Reaching out to readers

Josh Stuyvesant is shown in a still from the trailer promoting Carolee Dean’s book “Forget Me Not.” Stuyvesant also produced the trailer. (COURTESY OF JOSH STUYVESANT)

“Forget Me Not,” Carolee Dean’s latest novel for young readers, came out just a few weeks ago, but the publicity campaign for it got going months ago with a dramatic book trailer with music on YouTube.

“It’s actually a phenomenon that’s become pretty popular with authors, especially with children’s and young adult authors, as a way to promote their books,” said Dean, an Albuquerque resident.

Book trailers are one of several new publicity directions that these authors are into, she said. “I wanted to do something that looked more like a movie trailer or a music video.”

	“Forget Me Not” by Carolee Dean Simon Pulse, $16.99, 374 pp.

It seems closer to a movie trailer. One hears the voice of the lead character, Ally, who is seen with two male characters, the boy she loves and the boy who loves her.

Josh Stuyvesant produced and acted in the book trailer, which is the second one he’s made for Dean. Stuyvesant had produced a trailer for Dean’s previous book, “Take Me There.”

Thanks to Dean’s husband, Thomas’, outgoing personality, she and Stuyvesant connected two years ago when Stuyvesant waited on their table at a local restaurant. The three of them chatted.

Dean remembered her husband saying, “He’ll make a movie trailer for you!” Dean later gave Josh a copy of “Take Me There.”

“I said, ‘Make a book trailer,’ and he did. He got the actors, worked with Kyle Ruggles on the music,” Dean said.

Ruggles also wrote and performed music on the trailer for her new novel, “Forget Me Not.”

It’s described as an honest exploration of pain and redemption, weaving narratives in verse between Ally, who is caught in a life-and-death struggle and Elijah, who will do anything to save her.

Ghosts also figure prominently in the book. Dean said she is conducting a “Ghost Tour” on her blog – http://caroleedeanbooks.blogspot.com. Click on the Ghost Tour tab, and you can visit some of the characters and places in the book.

At one stop on this tour visitors can see a video that others bloggers put together as if they were ghost-hunting at Ally and Elijah’s school, Dean said.

There are prizes, including locally made jewelry and a hand-painted journal associated with the Ghost Tour. For more details go to the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the Ghost Tour page.

To see the book trailer go to www.alamosabooks.com/event/Carolee-Dean-Forget-Me-Not.