Finding Your Brand by Amy Rognlie

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.

1. 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?
2. 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.
3. 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?

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.

Foundation of a Novel Series by Mary Davis

Mary Davis

Hey writers! Annette here. Have you ever written a series? Or maybe you've considered it, but haven't known where to begin. Our guest today, Mary Davis, has some great tips for getting started with that all-important foundation. Read on!

FOUNDATION OF A NOVEL SERIES

By Mary Davis

Oh, series. How do I create thee? Let me count the ways.

The foundation of a series is that “something” that connects the stories. In general, these connections fall into three main categories: character/s, locations, and themes.

 

CHARACTERS

◆               A single character (or small group) who has different experiences.

◆               A family where each story focuses on a different member.

◆               A group of friends or a club.

LOCATIONS

◆               A community, a town, a state/region, a shop, a church, island, etc.

THEMES

◆               A theme can be knitting, gold rush, cooking, Pony Express, Texas Rangers, mail-order brides, Amish, events, etc.

◆               As well as various other aspects that can connect stories from book to book.

◆               Sometimes, a publisher comes up with a series. These are often theme connected. The theme could be as simple as similar titles, and other times a common story element.

This last one is how my current The Quilting Circle series came to be. A publishing house started a series of both contemporary and historical stories to be written by various authors where a quilt played prominently in the story. My agent asked me if I’d like to submit something.

Oh, boy, would I! I love quilts and have made several. This was a perfect fit for me.

Whenever I’m asked if I have any stories with a particular element—such as quilts—or if I’d like to submit to a series with a particular theme, my imagination goes WILD! BONKERS! The ideas tumble and roll around in my head, spilling out faster than I can write them down. I no sooner get one story idea partially scratched out when the next one urges me to jot it down so it’s not forgotten. Then the next one, and on and on.

I quickly came up with three historical and two contemporary ideas, as well as one generational idea. Sadly, none were contracted. But in the shell game of changing agents, my new agent said I had enough ideas I could create a quilting series of my own.

Ooh. I liked that idea.

Unfortunately, my collection of stories wouldn’t fit smoothly together into a single series. Oh, I could’ve forced them, but that would have been a disservice to both my stories as well as my readers. However, one of the ideas stood out as making a great backdrop for a series, The Quilting Circle. As the series title suggests, the quilting circle and the ladies who populate it connect the stories, with Aunt Henny, the matriarch of the group, at the helm.

Though it took a while, it did finally get contracted. It’s not my first series. I’ve created others that centered around families, places, friends, and themes.

I like series, both to write and to read, because once I get to know the people in the first story, I already have a jumpstart for the next one and the next. Sometimes, side characters demand to have their stories told. They can be such prima donnas, but fun.

Once the foundation is determined, the stories can vary greatly as long as they keep that connection.

~~~~~

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT 

The Widow's Plight by Mary Davis

A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series. Washington State, 1893

When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?

Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother. Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?

  

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT  released in ebook on July 1, and is already out in paperback.

~~~~~

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018: "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She’s a member of ACFW and active in critique groups. Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren.

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