Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow by Daniel Nayeri (Candlewick, 2011). From the promotional copy:

Written entirely on an iPhone, this bold quartet of YA novellas features modern riffs on classic genres that will introduce readers to a broad range of writing styles and explore universally compelling themes such as identity and belonging, betrayal and friendship, love and mortality. 

Daniel says: “Each of these commercials tries to give a sense of the tone of each story. I tried as hard as I could to keep my nose out of it. The Plywood Pictures guys are pros. They’ve done this for companies way bigger than me. So I said my peace and got out of their way. I love what they came up with.

“I’d love to see more book commercials, instead of trailers. From a writer’s perspective, they didn’t mess around with a story that I spent years laboring over. They made their own thing.”

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow – Toy Farm Commercial from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

A Western sizzling with suspense, set in a land where a rancher grows soulless humans and a farmer grows living toys.

the set

“Toy Farm” was filmed entirely in Plywood Pictures studio with green screen backgrounds. Using stills and some digital camera tracking tools, they were able to fill in the rest of the scenes digitally. The impressive train and trestle were filmed on the green screen, as were the puffs of cotton, but everything else was a conglomeration of various photos of national parks which were sourced online.

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow – Our Lady of Villains Commercial from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

This science-fiction tale plunges the reader into a future where reality and technology blend imperceptibly, and a teenage girl must race to save the world from a nano-revolution that a corporation calls “ReCreation Day.”

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow – Wish Police Commercial from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

This detective story set in modern NYC features a squad of “wish police” and a team of unlikely detectives.

The real trick for the “Wish Police” commercial was simply the machine. The machine took a couple days to design on paper and then about two and a half days to build.

early diagram

assembly

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow – Doom With a View Commercial from Candlewick Press on Vimeo.

A comedic love story told by none other than Death himself, portrayed here as a handsome and charismatic hero who may steal your heart in more ways than one. With humor, suspense, and relatable prose, this hip and cutting-edge collection dazzles.

These modern riffs on classic genres will introduce young adult readers to a broad range of writing styles that explore universally compelling themes such as identity and belonging, betrayal and friendship, love and mortality.

Cynsational Notes

Enter to win a copy of Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow by Daniel Nayeri (Candlewick, 2011). To enter, comment on this post and include an email address (formatted like: cynthia at cynthialeitichsmith dot com) or a link to an email address. Or you can email me directly with “Straw House” in the subject line. Publisher sponsored. Eligibility: U.S./Canada entries only. Deadline: Oct. 24.

Daniel is also the co-author (with Dina Nayeri) of Another Pan and Another Faust (both Candlewick). Read a Cynsations interview with Daniel and Dina.