5/7/12

Thanks and a Blog Contest! Wow!

Thanks, everyone, for your support and for your ideas for promoting my novel.  Several people suggested that I try and appeal to the visual nature of our culture.  So...I have an idea!  I'm going to make a book trailer.  As you may know, a book trailer is like a movie preview, but for books.  Plus, it's usually a lot shorter and it is not always plot dependent.  It can give more a sense of voice than actual story.

Here's the story of my book. The Goddess Lounge is about Penne Armour, an LA mother whose search for her missing dirtbag of a husband takes her on a wild odyssey where modern-day monsters sell thousand dollar shoes and butcher locally-grown, organic-fed boars, new-age priestesses battle evangelicals over inner goddesses and menstrual tents, and love not only follows you like a love-sick puppy, it is a whole slew of lovesick puppies.  A comic, gender-twisting riff on Homer's Odyssesy, The Goddess Lounge asks the eternal question: Why be a hero when you can be a goddess?  


So that's what my book trailer is going to ask: Why be a hero when you can be a goddess?  I want to pack my book trailer full of photos of women of all ages, weights, backgrounds, etcetera and I want to show that being a modern goddess means owning both yourself and your happiness.    


So...send me a picture of you or some woman that you think is fabulous being totally authentic, a picture that says my life belongs to me. Be in my book trailer!  Let me celebrate you and the fact that you are a modern goddess.


There are just a few rules:
1.  Send one picture of you (or someone you think is fabulous) looking like you own your own life, whatever that means to you.
2.  Send the picture as a jpeg file to mail@margaretfinnegan.com.  
3.  Send it to me by May 30, 2012.  
4.  All women are beautiful.  No ageism, weightism, photoshopism, whateverism allowed.  
5.  Keep it clean so I can show my kids.  
6.  The photo must belong to you.  No one else can own the copyright.  With your photo, you should send me a note granting me permission to use the photo for my book trailer.  All the other rights will belong to you.


As pictures roll in, I will post them and I will introduce you to our gallery of modern goddesses.  
During the week of June 1, I will post my top five picks for who best symbolizes what it means to be a modern goddess.  YOU will get to choose who wins.


The winner will get a copy of my novel The Goddess Lounge and a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card.  How fun is that!


Feeling shy about the whole picture thing?  Well, you're going to have to get over that because I really want you--YOU--in my book trailer.  You, my wonderful blog friends, sustained me through much of the writing of this novel, and now it's my chance to celebrate you.  It is time for the world to see how DIVINE you really are!



19 comments:

Margaret said...

Not really sure why the formatting is all weird. But don't let that dissuade you. I'm waiting for your picture.

Rois said...

So I am a bit dim at these tech things,how do I send you my photo?

Rois said...

I mean email or in a comment here?

Margaret said...

I am the dense one. Send it as an attachment to mail@margaretfinnegan.com. Yeah! I'm so excited.

Petrea Burchard said...

Margaret, this is so fabulous. I love your book trailer idea and I can't wait to see all the pictures.

Jean Spitzer said...

Don't forget to include one of yourself.

claire bangasser said...

I'm so glad about your book. I felt so frustrated reading "The Hero with a thousand Faces" (Campbell) because everyone of his heroes was a male...

Grrr...

Can't wait for your book!

Rois said...

Oh Claire,I just love your comment.I really want to get into Campbell but he always leaves out the women,which leaves me a bit put off.

Petrea Burchard said...

Jean, yes, yes! Margaret, you must have a picture of yourself, of course.

Isn't that the truth, Claire and Rois? We received in the mail a flyer about some new cable channel with pictures of the stars of all their shows--all men! Why would I buy that? I like men just fine, but that's so limited.

I'm also tired of the label, "Women's Fiction," used in the publishing world. Do you know what it is? It's good fiction centered around female characters. Good fiction centered around male characters is called "Fiction."

Margaret said...

Well said all of you. When I was writing my novel I did so much novel into ancient myths and goddesses, and one thing I realized was that for a man to be a hero he had to battle monsters, but for a woman to be a monster she had to die, and think of so many stories and movies that bear witness to that. Women are seen as heroes when they sacrifice themselves or their best interests. That is why it is much better to be a goddess.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Total awesomeness. I'm in...I'll email you when I get a photo... xo

Margaret said...

Hooray, Deb!

Unknown said...

Woo! I am so in...and I intend to win too. ;)

Tony Van Helsing said...

Good trailer idea. Sadly my gender excludes me from sending a photo. Cruel world.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

No bacon? damnitalbert!!! and all this time I thought the Goddess Lounge was a compilation of your blog posts. Exciting indeed.

Ms M said...

That's a great idea! Looking forward to seeing the photos!

Katie said...

Your book sounds awesome! And your idea for a book trailer is really cool. Who needs to be a hero indeed!

Katie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan Campisi said...

I love your book already! And I adore the trailer idea. Time to search through my photos...