Bringing Books To Life Visually

I would be really hard not to notice how authors and publishers are using videos and trailers to promote books. Many authors are including trailers for their books, or videos of themselves being interviewed about their books, on their websites. Book videos are all over You Tube and MySpace. Some publishers like Kunati Books International and Simon and Schuster are making trailers for all of their books. There are even companies like Vidlit and Circle Of Seven Productions who specialize in book trailers/videos. And let's face it, for most authors having a trailer created for our books is the only way any of us are ever going to see it on the screen.

Personally, I think book videos are a great promotion tool. So much so that I'm going to start featuring one every week. So, if you've got one for your book, or you know of a good one you'd like to pass along, please email me the link at angelar.henry@gmail.com. I'll be picking the ones with the most appeal and interest. They don't have to be mystery related. They just have to be good.

To kick things off, here is the book video of Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes, and Tananarive Due discussing their new book CASANEGRA. Enjoy!

Angela

Who's your hero?

Have you noticed the increase of military-type suspense heroes? It's understandable considering our current national climate. I enjoy the military suspense plots. The international intrigue. The buckle-your-seatbelt-hold-on-to-your-hat action. The hard-body heroes with the Ninja reflexes. What's not to love?

But as much as I enjoy those stories, I have a particular soft spot for the every man - or woman - heroes. Those ordinary people pulled into extraordinary circumstances by compellingly personal motivations.

Angela Henry's Kendra Clayton is such a heroine. You probably know that Kendra is a part-time GED instructor, part-time restaurant hostess. She doesn't have a military or law enforcement background, nor does she have any special self-defense skills.

In her mystery series debut, The Company You Keep, Kendra's pulled into a murder investigation to clear her childhood friend. In her second series installment, Tangled Roots, Kendra is again pulled into a murder investigation, this time to save a young man she used to babysit.

In my debut romantic suspense, You Belong To Me, the hero is an independent film producer who's trying to find the murderer who killed his best friend and is stalking his ex-wife. In my upcoming release, On Fire, the heroine is a reporter who's trying to uncover the arsonist who's framing her lover.

I like these heroes because I can more easily imagine myself in their place. No military or law enforcement background. No special self-defense skills. Just an average person trying to help a friend.

What type of hero or heroine do you enjoy most? Military, police, firefighter, private investigator or ordinary man/woman? Do you have a particular series favorite?

Patricia