Today I'm over at Popculturedivas waxing poetic for National Poetry Month.
Because my contemporary novel Fever Dreams also contains a bit of poetry, I'll hold a giveaway open until May 7 - release day. So come on over to the 'Divas and leave a comment for a chance to win a PDF of Fever Dreams.
And there's still time to enter this week's giveaway of Design for Life - just leave a comment at this post and become a blog follower if you aren't already. On Saturday, I'll post the winner's name here.
Diva days are so fun. Today especially because my post addresses two topics: sisterhood and one of my favorite actors, Christopher Walken. No possible link there? Come find out... at Popculturedivas!
I'm also excited to join the Flirty Author Bitches blog. Today's the relaunch, with amazing author Rita Thedford. Help us celebrate with a comment! You'll want to bookmark this blog, too, so you don't miss out on some very cool prizes!
The issue of branding has bothered me for a bit. As someone who enjoys reading a variety of genres, I also enjoy writing them. Straight contemporary, contemporary/urban fantasy, dark fantasy/paranormal, historical, speculative… you get the idea.
So when I saw James Patterson’s TV commercial for his latest (and for Patterson, the term “latest” has a time stamp) release, Witch and Wizard, it made me wonder. This was outside his usual thriller arena. Thriller not being one of the genres I usually read, Patterson’s been off my radar. Until his TV commercials began appearing awhile back. The one below made many chuckle.
Although I also came across this YA offering on YouTube, which plays more like a movie trailer:
Also definitely outside the Patterson “brand.” Or so I thought. A New York Times article indicated he writes everything from “science fiction, fantasy, romance, “women’s weepies,” graphic novels, Christmas-themed books” to nonfiction. Interesting, because Patterson also talks about creating a brand.
According to the article, he writes in longhand and yet managed to put out 45 books. How? He has a stable of authors writing for him. Fellow Popculturediva Kayla Perrin wrote an excellent blog about it.
So I suppose this should put my mind at ease about not having a “brand.” Wrong. It still bothers me.
I’ve seen authors who write under various names to separate out the various genres they write in. Not for me. Having too many pen names would confuse the hell out of me, so I can imagine how readers would feel. And what’s the point? They’d know anyway, presumably.
Maybe having a brand isn’t so important after all. But having a great tag line that encompasses it all would be great. Something that speaks to the heart of my writing without pigeonholing me into one corner. (I get claustrophobic that way.)
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is it important for readers to be able to identify a writer by a brand or tag? Or should your byline carry the weight on its own, despite the fact it could be written in any number of genres? Or is that why book covers are so damn important?
I'm over at Popculturedivas today, wondering how you feel about popular songs used in TV commercials. Come on over and share your thoughts on the post, Singalong or Sellout?
To get you in the mood, here's one that caused quite a bit of buzz:
Come on over to Popculturedivas to weigh in about what kind of movie plots grab you and don't let go. I'm excited about James Cameron's upcoming release of Avatar - how about you?
Come on over to Popculturedivas on Friday to weigh in about the new mashups being released.
Plus, tomorrow I'll have a special guest here on my blog - award-winning author Margaret Tanner, whose latest release is titled The Trouble with Playboys. Because it's releasing tomorrow, she'll hold a weekend-long contest and select a winner next week. You won't want to miss it!
Today I'm over at Popculturedivas waxing poetic for National Poetry Month.
