There’s a backstory to this book trailer.

I’m a big fan of the Olathe School District’s 21^st Century programs. They allow students to pursue different interest tracks during their high school years. The programs cover diverse subjects, from culinary arts to aerospace engineering. My son is currently enrolled in the e-communications program at Olathe Northwest. E-com students learn to handle many kinds of computer applications with ease. That’s how I knew where to turn when I wanted to develop a book trailer.

As seniors, e-comm students can try their skills with clients from the community. I floated the idea of a book trailer with one of the e-com teachers, and she liked it. A week later I met with Howard and Solomon, the team assigned to work on my trailer.

Now, I think Lottie’s Gift is a great story. I think anyone might enjoy it, if they gave it a chance. But I’m not delusional enough to think teen-age boys are my target audience. I knew I needed to help Howard and Solomon catch my vision, so I went into the meeting in full-on “this-story-is-my-passion” mode. They paid attention. They took copious notes. And they worked out a plan.

My team delivered the finished product in early May, and just for a moment it stole my breath. There was Lottie, alone and lost in her music. And there was Helen, yearning over her from the wings.True, the details could have been tweaked a bit more, and these seniors had run out of time for tweaking. But I love the way they captured the sister relationship at the heart of Lottie’s Gift. This from a couple of high school boys.

They caught the vision.