The Book is Just the Beginning

I’m learning rather quickly that there is so much more to being a modern day author than writing a book. And believe me, that takes up a lot of time. But apparently we must also put forth efforts into a website, social media accounts, working on our branding, and more.

I find it all fun and exciting, but just not things that I thought about when I dreamed of being a published author. I think we figure we write a book and that’s the end of it. People will read it. How do you get those people to your book though? Last year for fun I did a direct to Kindle novella under a pseudonym. Guess what? Not a single person has bought it. Which is fine, I just wanted to know how Kindle direct worked, but I realized there’s so much more to it.

Right now I’m reading Michael Hyatt’s Platform, about how to get your product noticed in this world where everyone and everything is competing for the attention of the customer. It’s very eye-opening. I highly suggest it if you want to promote whatever your product is (be it a book, movie, hairbows, or whatever).

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What’s In A Name?

I’m one of the biggest name nerds I have ever met. And I’m not bragging. I know way more about names than the average person. Maybe this is why I love writing, or maybe writing is why I love names.

Coming up with a name for a character is like naming a child. Each name represents something about the character. Abigail means, “My Father is Joy.” And my character learns to take joy in the Lord. A character from another book, Lev, simply means “heart.” And he’s a man with a lot of heart who learns how to give his away. The hero in War Torn Heart is Harvey, which means “battle worthy.” As a character who goes off to war, the name suits him perfectly.

Just like how protagonists’ names are chosen carefully, the same is true for the antagonist. In War Torn Heart, one of the antagonists is Clarice, which is a form of Clara. Which does mean “clear, bright, famous,” but that’s because Clarice thought a little too highly of herself. A last name might be the glimpse into a character’s persona as well. For one character, I used the last name O’Toole. Wanna guess why? I also used the last name DePrive – which is just the word “deprive” reimagined.

So next time you read a book, look at the characters’ names and see if they offer any insight into who that person might be. You might be surprised.

The First Post

I’m so excited to start this website and blog for you! Hopefully this will chronicle my writing both in fiction and my freelance article writing as well.

I began seriously writing in 2005, which was actually when I wrote the bulk of War Torn Heart. I wrote the sequel after that in the midst of having children and trying to run a photography business. Since then I’ve written two additional novels.

I also freelance for local newspapers and magazines.

It’s not easy finding time to write with 4 very active children, two of whom are not in full-day school yet. But I write when I can and I enjoy every minute!