I know y’all are getting tired of hearing my voice every day, so today I am going to introduce you to the fabulous Sarah M. Anderson, who did my Lego trailer for Twisted. And at the bottom of the little interview, you can enter to win any format you choose of Sarah’s Expecting a Bolton Baby, e or print!

LKC: How did you get the idea to do Lego trailers?
SMA: I got the idea for Lego book trailers indirectly from Tessa Dare. She’d done some videos using only toys found in her kids’ room–and, given the number of Barbies, her kids are girls. I thought the videos were hilarious but I have 1 son–not so many Barbies (a few vintage Star Wars ‘action figures’, but not enough to do anything with). “I just don’t have Barbies. I have Legos,” I was complaining to my friend one day and then it hit me–I HAVE LEGOS. We did the first video that weekend, for Mystic Cowboy.

LKC: What part of the trailer production is “mother” and what part is “son?”
SMA: I’d say it’s about 70% Mother and 30% Son. Obviously, my son is in charge of props. He also is in charge of backdrops–he draws the skies for me and we use his science fair posterboard as the base. So usually I’m setting up the shots and shouting to him, “I NEED THE SHARK GUY! WHERE IS HE?” and he has to excavate through the thousands and thousands and thousands of Legos we have for the one shark guy. Otherwise, I’m pretty much making up the script as I go, taking the photos (lighting Lego Dudes is harder than you think!) and then uploading everything to my computer and editing it in iMovie. He hasn’t graduated to editing yet, but when we have the backdrop set up, he usually takes shots for a movie he’s going to make … someday. Last time, it was Star Wars Clone Wars Battle (with surprise Ninjago battalion!)

LKC: What’s your favorite (and least favorite) part of making a trailer?
SMA: I crack myself up. I really do. I make these for my own entertainment. I like seeing what Lego weirdness (or other toy weirdness–like Jeremy the Jet from Thomas the Tank Engine popping up in the Real Cowboy video) I can cram into two minutes or less. The least favorite part is actually taking the photos. I guess I need a better camera with a fancy flash or something, but trying to get close-ups without a flash glare is hard. Or maybe I just need to clean the boy fingerprints off the lenses!

LKC: Tell us a little about the Bolton brothers — how many of them are there, what is their relationship like, how does the family dynamic work?
SMA: They’re a fun bunch–as the video states, they put the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional’! The Boltons are three brothers that own and operate Crazy Horse Choppers, a custom-built motorcycle shop. The first book is middle brother Ben (Straddling the Line)–he’s the numbers guy who runs the company and pays the bills. Billy, the oldest (Bringing Home the Bachelor) is the hard-core biker dude who actually builds the bikes. Baby brother Bobby (Expecting a Bolton Baby) is a marketing genius who frequently butts heads with his brothers. They don’t always get along when it comes to the family business, but Boltons always put the family first. When things go to hell in a handbasket, they can count on each other!

LKC:  Can you tell us a little about the newest book (that I will be giving away), Expecting a Bolton Baby?
SMA: Bobby was a challenge because he rubs both Ben and Billy the wrong way with his grand, expensive plans that they have to pay for. He’s a playboy who’s also a marketing genius and he has big, big plans–plans that are all suddenly at risk when Stella Caine shows up at his doorstep and announces that she’s pregnant with his baby. Because Boltons always put the family first, Bobby decides he must marry her. He doesn’t expect Stella to say no–but as a consummate salesman, Bobby doesn’t take no for an answer!

Expecting a Bolton Baby Giveaway