A Trailer for Celeste

I SUPPOSE authors are all constantly trying to find ways to tell the world about our books, and seeing as quite a few authors are now having trailer's made for their novels, I thought I'd give it a go, and see if it makes any difference to sales.

This was for Celeste, my YA time slip thriller, set here in Coventry, which is published by American publisher, Clean Reads, formerly known as Astraea Press.

Not being particularly technically minded to put a trailer together myself, I took up the offer of a fellow Clean Reads author in the USA, who runs Videos by O, creating videos for any budget. My budget wasn't very big, but that didn't make any difference to the effort that Opal put into the video, with her sending me mock ups throughout the process, and making the changes that I asked for.

Persuading my photographer friend, Rob Tysall (www.tysallsphotography.org.uk) to head into Coventry's City Centre with me a few weeks ago, we set out to take the necessary photos that I'd need to create the look that I wanted for the trailer. 

The story is about teenager, Megan Miller who moves to Coventry with her parents and starts to experience feelings of deja vu. These feelings become stronger and stronger and she gradually realises she has lived, and died before in Medieval times when her name had been Celeste. The story particularly revolves around the ruins of Coventry's old cathedral.

So photographer, Rob and I headed for the old cathedral, armed with a length of blue ribbon and my daughter's black hooded top. He took lots of different shots of the cathedrals and other atmospheric buildings nearby, which I have to say I'm really really pleased with.

It was a fun day, although I noticed a group of sightseers giving me a wide birth, as I stood in the shadows of St Mary's Guildhall with my hoodie hiding my face for one particular sinister shot. 

Back at the studio, Rob produced the images, and did quite a lot of photoshop 'magic' on the 'evil monk' shot you see at the end. Believe me when I say he did a LOT of photoshop work! I don't actually look like this - honestly!!

I then played about with the different photos, working out which order they needed to appear for the best effect, and used the blurb from the back of the book, in short paragraphs, to indicate which words went with each picture.

Finally it was emailed off to Opal who did her 'magic' adding music and a 'moving' effect, and following a few tweaks, hey presto all done!

Who knows if it will result in more sales, but anyway, it was good fun doing it. Here's the link if you'd like to see the finished result:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFDBEt9o3Fw

You can purchase Celeste as an ebook or paperback:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celeste-Ann-Evans-ebook/dp/B00KQ8XIGE

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/celeste-6

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/celeste-ann-evans/1119649538?ean=9781500982492

Please visit my website at: http://www.annevansbooks.co.uk

The Story of Celeste

  

Megan Miller doesn't believe in ghosts or in reincarnation. But that soon changes after moving to a new city and a new school. 

It starts with feelings of déjà vu. Vague feelings at first that remain annoyingly just out of reach. Then the flashbacks start – memories of ancient times and fragmented dreams of when she had been called Celeste. 

And then the haunting begins. After visiting the ruins of the old cathedral, Megan believes some dark ominous presence is haunting her, following her, whispering in her ear. And always the same question, where did you hide it?

Megan becomes entwined in a frightening and heartbreaking world as she slips uncontrollably between her present life and her medieval past. But the links are fiercely strong and she fears that a new friend is actually a past enemy – and evil has followed her through the centuries.


The idea for my YA novel, Celeste was first sparked when I was writing an article about Coventry's oldest church, St Mary Magdeline's in Wyken, Coventry. This ancient church which is still in regular use, dates back to the 12th Century and was built by the 4th Earl of Chester, Ranulf de Gernon (1099-1153).  

St Mary Magdalene's Church

As I wandered around the ancient gravestones and paused by the lepers window imagining those unfortunates receiving the Holy Eucharist through the small window in the stonework, I found myself drifting back in time, and a story began to formulate in my head.  


My original hero was going to be Ranulf, and my heroine was to be a young woman who hears echoes from the past when she visits the old church and hears him calling her name.

I even had the title – At the Bend in the River. However the story was stop/start for many years. It finally began to take shape when I took the main action away from the little church and centred it around Coventry's City Centre with its old and new cathedrals and the cobbled streets. 

My St Mary Magdeline's remained in the background, in the locality of where my heroine lives after moving to the city. Also I made her much younger. A 14 year old rather than an adult. I gave her a name, Megan Miller, Megan after my granddaughter, Miller because it hints at an old Medieval trade. 

Megan's family re-locate to the city, and the school she starts at, is my old Cardinal Wiseman Grammar School. The common where she walks – where she senses a sinister presence that whispers in her ear, is Wyken Croft. The story told itself to me as I walked my dogs around this area.
 

Ann and Lola

The small gemstoned cross that is at the heart of the story was a gift from the Gods. I can't remember when that formed in my head, I'm just grateful that it did! 

And the ghostly scene in Megan's bedroom when Friar Lucius – or rather his demonic spirit visits her in the dead of night through a dark shadow on the wall, was real! 

Just as you will read how Megan experiences this ghostly moment that terrifies her, it is actually based around a real incident from my childhood. It made quite an impact then and I'm glad I've finally been able to use it.

The Cathedral Spire, the 300 stone steps of the spiral staircase are also real. It's been some years since I climbed them, but the views through the slit windows as you go up, and then the view from the top would have been so different in Celeste's day.
 

Coventry's Lady Godiva, Pru Poretta

 As for Talitha, the hand-maid to Lady Godiva, she may have been real. I heard the name after a friend's granddaughter was christened Talitha. It sounds ancient, it suited the character. 

And Lady Godiva, well she is most definitely real – and an important figure in Coventry's history.  

Today the city has its very own Lady Godiva, Pru Poretta, an ambassador for Coventry. 

Maybe, after you've read Celeste, you will want to follow in her footsteps. I hope you do.
 


Here's a short extract from Celeste as she starts a new school in a new city, knowing no one.  
Megan scanned the sea of strangers. Boys and girls of her age, all staring at her, sizing her up, judging her, deciding whether she was friend or foe. One or two were whispering, others were smiling. 
And then one face. One face shone out from all the others, and Megan’s knees buckled with shock.
Oh there you are Ruth! Megan almost cried out in delight, a huge smile breaking out across her face. There you are! It's been so long since I saw you...  
The next second she halted herself. Stopped herself from falling over her own feet to reach the girl with short corn coloured hair and dark eyes. What on earth was she thinking about? Who on earth was she thinking about? She didn't know the girl! She didn't know anybody here. 
But just for one split second, she had such a feeling of recognition it left her trembling. 
“Thank you, Freya,” Mrs Lovejoy put her hand lightly on Megan's arm, indicating for her to go and sit by the girl who had spoken – Freya.
Freya? Where on earth had she got the name Ruth from?  

                                                          * * *  
If you would like a pdf version of Celeste to read and review, I would be happy to send you one.  
Celeste is available as an ebook and in paperback from Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Amazon and other outlets. www.amazon.co.uk/Celeste-Ann-Evans-ebook/dp/B00KQ8XIGE
Have you read The Beast, The Reawakening and Rampage?  
Need tips on writing and getting published, my book Become a Writer – A step by step guide may be just the thing for you. Available in paperback and as an ebook. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Become-Writer-Step-Guide/dp/1907670246

My website: www.annevansbooks.co.uk

Introducing Celeste

Imagine arriving in a brand new city - a place you've never set foot before, yet everything feels familiar - places, people.

You start to get flashbacks to a different time - Medieval times.

And then comes the terrible sensation that you're being haunted. There's an ominous presence following you, whispering to you, terrifying you.

Is it just déjà vu or something more sinister?








That's the predicament that 14 year old Megan Miller finds herself in when her family move to Coventry to start a new life. Plagued by feelings of déjà vu, dreams and confusing memories - so real that it breaks her heart, Megan soon realises that she has lived - and died before.  Her name had been Celeste.  Only now some ancient, ominous presence is following her, haunting her, whispering in her ear... Where did you hide it?


EXTRACT

Megan was studying the panels of mosaic windows that sent a kaleidoscope of colours onto the stone floor. Then everything dimmed. She hadn't seen it coming. One second she was in the vast echoing new cathedral surrounded by tourists when suddenly the walls closed in around her and she was alone.

The smell of incense hung heavily in the darkness. Lighted torches standing in niches in the brickwork sent flickering shadows across the rugged flagstones. The stone beneath her feet was rough and uneven. Narrow arched doorways were set along the passageway and from a darkened recess she felt the claustrophobic presence of a tall shrouded black figure. The evil was tangible, the air chilled and a feeling of nausea swamped her.

A voice harsh and demonic whispered in her ear...

“Where did you hide it?”

IDEAS

The other day, one of my Monday Night writing class students asked me how long it takes on average to write a book.  I realised that there's no clear answer to that. I told her that when I was writing The Trunk, a Puffin Book in their Eerie Series, writing the first draft only took a weekend. But as for Celeste, well... I remember getting the initial spark of an idea about 15 years ago! Originally the idea stemmed when I was researching Coventry's oldest surviving church, Saint Mary Magdalene's in Wyken for an article. 

There were lots of stops and starts, writes and rewrites, leaving it lying untouched for months... years.  Then a couple of years ago, I blew the digital dust off the manuscript and gave it a total re-write.  And happily Astraea Press, (www.astraeapress.com) an American publisher, accepted it for publication, and its launch is all set for 3rd June 2014.  

COVENTRY

Being a Coventry Kid, it's great to be able to write about the City I was born and grew up in. As I was writing Celeste, I had specific places in mind - her house, well that's near Wyken Croft where I'd often walked my dogs.  Her school - all I had to do was think back to my own school days. And of course the Medieval story - well that's still there, so you could, if you wanted follow in Celeste's footsteps. You could climb the spiral stones steps of the old Cathedral Spire, explore the new cathedral and even go down into the dark passageways of the ancient priory ruins below. You could see the city as Celeste saw it...

LADY GODIVA

If you know about Coventry, then you'll know the story of

Lady Godiva.  In Celeste one of the characters is linked with

that famous lady.

And here she is... she popped into a book launch event when she heard that an earlier book of mine was being launched. That was about Coventry too. The Children's History of Coventry and she was mentioned in that too.

Fact and fiction, the present and the past. Isn't it nice to combine the both sometimes and see where it leads.

Lady Godiva (Pru Porette) and Ann Evans

Your past can catch up with you, but can you catch up with your past - and survive?

Celeste will be available from Amazon after the 3rd June 2014.  And please visit my website for news of other books that you might like. www.annevansbooks.co.uk