Cecelia Tichi
Cecelia Tichi had already established herself as an accomplished author and scholar before she began writing her Gilded Age crime fiction series. Her challenge was not coming up with another book idea. It was building a sustainable platform around a growing body of work and helping readers discover the depth of research, expertise, and storytelling behind the series.
The Challenge
Cecelia Tichi knows the Gilded Age. Her work has taken her deep into the history and culture of late-19th-century America, including the lives of the wealthy and influential members of New York society. Her research at the Vanderbilt University library has helped her explore the customs, personalities, social rules, food, drinks, and conflicts that defined the era.
That knowledge became the foundation for her The Val and Roddy DeVere Gilded Age Mystery Series. But writing a book is different from building an audience around a series. With seven books, multiple nonfiction titles, an established reputation, and a highly specialized subject, Tichi needed a way to bring the different pieces of her work together. The opportunity was to position her not simply as an author of historical mysteries, but as an authority on the world in which those mysteries take place.
The Strategy
TrustPub looked at the series as a larger publishing and marketing opportunity rather than treating each book as a separate project. The strategy centered on three elements.
First, establish the Gilded Age as the common thread connecting Tichi’s fiction, nonfiction, research, and public presence.
Second, use the books to introduce readers to the world behind the stories. Her knowledge of the Four Hundred, Gilded Age society, cocktails, manners, personalities, and historical events provides a steady source of content for articles, interviews, podcasts, social media, and other promotional opportunities.
Third, create a stronger connection between Tichi and the community already interested in the period.
Tichi actively participates in Facebook’s The Gilded Age Society, giving her an established community of people who share her interest in the era. That audience creates opportunities to discuss not only the mysteries but the history and culture that make them distinctive.
The Publishing Journey
The Val and Roddy DeVere Gilded Age Mystery Series has grown into seven books, each offering a new mystery while returning readers to the world Tichi has spent years researching. The series includes:
- A Gilded Death
- Murder, Murder, Murder in Gilded Central Park
- A Fatal Gilded High Note
- A Deadly Gilded Free Fall
- A Gilded Drowning Pool
- Death in a Gilded Frame
- #7 coming soon
The books sit alongside Tichi’s nonfiction work, including What Would Mrs. Astor Do? A Complete Guide to the Manners and Mores of the Gilded Age, Gilded Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from the Golden Age, Jazz Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from the Roaring Twenties, Civic Passions: Seven Who Launched Progressive America (and What They Teach Us), and Jack London: A Writer’s Fight for a Better America.
Rather than treating these as unrelated titles, TrustPub’s approach is to show how they reinforce one another.
A reader who discovers one of the mysteries can discover Tichi’s nonfiction. Someone interested in Gilded Age history can discover the fiction. A podcast host interested in the period has multiple subjects to explore with Tichi.
The books become entry points into a much larger author platform.
The Result
The result is a seven-book historical crime fiction series supported by years of research and a clearly defined subject area.
Tichi has created something that extends beyond individual book sales. She has developed a recognizable niche where history, crime fiction, social culture, and the personalities of the Gilded Age come together.
That creates opportunities for more than traditional book promotion.
It creates opportunities for interviews, podcasts, historical organizations, book clubs, speaking engagements, articles, social media discussions, reader communities, and media coverage focused on the Gilded Age.
The Author's Perspective
“Signing with Rick Lite has brought favorable attention and sales owing to his experience and expertise. Branching out from academic writing, I needed advice on what to do with my new Gilded Age mystery fiction—how to present the book and engage readers. From the start of the series (now 7 books), Rick has been counsellor, guide, and “fixer” for all things marketing and promotion. Although Rick didn’t handle the production side, he jumped on the marketing and promotional aspects of the series before they were designed, allowing readership time to be introduced to the books. With Rick, my books stay alive and well.” – Cecelia Tichi, Professor of English Emerita, Vanderbilt University. Author, The Val and Roddy DeVere Gilded Age Mystery Series
What's Next
The seventh book does not have to be the end of the story. Tichi has an established subject, an expanding catalog, a dedicated readership, and years of research that can continue generating new conversations.
The next phase is about expanding the audience around that foundation. That could include additional media and podcast appearances, historical and literary organizations, book clubs, targeted reviews, speaking opportunities, Gilded Age content, and partnerships with organizations that share an interest in American history and historical fiction. The opportunity is to keep giving readers new ways to discover Cecelia Tichi.
The mystery brings them in. The history keeps them interested. The author gives them a reason to come back.
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