This must be our time for asking for help from our readers. Megan asked for help for finding examples of heroines for her HSCD (handsome, snarky, charming duke). Susanna asked for what risks readers thought Riskies should take. And I need your help coming up with a strapline.
A strapline is a header that will run across the top of my author page at eHarlequin and Millsandboon.co.uk
Examples of straplines were things like:
“Fun, fresh, and flirty romance!”
“Sizzling stories that will keep you turning the pages…”
“Romance author fuelled by coffee and craziness”
“Cowgirl chick and western romance writer”
I would want mine to include that I write Regency Historicals and I want it to reflect my particular spin on the Regency.
Here’s what I came up with so far:
“Mayfair, Almack’s, and the Regency Underworld! Award-winning Regency Romance”
“Mayfair, Almack’s and the Regency Underworld! Emotion packed Regency Romance”
What sort of strapline would attract you? Should I include the words “award-winning?”
The strapline cannot be more than 10 words.
So here’s the challenge. Help me come up with a strapline. Write me a new one or give your opinion of the two I came up with. Or give me guidelines to write a good one. Take a look at my website for ideas. There’s a $5.00 Amazon gift card for the winning strapline. Or, if I don’t pick the best one, I’ll choose one winner at random, winner to be announced next Monday.
And, in case winning a $5 gift card isn’t enough, enter our newsletter contest! Just sign up for our newsletter and you’ll be entered. For the prize we’ll pay off at least $40 of your Amazon Wish List! Janet will announce the winner on August 1.
Mayfair, Almack’s, and the Regency Underworld! Verismoromance at its best!
Haven’t done HTML in ages, hope the italics are in the right place…even if someone has to look up VERISMO, it will be different, possibly intriguing to the more discerning readers… 🙂
left out the space after the coding, oops!
Thanks, Mary! VERISMO much!
My immediate response to you drafts is that the reference to Mayfair and Almack’s doesn’t give quite the right impression of your books, which are not restricted to London ton life (as I think those two words imply). I appreciate that the reference to “the Regency Underworld” opens it out a bit, but not enough I think. Just think of your Three Soldiers series – do they really fit into that phrase? And I say that as a compliment – your books are wider and deeper than the restricted life of the ballrooms of Regency London.
I’m working on a suggestion and will be back soon!
HJ, thanks for this!!! You obviously “get” what I’m trying to do with my books, so I feel greatly complimented!
Can’t wait to read what you come up with!
I’ve just spent some time looking again at your books and various reviews of them, and I really do feel that to project yourself as a writer of ballroom dramas is to do yourself a disservice. The thing which attracted me to your books in the first place is that they were different – they dealt with real characters facing a bigger dilemma than which fop to marry. There are often very usual characters in uncommon locations battling complex odds. Also, it seems to me that there is often a degree of mystery in your books – as suggested by the title of MMM!
So, that’s the background to my suggestions:
Strong women and tougher men – action-packed Regency romance
Regency romance in the real world – love conquers all
Regency romance in the real world – love overcomes adversity
“There are often very usual characters in uncommon locations battling complex odds.” – “usual” should of course be “unusual”.
I’m not really happy with any of my suggestions and I’ll continue mulling them over.
You are being incredibly helpful, HJ!!!!!