Branding – we all know how important it is. It establishes a product clearly in your mind. In terms of novel writing, it ensures a reader who enjoyed your first book will know what they’re getting when they buy your second book too – a different story perhaps but one rooted firmly in the same genre, be that romance, crime, horror or historical. There’s a lot of competition out there and branding, well, it helps to get you noticed. So, bearing that in mind, what have I done? I’ll tell you what I’ve done. I’ve laughed in the face of branding and here’s the book covers to prove it….

The book on the left (my debut) – The Runaway Year – is a romance set in North Cornwall, it’s sassy, it’s sexy, it’s packed to the rafters with feisty heroines, but it’s romance – no doubt about it. The book…