Jesus said you have not because you ask not. What’s that have to do with writing?
Recently, I held a virtual launch party for my newest novel, A Promise in Defiance. We gave away everything from earrings to coffee. Fun stuff and my guests had a blast. I also debuted two book trailers and a video shout-out from a tv producer. None of it cost me a thing. Oh, and did I mention that my interview in USA Today’s "Happily Ever After" section came out the same day?
I got all this stuff because we merely asked.
If you have a platform of any reasonable size, you have something to offer advertisers, other authors, reporters, yes, even tv producers! Can you leave a review for a product? Would your readers leave a review? Will they talk about a product? Then your platform has intriguing possibilities.
I write Westerns. Call my stories Inspirational Westerns or Western Romance, but at the heart of each story, the guy in the white hat saves the day and rides off into the sunset with the girl. I love Westerns because of what they’ve meant to me over the years and those who've shared them with me. So, when I hear about a new Western coming out, I try to support it. That’s how I started my interaction with Rick Balentine, the creator and Executive Producer of the new Western TV show, Big Sky (http://www.bigskytvshow.com/). He “gets” what it means to write a traditional Western. Through a somewhat similar scenario, I met Mark Richard, formerly the Executive Producer at AMC’s Western, Hell on Wheels. Over the course of a couple of years, he and I have become good friends.
So I asked a friend of mine who is an aspiring actress if she would record a few lines from a script I wrote. She did a great trailer for me, costumes and all! You can check it out here. And David McKnight, a reenactor at the Fort Worth Stockyards also did one, in full costume. (You can see it here.) I promised these two that I would get their videos to some important people. That’s all I can do, but it’s a step.
In the meantime, my assistant, the fabulous Pepper Potts—er, I mean, Diane Estrella, discovered a company called Little Black Gun (https://littleblackgun.com/) They sell jewelry made out of shell casings, and the casings have actually been fired! I reviewed a pair, happily. They gave me an extra pair to give away. I got a t-shirt from the Talking Shirt (https://thetalkingshirt.com/), for the same arrangement.
We gave away nearly a dozen items at the book launch. Tote bags, vitamins, books, posters, and the list goes on and. Diane also got me the interview with USA Today … by merely asking and offering up some legitimate sales numbers.
So the take away here is—
Why not? With God, all things are possible.
Heather Blanton is the independent bestselling author of several Christian Westerns, including the Romance in the Rockies series, which has sold over 40,000 copies. Intrigued by the concept of three good sisters stranded in a lawless Colorado mining town, a few notable Hollywood producers have requested the script for her first book in that series, A Lady in Defiance. Heather loves exploring the American West, especially ghost towns and museums. She has walked parts of the Oregon Trail, ridden horses through the Rockies, climbed to the top of Independence Rock, and even held an outlaw's note in her hand.
A Promise in Defiance
CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES...EVEN FOR THE REDEEMED. When Charles McIntyre founded Defiance, he was more than happy to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven. But things have changed. Now, he has faith, a new wife...and a ten-year-old half-breed son. Infamous madam Delilah Goodnight wants to take it all away from him. How can he protect his kingdom and his loved ones from her schemes without falling back on his past? How does he fight evil if not with evil?
Logan Tillane carries a Bible in his hand, wears a gun on his hip, and fights for lost souls any way he can. Newly arrived in Defiance, he has trouble, though, telling saints from sinners. The challenge only worsens when Delilah flings open the doors to the scandalous Crystal Chandelier. She and the new preacher have opposite plans for the town. One wants to save it, one wants to lead it straight to hell.
For Tillane and McIntyre, finding redemption was a long, hard road. God's grace has washed away their sins, but the consequences remain and God will not be mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap...and the harvest is finally at hand.
Links
http://ladiesindefiance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorheatherblanton/
https://twitter.com/heatherfblanton
https://www.pinterest.com/heatherfblanton/
 |
| Heather Blanton |
Recently, I held a virtual launch party for my newest novel, A Promise in Defiance. We gave away everything from earrings to coffee. Fun stuff and my guests had a blast. I also debuted two book trailers and a video shout-out from a tv producer. None of it cost me a thing. Oh, and did I mention that my interview in USA Today’s "Happily Ever After" section came out the same day?
I got all this stuff because we merely asked.
If you have a platform of any reasonable size, you have something to offer advertisers, other authors, reporters, yes, even tv producers! Can you leave a review for a product? Would your readers leave a review? Will they talk about a product? Then your platform has intriguing possibilities.
I write Westerns. Call my stories Inspirational Westerns or Western Romance, but at the heart of each story, the guy in the white hat saves the day and rides off into the sunset with the girl. I love Westerns because of what they’ve meant to me over the years and those who've shared them with me. So, when I hear about a new Western coming out, I try to support it. That’s how I started my interaction with Rick Balentine, the creator and Executive Producer of the new Western TV show, Big Sky (http://www.bigskytvshow.com/). He “gets” what it means to write a traditional Western. Through a somewhat similar scenario, I met Mark Richard, formerly the Executive Producer at AMC’s Western, Hell on Wheels. Over the course of a couple of years, he and I have become good friends.
So I asked a friend of mine who is an aspiring actress if she would record a few lines from a script I wrote. She did a great trailer for me, costumes and all! You can check it out here. And David McKnight, a reenactor at the Fort Worth Stockyards also did one, in full costume. (You can see it here.) I promised these two that I would get their videos to some important people. That’s all I can do, but it’s a step.
In the meantime, my assistant, the fabulous Pepper Potts—er, I mean, Diane Estrella, discovered a company called Little Black Gun (https://littleblackgun.com/) They sell jewelry made out of shell casings, and the casings have actually been fired! I reviewed a pair, happily. They gave me an extra pair to give away. I got a t-shirt from the Talking Shirt (https://thetalkingshirt.com/), for the same arrangement.
We gave away nearly a dozen items at the book launch. Tote bags, vitamins, books, posters, and the list goes on and. Diane also got me the interview with USA Today … by merely asking and offering up some legitimate sales numbers.
So the take away here is—
- Follow your passion
- Passion will lead to connections
- Build your brand and that will make more connections viable
- Ask your connections if you can work some trade
- Be nice to and professional with everyone you meet
- Shoot for the moon
Why not? With God, all things are possible.
 |
| About the Author |
A Promise in Defiance
 |
| A Promise in Defiance by Heather Blanton |
CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES...EVEN FOR THE REDEEMED. When Charles McIntyre founded Defiance, he was more than happy to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven. But things have changed. Now, he has faith, a new wife...and a ten-year-old half-breed son. Infamous madam Delilah Goodnight wants to take it all away from him. How can he protect his kingdom and his loved ones from her schemes without falling back on his past? How does he fight evil if not with evil?
Logan Tillane carries a Bible in his hand, wears a gun on his hip, and fights for lost souls any way he can. Newly arrived in Defiance, he has trouble, though, telling saints from sinners. The challenge only worsens when Delilah flings open the doors to the scandalous Crystal Chandelier. She and the new preacher have opposite plans for the town. One wants to save it, one wants to lead it straight to hell.
For Tillane and McIntyre, finding redemption was a long, hard road. God's grace has washed away their sins, but the consequences remain and God will not be mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap...and the harvest is finally at hand.
Links
http://ladiesindefiance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authorheatherblanton/
https://twitter.com/heatherfblanton
https://www.pinterest.com/heatherfblanton/
