[A.L. Hawke] New Release Harmonia, prequel to the Azure Series

[alhawke]

I'm excited to announce the launch of my Greek myth fantasy book Harmonia , prequel to my Azure Blue Series!


Available here: https://books2read.com/u/3yQLwn

Amazon women wage war on man.

In the late Bronze Age, the fourteenth century B.C., an Amazon nymph dares steal forbidden fruit from the gods. But Harmonia Ambrosia’s crime is not only the taste of a pomegranate, her offense is far worse when seized within enemy lands.

Greek gods descend from Mount Olympus. Demeter and her daughter Persephone, also known as Cora, look down upon this rebel. But not Hades. Hades becomes enamored with her.

With enchanted gifts of war from her lover and champion god Hades, Harmonia fights the dwarfs of Napea and the Hinterland tribes of man. Soon she and her daughter, the princess Nefertiti, lead an Amazon army so far south it even threatens the Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt. But as total conquest lies finally within her grasp, only by sacrifice to gods she loathes can there be any hope of reclaiming peace with man.

[alhawke]

I seem to be the only one reviving this "book promotion" board, but I think it's good to have a forum to show off our new stuff to each other.

Anyway, Beltane Fire. Be freely entertained by my new narrated book trailer to start the Halloween season. I'm releasing it now because my short story Beltane Fire is going on sale this month. Narrated by Alexa Elmy and created by Cinematic Book Trailers:


Not sure how to embed the link; Click below for the LINK TO THE TRAILER on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/3lbS6055dJk

[LilyBLily]

 

[Bill Hiatt]

The trailer is a lot less generic than some of the ones I've seen and thus very much more effective.

While I am still skeptical about the impact book trailers actually have, a company like this might make me rethink that position. Please let us know what impact the video has for you.

Also, congratulations on Harmonia. You've used Greek myths as a source of inspiration very effectively.

[alhawke]

While I am still skeptical about the impact book trailers actually have, a company like this might make me rethink that position. Please let us know what impact the video has for you.

I can already tell you cause I did the whole series. They're all on my YouTube page.

Cinematic Book Trailers did an amazing job and they're affordable. https://www.cinematicbooktrailer.com I'd argue they're the best in the business for cost and quality. Trouble is, writers don't have enough money to spend on these things. Trailers are branding methods, not sales methods. I can't track the sales. But I felt I could splurge in order to further push my series at large. And I was able to get a major discount on narration as I used my same audiobook narrator while she was making the audiobooks.

[Bill Hiatt]

Perhaps I'm just slow-witted this afternoon, but isn't there a connection between branding and sales. Otherwise, why bother with branding. But I certainly get what you mean about not being able to track sales. Except with a book that's dead and then suddenly starts selling, it's hard to know where sales come from. As I think about, an uncharacteristically big jump in sales might also be telling if you had only changed one thing in close proximity to the sales.

[alhawke]

Yes, you got me there. I meant they don't work well for tracking direct sales. I haven't seen a spike in sales after a trailer's release.

[LilyBLily]

Trailers can be fun, but since they are not books, I never have felt they truly connect with the product we are selling. Sure, maybe the famous voiceover guy, "In a world..." But what we can afford? Nah.

[Bill Hiatt]

The ones from Cinematic Book Trailers do look a lot more professional than some I've seen and might make some difference.

Part of the problem is that our audience is spoiled. They're so used to multimillion-dollar Hollywood special effects that they whine if the CGI isn't 1000% perfect. It's hard to make a book trailer that lives up to such a high standard.

The one exception I can recall from several years ago was an author whose son was a director and willing to work for free. The author did have to pay actors, etc., but her son got her a good deal. The result was a Hollywood-style trailer. You easily have thought it was advertising a movie. But, as I've mentioned, the circumstances that led to its production were unique. And had the book been fantasy or sci-fi, even those unique conditions might not have produced a competitive trailer.