addisonbrae

In the scorching heat in Dallas and many other places right now, there’s nothing better to cool you down and cheer you up than a Piña Colada and a fun read. My other half’s recipe is the tastiest I’ve ever had—they’re a cocktail and a dessert.

John’s Piña Coladas
Add to a 6-cup blender:
6 oz. pineapple juice
6 oz. white rum
7-8 oz. Coco López Real Cream of Coconut (not coconut milk)
2 cups pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1/8 cup half & half

Fill the rest of blender with ice. Blend well. Place blender in freezer for 1 hour. Reblend. Pour in glasses and garnish with a pineapple wedge, maraschino cherry and top with whipped cream.

If you add the cute cocktail umbrellas, you must also tune your music player to Rupert Holmes Escape, known as The Piña Colada Song. Enjoy this refreshing cocktail safely along with your weekend and holiday activities. Please post photos of your cocktails tagged with #BeckerCircle.  I’ll draw from those who post pics for a prize! You can be certain we’ll enjoy a blender of these during the upcoming Independence Day week, so I’ll do the same.

Gillian, the main character in Becker Circle is a bartender and appreciates making specialty drinks–when it’s not terribly busy. If you’d like to read more about her adventures and favorite drinks, download Becker Circle for 50% off on Smashwords July 1-31, 2018. Use code SSW50 at checkout.

Cheers to cocktails, novels & the weekend!

Book trailers take time, skill, and dedication to do right. Your approach can make or break your story. Before you begin, I recommend carefully considering what you want to achieve and if you have the time and resources to create a good-quality trailer. If not, consider focusing on other promotional methods. Here are the main steps.

1. First, write a script. People have very short attention spans, so I recommend keeping it below 200 words for a trailer that’s less than two minutes (one to one-and-a-half minutes is even better). It’s hard to decide what to keep and cut. What will tease potential readers and compel them to read the book? Do you even need a script? If there is script, read it aloud. Written words sound different when spoken.
2. What style trailer fits best with your book’s style and mood? There are many options—film, stills, animation or anime, with voice over, open captioned or none?
3. The next step is locating the director. If you shoot video, you need a videographer to direct the production. If using still photography, a photographer will work. If animating, an animator is who you’ll need. Look for someone with book trailer experience, if possible. They will advise you on other crew members.
4. Work with your director to identify the cast. Most cities have talent agencies where you can find the right models or actors for your production. Sometimes less experienced actors, actresses and models are looking to build out their reel or portfolio and may be willing to work for free. Invite friends to be your extras.
5. Scout the location with your director to make sure it’s the right size, shape and has the lighting to achieve the trailer you want. Look for locations where you can shoot for no charge. Be aware of city ordinances that require permits for shooting outside. Be prepared with a release form explaining the production is promotional and anyone who may wander into your scene won’t be paid.
6. Audio is as important as visuals. Good trailers have music that captures the book’s tone and build to add drama in the right spots. If you use voiceover, music should mix so it supports the voiceover rather than overpowers it. Voiceover acting is a trained profession that not many people can do well. If you have the contacts and resources, find a professional and use professional recording equipment. Bad audio can ruin an amazing film.
7. If resources are limited, you can purchase professional stock video and photography from sources such as iStock. Stock video is more expensive than photography. There are also free sources for photography such as Pexels, Pixabay, Stocksnap, and Unsplash. Carefully read the licensing pages. You can also explore the film, art and drama departments at local universities, colleges and even arts magnet high schools to find videographers, animators, actors, or models. These students will be eager to build their reel or portfolio and may work for low or no cost. They may have access to equipment and direction from their teacher or professor.

Some trailers I found interesting to watch are Clockwork Princess, Red Queen, and Dreamless, and Secret Keeper. My all-time favorite is Becker Circle.

Enjoy bringing your book to life with film!

One of the foundational parts of writing a novel is building the world in which the novel takes place. Authors have to create the sights, sounds, smells, and what sorts of people and other things will be in this world. What makes the world interesting and believable? How will characters in this world handle situations?

One method I use in world building is to dive into it and learn first-hand. The main character in my current work in progress manages a bar, so I spent last Friday morning shadowing a successful Dallas-area bar manager to learn what happens before the doors open.

Technology has changed almost everything about how a bar/restaurant operates since I’ve been in the business. The most surprising is how precise they can be when planning promotions. Not to go all corporate on you, but even small businesses can use software to do what’s called predictive ordering. If the bar wants to have a Wednesday $1.50 wells special on the same night as a shrimp and grits special, the software helps calculate the precise profit margin and adjust to reach the right mix.

For years now, they’ve used technology to order and receive deliveries almost real-time. Paperless ordering takes away the old-school slips of paper clipped to the wall, so the only reason servers need to go to the kitchen is to pick up an order—or fix one. And the crew no longer hears that recognizable click when they clock in and out.

What hasn’t changed is how the crew and customers create the environment. Alcohol still causes drama, and the later the hour, the more drama there is. It’s the mix of people and personalities that turn the bar into a living, breathing character.

Cheers to Ashley Reeves at Shuck ‘N Jive in Richardson, Texas. People like Ashley inspire me to create smart, strong, beautiful inside-and-out characters that are also very human. Ashley is also a big reader and her son has picked up on her love for reading. Real characters are relatable. We see a bit of ourselves and people we know, love, and hate in them. It’s up to authors to create the characters and their world that makes books fun to read.

When it’s time to learn, dive in!

Tweet this:  Cheers to Ashley Reeves at Shuck N Jive in Richardson, Texas. People like Ashley inspire me to create smart, strong, beautiful inside-and-out characters that are also very human. https://addisonbrae.com/?p=1132&preview=true #BeckerCircle #Writing

Digital piracy is rarely discussed in the publishing world, so seeing an unauthorized PDF of my book for the first time on the web for free download was a shocker. Then add the extra punch that the site owner invites people to pay to join, and the first month is free. How did this jerk get the PDF? And what nerve to sell something that isn’t theirs.

The even bigger shocker is how some of my fellow authors have given up on chasing down pirated copies of their books. They say there are so many it’s not worth taking time away from writing and other things they enjoy.

Piracy is cybercrime. It drastically changed the music, movie, and book publishing industries, and it’s spawned other industries to help stop it. But why does piracy continue?

My theory? No one’s looking. People do it thinking no one will care.

A June 6, 2018 Digital Music News article says 53% of UK adults surveyed felt accessing media content illegally is wrong, but did it anyway.

It takes two. One steals the file and makes it available. You have a say in whether pirates are successful. Don’t download from shady sites. Besides, if they steal what they’re selling, they’ll steal and sell the personal information you provide.

Someone I know recently captured an unauthorized version of my book trailer from the web to play for a group. The intention was good, but the video quality suffered since it was pirated.

I found the first copyright violation instance with a simple Google alert on the book title and author name. I contacted the company that owns the site and they disabled the link three days later, but hundreds of other titles remain. I spent about an hour contacting the site owner that I should have spent writing or doing something else productive.

Authors overwhelmingly use Blasty to monitor for copyright infringement. Monitoring is free, but the company requires payment to blast the violator with notices about DMCA—the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It’s $156 per year for Blasty to monitor and send automated notifications for copyright infringement. It took me about a minute to set up a free monitoring account. Another author recently shared with an author email group, “They have taken down over 4k pirates offering my work in the last year.”

Wow. I’m not endorsing the service, but speechless at the number of people who will steal content for their own profit.

Last time best-selling crime writer Sue Coletta checked the pirate sites, her books neared 1,000. “If I wasted time trying to get every book off these sites, I’d be sending copyright notices full-time, with no time to write another book, never mind market my existing ones,” Sue said. “Sometimes we need to pick our battles.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts on piracy. Do you sneak freebies online sometime? Are you one of the travelers who pinch cushy pillows, soft blankets and brandy glasses from your first-class flights? Are you a stickler for honesty? Please message me on Twitter, Facebook or on my website if you’re willing to share.

Please consider carefully before you swipe a book, piece of art, video, song, or anything without paying.

Think twice before you download!

Tweet this:   Piracy is cybercrime. But why does piracy continue? My theory? No one’s looking. https://addisonbrae.com/piracy #OnlinePiracy #Reading

Welcome to my guest, the very colorful lead character we’d all love to have a glass of wine with in mystery novel Gumshoe Girl by Andi Ramos. Read on to learn more!

Hi Addison, my name is Sheagan O’Hare, I am the female main character in Andi Ramos’ debut novel, Gumshoe Girl. It’s so nice to be here today to chat with you.

Addison:  What’s your profession?
Sheagan:  I have just recently taken over Diamond Detective Agency, my family business. I never expected to be in this situation, so I know nothing about being a detective. But, I am trying not to let that deter me especially after I landed my first big client, a missing persons case. Problem is I’ve got this incredibly annoying and unfortunately attractive FBI agent that keeps trying to interfere with my case.

Addison:  What are your thoughts on love?
Sheagan:   Love huh. Not really sure since the guy I’ve been living with I just caught cheating on me. I’ve sworn off guys while I’m trying to get the agency up and running again. However, I just ran into a guy from my past that I think is trying to become a little more than friends. And, well I mentioned the hot agent…so I’m not sure my heart is listening to my head.

Addison:  What’s in your fridge right now?
Sheagan:   My fridge, that’s hysterical since I don’t even have a fridge. I’m living on my best friend’s couch, watching her puppy until she gets back from Napa, thank goodness too, because if not for her I would be utterly hopeless. But let’s say I wasn’t such a mess and I actually had a fridge to look into…it would be filled with fresh, nutritious food and healthy snacks…yeah right, who are we kiddin’, it would totally be a half roll of cookie dough and wine.

Addison:  What terrifies you most?
Sheagan:   My biggest fear, failure. What if I can’t find this missing woman? What if I suck at being a private detective and the only tie to my family goes down the tubes? What if I can’t find an apartment before my best friend, Emmie, comes back from vacation? Never mind this love triangle I seemed to have found myself in. Ugh, sorry it’s just a lot to think about and all hinging on whether or not I can succeed. Quick let’s get to the next question, lol.

Addison:  What quirky habits annoy you in others?
Sheagan:   So, I never realized this is something that would bug me, but Mac has this habit of clenching his jaw when he’s angry. And he seems to have this reaction every time I am with him. It’s really starting to bug me because it’s a constant indicator that I screwed something else up. I get it. I make mistakes. I don’t need a physical reminder of them.

About Gumshoe Girl
Sheagan O’Hare got more than she bargained for when her newly inherited detective agency lands its first case; a missing person, embezzlement, and murder. Sheagan’s out to prove she can hang with the pro’s, despite the constant reminder of her amateur status from an annoyingly attractive FBI agent, Colin ‘Mac’ MacEvine, who’s forced himself into her life. How does she feel when an old high school friend hopes to ignite a new romance? Will she be able to discover if detective work and love can mingle before someone gets hurt?

About the author
Andi Ramos is a debut author from central Massachusetts where she lives with her family, goat, and Boston Terriers. Her love for reading grew into a passion for writing. She dabbled with pen and paper for a long time and eventually stopped pushing her amusements aside and started developing those stories into novels. One of her favorite things to do is to hop into her motorhome with her family and write while traveling down the road as they journey to various destinations. Get to know Andi on her website, blog, Facebook and Twitter.

To purchase Gumshoe Girl, visit Amazon US, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes & Noble.

People constantly ask me where the ideas for the colorful bar patrons in Becker Circle come from. Are they real people? Did this stuff actually happen? The raw truth is sometimes yes and sometimes no.

The world is full of quirky people—often more interesting than I can make up, like Whistle Bitch, one of the servers in Becker Circle. She was a real bartender we met in an all-night bar/diner near the Space Needle in Seattle. She whistled quite well while she worked and earned the nickname from her coworkers. She’s one of my favorite characters in the book.

A couple of weeks ago, I encountered a server in a bar that will likely show up in a future novel. Two friends and I had just been to an amazing P!NK concert at our local Dallas arena. Afterwards, we grabbed a drink at a bar across the street. One of my friends bumped into a waiter at the server station on the way back from the ladies’. He stopped her and said, “I’m already lost in your eyes.” She’s married and honestly not that gullible, so she rolled those eyes he’s lost in and ignored him.

A group of 30-40 something-year-old small town ladies had ventured into the big city for the same concert. We were standing outside the bar about to call our ride when we heard them speaking very loudly. These ladies were giggling about the photos of his junk a waiter had just showed them—actions that might land him in a book someday. Same waiter, it turns out. I asked if they at least knew his name before seeing his privates. Yes, they did, but none could remember it. The event entertained these ladies. A few cocktails likely had something to do with their reaction, but all three of us were shocked they didn’t see anything terribly wrong with what happened-especially after seeing such an empowering P!NK performance.

I’d love to hear your crazy stories! Please message me on Twitter, Facebook or on my website if you’re willing to share.

Truth is often better than fiction.

Tweet this:   These ladies were laughing about the photos of his junk a waiter had just showed them—actions that might land him in a book someday. https://addisonbrae.com/?p=1046&preview=true #BeckerCircle #TruthorFiction #Reading