Dear Readers,
I rarely notice them. Until I need them not to be there. But now, in the silence, they were unmistakable. Of w 
hat do I speak? The trio. Now I know that what you really want, most likely, is the new Chapter 1 video. And which book will be frees for the launch. So please feel free to scroll down now if you wish. However, if you’d prefer to enjoy the suspense a little longer, then here’s the story.
What Story?
The making of the new video. As you can tell, it has two components: sound and vision. Both had their challenges in the creation. Now, this year, I have released two new audiobooks and taken you with me on my journey of recording them and editing them through to mastering and launch.
Several weeks have passed since the last one, and to say that in the ecstasy of completing the project I had forgotten the agony would be an overstatement. Nevertheless, now it was audio-recording time for just that one chapter; the routine came back to me: get up before the world stirs, and get it in the can. Simple, right? Plus, I do this on my phone, as it is just for the website, and passes muster for that, so no set-up to do. But the one thing I do need for any size of audio recording is ….?
Clue: It’s Golden.
Yes, Silence. It doesn’t need to be deathly silence, but the comparative quiet of early morning when most people and dogs are asleep, and traffic has stilled to a distant sigh. Especially if you don’t live next to a major road.
I began recording. And that’s when the trio began their contribution: the central heating with the metallic note from the radiator. The one right beside me, which I appreciate once the temperature drops below my preferred tropical. Now, the next note from, and I have no idea why after hours of repose, the television at the other end of my office-sitting room. And there comes the completion of the chord from arguably Britain’s most vocal fridge. All nicely spaced at intervals to do the maximum of interference and consequent unspoken ‘Sorry, I’ll read that again.’
So Nearly There
Nevertheless, I persisted through the minutes, some seven. The finish line was in sight. 5 … 4 … and here comes the recycling lorry. I tried not to hurry. I might be lucky and my phone mic not pick it up … and … done. I check. Phew. I got away with that one. On to editing out the boings, plinks, and dings. Do necessary retakes. Time to put the music on the beginning and the end. Finally, I had the soundtrack.
Vision
Now it was time to choose some slides to amuse your eye while listening. These had to be chosen with care and had to be upscaled (enlarged) as the camera appears to pass slowly over the zoomed-in details. Simple enough (I use Pixa.com for this to keep the quality as the image goes up in size).
The Battle
But look, for one, I wanted the pan to go in the opposite direction. Not from left to right as CapCut (the app I use for video editing) does automatically, but from right to left. Hm, not so simple. The ‘reverse’ option being strangely greyed out. I sought counsel from my AI friend Kairo, and then an editing sage on Reddit, who gave the solution. If you are a video editing enthusiast, as either a professional or an amateur, read on for what that was. If not, suffice it to say that in the end, after a heated moment or two, I had all the visuals in place, and skip the next paragraph. Down to …
Geek Zone
(So, for the nerds, geeks and boffins: the solution was to click/right click/control-click on the selected clip, and choose ‘create compound clip’. And then, if it is a video clip, you’ll now see reverse is no longer greyed out. For me, as this was a slide, I had to put my keyframes in to mark the start and finish of the slow pan. (In my version, this is in the top right panel under video/basic. There is a diamond for scale and another for position. If you just want to zoom in and out, then you only need scale, but if you are going to move in any direction during the zoom then click both. So, I click both at the beginning of the slide and check that the diamond has appeared on the clip in the timeline. Then move the cursor to where I want the movement to finish, then check that the closing diamond has appeared. Then test. Next, I went into the menu and chose reverse. Oh joy! Result. All praise to the kind Redditor for the ‘create compound clip’.)
Feelings
The moment has come, and not without a small surge of emotion, for this is … I’ll tell you after the public premiere of the Amanda Cadabra and The Fatal Flower Chapter 1. If you prefer to just read the text or would like to read along, here is a link.
https://amandacadabra.com/chapter-1-the-fatal-flower/
I hope you enjoyed that taster and were properly intrigued.
Yes, back to the small surge of emotion. Why? Because this is our last stop of our launch machines’ journey before the terminus, the destination: Launch Day. However many books I write for your enjoyment, this one I will always remember. It came to me with unprecedented speed of inspiration, writing, editing and building of the mighty launch machine. A book that wanted to be set at Hallowe’en, and was determined to reach your hands by that date in real time. And none of it would have been possible without your waiting hands or, of course, without the remarkable talents of Tim creating the cover.
Free Book!
The dies is cast, the winner is chosen: the free book for you to download on Launch Day, Sunday, 25th October from will be downloadable from Amazon (I hope!), Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and others. will be … Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree. This is the 7th in the series, and yes there is a trailer and a Chapter 1 video for it here.
Why That One?
There is a connection between the Amanda Cadabra and The Hanging Tree and Amanda Cadabra and The Fatal Flower, which … well, I won’t give any spoilers. But it is referenced in the new book, as indeed is Amanda Cadabra and The Nightstairs. Well … you’ll see, once you read them. It will all become magically clear!
Coming Up?
But there will be other books, and other launch machines, all, no doubt, memorable in their own ways. However, for now, what’s next? Yes! Launch Day with a couple of short videos for your entertainment. And of course the free book.
Back soon.
Happy watching and reading,
Holly
PS: Post-launch, will be a thank you and: ‘The one time I hoped they’d say “no”.’
PPS If you want to start the series now:
