Andrew Peterson Pens ADVENTURES OF THE GHILLIE SWIT

Amazon publishing imprint, Thomas & Mercer throws its marketing engine behind the promotion of Contract to Kill, the newest thriller by author Andrew Peterson. But working on his own to reach even further, the author makes history by offering a new way of connecting to readers through a five-episode serial video series.

The serial is not a book trailer, nor is it based on the author's novels. According to producer Sheila English of Circle of Seven Productions, "Mr. Peterson wanted something more entertaining than a commercial." Product placement makes its way into each video, but the overall theme of the video serial project is quite different from Peterson's well-known Nathan McBride series.

"I think people really enjoyed it," says Peterson about the launch of the videos, "The viewers had a chance to solve a mystery as more and more clues were revealed in each consecutive episode. The video serial is light hearted in nature, a far cry from the books I write, but I wanted to try comedy as a promotional tool since comedy is so universally loved." Metaphorically, Peterson believes the pioneers take the arrows and undertaking an innovative approach to marketing a thriller series was worth the risk. "I think readers were receptive to a comedic promotion because it was so different from what they're been used to seeing." Peterson wants people to realize there's more to the Nathan McBride series than meets the eye.

There are light-hearted moments in the books and he thinks people appreciate the break in action. Classic examples of humor in thrillers can be found in the James Bond movies and novels.

The video serial was entertaining enough that Amazon promoted it through its Kindle Most Wanted social medium venues and Aubible.com also promoted it through its social medium sites as well. "We were thrilled to have Amazon and Audible help promote the videos!" says English. "The videos were not based purely on Andrew's thriller brand, but instead used product placement in a humorous way. Since no thriller author had ever attempted such a groundbreaking promotional campaign, we weren't sure how it would work out. So far, we're quite pleased with the response from viewers!"

With thousands of people watching the videos on YouTube and Vimeo, both Peterson and Circle of Seven Productions consider the venture a success. Peterson's debut novel, FIRST TO KILL, reached #9 in Amazon's entire book store, and the author reached #6 overall in the Amazon author ranking.

"Hysterical. Thanks for the fun." - Tonie P.
"Thanks for the giggles and smiles..." - Anne S.
"I certainly enjoyed playing along. I would enjoy another..." - LuAnn C.

See the entire serial in order at https://vimeo.com/channels/956641

A native of San Diego, Andrew Peterson is the international bestselling author of the Nathan McBride thriller series published by Thomas & Mercer. In 2011, Andrew had the honor of attending Operation Thriller II, a USO tour to Afghanistan where he personally thanked our troops for their dedication and service to America. To date, he has donated more than 2,500 books to wounded warriors and troops serving overseas. He and his wife Carla live in Monterey County, California.

For more information contact:
Andrew Peterson via email at info(at)AndrewPeterson(dot)com or on his website at http://www.AndrewPeterson.com

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