Belle Whittington

April 27, 2013

By PhilipMartin

Branding is a simple concept. For an author, in a nutshell, it’s what people expect when they hear your name attached to a book (or story).

If you think of the name Mark Twain, or Stephen King, or Toni Morrison, or J.R.R. Tolkien … many things likely pop into your head. For me, the name Tolkien conjures up images of a professorial fellow with a pipe, the smile of a raconteur on his face, eager to spin long tales that I suspect I’d like hear, maybe sitting close by in a comfy easy chair by the fireplace in his study, sipping a little sherry and traveling to a far-off imaginary land …

This post offers tips to help you think about your brand – how to identify it, strengthen and refine it, and present it to your adoring (right?) fans.

There’s an interesting book I read some years ago that comes to mind to help you think about branding. It’s called Primal Branding, by Patrick Hanlon, a marketing guru who’s worked on famous brands like Absolut, LEGO, IBM, and others. His book equates a strong brand with a culture of belief, one that is similar in many ways to a religious faith.

Before you get illusions of grandeur, let’s look at his points of comparison. Like a religion, Hanlon says, a strong brand has these key elements:

• Creation story
• Creed
• Rituals
• Icons
• Sacred words
• Non-believers
• Leader

It’s interesting to think in those terms about you and your author’s brand. To translate:

Click here to read the rest…

Day 20: #FIREFLYBookBlogTour. We’re winding things down on the tour, and it’s almost time to pick winners! There’s still time to enter the giveaway and hunt Easter Eggs ♥ In the meantime, hop on over to Roxana’s lovely Romanian blog and read my guest post on what I’ve learned about love from books!

http://fallinginlovewithbooks.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/book-blog-tour-firefly-by-belle-whittington-guest-post-easter-egg-hunt-giveaways/

Day #10: FIREFLY Book Blog Tour!  YEEHAW!!!
#fireflybookblogtour

Check out these lovely stops and don’t forget to drop your name in the hat for the prizes!  Have you been hunting for Easter Eggs?  It’s not too late! :-D

*  http://books-and-coffee-now.blogspot.com/2013/03/firefly-book-blog-tour-excerpts-and.html

*  http://www.bittersweet-enchantment.com/2013/03/book-blog-tour-firefly-by-belle.html

Day 7: FIREFLY Book Blog Tour!  #fireflybookblogtour YEEHAW, Peeps!  Have you been following along?  It’s not too late to participate in all sorts of fun activities and earn chances to win some really neato SWAG!! Not to mention signed PAPERBACKS! Oh, my!

Pop over to these blogs today to read reviews, guests posts and enter the madness that is the FIREFLY Book Blog Tour!  And please show these blogs some luvvvv!

 http://nerdydino.blogspot.com/2013/03/firefly-by-belle-whittington.html

 http://luckybooks12.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/firefly-book-blog-tour-book-trailer-giveaways-part-three/

Day 6: FIREFLY Book Blog Tour
#fireflybookblogtour
First off: TODAY IS LB’s BIRTHDAY, AND WE’VE GOT A BIRTHDAY BASH PLANNED! Stay tuned throughout the day for fun and festivities! And stop over at Books and Broomsticks to wish her a Happy Birthday!
Check out these two blogs for a review and an interview with LB:

• A Book-Lover’s Review:  http://www.abook-loversreview.com/2013/03/blog-tour-my-pov-of-firefly-by-belle.html
• Seeing Night Book Blog:  http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/2013/03/blog-tour-firefly-interview-with-linda.html

Don’t forget to show these lovely blogs some luvvv!!!! <3

Day 5: FIREFLY Book Blog Tour <3
#fireflybookblogtour
Are you following along in the fun?  If not, you’re missing out on loads of fun, contests, and prizes!  We’re stopping by these two gorgeous blogs today.  Please hop over, check out the posts, enter the contests, and most of all, show these blogs some love <3

• I’m a Reader, Not a Writer Book Blog :  http://www.iamareader.com/2013/03/firefly-by-belle-whittington-blog-tour.html

• Dream Book Lovers Book Blog:  http://dreambookslovers.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/firefly-excerpt/

Check it out here!

My talented daughter had the idea of co-writing an article with me about how to stand out as an Indie Author!  LB is not only a great writer, she’s also my book cover designer. :-)

Pop on over and read our post on LB’s gorgeous new blog, Books and Broomsticks!  Oh, and don’t forget to follow her blog and “like” her on her FB page- Books and Broomsticks <3

Lovely Alexia Purdy has posted the very first review of FIREFLY! Check it out on Goodreads!   While you’re there, won’t you follow Alexia’s reviews? She’s an awesome writer and has some terrific books available! ♥

Lovely Antonia has posted her review of “Cicada” on her beautiful Romanian blog. :-) She’s also posted some gorgeous fan art! ♥

Pop over to read her thoughts on my book, and don’t forget to leave her some love in the comments! ♥

I’m back in beautiful Romania today! Whew! I’ve been doing a lot of traveling this summer! Check out what lovely Stefana Alexandra and I are discussing!!!

Don’t worry … she posted a link to the English version, too! ♥

Today I have Belle Whittington author of Cicada in the spotlight!

Welcome to the blog Belle, What inspired you to write CICADA? 

There’s not any one thing that inspired me to write Cicada. I find inspiration in everything around me, and there are a lot of cumulative memories of inspiration from over the years that all culminated 

Growing up in Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas, afforded me summers full of adventure with my friends. I call on those adventures and memories a great deal for my YA stories. Cicada has a lot of the energy of those childhood adventures spun throughout. One of them is something that actually happened to me when I was thirteen years old. I was on one of my adventures in the woods with my dog, Dusty. We made our way through the woods to a neighboring pasture and crawled through the barbed wire fence. When we got to the top of one of the rolling hills in the grassy field, I realized I was standing in the middle of a giant circle imprinted in the pasture grass. No one had ever told me about crop circles at that time in my life, so I just thought it was an odd occurrence that there was a strange circle in the tall grass. Now that circle is forever memorialized in a YA novel, Cicada! 

Indie publishing- Why do you think it’s becoming so popular? 

Traditional gatekeepers (agents, etc.) have long held the power of setting trends of what was published and when it was published, thereby deciding for the masses what would be in vogue in the writing world. The pendulum has swung toward the readers and book bloggers/reviewers, who are now the new gatekeepers. I think Indie Publishing is becoming so popular because authors finally have a venue to publish their works without having to conform to what the traditional gatekeepers want. Indie authors are now able to offer readers a wider variety within each genre, which is better for the reader. Also, there are so many viable options for indie publishing available now, allowing authors to create quality books for readers. That’s my two-cents-worth! 

CICADA has become a movie, who is playing your main character and why? 

Oh, I really do love this question, because I actually have in mind a list of actors who could easily step into the shoes of my characters. By no means did I pattern my characters after these actors though. However, I feel they would fit the parts very well! How about I go a step further and show you who I think could fill all their shoes? Drum roll………..

{Book Tour: Review} with Cicada by Belle Whittington

Seeing Night Reviews is the next stop in The Teen Book Scene Tour for Cicada by Belle Whittington.

Cicada by Belle Whittington
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Fantasy
THEME: Aliens
RECEIVED: Review Request for Book Tour
AUTHORS BLOG: Belle Whittingtons Site

Cicada
Goodreads rating: 4.22 (51 ratings)

BLURB:

Summertime for Blair Reynolds and her friends had always been carefree and fun…until the summer they happened upon something that was not human. As they band together in a fight for their lives, Blair’s true love becomes something more than human. Something unnatural. And their survival depends entirely upon their ability to keep a secret.

REVIEW:
I didn’t know what to expect with Cicada the synopsis caught my attention right away and the cover didn’t give much of a hit of what to expect. But I truly enjoyed this one of a kind young adult novel. Finally! A book without the usual paranormal creatures and a plot that just kept on making me guess. Though the beginning was a bit slow for me, when it started picking up I couldn’t put this book down.

Blair Reynolds lives in a small town and she is about to start summer with her friends. But it’s a summer that not only is their last together before college, it’s a summer filled with secrets after finding something that know one would ever believe.

Blair is dealing with being the only one a year younger than her friends and brother, all who are going to start college in the fall. Everything started out normal for them all until Blair and her friends discover crop circles in their hometown. Blair is a young girl who lost two people in her family and is struggling with their loss. But her strength starts to show its face once the discovery of this creature is discovered and a friend becomes in danger.

Click here to read the rest and show this blog some luuuuvvvvv!!!!! <3

What used to be seen as a last resort is fast becoming the most successful trend in writing. Alison Flood talks to the authors doing it themselves.  Read the entire article here…

It’s Friday, and I thought I’d end the week with something great…a free book!  J. A. Kontrath offers a free copy of his book “The Newbie’s Guide to Publishing” for download!

Download it Here…

Thank you, Mr. Konrath! :-)