As some of you who have read my blogs here and about already know, I don’t have the pet gene. Well, it’s sad to admit it, but I am also missing another gene — the one that makes girls excited to pick out clothes and hair-do-das and colors.
Growing up, I would sleep until the very last minute, jumping out of bed, grabbing a clean shirt/top and pair of jeans (they were de rigueur in the 70s, you know!) and rushing off to high school. I would pass by my younger sister who’d been up for at least 2 hours showering, choosing her clothes with care, mixing and matching clothes and hair gee-gaws and then blowing her hair dry and styling it to within an inch of its life. We’d arrive at school at about the same time.
When it came time to pick out my wedding gown, I wanted a plain, white, medieval-cut dress. The dressmaker, a friend of my mom, begged me to let her add some pearls to the bodice because she couldn’t stand it to be sooooo plain. Again, being the 70s, I wanted my hair hanging straight down but had to compromise and wear a veil…. it was a plain white veil (evil grin).
I would rather walk the aisles at Staples or Office Depot and choose between an array of ballpoint vs gel pens then decide which dress fits/looks better or which color belt I should wear. So, it was with great trepidation that the designer of my book trailer asked my input with the really bad words – “How do you think it looks?”
Oh noooooooooooooooooooo! Don’t ask me that question!!
I’d rather debate the origins of the universe than answer that.
So, as the woman who went down the hallway in the RWA hotel at WDW to find someone to tell her how her new fancy-dress-party dress looked, I did what I had to do — I asked other women! But unlike the strangers I approached at the conference, this time I asked my friends.
The process was not painless (kind of like when I buy new clothes and have to wear them out) but I simply love the results. It captures the feeling of the story (dark and stormy), the location (the cliff on the northern coast of Scotland), the sexual tension and the characters, too! Did I tell you I love it?
So, here it is for you –
What do you think of it? Do you like book trailers? Do they make you look for the book? Post a comment today and tomorrow and I’ll pick one person to win an advanced copy of the book — which will be released on September 28th.
Terri is thrilled to see the release of A STORM OF PLEASURE coming up so soon. Visit her website to learn more about her books, book events and signings and other very important and interesting stuff…LOL! www.terribrisbin.com will get you there!




I kind of like book trailers, but they don’t affect my decision to buy (or not buy) a book. I’m much more influenced by the author, blurb, subgenre, reviews, cover and publisher.
And I’m with you on the missing girly gene. I think I had it back in the day (oh, say 25 years or so ago), but it has faded and was replaced by the Mommy gene.
~Lindy
I’ve never bought a book based on a trailer, but I like yours. Very evocative.
That’s why I’m not sure about doing a trailer for TOUCH OF A THIEF, but if I don’t it’s a little like trying to sell the only house on the block that doesn’t have a swimming pool. My omission might stand out in a bad way.
I’ll be interested in more reader comments, Terri.
Lindy –
Well, I got the mommy gene and luckily (thank God!) I only had boys! I did babysit my nieces for a week once and they told their mom (THAT sister) that it was fun….but…. “Aunt Terri doesn’t do hair!”.
LOL!
Terri
I have to admit that I’m not a fan of the book trailer (not yours, Terri, but trailers in general.) I can safely say that they do not influence my book-buying decisions because I don’t watch them. Ever.
Usually, I’m just annoyed by the requests I get to watch trailers, but I try not to log the information about who posts those requests in my long-term memory because I understand that we’re all just doing what we can to give our books a fair shake in a tight market, and I don’t want my 10 seconds of irritation to have a negative effect on my book-buying choices.
I got lucky and had a boy, too. I try to do girly stuff with my nieces once in a while, but it makes me grateful that I don’t have to do it full time. LOL!
~Lindy
Terri, as I think I told you, I love your trailer. However, much like you not having the “girly girl” gene, I too am lacking a gene. It is the “not affected by commercials” gene. Which is probably why my career in advertising was short-lived!
That’s not to say I don’t like watching commercials, at least, good ones. I do find them amusing. However, I usually like them because of their artistry, not b/c they make me want to eat a bunch of Oreos (thank God for that!).
A book trailer is part commercial, part movie trailer, and sometimes a movie trailer does pique my interest. But as with a movie that stars a particular actor or made by a particular director, I am much more inclined to decide to buy a book (or even watch a book trailer) if it is by an author I already follow and admire. I’m not going to seek out or probably even watch a trailer about the new Jonathan Franzen book, for example, b/c I’ve never read one of his novels and don’t foresee myself doing so in the near future!
(Since you (and Kristin Hannah, and Nora Roberts, and others) fall into the former category, i.e. authors I follow and admire, I will be seeking out your books and trailers, and eagerly awaiting their release!
Hi Terri, I don’t follow book trailers all that much. The blurb (right now) is what draws me, as well as the cover. I love the mystery of yours though. And I do love your cover. For not being a girly girl, it is pretty hot. Good luck with it. Barb Heintz
I enjoy trailers, but don’t always check them out on an author’s website. They don’t have any influence in my book buying decision.
I like watching book trailers, but I don’t make my book buying decisions on them. I did enjoy your trailer though.
Terri, I can soooooo relate! Imagine when my oldest child decided she was really SERIOUS about ballet. That meant I had to actually learn how to do a bun. A real bun. Thank goodness for hair nets and spray. Otherwise, she never would have gotten that degree in Musical Theater.
You rock, and so do your books.
~Deb