TIE DIED: Behind the Scenes

As some of you know, I've begun my first YA mystery series!

I also know that many of you are working on your first book, wondering how I get it all together when it comes to writing, publishing and marketing my books.

And so, I wanted to give you a little behind-the-scenes look at the process of book publishing and marketing. You may just find my thoughts helpful on your own journey to book publishing.

Book trailers are big these days, so I've put together my first book trailer of TIE DIED: BEHIND THE SCENES.

In this video I will tell you how I came up with the title, what's in the future for the series, and I will give you a little taste of the book's beginning below:

I remember the day I first found her. She was lying by the stream in that park I always go to when I'm out running. Just lying there as if taking a nap. But it was November in Utah and it was odd that someone would be taking a nap in the snow. The water itself was practically frozen, white glossiness covering most of the stream where I'd dipped my toes in just this past summer. The leaves were already gone from the trees and I felt suddenly as if I was somewhere I shouldn't be. My skin was cold and yet I didn't shiver as I looked down at the girl wearing the red running shoes.

                She must have been running because she wore sweat pants - dark black with a white stripe down the legs, a tie dyed sweat shirt - and a scarf, still around her head. It looked like wool. Her eyes were opened. Brown. And her hair, blond - no, more like a light brown with golden highlights. It lay crusted against the snow, glued to it almost, fanned out like the sun.

                I didn't scream.

                I reached for my cell phone from my back pocket and dialed the police all the while watching the girl, her skin a light blue, her lips - white. How long had she been there? How had she been killed? Why had she been killed?

                And then I looked at the bottom of her shoes. There was no mud. No snow. They were as clean as paper that hadn't been written on yet. The path near the stream was at least 20 feet from this frozen steam. She could never have jumped that far.

                There were no tire tracks. Just one set of footprints coming to the stream and then away from it. They were large, much larger than her own that had decorative symbols on the bottom...

                "Hello, Hello?"

                "Oh, yes, sorry."

                "Do you have something to report?"

                "Yes. Yes... I found a girl at Montgomery Park. She's dead."