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| Amy Rognlie |
Hi, friends. Annette here. Today's guest is fellow Mountain Brook Ink author, Amy K. Rognlie. Do you have a well-established brand? Or perhaps you're beginning to build it. Amy's advice on finding our brand is full of wisdom. Read on!
Finding Your Brand
by Amy Rognlie
I
recently attended a writer’s retreat, where we had the inevitable discussion
about author branding. We defined brand not simply as our slogans or the look
of our book covers, but as who we are as people. We talked about examining our
work and finding the common thread that ran through all our stories—a recurring
theme that always shines through our work.
You
are your “brand.” Your themes come out of our personal experiences, so it seems
like it should be easy to discover your own personal themes. But it sometimes
takes time and retrospection to see the common thread. A writer friend recently
discovered that all his books have the theme of second chances and new seasons.
Why? Because that’s the story of his life. Redemption.
For
me, I was well past writing my fourth or fifth book when it dawned on me that
the overarching theme of every one of my books is hope. But not just hope. True
hope that shines even through difficult circumstances because it is a hope
grounded in God’s faithfulness. Thus my slogan, “Real Characters. Real Issues.
Real Faith.”
Maybe
you can pinpoint immediately what your main theme is. Or maybe like my friend
Bruce, you’ll have to purposely set out to discover your theme. Here are a few
ideas to get you started.
- Look at your own life story. What is God constantly bringing up in your life? Has He taught you to trust Him during difficult times? Or maybe you’ve finally learned to set boundaries. Or face your fears. Or overcome a terminal illness. How does your experience shine through the maybe not-so-fictional experiences of your characters?
- Another way to ferret out your theme is to think of your three favorite movies. What are the themes of those movies? Grace under fire? Love conquers all? What goes around comes around? Whatever it is, it’s probably pretty close to your own theme.
- Examining reader feedback is also valuable. Look at your reviews. What chord are you striking with your readers? If the same thing is mentioned over and over, that’s a clue to your theme.
But
why is it important to know your theme? As believers in Jesus Christ, the main
reason is this: “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is
continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into
our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed
purpose.” Romans 8:28 (The Passion Translation)
The
events of our lives are not random. God Himself has given your life a theme.
He is the author of your story. And He has a higher purpose than we could ever
fathom. Every life experience—good or bad—is redeemed when we choose to
repurpose it to proclaim His faithfulness through our pen. Would you let Him do
that through you today?
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| Where There's a Will by Amy Rognlie |
Where There’s A Will
A mysterious postcard,
a decades-old mystery, and a cranky realtor have suddenly thrown Callie
Erickson’s plans into a tailspin. Callie, Todd and friends have their hearts
set on building Hope House, a home for sex-trafficking victims. But before they
can make much headway, Callie is confronted with the mysterious death of
someone much closer to her than she’d like.
Was it murder? Callie
isn’t so sure, but with Todd’s help, she’s doing her best to find out, even as
she is drawn deeper into their relationship. Can she trust herself to love him?
In the meantime, Aunt Dot and Harry are dealing with intrigue of their own.
Will Harry’s missing relatives ever be found? As Callie delves deeper, she
learns startling answers to these questions and to the questions of her own
heart.
Amy Rognlie writes inspirational fiction, including mysteries
and historical novels. She also blogs regularly on devotional topics on her
website, www.amyrognlie.com. When not writing, she is teaching middle
school language arts or leading a Bible study at the local jail. Amy lives in
Central Texas with her husband, granddaughter, dogs (including a pug, of
course), and a plethora of plants, yarn, and books.
