Mute jumps off the page as artistic audio

Book trailers, ah yes, they have been done before. It would have been fun to see some actors try to play out a scene in Mute, but that’s not what I’m really offering to readers. You can’t download a Mute movie, so I’m not going to tease people with one. I wanted to make a video that showcased what is available: A dramatic novel. So I enlisted the help of some friends.

And now, here is the “artistic audio” presentation of Chapter 24 from Mute.

(If that didn't play for you, just see it on YouTube.)

This started when Celia Coulombe, who formerly worked at the Business Journal with me, told me how much she loved audio books and wanted to be a reader. So I sent her one of my favorite chapters and asked her to give it a shot. Celia did a tremendous job.

I realized that it would be hard for me to post the audio online by itself, but I could make it into a video. First, I enlisted the help of El Cesana, who took the cover photo for Mute. She told me I could select some photos from her gallery. What a treasure trove indeed.

I’ll have more to say about El Ces later, as this Australian photographer has an amazing story.

The presentation needed a depth of emotion that could only be captured by amazing artwork, and Hilda Vazquez certainly provided that. The Fort Lauderdale artist (and Business Journal graphic artist) let me use some images from her Facebook fan page.

I also used FreeDigitalPhotos.net to grab some stock photos, such as the fire, the gun and the binoculars. 

There you have it. Four creative souls collaborated to give everyone a sample of what Mute’s all about. If you want to read the rest of the story, you know where to go.

Gearing up my novel Mute for release

My novel Mute has been making rapid progress towards its publication this fall. Believe me all is not quiet in my house.

Silver Leaf Books has my author page up. Thanks to South Florida Business Journal photographer Mark Freerks for my author photo.

http://www.silverleafbooks.com/Authors_Bandell.htm

I acquired an amazing photo from talented Australian artist El Cesana that will be used for the cover. Silver Leaf is in the process of finalizing the cover design, but you can view the photo here on my Authonomy page. The story on how I found El and her ironic connection to the story will be told at a later time. Let’s just say that it was worth it to reach across the globe to find her.

http://www.authonomy.com/books/17138/mute/

Meanwhile, I’ve been expanding my reach. For those of you on Linkedin, I encourage you to join the Science Fiction Group and the Crime Fiction Group. I have started and participated in some great discussions on there. For Facebook users, try the Mystery Reader Group.

I’m eagerly anticipating the moment that Mute will be available for download throughout the world. Many people want a print copy as well and that could happen on day, but I’m glad that the focus is on the ebook. Publishers Weekly reported that ebook sales at the largest publishers increased 160% in the first quarter while print edition sales fell 24%. In fact, ebook sales were greater than paperback sales – and it wasn’t even close.

My main focus isn’t to become rich off of this. If that was my goal in life, I wouldn’t be a print journalist, now would I? I want to give people a thrilling read and Mute will deliver.

And after that, I’ll introduce the shell shocked readers to my next project: Famous After Death.

Pay me in smiles or pay me in screams.