Passionate about that Wild Midnight!

by Anna Campbell

Hey, guys, February is a HUGE month in Campbellandia because I'm launching my new website. It's taken hours of work, not just by me but by my terrifically talented web mistress Paula Roe, to create this upated version. I wanted a look that reflected the danger and the sexy elegance of the Regency world.

I hope you'll check it out. More than that, I hope you'll love it!

www.annacampbell.info

Even better, in line with the month-long GO RED FOR WOMEN theme in the lair, you'll notice red features very strongly in the design. Look at that beautiful ribbon!

While I loved the old design to pieces, I thought it was getting a little tired. I also felt it reflected the gothic flavor of my first few books more closely than the darkly sensual flavor of my more recent works.

Not everything has changed. You'll notice there are a lot of old friends that are still there like the My Favorite Things column that has always been really popular. But there are also new pages, including one for press and one that gathers all my book trailers and video interviews in one place for ease of location.

I've been saving the page for MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION, my May 2011 release, for the website's debut.

So it's with great pleasure that I introduce to the Banditas and Bandita Buddies my next Regency romance MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION!

Here's the blurb:

London’s most notorious seducer, Nicholas Challoner lives solely for revenge…

The dashing, licentious Marquess of Ranelaw can never forgive Godfrey Demarest for ruining his sister—now the time has come to repay the villain in the same coin. But one formidably intriguing impediment stands in the way of Nicholas’s vengeance: Miss Antonia Smith, companion to his foe’s unsuspecting daughter.

Having herself been deceived and disgraced by a rogue—banished by her privileged family as a result and forced to live a lie—Antonia vows to protect her charge from the same cruel fate. She recognizes Ranelaw for the shameless blackguard he is, and will devote every ounce of her intelligence and resolve to thwarting him.

Yet Antonia has always had a fatal weakness for rakes...

There's an excerpt here for your reading pleasure.

I had enormous fun writing MIDNIGHT'S WILD PASSION. By the way, if you click on the top cover, which is the one for the American edition, it will take you straight to Amazon where you can pre-order the book. The blue cover is for the Australian edition which is also out in May.

MWP is the closest thing I've ever done to a classic Regency romance so you'll find a host of favorite themes like ballrooms and false identities and elopements and duels. And a really delicious (even if I do say so myself) rakish hero in the Marquess of Ranelaw.

So clearly that's your May reading taken care of, LOL! What other books are you looking forward to reading in the next few months?

Oh, and because of the GO RED FOR WOMEN campaign, there's a giveaway for a random commenter. A signed copy of my book with a RED spine TEMPT THE DEVIL. We've also got some American Heart Association goodies going out. So comment, people, comment! Oh, and check out the new website!

We have an AHA Go Red pin for one commenter today.

The healthy heart tip for February 10th is: Still craving something sweet? Send a fruit basket to your loved one instead of the usual sugary sweets.

Romance Writers of America and the American Heart Association have partnered to raise awareness of heart disease in women and encourage you to join us in wearing red on February 4, National Wear Red Day. Visit Go Red for Women to learn how to fight heart disease.

And just in case you missed it...

Sign up for the Go Red Better U Program and receive two free romance e-books.

From Feb 1 through May 31, 2011, receive one free romance e-book when you sign up for the American Heart Association's Better U Program and one after you complete week six of the program. And look for the Eat Smart for Your Heart limited edition magazine (that features this offer) on newstands and in a grocery store near you.

Go Red for Women is trademarked by the American Heart Association, Inc. Romance novel downloads provided by Belle Books.

A Site for Sore Eyes

by Christine Wells

A friend of mine is in the process of revamping her website. I might well do the same very soon, so I've been contemplating my options.

For me, it's no easy thing to decide on a design for my home on the web. I'm much the same with designing the interior of my bricks and mortar home--I couldn't tell you specifically what I want but I have strong opinions on what I like (and don't like) when I see it.

Funnily enough, in the past this has frustrated my web designers. Ah, well, I'm a Libran, what can I say?

So the thing to do when you don't know what you want is to look at other sites to see what they do well, right? Here are some of the things I think about when I'm looking at an author webpage:

*Is the design pleasing to the eye?

*Does the design suit the tone of the writer's work? Flowers and hearts are not usually appropriate for an author who writes dark paranormals.

*Is there a well laid out home page with just enough information on it, but not too much?

When I go to an author home page I want to know what kind of book they write and the latest book they have released, maybe also the book that's 'coming soon' if the latest has been out a while. If the home page is cluttered with a thousand different messages and widgets and covers, my eyes simply glaze over and I don't read any of it.

Actually, I don't doubt some readers love that busy kind of page, especially if they're devoted fans who visit often, but my aim with a home page is to give the casual browser quick access to the information they're most likely to want. If they like bells and whistles, my guess is they'll click on a button called 'extras' or 'fun stuff' to find them.

*Like any reader, I love extra content -- this might be in the form of articles, news, a blog, facebook page, second epilogues, dossiers on characters and so forth. Blogs and social media feeds give the feeling of currency and the extra content means you're getting something special from the website that you can't get from reading the author's books. Those extras give readers a sense of the author's personality and a feeling of connection to the author.

*Book trailers -- If they're done well, they can enhance a website for me, as long as they don't take forever to load.

Here are some sites I like (not counting fabulous Bandita sites, of course!):

We all know Jenny Crusie loves collaging and the header of this site has that eclectic feel to it, along with Jenny's signature cherry. I loved her previous site, too. This has a darker, more magical tone that suits the direction Crusie seems to be taking with her fiction these days.

Susan Holloway Scott. This is simply one of the most gorgeous sites on the web, in my opinion. Everything about it shouts historical opulence and Susan Holloway Scott writes about the mistresses of kings so the tone is just right for her books. I particularly love the botanical drawings on the borders. They're different on each page and add richness and colour as well as a sense of period to the site.

Julie Garwood Usually I wouldn't recommend a home page that takes a while to load, but this one is worth it for sheer novelty value.

Loretta Chase uses an old-fashioned letter with a seal as a background for her website. I like that she gives just enough information to help me decide whether to read further, but not an overwhelming amount. See the great tagline she has next to her latest release?

Kieran Kramer is a debut author who writes fresh, witty historicals and doesn't her website reflect that? I love that she has a nice welcome and salient points about her books with links to other fun stuff, too.

So here are my questions for you, dear readers!

What is your favourite romance author website?

What do you like best about this website?

What do you dislike seeing on an author site?

I'm looking forward to hearing your answers! Thank you in advance for letting me do some important market research:)