When Yunyu and I started collaborating on a book/song release with Burn Bright I had no idea how much fun I’d have and how interesting it would be. For those who don’t know the background, when I released Burn Bright (book 1) of my Night Creatures YA trilogy, Yunyu also released a song called Angel Arias written specifically to to accompany the book.

The song was made available for download via iTunes and Bandcamp for a small fee. We also released two videos using a sample of the music. One video was produced by Random House using a remixed version of Yunyu’s song and perfectly captured the hard core party atmosphere of Ixion. The second video was released by Yunyu and was more of a sneak peak at the song proper.

The result of all this was an enhanced reading/listening experience for the fans of the series. I still get excited every time I hear Yunyu’s song, Angel Arias, and it will forever take me back to the world I created – in the same way that songs take me back to other times in my life; past loves, experiences, places and emotions.

On the creative side, the collaboration was a wonderful, enriching experience. On the administrative/production side there were a few bumps along the way but we got there in the end. I reminded myself a few times, that nothing worth fighting for comes easily.

As the book 2 got under way, Yunyu and I revisited the music/book idea and agreed that we loved working together. For me, Yunyu (her sense of humour and crazy-arsed brilliant mind) is nothing but a pleasure to have in my life and I hope I brought something to her in return. And so … we lined up for round two…

Things were a bit different this time. Yunyu and I planned it on the fly between us and she chose a song, already written, that fitted perfectly with the frantic flight of the my main character through the second book. The song, Bluebeard, is fierce and full of energy and fear.

This time Yunyu said we could make the song available free specially for those who purchased the book. Being the tech savant that she is, she suggested we place a QR tag in the back of the book which would allow anyone with a iPhone or Smartphone to download from the link.

This is a simple and graceful approach, and as of today our plan has been realised. Anyone who has purchased a copy of Book 2 Angel Arias, just needs to point their QR reader app at the tag in the book and it will take them to a free download link of the song. And if you’d like an idea of the kind of song it is, you can get a taste of it by watching the book trailer below made by R & D Studios (I’ll be running a feature on them soon so you can find out more about them) for book 2.

Will we do it again for book 3? Absolutely!

R & D Studios trailer for Angel Arias

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H30_T0C1LbY&feature=channel_video_title

Angel Arias Song Preview

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y07iogdHqvQ

Random House trailer for Burn Bright

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np4iHj1AIMg

Well I promise that after this post I’ll resume normal transmission. But today was the maddest day!!! Yunyu and I danced and threw gnomes all day with the news that her song Angel Arias went live on iTunes and Bandcamp. Over at the Burn Bright site I’ve said some important thank you’s to people who helped us make this work.

Then by afternoon I saw that the cover for book 2 had escaped into the wild, so I shared news of that as well.

I’ve also had some great new readers join me on FB and twitter and lovely reviews coming in for both the review and the song. Yunyu and I are ecstatic. So now I will stop. But I’ll leave you with the cover for book 2. Thanks you Jaroslaw Kubicki. You are a complete genius!

The day your book is released is always important but with the release of Burn Bright this week, it is the culmination of nearly a decade’s work. Yes, I’ve been working on the manuscript, on and off, for about that long! You might be sick to death of hearing me talk about it at this stage, but when you’ve been with a story FOREVER, it feels like cause to really celebrate.

To add to that, it’s my first creative collaboration with Yunyu. I loved working with her. She is something else: clever, funny and so so so talented. Plus she’s given me an awesome idea for book 2, Angel Arias. This project has also given me opportunities to do some fun publicity, meet a whole lot of new readers, and strengthen my bonds with some people I love and respect like the CoolShite crew.

We’ve been doing giveaways on Facebook, and through the Burn Bright website, and will do the last ones during the CoolShite podcast on March 7th. Remember, to win those ones, you have to email your questions in ahead of time to feedback@coolshite.net.

The Courier Mail did a neat article on the collaboration today, and also listed my Brisbane Tour Dates:

Strathpine Library on March 29 (3480 6698)

Narangba Library (3385 5555)

Redcliffe Library on March 31 (3283 0311)

Victoria Point Library on March 31 (3884 4000)

Pulp Fiction, Brisbane City, on April 1 (3236 2750)

Brisbane Supanova Pop Culture Expo on April 1-3 (www.supanova. com.au)

And while we’re talking about giveaways, Twelfth Planet Press are also giving away 2 copies of Glitter Rose on Goodreads. All you have to do to be in the draw is click a button (and be a member of GoodReads).