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I’m blogging over at the Lady Scribes blog today-but here’s a sneak peak …

Can I help it if I have an over active imagination? If I’m not being bombarded by story lines outside the manuscript I’m supposed to be working on, I’m daydreaming about the places I write about. Fantasizing about winning the lottery (with imaginary ticket), packing up my family, and moving to the UK would be bliss (except maybe during winter).

You see the longer I write and research regency England the more I want to travel. The bonus for me is my DH wants to come with me so I’ve got no obstacles bar winning that pesky lottery. (Must rush out and buy that ticket)

We think, DH and I, that a six month sojourn to our ancestors birthplace would be a lot of fun. So far I’ve corrupted him into watching Time Team, National Trust: National Treasure, Antiques Roadshow, and any BBC produced documentary that I find. Even our youngest boy is keen on the move – although might have something to do with the delusion he’s under that he might acquire *awesome stuff* from an obscenely large lottery win.

Apparently we can’t work in the UK even if we wanted to—there goes our plan to polish the Queen’s silver. Our ages are apparently the issue, so we’ll just have to spend all our time sightseeing! How bad is that?? LOL. Good thing I can write anywhere.

Although I quite like the idea of staying in quaint little pubs and inns, my husband has the idea to put us in a campervan of some description for some of the time. We could become gypsies while we travel the wilds of the English countryside—let’s hope we don’t become permanently lost. But that got me thinking that I should probably start to plan where we’d actually want to go on this six odd month odyssey of ours. So that’s what I’m going to blog about for a while.

After the twenty-three hour flight from Sydney, spending a few nights at a hotel near Heathrow recovering from jet lag seems like a very good idea. Then once we’re relatively lucid again the plan is to gather all our pounds and pence and head south in the general direction of Brighton.

First Stop – Ham House

click here to see the whole post.

My Regency Romance Books

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been seven months since my first book released from Noble Romance Publishing. At the time, the idea of promotion was quite daunting for a self-confessed introvert and still is truth to tell. I had no plan to follow, that would have worked out better, but now that I’m better informed I thought I should jot down my discoveries.

Pre-Release

Depending on who you’re publishing with, the lead time you have for promotion can vary so its very hard to set up a strict timetable. I have heard that a two month pre-release campaign is a good lead up. Even if you’re just starting out, most writers would have heard that a web-presence is essential so let’s start there.

Facebook – Facebook is the number one social networking too worldwide. I’m on there, along with all the lady scribes blog members and almost every other writer I know. Facebook can be a vast source of potential readers, (authors are readers too) yet with so many signed up its also possible to waste huge amounts of time. As a suggestion for your first steps I suggest you friend the authors you like, especially if you write in the same genre. Then add some of their friends, a little at a time. What you want, and what’s practical is a slow growth in your network connections. Don’t friend one hundred people on the one day and make sure to say ‘thanks for friending me’ when they accept. Not everyone will, and some can take months to do so, but you want to grow your Facebook connections with people who will comment, share and like your posts.

Twitter – Twitter is my favourite social networking tool. Like Facebook you find interesting people to follow, but with Twitter your conversations are limited to 140 characters:
@LydiaDare The new book cover rocks!! Cannot wait till March for It Happened One Bite to be released. Are you doing book signings next year?

That was exactly 140 characters. Twitter conversations tend to be real-time, more like a chat session than Facebook’s posts, and like Facebook you can waste a huge amount of time reading posts and following links. Again, start small, get to know the people you follow and who follow you back. You can follow people without them following you, and you can easily unfollow someone without offending. You can block someone too – especially good for those marketing tweets you’re uninterested in recieving. With twitter you make your own little community and, as an isolated writer, I really love that feature.

The twitter code! There are often little tags on tweets that can make no sense at all. A hashtag # followed by a few letters. These are twitter topics to bring likeminded people together. They are searchable, and the really popular ones feature as Trending Topics on Twitters sidebar. For example:

#FF is used on Fridays. It means Follow Friday and is a way to give a shout out to your special friends.

#amwriting – authors use this to give updates on their work in progress

#whyiread – why I read is another

The choices go on and on. The use of hashtags is the way the twitter community continues to grow. You often see celebrities and their fans use them for movies and tv show. Follow NathanFillion (from Castle and Firefly fame) for other examples. Current affairs events pop up too. It all depends on your interests.

If you’re new to either Twitter or Facebook give me a shout out. I’m @Heather_Boyd on Twitter and here on Facebook.

If you’re an old hand at twitter do you have any hashtag topics you use often and care to share?

Join Megan Hussey, Tamara Gill and me
on
US EST – Saturday 18th – 5pm till 6pm
which is
Australia EST – Sunday 19th – 9am and 10am
(bring your coffee and croissants)

I’m blogging today at the ladyscribes blog. Come by and talk about your Christmas Traditions: http://ladyscribes.blogspot.com/2010/11/here-comes-christmas-season.html

He may have only had 10 minutes or so of screen time in the 2009 Star Trek, but the gorgeous Chris Hemsworth makes a big impression as George Kirk, Captain of the Kelvin. Chris is my Man Monday Inspiration. Who wouldn’t love a character like George Kirk who dies to protect his wife, child and everyone else on the ship. And even in the midst of a battle he could laugh about the horror of naming his child Tiberius. I love humor in a romance hero.

Of course, at 6’3″ the Australian born actor makes a captivating hero. And he’s due to step into the role of Thor opposite Natalie Portman (one of my favorite actors), directed by the wonderful Kenneth Branagh. The basic plot of Thor: The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders. I am so looking forward to watching this in 2011!

Today I’m guest author over at Regency Historical Romance author, Tamara Gill’s blog party. Drop by for a chance to win a free copy of One Wicked Night or just chat.

My Regency Romance Books

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