Guest Post: Rise From Darkness by Ciara Knight

Today I have Ciara Knight, author of Rise From Darkness: Battle for Souls, here to talk about author branding. Here is a quick blurb of her new book:

          Alexander Lorre gives new meaning to the term “tormented teen”. He’s a newly fallen angel, which means he has the self-control of a three-year-old, the hormones of a teenager and the strength of an angel. When he rescues Gaby Moore from drowning, the chemistry between them is undeniable. With a local demon threatening Gaby’s life, he struggles to find a balance between remaining close enough to protect her but distant enough to control his desires.
As danger draws closer, Gaby uncovers shattering secrets that will lead to an ultimate choice. Will she fight alongside her father, an earthbound hunter killing fallen angels and demons, give into the demon blood coursing through her veins and join the demon world, or save the man she loves from both? The first two choices damn her, but the last one could destroy them all.

Take it away, Ciara!

          Author Branding
“What do you write?” We’ve all been asked this question. Most authors refer to themselves as contemporary romance, fantasy, or young adult authors. I, unfortunately, do not fit in one specific genre, so what now?
I thought for a long time about this and how I wanted to brand myself as an author. I write young adult and adult, fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, and dystopian/biopunk stories. Could you imagine trying to include all that on a business card?
Since none of the typical branding worked for me, I did some soul searching and asked myself what a reader would think if they heard my name. I took this question and looked at all the books I’d written and planned to write. What is the common theme through all of them?
Before I dove into creating a tagline, I looked at several others. Here are a few I found intriguing:
Ane Mulligan -“Southern Fried Fiction”
James Scott Bell - “Suspense Never Rests”
Brandilyn Collins – “Seatbelt Suspense”
Karen Kingsbury – “Life Changing Fiction”
I turned to my blogging buddies and sat up a poll. There were several fantastic suggestions and I even utilized one for a while but it was too long. A tagline needs to be short, sweet, and memorable.
Writing to the Edge of Darkness was a temporary solution. It fit what I wrote. I take my characters to the edge of no return then pull them back into the light. After more soul searching I realized that I write books that the characters Defy the Dark. No matter how bleak and horrible their lives are they always find the strength to battle whatever is thrown at them.
So, what do you write? Do you have a catchy tagline?

I'm still working on building my own blog brand, and a "catchy tagline" is not even on the horizon!