With all the new titles we’ve been publishing, I’ve been busy making book trailers. Now, I get to do one for my own book, Nightmare Storm. I am so looking forward to doing a creepy trailer. 🤣😂
I will be offering my video creation services through Norns starting August 16th. So if you want to bring your story to life, look out for further announcements.
In the meantime, let me know what you think about my latest video.
I’m happy to say that we’ve been busy at Norns Triad Publications. We have several new titles that went on Pre-Order, including mine, and The Oil Change just went live yesterday. Congratulations, D.A. Northup.
We have more titles coming up this year and we really need beta readers to help us put out the best stories that we can. We have some amazing children’s authors so if you like children’s books, we have you covered.
If you’re interested in being a beta reader for Norns Triad Publications, please email us at authors@nornstriad.com – include the title you’re interested in reading from the above, and we’ll contact you shortly.
Thank you. 🥰😀
Is it August already? Gosh, this yea is zooming by. July ended up being a very wet month for us, which we needed. We’ve been in a drought for a few years. Hopefully, August won’t be hot as blazes, which it usually is. In Omaha, we set a record high back in 1939 at 114 degrees. Wow. I do not want to break that record. 🤣😂 Grab a cool one and let’s enjoy some free books.
Hidden Talents. Do you have one? Here’s an interesting article about 32 hidden talents and how to find yours.
To me, a hidden talent is something you had no clue you could do. Then one day, when you’re in your middle years or older, you decide to try something new, and POW, you find you’re awesome at it.
One of the 32 hidden talents outlined in that article includes playing video games. Believe me, I’m not even close to being good. But that’s how it started me on my new path.
I was stuck on a Spiderweb game and the online walkthroughs were no help. They just told you what you needed to do, but not how to do it. So I started watching some YouTube gamers to get me past where I was stuck. Then inspiration struck.
Me, being my father’s daughter, thought, Why don’t I start my own Let’s Play channel. If they can do it, so can I. And so I started on the first leg of my video journey.
I bought a microphone and tried different game recording programs until I found one that was easy for this old brain of mine to understand. I already had a YouTube channel that I never used and turned that into my Let’s Play channel. It was scary recording my first game play and then uploading it. Who wanted to watch an old lady play games? Right?
Three years ago when I started recording my games, I might have had maybe 4 followers? Now, I’m up to 330. Woohoo! I know, I know. That ain’t many, but what floors me are they like my gameplay. And most are youngsters. They’re usually surprised when they find out I’m an old geezer. 🤣😂
Then one day, I noticed that I could actually do some editing in my FBX Game Recorder program. And that took me down another rabbit hole.
The editing tracks in FBX Game Recorder are not user friendly at all. It overwhelmed me. Still, I knew I could do something with it. By then, Julie and I were trying to get Norns Triad Publications back on it’s feet so I offered to do some #ReadOutLoud Chapters and #NornsAuthrosReviews to post on our YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram channels. I figured out ow to record, edit, and then upload. Whew. Then, a whole new can of worms opened up for me.
Book Trailers. I love them. They’re the equivalent of movie trailers, just different. They can bring the story to life. Make you want to run out and buy the book. Sadly, most book trailers are, em, bad. Like really, really bad. 🤣😂
Off I went to Google and YouTube to learn how to make book trailers. And you know what? There isn’t that much information out there. I even took a course through Udemy and it sucked. Got my money back for that one. Yikes. But I persisted. And this is where I discovered my hidden talent. Creating videos.
Do you know what a Foley Artist is? Those are the people who put sound effects into every move, T.V. show, etc. that you watch. I joke that of course I’d end up working with video creation. It’s in my blood. Right? 😁
However, by now I realized I needed a better editing program. I did a post about some of the ones I tried back in December 2021, so no sense rehashing them. But what I finally settled on was Movavi. They aren’t the end all be all, either. I can make more professional looking trailers, but they keep you entirely in their platform and Special Effects Packages, which you have to pay for each year. Not liking that at all. My goal is to learn Davinci Resolve 18, the video editing program used for all your major movies. Wow!
Can I do it? Can I finally make a jaw-dropping book trailer? I hope so.
Here’s the last video I made with Movavi and it’s my best so far. What do you think?
Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what is it?
What adventures do you have when you visit your grandparents?
When I visit mine, we do things I love, like having fun in Grandpa’s garage.
This weekend, Grandpa is teaching me something new. He’s going to show me how to change the oil in his car.
Have you ever done that before? Do you know what tools to use?
I’m excited to find out what it takes to do the oil change.
*****
This book is at a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 3.2, making this most appropriate for independent readers aged 7 – 12. With the universal appeal of the content, even parents and teachers will enjoy the story when reading with younger children.
My dad was always working on cars. And he made sure that us kids knew how to maintain them as well. So it’s nice to see a series centered on DIY aimed at middle grade children.
Everyday knowledge we took for granted as we grew up are now lost in our modern world. People don’t even know how to change a flat tire. And I like that this story is also aimed at both boys and girls.
If you own a car, you should at least know how to change the oil. So kudos to Northup for tackling this lost art of teaching children what they need to learn to make it on their own.
I highly recommend this series and can’t wat to see what he’ll be teaching next in Grandpa’s Garage. I give it 5 stars.
I haven’t read a young children’s book in years so I didn’t know what to expect. This is a charming story about the adventures of Boomer. His curiosity gets the better of him and off he hops to see the world.
The illustrations are adorable and fit the story line as it goes along. I found myself smiling at several of his misadventures. This is a perfect book to share with your young ones. What’s a better way to spend time with them but through reading?
I recommend it and give it 5 stars.
Look no further! These bestselling authors have teamed up to offer a delightful selection of new books. Available for a limited time.
Roman Asher didn’t kill himself. That’s what perky freshman Bunny Rainville thinks when she first learns about his apparent suicide in the library after hours. Bunny hardly has a chance to grieve before she finds a mysterious treasure packed into her mailbox: a magic ring that gives her the ability to see and speak to Roman again—as well as a number of other ghosts haunting the campus of Twin Oaks.
Unfortunately, Bunny’s new treasure comes with a price, and she quickly finds herself the new target of the dark force controlling the school. Can she work with her deceased companions to solve the mystery of the murders of Twin Oaks without making herself the next victim?
An end-of-the-world, road-trip, suspense thriller
Objects small and large around the globe go missing in an instant. Soon after, entire populations of towns go missing. As the world’s population grapples with these mysterious events, and the lights in the sky that accompany them, Quinn Barlow and his neighbor, Kai, begin seeing a vision that offers hope for salvation.
With conditions deteriorating around them, the neighbors set out for Serpent Mound, an ancient site at the center of their vision. One misstep on their journey to safety and they could end up in another time, or another world.
Will they make it in time? And what awaits them if they make it to the coiled serpent they see in their minds?
A high-fantasy, prequel novella to the Projectionists trilogy (set to release in 2023).
A clan of insectile shapeshifters has survived the Calamity, but when a red tide washes on the shores of Windlyn Vale, new threats emerge. Mists take on the shape of dragons, dire wolves appear and one of their clan goes missing.
All eyes turn to Siv, their seer and protector. His investigation brings him beyond their borders to the Eternal Desert, a place with secrets lost to time. What he discovers there will unravel the fabric of his reality. It will challenge his faith and risk his sanity.
But the greatest threat of all lies within Windlyn Vale, where an ancient evil stirs just beneath the surface. A creature that lives only to destroy. Now, it will rise again.
With a burning hatred as deep as the abyss.
