Monday, March 26, 2012

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The spring in March

Well here I am. Back to normality again. I have done all I can do, at this moment, to finish my book. It's out there, hopefully with all the errors corrected, finally. I have set it free. It's now available for pre-order through Amazon, so there is no stopping this train. I know everyone wont like it, I have not written Hemingway people, this book is a fun, fictional, romp in R&R. I only hope to inspire a journey, a really LOUD journey, in a few of you.

So, with that in mind, after I have delivered every ounce of my soul to the press people, I can now relax at home and change my focus to the beautification of my yard, the final mixing of an album, and lots and lots of outdoor fun with my family.

I love this time of year, with all the longer days and blue skies. Makes me once again love living in southern California. Everything is in bloom, so that we are fooled into thinking that summer is around the corner... But hopefully we have a few more months of chilly nights because I really didn't get to enjoy much 'accessories/weather' clothes this year. I do love my coats and scarves.

So today, I am enjoying spring, and as the baby takes his afternoon nap, I am out poolside for the first time in well... lets say it's been too long.


It's not that I'm never outside, I'm out here every day, really... but like this, doing nothing but writing...It's been a while! My outdoor time has been consisting of playing basketball with my son, who has decided to become a pro basketball player, or the planting of new spring flowers, and pruning back the weeds. I feel like it is a spiritual thing that happens to all of us, every passing of the season.

We plant the seeds, and get rid of what's hanging around that we don't want. I enjoy gardening, the dirt, all the different wild flowers in their splendor, and sure, the sun feels good on my skin. Damn, I'm white.

I've decided that I need a bird house, because there are some beautiful yellow finches playing in my garden hose, or maybe a bird bath... am I past the century that it was un-cool to have a birdbath in their backyard? Something Gothic? Yes? Now I must begin to comb my favorite flea market next Sunday.


Whoop, there is the baby monitor. My time here is done. That was real fun... see you tomorrow, suntan.. Now it's time for my little dude to take over the park!!! Happy Spring to you all!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Take a peek...

Here it is!! The official book trailer...



Buy the book now on Amazon (Pre-order)

(This video is for promotional use only)



Novel By: Tommie Vaughn "This Rock In My Heart"

http://www.thisrockinmyheart.com

CREDITS:
DIRECTED BY: TOMMIE VAUGHN
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS KNITTER (http://overlooked-productions.com)
VIDEO EDITING: TONY GRIMES
WARDROBE: CARRIE DIAZ (http://www.iloveswift.com)
MUSIC BY: WALL OF TOM (http://walloftom.com)

...with special thanks to: Rachel Spensatelli, Rachael Rine, Alikat Rose, Donnie Baker @ ES Audio Services in Burbank, Claire Dunlop, Mark Canter, Ze-Auto Parts, Kiss or Kill, Bang Sugar Bang, Lonn Friend, Sandy King Carpenter and The City of Los Angeles

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Filming of a book trailer

Its really nice to be behind the camera for once. This whole process of shooting a book video trailer... I didn't even know people did that. You know, it's a book, not a movie, but I guess that is the way they are doing things in the literary world now. So with a book like mine, my publisher thought it was the perfect way to create a fun buzz about the book.

I jumped into action and created what I thought would be the perfect 'trailer' to help readers get a feel for what this book is gonna be about. First I called my old pal Chris Knitter of Overlooked Productions who shot both of our music videos, and got him on board with the project. Then at home I wrote out a overview of the book and recorded the narration with my trusty husband, and sound engineer Tony Grimes. Tony then edited one of our new songs down to about a minute and did his magic of putting the narration over the song. We then sent the file over to Knitters. Part one done.

Part two was to find the right 'Frankie' to be in the video. We didn't really want to give her a face, but a very good idea of what the character looks like in the book. We chose the beautiful and super sweet Rachel Spensatelli.



After we had our Frankie, we went about creating a shot list. I got an incredible recording studio to shoot at, Thank you to Donny Baker at ES Audio Services in Glendale. If we had a studio we needed a drummer goddess to play the 'Jillian' roll... I didn't have to look too far since the character was inspired by my awesome real life bombsell bestie Rachael Rine.



I lucked out again and discovered that my old landlord at The Hollywood El Cerrito was still there and we were able to shoot at the beautiful building that inspired the book. A special thank you to Claire for being so accomodating to our shoot, just walking the halls again was magical, and I got some great ideas for book two while sitting in the lush courtyard.



My son was there for the entire shoot, and I just had to add this photo of him and 'Frankie' while we were shooting at El Cerrito. He just likes to be part of any music being played, so he thought he would tune Rachel's guitar a bit while she sang him a song.



After that, the day was a blur of location changes. Hollywood Blvd, Runyon Canyon, the Sunset Strip and ending at the Kibitz Room on Fairfax. (A thank you to Mark Canter for letting us shoot at the famous Kibitz!) The city of Hollywood was good to us, and if you can believe it, we were on schedule all day. I attibute this to my son, the PA, who kept us on track, or at least me on track, knowing that timing was of the essence and I did not want to deal with a major melt down during the shoot. He did surprisingly well, and once again I am reminded at how lucky I am to have such a wonderful supportive family in my hubby and son, who together we make an unstoppable team. I must also thank Carrie Diaz, who was our fashion stylist on the shoot, she gave 'Frankie' the exact look I wanted and she kept me company and in giggles all day long.

Now comes the editing. We must condense one hour of shooting into one minute. Awesome. We actually have so much good stuff, we might do two or three teasers too! As we put Knitter on a plane back to KC today he will get to step three. This is gonna be good.