FICTION | AUTHOR TIPS | BRANDING FICTION | MARKETING MAGIC | Writing

Hidden Secrets Beneath The Lake

My debut novel…and simple secrets to market an author’s brand and tuck their mantra into the pages of their FICTION books.

As a USA Today Bestselling Author, I obviously love writing fiction, spinning tales to stir the soul through time travel, romantic suspense, mysteries and thrillers dusted with a sprinkle of supernatural or a whisper of magic. My goal is to WOW my readers, leaving them wanting more and, in return, my readers inspire me with beautiful stars they post with their reviews.

I wasn’t aware of magical threads when I wrote my first novel, but my passion dug deeper than simply knocking out story after story to fill my backlist. Golden threads hid within all my manuscripts––snippets buried beneath the surface that reveal an author’s heart and soul. Before I can explain the importance of these threads, I need to give you an example of my work.

The magic began with my first novel, Beneath The Lake, and continues to weave through every story I write. Every author has their own unique secret power, but few realize the pearls they possess. Jewels they could use to increase their Internet visibility and promote their books.

So, I invite you to take a few minutes to gaze into my mysterious world. Discover The Magic…and the hidden secrets buried beneath the surface of my novel––BENEATH THE LAKE.

When I first heard the eerie stories attached to Atlanta’s Lake Sidney Lanier, a man-made lake located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains, the lore fascinated me. Plagued with mysterious disappearances, freak accidents, strange phenomenon, and ghostly occurrences, my imagination spun with a flurry of possibilities…what a perfect setting for my first novel.

What if excavation created more than a lake? What if explosions triggered a seismic shift that opened a portal connecting past to future?

My heart pounded as I envisioned what slept beneath the surface…a town time forgot. Toss in the creepy tales attached to the lake––how Lanier never gives up its dead…the plot thickened. What if someone fell into the lake and was swept into the past? Beneath The Lake, book #one in my Lake Lanier Mysteries, was born.

I responded with genre’s I loved––a spine-chilling time-travel romantic suspense…

The tagline was a natural — A ghost town time forgot…a romance you’ll remember forever.

The description–– “A ghost town submerged beneath Atlanta’s famous man-made Lake Lanier reportedly lures victims to a watery grave. But when Lacey Montgomery’s car spins out of control and hurtles into the depths of the icy, black water, she awakens in the arms of a handsome stranger, in a place she’s never heard of — 34 years before she was born. When the 2012 lawyer tangles with the 1949 hunk, fire and ice swirl into a stream of sweltering desire. Bobby Reynolds is smitten the moment the storm-ravaged woman opens her eyes. Learning the truth about her origins does nothing to stop the passion from taking root in his heart, and leaves him torn between finding a way to help Lacey return to 2012 or convincing her to stay with him. The desperation to find her way home dissolves as Lacey falls in love with a town destined to be erased from the face of the Earth, and the man who vows to protect it. Will the couple discover the key to the mysterious portal before time rips them apart? Or will their star-crossed spirits wander forever through a ghost town buried beneath the lake?”

The storyline stole my heart before I began writing, and has since won numerous awards…among them: 2016 Best Romantic Suspense, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and PRG Reader’s Choice Awards––2019 Best Time Travel Novel.

Take a peek at this one-minute video. I create my own trailers and most of my books are on Audible. I invite you to take a moment and check out my Beneath The Lake trailer…

And listen to the short Audible sample on the link below.

I sometimes feel like my characters write their own stories…and I’m just the vessel they use to escape into the world––but I’ll save that story for another article.

What does my story have to do with marketing my brand?

Authors typically have a reason for creating books in a specific genre. They write what they love…what they live…or both.

I chose both. Few know the underlying inspiration for my writing. Or that my first published book, Wingless Butterfly, was my memoir, a story about a broken child and her struggle to break free from a jagged past.

If you’d like to learn more about my backstory, be sure to check out this Medium article.

Those who know my past understand my mantra and my brand. All my writing filters through my frame of reference with the belief that hope springs eternal.

Don’t get me wrong, my stories have plenty of villians and not everyone survives the mayhem, mystery, and murder. But in each story I write, I tuck between the pages a snippet of hope, inspiration, or a feel good message. I find a silver lining––that’s who I am.

And so it is with everyone. Each writer––each soul––lives their life based on their frame of reference and belief system. What we say and do reflects those guideposts.

Golden threads sparkle your stories with your own unique pixiedust.

I’m not talking about premeditated subliminal suggestions. I’m merely pointing out and examining unique jewels present in most author’s manuscripts that revel their hidden passion.

To avoid spoiling a piece of my story, I clipped a short snippet of a golden thread I tucked into the pages of Beneath The Lake.

Page 130––Bobby glanced toward Lacey and chuckled. “Hey, your story is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. It defies all common sense…but sometimes if a leap of faith is all you have, you’ve got to take it.”

The phrase reappeared near the end of the story, giving my heroine the push she needed to save the day.

Page 337––Lacey thought about what Bobby said the night he spoke at the town meeting: “It defies all common sense. But sometimes if a leap of faith is all you have, you’ve got to take it.”

You might have noted when I use the phrase “what if” in this article, I highlighted the words with bold italics. That phrase is a big part of my personal transformation, but instead of looking at the negative side of life, I choose to look at the positive. My “what ifs” inspire dreams, hope, and imagination. And that premise is part of everthing I am and hidden in everything I write.

Since my genres include time travel, romantic suspense, thrillers, and mystery, usually dusted with a sprinkle of supernatural or a whisper of magic, “what ifs” are an easy add. I can encourage my readers to live their dreams while creating the possibility in the lives of my flawed characters.

Other than a vivid imagination, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a paranormal or supernatural event. But I believe in the forces of good and evil, and all my writing hides a sprinkle of inspiration between the pages, where happy endings prevail.

Though the genre is super hot right now, I doubt I’ll ever write DARK stories…the world is consumed by enough darkness lingering in the shadows of everyday life.

But I fill my books with edge-of-your-seat suspense and thrilling rides with twists and turns you’ll never see coming. I want my stories to stir my readers imagination and leave them with a spark of light they’ll remember long after my story ends.

That inspiration is what I live by, my mantra, and my brand. Every story I write reflects that premise at its core. My readers come back for more and I hope I will never dissappoint them.

If you’d like to see more of my books, here is a Worldwide Amazon link that will take you to your own country’s Amazon.

So, ask yourself this question. What is your mantra? Why do you choose certain stories to read, watch, or write? What word describes you at the core? When you discover those answers, your brand emerges with crystal clarity. Find your golden threads and weave them through your stories.

The rest is easy. Spread the word. Tell the world about your brand and you’ll float to the top of the sea of books that litter the Internet. Ride your wave and you’ll be more visible than you ever dreamed possible.

The inner source of our flame can fizzle and fade to a soft glimmer…but a tiny ember remains dormant, waiting for a spark to awaken dreams and burst them into a flame of passion––Casi McLean

Bonus Tip: One more thing I’d like you to know before your head hits the pillow tonight is I often giveaway FREE books and have frequent sales. Plus, I share giveaways, events, and sales my terrific author friends create. Subscribe to my newsletter FREE for tons of benefits only my Inner Circle receives…and remember books make great gifts, too.

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