A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Since I’ve been snatched deep into the jaws of holiday retail, I’m turning over my blog to a few of my favorite authors for the month of December. The first contributor is Joannah Miley, author of The Immortal Game. 

If you haven’t read it yet, you must. Not only is Joannah a talented writer, she also uses visual media, through Pinterest, to deepen the experience for the readers. In this post she tells us how she does it. Without further ado . . .

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

By Joannah Miley

A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s why Pinterest is such a great website for story tellers.

If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, it is a social media site where users “pin” pictures onto virtual “boards” in order to collect and categorize them. The pictures link to websites where you can find out more about the subject, or even buy the item.

I have enjoyed building Pinterest boards for personal interests, like:

Food:

The outdoors:

And even the second dog I want to have someday:

Pinterest is also a great way to help people connect with my books. I have a board that contains pictures of people, places, and ideas for my new novel, The Immortal Game.

The story is about a pre-med student named Ruby who falls in love with Ash, a chess master who turns out to be a Greek god. The bad news is that Zeus has forbidden the gods from interacting with humans, and he’s not happy when he finds out that Ash has not only been to Earth, but wants to bring his human girlfriend back to Olympus.

Here are a few of the pictures I have pinned on Pinterest that relate to the book:

Adrian Grenier is one actor I used as inspiration for Ash. He has the same curly black hair and intense eyes that Ash does and the fact that he is shooting at the viewer is a little joke that people who have read the book will get.

When it becomes clear Ruby needs a weapon, Artemis loans Ruby her silver bow and arrows. Ruby must learn to trust her instincts to work with the bow.

Ruby and Ash make a trip to the lowest point in the United States, Death Valley, where temperatures are often over one hundred degrees. In this picture salt covers the ground, making it look like snow.

Ruby and Ash barter for an important piece of information with an enchanted olive branch from Athena’s garden. I imagine Athena’s tree might look like this one.

I’ve also created a virtual charm bracelet for The Immortal Game on Pinterest. The board is pinned with charms that fit with the novel, like this hourglass filled with red ‘sand’ similar to the one a powerful god uses to give Ruby and Ash an hour to get out of his realm before he sends his guards after them.

Ruby’s favorite hobby is cycling, so this bicycle charm is fitting.

Pinterest boards not only help new readers find The Immortal Game, but also allow people who’ve read the book to connect more deeply with the characters and settings.

It’s easy set up boards on Pinterest. You can sign up here.

If you’re already on Pinterest please follow me. I will follow you back, after all, the best part of Pinterest is realizing that we both like inspiring quotes and Death Star cookie jars!

You can find Joannah’s new novel, The Immortal Game, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, joannahmiley.com or on Good Reads.

You can buy the book locally in Bellingham at Village Books and at Cozy Corner Books and Coffee, where Joannah will be signing books on December 21^st.

Joannah lives in northwest Washington State with her husband, two awesome teenagers, and a black dog that sheds relentlessly on her white furniture. When she’s not writing she’s usually driving a bunch of kids around town and drinking too much Coke Zero.