WHAT BRAND ARE YOU?

Our guest today is Cari Quinn. Please welcome her!

While my first love is writing, my day job is as a graphic designer and proofreader at a newspaper. Having worked in graphic design for almost a decade, I'm used to seeing what works - and what doesn't - on the page. Clarity and brevity are essential, and most importantly, a design piece is only as good as it reproduces.

But this doesn't apply to writers, right? Not so. Your brand is a visual interpretation of you and your product.

What color scheme have you chosen for your webpage and/or blog? Is it mirrored in your bookmarks, business cards and any other promotional materials? Perhaps not, but if you carry through your theme, the more recognizable your name becomes. Preferably, this theme works with your tagline and with your product. Maybe you write all over the map (as I do) or maybe you have two main genres in which you write. In those cases, generic is best, but perhaps there are design elements you can pick up that apply to both and would work well on your webpage and bookmarks, for example. An easy one...do you write paranormal romance featuring werewolves and vampires? A three-quarter moon in the night sky might be the perfect element to evoke the reaction you're hoping to create in your reader. In my opinion, simpler is best. You're trying to create a feeling, not bombard the senses. Just as a lipstick imprint on an envelope is sexy and romantic, it's also clean and basic. That's what you're looking for. That snap of instant recognition that, if you're lucky, will become something your readers instantly associate with you.

That's also where your tagline comes in. Do you have one? A tagline encapsulates your work in one or two sentences and lets your reader know what to expect when they pick up your story. When I started writing a few years ago, my tagline was "Because love - and sex - can be funny." I chose this because everything I write seems to have a thread of humor running through it. As I went along, I realized that tagline didn't work for me anymore, because I was branching out. Yes, my stories still usually have a humorous element (or so I hope!) but I'm also writing darker pieces now, such as Urban Fantasy. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with "What's more dangerous than falling in love?" I'm a romance writer, and by putting that word "dangerous" in my tagline, hopefully the reader gets the impression that there may be darker aspects to my writing. Even when I write straight contemporary, that tagline works.

Being succinct is key. Think what you would want someone to say about your work, and see if you can tie that into your tagline. If you're really creative (and we all are, or we wouldn't be writers), look for ways to tie your tagline into the branding of your website and promotional materials. You write paranormal and cozy mysteries? Have that slice of moon on the top of your webpage? Maybe add a gleaming silver knife with one drop of blood to represent the mysterious side of your writing persona. And perhaps your tagline is, "Sexy romance filled with things that go bump in the night." Okay, not great, but it's just an example for you to use as a springboard for your own ideas.

I also think having a logo is important. YOU are your own company. And the more places that people see your specific logo and tagline, always represented in the same way, the more often that becomes imprinted on a reader's mind. Recognition is your best friend as an author. If Sally Jane is sitting home looking for a spicy book to download and she remembers seeing your splashy, unique logo on a blog somewhere, you may just be the one whose books she searches out to read. In this time of self-promotion, it's vital you give yourself every opportunity to succeed. In case any of you stop by my blog, I don't have a new logo up yet. ;) But I will soon!

One last word about branding and creating a mood with your promotional materials. As I mentioned earlier, a design is only as good as it reproduces, which is why blogs that are dark in color with red or white type rarely work well. Anything that is hard to read gives your potential reader a reason to bypass your page - something you do not want. True, there are sites like Readability which can translate most blogs/webpages into something easy on the eyes, but most people don't want to go through that extra step. Keep your design elements to the tops and sides of your pages and leave the areas where you type as clean as possible. And be brief, as brief as you can while still getting your message across. I love to read, but when I see a blog that's a page long or more, I cruise on by. At best, I hit the highlights. Which brings me to another point. Try to break long passages into sections, with bullets that make it easy to skim. Anything that encourages your reader to stay awhile is a very good thing!

Thank you for reading! I'll be around to answer any questions or comments. I'm considering doing a series of posts on this subject on my own blog, so please stay tuned!

My latest release is Full Disclosure from The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses. It hot and erotic! I talk about how I blasted through my comfort zone and started writng erotic fiction on Kaye Manro's Blog in November. If you're interested check out the link.

Thanks to Lindsay for inviting me to blog today!
Cari Quinn
My Blog

SPECIAL HEROES

When my friends ask me about the most interesting thing I have ever done, I can’t help smiling as I answer without hesitation, “Traveling.” I visited over fifty countries on vacation or business trips. Here are some of the fun things I enjoyed and included in scenes of my books:

• Toast with vodka in Russian countries. (See my contemporary romance TO LOVE A HERO)
• Exchange a romantic kiss with my husband on the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Rx IN FRENCH coming soon).
• Sleep in a chateau in the Loire Valley (See my romantic suspense FRENCH PERIL).
• Walk overdressed in a bathing suit along a nude beach in Greece
(still working on the scene in my work-in-progress, ISLAND OF PASSION)

But I experienced more exciting adventures that I plan to incorporate in future books:

Ride a camel in Egypt around the pyramids and sphinx; feed the turtle in Seychelles Islands; sail through the Norwegian Fjords; photograph the penguins in Chili; swim with baby sharks in Tahiti; smoke the narghile in Tunisia; and many more…


Traveling is not only about visiting monuments and palaces in foreign countries or snapping photos in front of famous landmarks. Traveling opens new horizons, exposes you to different cultures, and teaches you new words. Every time you travel you are indelibly marked by what you see, what you hear, even what you smell.

When I decided to start writing novels I already knew that my heroine would be an all-American gal, educated, assertive and independent. But I wanted my hero to be different from the men she meets everyday at work. I wanted to gift her with a SPECIAL man. During my numerous travels abroad, I observed the foreign male and study how he could attract my American heroine and be worthy of her love.

As a Director of an environmental laboratory I traveled to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to refurbish laboratories. In Belarus, I dealt mostly with officers, handsome, reserved, aloof at first sight. While writing TO LOVE A HERO, I practically relived my fantastic trips to Belarus and kept a detailed journal. My story highlights the hospitality and warmth of the gorgeous and valiant Belarusian officers who sing, toast with vodka and make a woman feel like a goddess.





The Russian hero, such as the handsome Major General Sergei of
TO LOVE A HERO, is a perfect example of alpha hero: a patriotic officer, authoritative and chauvinistic but protective and gallant, honest and loyal.




The Greek hero is also an alpha hero. In ISLAND OF PASSION, Greek billionaire Stephanos is broody, passionate, athletic and valiant, in love with the sea, he listens more than he talks and has trouble trusting a woman or handing his heart.




In Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America, I was impressed by the joyful atmosphere. Large families with three or more children are the norm. People dine at late hours. They like music and dance. The father is respected as head of the family.






The Latino hero is romantic, more of a beta hero. Fun-loving, easy-going.
In BABIES IN THE BARGAIN, a sweet and spicy medical romance, Dr. Marc Suarez is adored by the female population of the hospital. He is said to collect sport trophies and nurses’ hearts. But a tragic accident changed him into a dedicated father to his orphan nephew.






In France, the old gallantry has survived and many Frenchmen would not hesitate to write a poem to their beloved.





The aristocratic male greets a woman by bowing over her hand for a kiss while the average Frenchman kisses her three times on the cheeks. That custom is not only used with relatives and friends but also with colleagues every day at work. Frenchmen love wine and will have un petit vin, a little wine, at lunch on a daily basis. At dinner, a whole bottle is a must for Count François in FRENCH PERIL and for Dr. Luc George in Rx FOR TRUST.


The French hero is a playboy and a womanizer, determined not to be entrapped, but also a generous and passionate lover who recognizes a perfume aroma, writes poems and kisses a woman to distraction.

FRENCH PERIL was inspired by a vacation in the Loire Valley. My husband and I spent two nights in a modernized chateau. I was so impressed by the magnificence of the French cháteaux and the wealth of history of that area, I visualized gallant aristocrats entertaining beautiful women in lavishly decorated galleries and plush gardens. Stories played in my mind. I upped the stakes with a missing statue and the murder of a professor to create a romantic suspense, FRENCH PERIL.


Rx FOR TRUST, the first book in the Doctor’s Order series, is a sweet and spicy medical romance that will make you smile, laugh and cry—the story of two psychiatrists with conflicting theories on how to treat their patients and tame their own emotions.



It will be released on Friday, December 4, 2009, by The Wild Rose Press and is already available in paperback at Amazon.com. The story’s theme revolves around a famous saying by Walter Scott: “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott.


Blurb: An American psychiatrist, with a troubled past and secrets by the bucket-load has built a successful career where love has no room. The French psychiatrist, she loved ten years ago, detests secrets and threatens to unravel the secrets of her thorny past. Can he win her trust and love before her inner fears destroy their second chance at happiness?


Mona Risk writes romantic suspense for Cerridwen Press: TO LOVE A HERO and FRENCH PERIL And medical romance in the genre of ER and Grey's Anatomy for The Wild Rose Press: BABIES IN THE BARGAIN and Rx FOR TRUST. All books are available at Amazon.com

Hermit Week = Heaven on Earth

Every November I retreated to the Isle of Palms (South Carolina) to immerse myself in writing.

For a week I am a Hermit, sequestered from the world so I can concentrate on whatever story is occupying the major space in my brain.  I ignore emails, let the phone battery die and pretend I don't have a day job.

Typically, my writing space is a deep, wide porch that opens onto a heated swimming pool, sand dunes and the ocean. Sometimes I write. Sometimes I drift in daydreams. Sometimes I walk along the beach, feet in the surf.

The week is hosted by the Low Country Romance Writers, and 10 writers share the house. We write all day, meet up for supper about 6 p.m. and then hang and chat. Or if the story calls, we go back to work. There are no rules or expectations for the week, which suits me just fine because I have too many expectations and rules the rest of the time.

But in addition to the uninterrupted writing time and the beach mere steps from my door, the friendships that I make and renew each year make Isle of Palms special.

In many ways, only writers can understand another writer, and only a true friend who writes can understand why I didn't notice she ate breakfast beside me because I'd hit the writing zone.

Friendship, writing to my heart's content and the ocean lulling me to sleep each night. Sigh. Heaven.

This is not a novel - it's a real life story.

It was the spring of 1974 when I signed a contract to work as a summer lighting technician for the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. It was going to be a summer of adventure. I had reached a serious turning point in my life after a failed romance and I was more than ready to get out into the world and away from old haunts.

Contract signed and plans made, I was just counting the days until my school term ended and I could leave for this exciting opportunity. I went through my daily paces of classes, family time, friends and my volunteer activities (NYC Auxiliary Police). I went out with a good friend/semi-boyfriend a few times and enjoyed a great social life.

One random day about three weeks before I was to leave for the summer, I was at an event as an Auxiliary Police Officer, There was an older gentleman who was polite but quite forward; aware that I was in a uniform and trying very hard to “keep up appearances” I was relieved to see someone else from my unit. Perhaps I could deter the other man from his advances.

I walked up to the other Auxiliary Officer from my unit and engaged him in a heated discussion about his uniform. I had known Mark, and despised him, for more than a year – I really couldn’t think of anything casual or nice to say to him and I needed to be too busy for that other guy to keep pestering me. Now before you feel sorry for Mark, He had made it clear that he didn’t like me either.

Somehow we managed to finally share a comfortable and easy conversation. Later that day while we were joking with a few other friends, Mark suddenly asked me out to dinner; literally we had been joking around and I thought he was still joking so I said yes. It wasn’t until later that week I found out his invitation had been in earnest – feeling kind of stupid I decided to keep my word. Our first date was June 1.

Five dates later on June 15 (yeah, five dates!) Mark proposed. It wasn’t romantic. It was pretty late when we left a dinner party for him to drive me home but instead of heading home he drove behind a dark, closed shopping center, locked the car doors, and asked me to marry him. No preamble, no declaration of love, no cuddling or discussion of any kind. Just… “Will you marry me?” Of course I said “No.”

He asked again and I refused – three times. These were, I swear, the ONLY five words even spoken in that car! Finally Mark said, in a very calm voice, you do realize that I am not bringing you home until you say yes. A little bit devious, I solicited a firm promise that he would take me home IF I accepted his proposal – then I told him yes. I fully intended to break it off with him once we reached my parents’ apartment door. Much to my chagrin though, my parents were thrilled.

One week later Mark drove me to Lake Placid. It had taken me one week to appreciate that I really did love him and now I was to be separated from him for the bulk of the summer. Mark did promise to visit me a few times during the summer and he was good to his word. We checked into a hotel on the outskirts of town and it was there that we consummated our vows to be together for life.

Yes I enjoyed myself with new friends and a job I liked, but the visits from Mark were so very special and filled with romance and happiness. He wrote to me almost every day and adorned the outside of the envelopes with lines from songs and poetry. My letters often made their rounds through the company before I finally got to tear them open and read the contents. The contents simply sizzled.

We toured the local area during his visits and we made the most of our time before he had to make the three hour drive home. I loved walking down Main Street in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake or Tupper Lake holding Mark’s hand and falling more in love with him each day. By the end of the summer, being in the Adirondacks (in my mind) had become synonymous with making love and feeling secure.

While our dating time seemed short, our engagement lasted a year and a half. We were married on December 28, 1975.

Some years later Mark’s aunt and uncle bought a vacation home in Tupper Lake and we went to visit often. The area still evoked romantic memories. Tupper is a lovely town and we even contemplated moving there for a while.

When I needed a place for my heroine Caitlyn to run home to, a place where Brandon could pursue her and win back her love in my novel Forgotten, I sent her to Tupper Lake. It was one of the most romantic places I could think of and a perfect place to build a lifetime together.

I used the setting of Tupper Lake again in my novel Within the Law where Tom, Caitlyn’s cousin, won the love of his life, Alli. When Tom took Alli sightseeing and they visited Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, I was reliving some of my own special memories. It was very easy to imagine falling in love in such a wonderful place.

While the Adirondacks in New York are vast and all are beautifully scenic, my special thoughts always turn to the tri-lake towns of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. Take it from one who knows – it is a wonderful place to fall in love.

Turkey Tales

Here are two turkey (or turkel, as we call them) sightings around my house.

Turkey in the Snow

In December 2007, a big storm dropped a good foot and a half of snow. By late afternoon, the sky was clearing and two tom turkeys (all that chest hair) slogged to the bird feeder. We have several large pines in our yard which shelter the feeder. The snow wasn't as deep there and the turkeys pecked at the seeds.

The next time I looked, only one turkey was left. He turned toward the hill to climb up to the woods, stepping into snow that was up to his belly. He stopped. For several minutes, he struggled and strained against the snow, but couldn't make any progress. The light was fading, and I expected him to return along the path he and his friend had broken.

Instead, Mr. Turkey unfurled his wings (BIG wings) and flew up to a branch. Huge bird that he is, he made quite a sight, perched on that limb. As the night progressed, I looked out several times to check on him, but I couldn't see him in the darkness. I worried about him, even as I told myself turkeys are professional wild animals and can survive outside.

The next morning, I heard "Gobble, gobble, gobble," and sure enough, there he was, still sitting on that tree limb. He flapped his wings and flew down to the ground. A crust had formed on the snow overnight, so he was able to walk away, slipping and sliding and using his wings for balance.

A happy ending.

A Spring Turkey

Last May, as I sat in my front room, I heard clucking outside the open window. I jumped up to see the turkey (seeing a turkey is still a big deal) and sure enough, a hen stood on the front lawn.

She clucked again, and six tiny brown-and-yellow chicks (poults) ran out from under the rhododendron beside the house. From their small size, they must have hatched only a few days earlier.

Mama turkey clucked again and walked around the side of the house, her poults trailing in her wake. A resplendent tom, tail flaring in full courtship regalia, followed. The entire group climbed the hill behind my house and disappeared into the woods. I wonder where mama turkey built her nest. I hoped she used our woods, but I have no idea.

My husband took these two pictures from inside the house. Click on the images to see the poults better.

I never saw the poults again, but I do see the turkeys from time to time. They have no schedule, but they wander from yard to yard, climb the hill behind my house to the woods, and then climb down again, cross the street and head into the woods lower on the hill.

I'm glad we have turkels. And I hope they come around for a good many more years.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you all,
Linda
Linda Banche
Regency romance--most with humor, some with fantasy, and occasionally a paranormal
Lady of the Stars--4 stars from Romantic Times, 2010 EPIC EBook Competition finalist, Regency time travel available from The Wild Rose Press
Pumpkinnapper--Regency Halloween comedy available from The Wild Rose Press
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