More Website Musings

So as I keep the idea of revamping my website on the back burner of my brain, I also keep coming back to the idea that’s always a hot topic among writers…branding.

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “I’m not a writer. I don’t care.” But, if we’re to believe the teachers at the various conferences and webinars we attend, that’s not technically correct. You care…you just might not know it. And that circles me back around to branding. What is my brand?

Right now, I’d say I’ve tried to encapsulate it in the little logo there in the top corner of the post. Grace-Driven Fiction: Real Christians. Real sin. Real grace. Note the focus on reality? That definitely speaks to the main thrust of what I try to weave into every aspect of what I write — the reality of living as a Christian in today’s world. Or, as one reviewer put it so nicely (honestly, I so adore this quote you have no idea), “Not Pollyanna trust Jesus and smile.”

But I’m also told that using the word “grace” is over done and, well…maybe the rest is too long? Too…dare I say it? Boring? (Is it boring? Or just too long? Or maybe some of both?) And so I’ve been kicking around other taglines, something that would encompass the same ideas, but maybe be more catchy…and I came up with this: Romance…with room for thought.

It’s not as overt about the transformational nature of what I write, but it is more explicitly romance (obviously since the word’s in there.) I suppose I could say “Fiction” instead of “Romance” if I wanted to include the fact that I do have a women’s fiction trilogy out there in the world and that, one of these days, I may end up adding some speculative titles into the mix. (Though those will still likely have a romance thread – as the women’s fiction does – so maybe it doesn’t matter?)

But I wonder, does the “with room for thought” bit turn you off? Does it make you groan and say, “Ugh…I don’t want to have to think, I just want to read and escape life for a bit!”? (And while I definitely believe my books have little things that can and do make people think – you don’t *have* to think, they’re still good for escaping! I don’t want to turn people away or make them thing my books are weighty tomes full of preaching.)

So…thoughts? Opinions? Random comments? Knock-knock jokes?