When I decided to follow my dream of writing—and selling—fiction, I was just (barely) smart enough to realize I was totally ignorant. I was brand-new to the writing thing and I figured, what could be so hard? You write entertaining stuff and then you sell it. Simple.
And I suppose when you boil it down to its essence, it is that simple. The problem is, everyone is trying to write stuff and sell it, and many of those people are just as good at the writing part as I am; some of them are better.
So what’s a guy (or gal) to do? Well, in my case, I decided to educate myself as much as I could about the business of writing. Because the minute you ask someone else to spend their hard-earned cash on your work, you have gone into business. It might be the smallest business in the world, but it’s still a business.
One of the things I kept hearing as I set about educating myself was the concept of building a brand as an author. As you might imagine, there are plenty of different interpretations of exactly what that means, but I believe building a brand means my goal as an author is for my name to inspire a certain image in the minds of readers; for people to have some idea what they’re getting into if they buy an Allan Leverone book.
In other words, conventional wisdom regarding brand-building says that when you read the name Allan Leverone, my goal should be to make you think, “thriller writer.” And I’m cool with that, to a point. My first two novels have been thrillers, I love the genre, and I fully intend to keep writing in it.
The problem is there’s another genre I love, too. I’m torn between two genres, to paraphrase an old (and horrible) song. I’ve been a horror fan since my early teens. I love horror, or dark fiction, as many people like to call it, almost as much as I love a good thriller.
Again, what’s a guy (or gal) to do? Should I have to sacrifice my love of horror in the name of building my thriller brand?
Then I had a crazy thought: Why can’t my brand include both? Why can’t the name Allan Leverone conjure up thoughts of pulse-pounding suspense, some of it conventional, some of it paranormal, some of it extremely dark, some of it not? Why can’t my brand include traditional thrillers like The Lonely Mile, released July 18th by StoneHouse Ink, and psychological horror like my novella, Darkness Falls, brand-new this month from Delirium Books?
Why can’t the reader have her cake and eat it, too? The elements of a good thriller and a good horror story are much the same; Stephen King likes to say he writes “suspense,” not “horror,” and if you think about it, he’s right. Look up “suspense” in the dictionary and what do you see? “A state of anxiety or intense worry about something; a feeling of tense excitement about how something such as a mystery novel or movie will end.”
Sounds like it’s right up my alley. And if you’re a thriller reader, it might just be right up yours, too. So, as I go about building my brand, try to keep an open mind about those authors, like me, who aren’t able to choose just one genre to write in. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks very much for your time, and if you decide to check out my work, I’d love to hear your thoughts when you’ve finished!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Allan Leverone is a three-time Derringer Award finalist as well as a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee for his short fiction. The Lonely Mile, released by StoneHouse Ink in July, is Allan’s second thriller, following Final Vector from Medallion Books in February. He has been hailed as “the successor to Michael Crichton” by bestselling author Vincent Zandri, and bestselling author Scott Nicholson calls The Lonely Mile “a taut crime drama full of twists and conspiracy.”
Learn more about Allan at his website at www.allanleverone.com.
Visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/allan.leverone.
When struggling hardware store owner Bill Ferguson witnesses a kidnapping in progress, he reacts instinctively, breaking up the crime and saving a young girl. But the kidnapper, a sociopath known as the “I-90 Killer,” escapes and vows revenge, targeting Ferguson’s own daughter as his next victim. Now one terrified father must unravel a plot that may go much deeper than he realizes, racing against time to save his only child from an unthinkable fate.
- Pub. Date: July 2011
- Publisher: StoneHouse Ink
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