lisa


Ivanildo

Jose

Gito

David