What's your goals?

"What are you all hoping to accomplish this year, artistically (or writerly, or whatever else you are fond of)?"

I saw this question on my friend and fellow photographer, Elizabeth May's FB page and I got to thinking...

In recent conversations I've come to realize I've been dang lucky. I've somehow still held onto my love of the captured image, still have managed to keep up creatively, still managed to keep shooting.

I still remember the first photos I took with my Dad's old point and shoot. Back when we used colored film. Kodak, specifically. Back when I admired my Dad's old black and whites from when we were kids. Back when he was teaching ME to shoot.

Oh how he got mad at me wasting all that film for "nothing" but those first few shots I took from the stolen camera during my lonesome and boring afternoon home from school were the first moments where I knew I wanted to shoot for the rest of my life. It wasn't anything special but a few shots of leaves and bark. But the fact is I was able to shoot something I LOOKED for. I was allowed to be creative.

After high school, and after taking photo classes, when my parents oh so kindly asked what I wanted to do in college, they were being hopeful... No, not hopeful I WILL go to college but hopeful I wouldn't choose photography. Fact is, they knew. They knew I had a love for it since I had already started taking portraits and was assisting a wedding photography couple. They were being very hopeful that I'd choose accounting, but let's face it, I am not one for numbers OR organization. I don't know where they got the notion I'd be remotely decent at it.

But while photography has taken me on a journey from portraits, to babies to weddings to event photography to now book trailers of all things, I am left wondering what the future will bring. I've had a twistedly good year and as I am about to crouch upon my 2 years of book trailers, I cannot imagine what comes next. But most importantly I have all of you to thank. All of you have been so patient with me, have been so gracious to put up with me and my crazy ideas, all of you who've been so forgiving and amazing all around. I've worked with amazing marketing teams and have been fortunate to be part of some way awesome schemes. I've had the privilege of working with the likes of Melissa de la Cruz and Cassandra Clare, to be in company with Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong and to have repeat encounters with friends like Kami Garcia (I still don't know why she puts up with me, but I love her for it!). I truly value the time and the opportunities they've given me, but most importantly for giving me a shot.

I wouldn't be here with that "shot" without that first shot with my dingy point and shoot in middle school, with that "shot" in high school when I aced the AP in photo, with that "shot" I took doing weddings or even that "shot" I took when starting book trailers.

So we'll see what this year and the next few years brings. But I do have a few goals in mind (as the original question from Elizabeth posed.)

1) GRADUATE already. Yes, believe it or not I am still in school, finishing my BFA in photo but with my severe case of senioritis ... well, let's just say it's an uphill battle.

2) Enjoy the people around me more. After my grandpa's passing and realizing that a few thousand miles can break one's heart... I've realized I need to treasure those around me more. I love you!

3) Enjoy my life. I work so hard and so long that I forget I need to take a day off. Running your own business a lot of times means working 24/7 and no vacations.

4) Meet new people. I love traveling and I love meeting new people. So hope this is the year we meet. Let's have some coffee.

5) Keep doing what I love. I had so much fun last year with all the trailers and events and traveling that I hope this year is just as fun. Here's to a great year and happy occurrences.

So what are YOUR goals this year? What do you hope to accomplish authors, bloggers, photographer and readers?

What I have been up to...

I feel like it's been forever since I've updated my blog. I've been super busy with shooting two of my favorite book trailers so far this year for CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS and WITHER.

I've been busy reading some great books for upcoming trailers, like:

“It’s about a mother and two daughters who move to town and shake things up,” says de la Cruz. “There’s already a family of warlocks living there who aren’t too happy with their arrival…It’s based on old Norse mythology.”

"DIE FOR ME is the first of three books about Kate, a sixteen-year-old American who moves to Paris after the death of her parents. She finds herself falling for Vincent, who she discovers is not the typical French teenager he appears: he is something else entirely.
DIE FOR ME presents a new supernatural mythology presented in a city where dreams are sometimes the same as reality."

"At Winterhaven, Violet finally feels like she belongs. She quickly finds a close group friends and discovers that they too have psychic ‘gifts’—as do all the students at Winterhaven. But as soon as she feels settled she discovers the most intriguing and alluring boy she has ever met, and things quickly go awry. As the attraction between them grows, intense visions of the boy’s death start to haunt her. In her premonitions the secret he is unwilling to share begins to reveal itself. And to Violet's horror, she learns that their destinies are intertwined in a critical—and deadly—way."

Meanwhile I am working on a secret project and I need your HELP! If you like something or another of VLC Productions' let me know below... you might see your quote somewhere cool!

Also been shooting a bit too so check it out below:

We HEART Nook Giveaway!

WINNER is Elie Nice!

Nook Giveaway Rules:

This is a multiple blog giveaway. Each blog is giving away a prize pack that will include an entry into the Grand Prize Nook giveaway. You can enter every blog’s giveaway, but each blog will have their own giveaway rules, so please be sure to follow them. Each blog will pick a winner – the winner will win the blog prize and an entry into the Nook Giveaway, which means it’s a 1 in 14 chance to win the Nook. If you enter every contest, you have the possibility of your name being added multiple times in the Nook giveaway.


ENTRY RULES:
US only
Must be 13 yrs of age to enter
Extra entry for followers (but not required)
No PO Boxes- the Nook is being shipped UPS
Giveaway ends at 11:59pm central time on 2/13

Grand Prize Winner gets:

A finished copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver from Harper Teen
A $40 gift-card to Barnes and Noble
3 ebooks from Harlequin Teen

• My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent
• The Oracle of Dating by Allison Van Diepen
• Past Midnight by Mara Phrunhagen

My Blog's Winner gets:

Paperback copy of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Finished copy of Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Papberback copy of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

*****ENTER HERE****

Author photos and BEA...

(not an author but a portrait nonetheless)

(not author but a good portrait example)

(just a portrait example)

I am almost hesitant to even bring this up knowing that BEA is a busy madness and everyone will be so busy. But it doesn't hurt to plan ahead.

So if you're an author, or industry person, and you are in need of new headshot or portrait or author photo (who knew a photo had so many names) this is your chance. I'll be in New York City a few days before and after BEA if you want to schedule a shoot. Knowing how busy you all will be I'm offering mini shoots that are bound to fit right into your schedule.

You'll get a CD with all the edited images that way you can choose which one suits you best.

For more info or if you have questions, email me at vandsmedia[at]gmail.com

For more author photos or portrait examples, click the links.

Heads up AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS

This might seem early, but I thought I'd just give a heads up.

I will be out of the country in June and some of July, visiting family in Bulgaria and seeing some of Europe. Which would mean a few things:

a) no internet, or barely any

b) no phone, or well, we'll see

c) I'm not working

d) I'll be taking lots of pictures and having a blast

But with end of May being BEA, me graduating in Early May, and then Europe trip.... "C" applies to most of my summer and one of my busiest times.

So if you've thought about having me produce a book trailer, or anything else photo related, this is the time to give me the heads up and potentially start on it early. I don't want to miss out on any great projects!

So if you have a Summer or early Fall book and have questions, concerns or want to book your book's trailer, email me at VANDSMEDIA@GMAIL.COM

Have you heard of...

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth?

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

Excited yet? I've heard nothing but good things about it. Author Melissa Marr's been singing this book's praises and last week my local indie bookstore raved about it.

Check out her interview with HarperTeen and Check out her website.

Also enter to win a copy on GoodReads.

I am dying for it! (Book releases May 3rd, PreOrder it!)

Have you heard of...

When Alexis’s little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey’s shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister — but what if that green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?

The sequel comes out in June!

Check out Katie Alender's website

Order or Pre-Order her books: Amazon

TOTALLY check out her book trailer!