Unwelcome: The Trailer
6/19/20262 min read
The Unwelcome book trailer was created entirely by me, the author, without the use of AI. The only element that’s not mine is the music. And I was thrilled to find such a perfectly spooky soundtrack from Universfield (on Pixabay) for this video.
The trailer took about three months to create. Yes, you read that right. I’m tech impaired. It’s a bit longer than I’d wanted, but overall, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. All the segments in the video reflect significant themes in the book.
The farmhouse in the opening scene belongs to my cousin and her husband. I thought it looked similar to the house on my book cover and, after careful consideration—while keeping me on pins and needles—they decided to let me use the picture.
That’s me playing hopscotch, while my daughter filmed. I hadn’t played that in decades. What fun. My feet are a bit too big to be those of a little girl but, alas, I had no little girl handy.
The noose scene was done in the forest by our house, with my husband’s help. A guy passed by on the trail as we were hanging the noose over a tree limb. No eye contact was made. He probably just wanted to get away. We worked quickly to finish up before the police came.
I filmed the graveyard scenes at Cave Hill, a Victorian arboretum and cemetery. It’s my favorite place in town, and I never tire of visiting it. The weather had to be just right (gloomy), and it took some time to locate the perfect markers. They had to be old and sufficiently weathered for some scenes, and for others, they needed to have a certain symbol on them. I also had to be careful to avoid any visible names on the stones within the frames. Getting it right took many attempts, which was a good excuse to get my husband to take me there again and again.
Lastly, my dear husband stopped the clock—at the witching hour—in that final scene. This is more difficult than it sounds when you’re using a cardboard “wall” with a hole cut in back in order to yank out the tightly fit battery at just the right moment. It was a frustrating endeavor trying to keep the everything still. After all (spoiler alert!) there is no earthquake in the story.
A very special thanks to my husband and my daughter for their assistance in creating this trailer. If I can muster up the motivation, I might release another one later this year.
