Shepherd's Dene and websites

Crinan Hotel

Missed my entry yesterday because I was out all day at a Border Reivers Retreat Day. Ten of us got together at Shepherd's Dene and listened to Jan and Graham tells us how Jan has built up an astounding following for her self-published books. Later in the day we discussed adding emotional impact to our writing, and then tried our hand at writing a short story in 50 words. Easer than you might think. Everyone came up with attempts in only ten minutes. All very different, too!
Jan's website is here: http://www.janetmacleodtrotter.com/

I enjoyed the day but came home very tired. One of the things about writing is that it is essentially a lonely life (unless the family is still at home and rampaging around you!) and a day talking and chatting is wonderful but leaves me drained at the end of it all. Toady I am exploring building a website. So far, I've made my blog do double duty as both blog and website, but perhaps the time is right for a venture into a website. We'll see.

Viking Magic, in its third day of life, has sold a few copies already, so now it is up to me to promote, promote, promote. I must spread the word!

This picture shows how close the hotel is to the water! The weather changed on our second day there, and the hills on the horizon have disappeared in the murk. But they are there, I promise you. The island of Jura shows up beautifully on a clear day.

Dated blogs

This article in the Bookseller is aimed at website owners, but many of the pointers apply equally well to bloggers. Bookseller Thankfully it recommends photographs, and mentions that awards and reviews are a good thing to include. It also recommends a Buy Button as everyone is buying things online these days. Sadly, it recommends Twitter and Facebook links.

(Even me. My beloved laptop cracked a hinge during our last days in France, which made it vulnerable to complete extinction. DH has just told me he has found new hinges for my particluar model (after three days of searching on the web) and do I want him to order them? I leap to accept his offer. £20 seems OK to have my VA10 back in action.)

Returning to my original subject, I don't think I've ever got to grips with either of those social networks. I'm there, I'm registered, but often stare at the screen and wonder what in my life is worth putting on the page. That I had an egg for breakfast or will have roast duck for dinner is hardly going to set the world alight, yet that's what some people put out there for everyone to read. Stalkers must be delighted!
Still, the article in the Bookseller
is worth reading, and it is making me feel that perhaps it's time I looked at my dear old blog with a re-vamp in mind.

The pic is the cinema in Bergerac.
Fear not, I still have lots of French pics to load!

Web site hosts and other distractions

Almost a week has slipped away without me calling in here. I have several excuses ready to hand! Good weather demanded that I go out and walk all Wednesday afternoon for we don't get that much sunshine this time of year. Came back footsore but happy. There's tennis from 8.30am relayed from Melbourne in Australia, and I'm following that via the red button technology on our new tv. I wish there was more coverage but Sky sports have bought up the contracts for many of the Grand Slams and because we do not have Sky Sports at £30 per month, we get zilch. Hence the few tournaments that are shown become important.
Social engagement on Thursday with my sister-in-law, an interview with a newspaper person and Romantic Novelists' Association on Friday and there's the week shot.

Midweek I tried to update my website and put all the new reviews on it. Spent an hour Wednesday night and when I tried to upload/publish, found I could not do it. Or rather, the web host and my PC were incommunicado. I had got used to instanteous updating, and loved it. It seems TripodLycos web host is a part of a larger company and research on Google tells me that the non-profitable parts are being shed. So that means I must find a new website host. I've been checking out new hosting sites, but I only wish I understood what all the terms mean. They could be talking double-Dutch (is that a PC remark these days? Probably not!) for all I understand them.

Life is so simple when I can spend the whole week plugging away at my next story. This week, I've got very little done.

New romantic hero

If you can imagine this man with dark hair curling over the collar of a velvet doublet or a leather jack, then you can imagine Harry, the hero of my wip. I'm up to 35k now and its going well. I'm tempted to try giving him a dye job courtesy of Photoshop, just to see what he looks like.

I checked my old blog on Yahoo 360 tonight out of curiosity and find it records 4,460 visits. I have no idea how it records these, and it does seem curious when I have not blogged there since April. My old website is similar - 879 visits. Perhaps I ought to take them down and ensure that people come to the newer sites, but I'm not sure. Perhaps people have these bookmarked and just make an extra click to get to the new sites. Then again, perhaps they don't. Perhaps they give up and go away without bothering.