This week, through Author Buzz, I'm doing a book give away contest. I'm offering 5 prize packs of a copy of Depth of Deception as well as a commemorative Titanic Centenary coin. Anyone interested had to e-mail me with the name of a Titanic survivor.
My e-mail inbox has quickly filled up over the last couple of days. Everyone has mentioned a Titanic survivor and the choices have been interesting. Margaret Brown (later referred to as Molly Brown) has been the most common choice - especially from contestants in Colorado. Second most chosen are Elizabeth Gladys Millvina Dean who was only two months old when she boarded Titanic and Charles Joughin, Titanic's cook who survived the icy waters because of the extraordinary amount of alcohol he had consumed in the ship's final moments.
Others vying for a copy have gone the extra distance, some looking up survivors with their same names or survivors from their home town. One person even shared a beautiful Titanic poem that she had written.
It's been an interesting way to connect with readers.
The contest runs in the newsletter until Sunday. At which time we will put all the names in a bowl and draw five (5) winners. A video of the draw will be posted on the book's website. http://www.depthofdeception.com/
Until then I am grateful for the interest that the book is getting.
For anyone who has not had the chance to buy my thriller novel Depth of Deception (A Titanic Murder Mystery) yet, I wanted to let you know that I have something planned for this Sunday (April 15th 2012), which is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. To honour the memory of those who perished on Titanic, we will donate a portion of the proceeds from that day's purchases of Depth of Deception to the Titanic Heritage Trust, which is a registered international charitable trustdedicated to preserving artifacts and the memory of Titanic.
Depth of Deception can still be purchased at an introductory rate of $0.99 from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007O3IKTY as well as in other e-book formats from Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/144531. For those who have purchased it, thank-you and keep in mind there is the option of 'gifting' this e-book on both sites. (hint, hint)
Synopsis: Depth of Deception is set in 1982, where a young woman isfound floating on a wooden deck chair in the North Atlantic. She's unconscious,and wearing Edwardian clothing. Her only identification is a ticket for the Titanic. Is it a bizarre case of time-travel or an elaborate hoax?
For more information visit http://www.DepthOfDeception.com which contains a sample chapter, a synopsis, photos and a Bonus Feature page which includes a special 'Extras' section that can only be accessed if one has read the book and knows the password.
I've seen many movie trailers over the years but until recently I did not know of book trailers. Most simply use stock photographs but they can be very effective. Using visuals and music to set the tone of a book is a great marketing tool.
With my film-making experience I was able to throw the following together for my novel, Depth of Deception (A Titanic Murder Mystery).
The website for DEPTH OF DECEPTION (A Titanic Murder Mystery Thriller) is on-line. Stay tuned for up-dates as we draw near to the April 2, 2012 publication.
On March 31, 1909 the hull of one of the largest passenger ships in the world was started at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland. Exactly two years later, on March 31, 1912 the final fittings were completed, readying her to set sail the following week.It was the pride of the shipbuilding area. But, just before midnight on April 14, 1912 the floating luxurious palace known as the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and less than a few hours later sank into the North Atlantic Ocean taking over 1,500 people with her. Not only was this the greatest maritime disaster ever seen at that time, but it was a blow to man's arrogance when they boasted that 'not even God could sink her.'This upcoming year, 2012, will mark the centennial anniversary of that tragic but historic event.
On March 31, 2012 (note the significant date), in the exact spot where RMS Titanic was first built, the TITANIC BELFAST®, the world's largest Titanic attraction, opens to the public.This awesome new building is the same height as the Titanic's hull.It includes nine interpretive and interactive galleries displaying the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Titanic and the people who built her. There is also a 1,000-seat banqueting suite to be used for special events, conferences and/or weddings where guests can sample the same meals as were served aboard the Titanic.Tickets go on sale today. http://www.titanicbelfast.com
Titanic Belfast®
I can't help but think it would be a cool venue to have a book launch for The Depth of Deception, my Titanic murder-mystery thriller novel.
That floating city continues to fascinate us, doesn't it? Recently, drawings used at the Titanic inquest in 1912 were sold at an auction.One drawing of the entire cross section of the ship sold for 220,000 pounds ($363,000 USD).
In related news, the cigar box, with the White Star Ship logo, that was owned by Captain Edward John Smith (Titanic's captain) was sold for £25,000 ($39,000 USD).
Besides the Titanic Belfast, there are many other upcoming events marking that fateful night. Director James Cameron (Avatar) will be re-releasing his multi-Oscar winning 1997 film TITANIC, which will now be presented in 3D, on April 6, 2012. (A week before the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.)
There will also be two Titanic memorial cruises on April 10, 2012: one departing New York harbor and another from South Hampton, England. Both of the cruises will have descendants of Titanic passengers, historians, and enthusiasts aboard. Together they will gather to pay their respects at a special Memorial Service at the exact place and time where the RMS Titanic sank 100 years ago. http://www.titanicmemorialcruise.co.uk/
You can find Titanic exhibits all over the world, which have been touring over the last few years.http://www.titanictix.com/There is also a memorial and exhibit to be held in Halifax, Canada where many of the recovered bodies were buried. http://www.titanic100.ca/For coin collectors there is even a Titanic Centennial commerative coin:http://www.titanicheritagetrust.org.uk/2012-shop-medallions.htm
In an earlier blog, entitled 'Judging a book by its cover' (http://alexander-galant.blogspot.com/2011/07/judging-book-by-its-cover.html) I mentioned another unique Titanic collector's item for sale.An original copy of Futility (pictured here) which tells of a fictional ship, Titan which also struck an iceberg on a cold April night and sank in the North Atlantic.The interesting part was that this novella was published in 1898, 14 years BEFORE the Titanic set sail. (If you are interested in purchasing this extremely rare edition, please contact Michael Baber of Bicentennial Bookshop.)
This novel is an important clue in my above mentioned historical-thriller, Depth of Deception. Coming soon - April 2012.
On the morning of May 18, 1897 Bram Stoker staged a dramatic reading of his soon-to-be-published vampire novel. Since it still wasn’t certain which title the publisher was going to use, Bram entitled his reading, Dracula or the Un-Dead. Bram Stoker preferred The Un-Dead but the publisher wasn't so keen on the word 'dead' in the title. Bram hastily prepared the script for his dramatic reading using proof copies of the novel's text. He altered the text for the stage and made changes that would meet Lord Chamberlain’s requirements. As the royal censor, Lord Chamberlain could order an offending word, line or scene stricken from a script, or could even ban a play completely by refusing to license it for performance. The dramatic reading script did not have time for a polish or edit and using 15 actors from the Henry Irving company, Bram Stoker staged a one-time performance that lasted over four hours. Eight days later, the novel Dracula was published. Though not a commercial success in Bram Stoker's lifetime it has become the highest selling fiction novel in the world and has never been out of print.
Over the years I have directed various ‘Dracula’ projects including a Dracula short with Mickey Rooney narrating as Van Helsing and in 1997, the centennial year of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I re-adapted and re-staged a (shorter) dramatic reading in the style that Bram had done 100 years earlier, using actors in costumes and this time adding live music for underscoring. For publicity I spread a rumour that Bram Stoker had re-staged his reading of Dracula here in Toronto while managing Henry Irving's North American tour.There is no evidence that Bram had ever staged a second reading of Dracula.
The Cast of 1997 dramatic reading of Dracula
Years went by and I found myself working on Dracula the Un-Dead, the official sequel to Bram Stoker's novel.
Penguin Canada wanted to have a big event for the book launch here in Toronto, and wanted to do some sort of dramatic reading.Dacre Stoker (great-grandnephew of Bram) suggested they get a hold of me since I had recreated Bram's in 1997. When I met with the publicist from Penguin, she told me that they had heard a rumour that Bram had re-staged his public dramatic reading in Toronto and that's how they got the idea.Oh... the irony...
I suggested using the Bathurst Street Theatre in Toronto. Since it had been built in 1888 as a church, it had the right ambiance for the new gothic story. The one night performance would take place just before Halloween on October 28, 2009.
Bathurst Street Theatre, Toronto
We wanted to make this a spectacular event for a modern audience. Having learned from my previous reading that the audience had trouble feeling for the death of a character when they could still see the actress drinking bottled water right in front of them on the stage (as is normally done in dramatic readings), I decided we were going to have entrances and exits. Using my experience of mixing projections with live productions we used anew effect called a Fogscreen, which literally created a curtain of fog using ionized water particles to project onto.The result was amazing. Even when projecting a newspaper headline it could be clearly read on the fog.Actors were able to enter through the fog with minimal image displacement and without getting their costumes wet either.
Countess Elizabeth Bathory (Elaine O'Neal) entering through her portrait,
painted 300 years earlier. (projected onto the Fogscreen)
The period costumes were provided by award-winning costume designer Alex Amini, whom I've worked with many times on several of my stage and film productions. Eighteen incredible actors were used to bring Dracula The Un-Dead to life, some had been involved with my 1997 Dracula reading (ie. Carmen Gillespie, who played Mina Harker in both and like her character in Un-Dead, had not aged in that time).The whole performance was underscored by haunting live music composed by Kieren MacMillan. Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt were there in person and acted as narrators.
The 2009 cast of the dramatic reading of Dracula the Un-Dead.
The result was a magical night. We had only sold 18 advance tickets but on the night of the performance approximately 500 eager people showed up.The performance ended on a cliffhanger moment with a 'To be continued... in the novel' projected, which resulted in a huge line-up to buy copies to have them signed. All in all a very successful evening.Our full house became the largest book signing and sales event for Dracula the Un-Dead's publicity tour.
Click here to see 1-minute video from the reading showcasing the Fogscreen:
