If you’re on Facebook, you can celebrate the release of Pockets of Promise by popping over to https://www.facebook.com/lauriestroupsmith from 8 to 9 PM on Thursday, April 30th.
I hope you received the postcard I sent through snail mail, inviting you to join us at the Book Launch Party for Pockets of Promise I had planned to host on May 2nd. Even if the libraries are open on that Saturday, gatherings of more than 10 people are discouraged. As a result, the May 2nd party will be rescheduled. Eventually.
If you’re on Facebook, you can celebrate the release of Pockets of Promise by popping over to https://www.facebook.com/lauriestroupsmith from 8 to 9 PM on Thursday, April 30th.
I’ll post questions every 15 minutes or so, and you can leave comments if desired. There will be giveaways, and I’ll draw a winner for each question. Feel free to jump on to say hello, answer one question, or stay through the entire event. In any case, remember to refresh your screen every few minutes so you can see more posts from the party.
I’ve been asked how people can help promote this book, so I thought I’d share various ways for those who might be interested. If you’re on Goodreads, you could mark Pockets of Promise as “Want to Read.” If you do read the book, you could post a review on sites such as Goodreads and Amazon to help other readers discover the title. I’ve seen Pockets of Promise in paperback on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart (online), and in ebook on Smashwords, Kobo, B&N. Coming soon to Amazon. I have copies as well. Posting the book cover on social media on April 30th with “Happy Release Day!” would also help spread the word.
Thank you for your continued support. Hope to see you on the 30th!
Cassie Mattia is a resident of Historic Downtown Loveland, Ohio
Loveland, Ohio – Laurie Stroup Smith joined the Loveland Magazine team for her first exclusive on-camera interview after signing a 3 book contract with Vinspire Publishing. She grew up in Loveland and graduated Loveland High School in 1994. She writes Amish and Contemporary Romance stories.
Stroup Smith was a former athletic trainer at Turpin High School for a number of years before she discovered her writing talent. In LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV’s one on one interview with Laurie Stroup Smith, we take a look at just what inspired her to start writing and what other local published author mentored her along the way!
Click below to watch Loveland Magazine TV’s sit down with Laurie Stroup Smith!
Many in the Loveland area already know of the remarkable work of Loveland High School grad Dean Parker.
Dean, a highly awarded film-maker, is a former employee of Loveland Magazine – Writer, Videographer, Video Editor and Producer.
This is an independent short film that is being created entirely by Ohio University media students and being shot in Athens, Ohio. The film takes place entirely in a bar and tells the story of a suicidal man who forces his bartender to carry out his death wish through a life defining conversation. The film is written by Ron Shalom and being directed by Dean Parker.
A film like this requires certain financial needs to make it possible. This includes paying our professional actors, paying for their location, feeding the cast and crew, purchasing props, makeup and costumes, and many other things.
By donating to the film, not only are you helping make this story come to life, but you are also supporting student filmmaking. Everyone on the crew is dedicated and ready to make this film the best it can be. And with your support, it can be possible.
The students have created a GoFundMe page to make it easy for you to be part of the films success. Watch their GoFundMe promo…
Any donation of any amount is helpful and greatly appreciated. And there are also various rewards if you become a backer:
$10 – A special thank you in the credits
$20 – Everything listed above, plus you will receive a short special thank you video from the cast and crew
$30 – Everything listed above, plus access to see the completed film before the general public
$50 – Everything listed above, plus you will receive a copy of the script
$100 – Everything listed above, plus you will receive a movie poster
$200 – Everything listed above, plus you will be credited as an executive donor
$350 – Everything listed above, plus you will be credited as an executive producer
$500 – Everything listed above, plus if you are of legal age and live in Ohio, one or all of the producers will take you out for a drink at any bar of your choice
Top donor will also receive the crystal bar set that was used in the GoFundMe video
The deadline for their goal is March 3rd, 2019
Sangha is a place to experience skillfully designed, fun, and inspirational hatha yoga classes close to home. Simply drop in and yoga!
Pocket released their first music video on Tuesday
by David Miller,
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland 2016 graduate Ryan Mangan and his alternative rock band, Pocket, released their second album in August. The Things You Think At Night is available on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music. Mangan self-produced, wrote and performed nearly the entire album. In collaboration with Loveland senior and Loveland Magazine writer, Sam Smith, Pocket released their first music video on Tuesday.
The Delusion music video is a mix of live action, digital and practical VFX and 3d computer renderings. The video tells a story through hands, statues and falling actors.
2017 Loveland graduate, Jacalyn Parsley is featured in the music video Delusion
The video was shot over the course of only two days on a shoestring budget and with almost no crew. The Delusion music video stars 2017 Loveland graduate, Jacalyn Parsley and was produced with help from Loveland High School seniors Ricky Vilar and Stone Taul.
“Delusion is about all the unwanted anxiety that comes when you’re falling for someone. You start to wonder if they like you back, if they feel same. After a while you kind of just get to this point of ‘let’s stop thinking about this stuff, I’m not going to figure it out right now’,” Mangan explained.
Sam Smith is a photographer, videographer and writer for Loveland Magazine and award-winning independent film producer
The video is largely based around looping, long exposure stop-motion sequences created with a device called a Pixelstick. The Pixelstick works by “scanning” across individual pixels of an image in succession and are captured by moving the device laterally in a long exposure. Smith created images and sequences that were loaded onto the tool, and then it was moved laterally hundreds of time, displaying slightly varied frames. This created the illusion of movement and a holographic-like effect that is easier seen than described. Smith said, “Yeah, it was two months of spending most of my free time editing since it was so effects heavy.”
In the studio shooting Delusion
“Honestly I don’t know much about videography, but I had seen some videos that Smith had done before and he’s just flat out amazing with that stuff,” said Mangan. He gave Smith some ideas for what he wanted the video to be like, and then he took it from there and beyond, is how Mangan described the collaboration.
“The video goes past my wildest dreams honestly. Shooting was a lot of fun as well, I’ve never done anything like this before so seeing it come from the start to the end was a very cool process,” Mangan said.
“Shooting the music video was an incredible experience. It was a lot of run-and-gun, shooting from the hip and making things up as we went along,” said Smith who added, “It was a pretty ambitious project for our resources, so we tried to embrace the flaws and go for a little bit of a low-fi look.” Smith said it was his first time doing something like this and he felt that he was able to put a lot of his own style and aesthetic into the piece. “Working with Ryan was wonderful– he gave me a great song and pretty much total creative freedom. I’m really excited to see where his career goes,” Smith explained.
In addition to being a photographer, videographer, and writer for Loveland Magazine, Smith is president of the Loveland High School Film Club, Overture Award recipient and has had work shown at festivals such as NFFTY, AAHSFF, Vidcon and Nashville Film Festival.
The video is available on the Pocket Youtube Channel. Keep up with Mangan’s new releases on Spotify, Apple Music, and Twitter. You can follow Smith’s work on Instagram and Vimeo.
Sample other songs on The Things You Think at Night:
Want to know more about Laurie? Visit her website ![[Be part of] The Bartender and the Drunk – A Student Short Film](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/hqdefault.jpg)
