A Little Viral Marketing

Whenever I enjoy the writing of an author, a new show on television, or a film, I'll tell anyone who will listen to me all about it.

So this is my new favorite show on HBO. It is created by and stars the New Zealand comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords (Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie). In the show, Jermaine and Bret are in a struggling, two-man, digi-folk band and they're trying "to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City."

My husband and I are huge fans of British/Australian/New Zealand humor...in all it's deadpan delivery splendor, and we were crying from laughing so hard. (But if you're not a fan of that kind of humor, in all it's quirkiness, then I don't want to oversell the laughing till you cry bit).

BUT!! The best part of this show: They break out into song!! Yep, it's a musical. They pick a style, such as Pet Shop Boys or Black Eyed Peas, and start singing in the middle of their conversations. I LOVE it.

Here's an example from the episode "Bret Gives up the Dream" :



This show is so different from everything else that is out there. Variety in writing is a good thing, don't you think? It doesn't matter if it's a novel, a show, or a movie. In the network world of Reality and C.S.I./Law and Order shows, it's refreshing to find a series that not only focuses on comedy writing, but takes it a step further with the music videos.

Now, that's worthy of a little word-of-mouth marketing, right? Oh, and before I forget...Speaking of marketing..."Flight of Conchords" and other shows that allow bloggers and MySpace users (ect.) to embed part of their programs on their blogs seem to have their fingers on the pulse of their marketing demographic. So, if you stumble upon a show that causes you to jump up and rejoice, then spread the word to keep it on the air. That's what they want. They want the campaign to catch on like a virus.

So, how about you? Have you seen this show? Do you have favorite book, show, film you want to talk about?

Michele

P.S. As fiction writers, how can we participate in viral marketing or create our own viral marketing campaigns? Do we need to become "Interactive" (trailers, videos, commercials)? Or is there another way? Any ideas? What have you done?

I know David Morrell is a master at viral marketing. For example, when the paperback of his novel, Creepers, was released in October of 2006, Morrell didn't tour (as he did for the release of the hardback version), but actual paperback copies of his book were sent out on a national tour. Copies of Creepers were tracked on a message board hosted by HorrorWorld.org by readers who picked them up at coffee shops, donut shops, parks, train stations, and malls. Then the readers were able to log in and win prizes, such as an advance copy of Morrell's next release Scavenger. Oh, and they had recruited volunteers from several message boards to help them out at the various locations, so word spread quickly about the "Creepers Book Tour" and the contests.

I never did hear how well the marketing campaign worked for him. Although, I'm sure he did just fine, as he has such a loyal following.

Anyway, that's just one example of viral marketing for fiction writers. :-)

MC

Just because it's Monday...

...doesn't mean you can't have fun.

Who couldn't use a good laugh today? This 5 second clip Cracks. Me. Up.

I fear I will never tire of the Dramatic Chipmunk. But it is my birthday, so I guess it's all right for me to goof off a bit today, right?

Have fun, everyone!

Michele

Online Class: Mauled Men, Drowned Dames, and Crispy Critters: A Body Disposal Primer for Writers

Hey, need help disposing of a body? (Ahem. In your story, of course.) Then, this just might be the class for you! Jeanne P. Adams, a postmortem expert, will be teaching OCC/RWA's July online class, Mauled Men, Drowned Dames, and Crispy Critters: A Body Disposal Primer for Writers.

It sounds like a really informative and interesting class! Okaaaay...I know. I sounded a little twisted there, didn't I? But aren't most writers...just a little? Yeah, I know you know I'm not alone. It's all in the name of fiction, folks. LOL.

Here's the information for the online class so you can sign up, too!

Happy Writing,

Michele

***
Mauled Men, Drown Dames and Crispy Critters: A Body Disposal Primer for Writers
A four-week online class featuring:
Jeanne P. Adams
July 16, 2007 to Aug. 12, 2007

Dead bodies piling up in your books? Learn how to dispose of them the right way in this four-week online class featuring writer and postmortem expert Jeanne P. Adams. You’ll learn what happens to bodies after various causes of death, what really happens inside the morgue, information about real autopsies and all the facts about different kinds of funerals and the laws regarding body disposal.

Jeanne P. Adams is a multi-published non-fiction writer and marketing consultant with credits in magazines such as Forbes and Nature. She worked in the funeral business, both for a cemetery and several funeral homes, for 12 years. In her reading, she’s winced over a variety of mistakes dealing with the story’s dead guy (or gal.) An RWA Pro member and a 2006 Golden Heart Finalist, she’s actively seeking a home for both romantic suspense and paranormal manuscripts.

Enrollment Information: http://www.occrwa.com/classes_July.htm

COST: $20 for OCC members $30 for non-members

Enrollment deadline: July 14, 2007

For more information about this class, please click http://www.occrwa.com/classes_July.htm or e-mail moderator Lori Pyne at luv2write@gmail.com with any questions.

For those of us who've always wanted to live in a 1940s movie...

About once a week, I receive updates from the Lively Arts History Association, which lists social events ranging from An Evening in the Colonies to learning the dances of English Regency period to finding antiques and vintage clothing at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. These events are a great way to get some "hands on" research! Oh, and by the way, if you're a history buff and live in the SoCal area, then I highly recommend subscribing to this fantastic list http://lahacal.org ; however, I'm sure other areas and states have similar associations as well.

This week, though, I found something I hadn't expected on the list of Upcoming Events...

It is an announcement for this Sunday, July 1, from 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM at Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club.

From the June 26th, 2007 e-mail of LAHA/Social Daunce Irregulars:

"An elegant 1940s night club evening featuring Dean Mora and his orchestra."

I LOVE Big Band music! But here's the really cool part: Check out the website for the Cicada Club!

The club has retained many of the original art deco fixtures, and the atmosphere inside the building, including the music and clothing of the guests, is period as well. How cool is that?

I hadn't heard of this place before today, but I've always wanted to be in a 1930s or 1940s movie and this is probably about as close as I will ever get...Unless I write an early 1940s-style movie and get a bit part, or something! Hey, I better get busy working on that.

Have fun,

Michele


UPDATED TO ADD: From what I can gather on the Cicada Club website, the Cicada Restaurant is a permanent fixture in the Art Deco Oviatt Building, but Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club is considered a special event. At least, that's the way I keep reading it. I only hope it's not every 17 years like the real cicadas! :-)

MC

Pumping up Your Creative Energy

What do you do to keep your creative energy pumping?

My husband and I are both in creative fields. In fact, he's a Creative Director in an advertising and design firm. See? "Creative" is in his title! No pressure there. LOL.

If any of you work or know someone who works in advertising and design, then you know the incredible amount of hours and stress that goes into each day/week, with meetings, brainstorm sessions, designing ads, deadlines, presentations, more deadlines, photo and commercial shoots, and post-production sessions. And that's just the creative team, not the accounting, media, traffic, and management teams. It can get crazy.

So with the amount of stress and workload they carry, how do the teams keep up their creative energy and blow off a little steam? By taking an hour or so a week (usually at lunch time) to do something fun, something that bonds the entire company, like going to a Go Kart track...or pretending to be human robots at work (see video below set to music).

Gimme Some Robot...on Vimeo


Which brings me back to my question: What do you do to keep up your creative energy?

I happen to go for a walk when I find I'm stuck on a scene. Getting that blood moving, clearing my head, certainly helps my thinking process. I also love to watch films in which their unique storytelling techniques sweep me away and drive me to be a better writer, a film like The Illusionist (NOT the Hugh Jackman one).

What do you do?

Michele

Blog Contest at A Slice of Orange

Hey everyone,

Thought some of you might be interested in this blog contest over at A Slice of Orange.
The contest starts today, so get your stories about your "Last First Date" in quickly. Below is all the information for you...

Happy Writing and Good Luck!

Michele

***
Announcing a new blog contest on A Slice of Orange!!!

Tell us about your "Last First Date"!

OCC member and USA Today Bestselling author Susan Mallery wants to
hear the stories of your last first date for the latest contest on our
blog, A Slice of Orange.

She's looking for stories of the first time you went on a date with
your spouse or main squeeze. We want it all! The good, the bad, the
funny, the romantic!

Contest runs from June 4 until June 15. Blogs will be posted every
day, including weekends. Susan will judge all entries and announce
the top three on June 22.

The first place winner will receive a signed copy of Susan's June
release, "Her Last First Date," and a Starbucks gift card.

Send your submissions to Louise Knott Ahern at louise@theworkingwriter.com. Please include your full name, address and phone number so we may contact you if you win. (Address and contact info will not be posted on the blog.)

*A Slice of Orange editors reserve the right to edit or reject submissions.

Butterflies 5/26/07

On Saturday, my family visited the L.A. County Museum of Natural History and one of the exhibits is the Pavilion of Wings, which is the Butterfly exhibit (live ones, that is).

My husband took some video of the beautiful and unique experience and set it to music (Luigi Boccherini - String Quintet in C Major, Op. 30, No. 6). Here is the result...

Please enjoy!

Michele

Online Class: Crime 101 with Jan Burke

Hi guys,

Here's the information for an online that sounds really cool for writers. From what I understand, New York Times bestselling author Jan Burke teaches a terrific and informative class. So many writers I know rave about her programs.

The info is posted below...

Happy writing,

Michele

************************permission to forward************************

Crime 101 with Jan Burke
June 11 to July 8

Enrollment Information: http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm

COST: $20 for OCC members $30 for non-member
Enrollment deadline: June 9, 2007
Moderator Kitty Bucholtz at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com

About the class:
Whether you're just toying with the idea of writing a work of crime
fiction, considering including elements of crime fiction in your next
work, or seriously at work on a mystery or thriller, this course is
for you.

The goals of this course are to make you feel more confident about
writing a novel of crime fiction, to help you create a better
manuscript and avoid common mistakes of new writers in the genre, and
to guide you to additional resources.

You'll get an overview of the genre, so that you'll become familiar
with the many types of works that are included in the wide embrace of
crime fiction, learn how they differ from one another, and how those
differences may affect choices made by the writer.

We'll talk about character, plot, and setting and how they work
together within the structure of these novels; how to build suspense;
how to devise clues and red herrings; common pitfalls to
avoid; "playing fair" and other "rules,"; researching, including
some essentials of police procedure and forensic science; how to
network and connect with the world of crime fiction writing and where
to learn more.

A New York Times and USA Today bestseller, Jan Burke is the author of
twelve novels and a collection of short stories published by Simon &
Schuster and Pocket Books.

Crime 101 with Jan Burke
June 11 to July 8

Enrollment Information: http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm

COST: $20 for OCC members $30 for non-member
Enrollment deadline: June 9, 2007

For more information please see the website
http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm or email moderator Kitty Bucholtz
at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com

Because I'm just not fast enough...I've been tagged

Erica Orloff tagged me on her blog, so now I need to write down 8 random things/habits about me here. Thanks, Erica!

Also, I need to post the following:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

1) I firmly believe the person who decided to sandwich bacon, lettuce, and tomato between two slices of toasted bread is a frickin’ genius.


2) I think this SNL skit is “SOFA KING” funny. I also want to “go on the dam tour” and “take all the dam pictures” I want (National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation, 1997). Oh yeah, I’m easily amused.


3) My taste in music is so eclectic, I can’t name a favorite group or genre because I have too many favorites—anything from Mozart to Queen to Oingo Boingo to Muse to Bee Gees to Depeche Mode to Ennio Morricone to Barenaked Ladies to Keane to Green Day. But the only music I can write to is classical music or Audio Visions (New Age) on XM. And my eclectic taste surfaces when it comes to movies as well—Silent, musicals, noir, blockbusters, foreign, BBC, and 80s mini-series.


4) I love roadside attractions. We happened by The Clam Box in Ipswich, MA a few weeks ago, during our trip to New England. The restaurant looks like an open container of take-out! So cool.

5) Folks look at me askance when I tell them that I love to vacation with my family, my husband’s family, and my brother-in-law’s in-laws—all at the same time. That’s a lot of people (at least 17), but we all get along great and travel well together. It truly is a blast. So far, we’ve vacationed in a houseboat on Lake Powell, in a Victorian house in Maine, and in a Villa in Italy.

6) I love strawberry-flavored things, but not strawberries.

7) Love the smell of coffee, but can’t drink it. (Yes, Erica, I’m an alien. LOL)

8) Necco Wafers are the best candies ever! (If my dentist happens to be reading this…I don’t bite them. I let them dissolve slowly. Promise.)


It was difficult coming up with different facts than the last time I’d been tagged. Click here to read those facts, if you wish.

Now, I tag…Jen A., Gillian, Spy Scribbler, JKMahal, Maureen, and Kate

(If you want to play, that is...no pressure. You'll notice I didn't follow the rules and tell you that you've been tagged! LOL)

Take Care,

Michele

The most watched nature video on YouTube

Sometimes you just need to know you're not floating along alone in life.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out these otters holding paws, or "rafting." It's sweet to watch. The video of Nyac and Milo was taken at the Vancouver Aquarium by Cynthia Holmes in 2002, was posted on YouTube in March 2007, and has had millions of hits.

Enjoy!

Michele