Every Christmas, I wish the season could last much longer. I love the festive music, the twinkle lights, and the fun get-togethers. Last year, I came up with an idea that will make Christmas last throughout my 2019, though I might need a little help from my friends to make it a reality.
Picture the scene: I’m walking with a friend through a lush botanical garden. We are bundled up to keep warm and dishing about the last few months of our lives. She jokes that at an upcoming holiday party that we’ll attend together, in the process of networking, some dude will become enchanted with me (which I don’t need, because I’m married) and she’ll find new job leads (which she doesn’t need, since she’s entrenched in her career).
Alas, my friend is single. So are many other friends, both near and far. And we laugh, every year, about how the holidays bring out our more cozy and less social ways.
Suddenly I’m inspired, so notebook in hand, I pen a song called “Single in December.” It needs some tweaks, but I’m so excited to have this idea, though I don’t know what to do with it. I figure, I’ll make up the music and melody for it, print copies, and share it with my ukulele band, The Ukeladies. Maybe, just maybe, I can perform it at Open Mike Night in late 2019, near December. That’s as far as my thoughts went, back in the last days of 2018.
Later, I realized that I never made a book trailer for my book, “A Magical Time Called Later.” It opens with the protagonist making darn sure she’s going to be single in December. My upcoming book, “Gen X Singletons,” opens with a different protagonist who’s single in December. Hey wait a minute, I think, I could use this song for my book trailer!
Since I’m a proud Gen Xer, I suddenly realize that a book trailer is really a MUSIC VIDEO like we knew and loved back in the 80s. At this point I’m over the moon! Who doesn’t want to make a music video? That sounds like the funnest thing of all!
Lounging in my fuzzy socks and sweats…
Of course, in order to do this, I’ll need to record the song, learn photo editing software, get much better at certain computer programs, and coordinate a ton of stuff, but I think I can do it, and I’m excited to get started. My computer guru husband will be on hand to assist.
So I came up with a concept: display a series of images that reflect my (by now, tweaked and awesome) lyrics. Set it to music… my song, in particular. Get the release info figured out later, and let everyone know about it. Have people see the video. Hope they love it and think it’s funny. If the video is shared on social media, it can reach far and help me connect with people who might like to read my books.
All I’m asking for from friends is photos of things like cocktails, cute cats and dogs, and fun pictures of various sorts. For the more theatrical types in my life, I may ask for them to pose for a picture, but I’ll totally understand if they choose not to. All pictures have to be given freely, as I don’t have a budget for this project beyond ‘my spare time’ and opting to buy stock pictures if need be. If you choose to help in any way, you’ll have my forever gratitude. I am really excited about this project, and have pages of notes prepared already!
Happy new year, and may the magic of Christmas follow you throughout 2019!
Gabi Lorino
Author Gabi Lorino 