Website

Hi, all! Between mass market Pink and Mistletoe and Orchid and finishing up Pink IX, the website has rather gotten away from me. So, once again, I throw it over to you. What would you like to see here, both on the site at large and on the News page?

37 Comments

  1. Jane F on November 4, 2010 at 11:39 am

    sneak peaks!

  2. Carole on November 4, 2010 at 11:56 am

    DISCUSSION BOARD and SNEAK PEAKS and a million dollars! Well, exclude the last one because that would just be for me. 😉

  3. Liz on November 4, 2010 at 12:32 pm

    Love the sneak peeks idea as well 🙂 also, it would be interesting to read more about how you write the books (what research you do, if you outline first, etc.)

  4. Dayana on November 4, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    I meant to get back to that e-mail you sent me, but now I can just say it here.

    Character profiles, more FAQs from the readers,quizzes, and a few more additions to the E-cards wouldn’t hurt. Ooh! And the familt trees from recent characters would be nice. Discusion boards would also be interesting and, of course, sneak peeks are always welcomed. And whatever other addition you think would be great, go for it!

    P.s. Any little scraps of ideas you think of for other books you think of writing, go right ahead and post. I’m all ears!

  5. Jane on November 4, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    I’d love to see more about how you write. What’s hard? What’s easy, at least some of the time?

    Sneak peeks are always fun. Sometimes you’ve posted scenes that you cut, even though you loved them; I’d like to see that again. How is Miss Ponsonby doing?

  6. Gina on November 4, 2010 at 1:49 pm

    I always love any outtakes you give us. 🙂

  7. Sheila on November 4, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    1–Outtakes : These characters are so much fun, can’t possibly have too much of them.

    2-Discussions–What fun, this is a great group.

    3- Sneak peeks –yes, yes, as if we needed anything to wht the appetite for Pink !!

    4-(I know this is reeeally asking a lot) Another novella like Selwick Christmas .

    I like everything you are already doing very much.

  8. Joanne M. on November 4, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    Would love to see….
    l. Book recommendations (while we’re waiting for the next Pink book)
    2. Reader polls are always fun
    3. Q&A
    4. Outtakes or excerpts
    5. anything that you want to share about history/literature/period movies/classics…if it interest YOU it will more than likely interest US! 😉

    And here’s a wildcard idea that I’m throwing your way….Lauren, have you ever considered creating a Pink Carnation Companion volume? (For example, D. Gabaldon has the Outlandish Companion for her Outlander series, Elizabeth Peters has the Amelia Peabody Companion, Dorothy Dunnett has a Companion, etc…) How much fun would it be to have in one volume all the background on each Pink book, trivia, research, Regency info, quizzes, illustrations (maybe even a few comic book scenes, etc..) for all your Pink fans!

  9. Robyn on November 4, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    1. Outtakes
    2. Sneak Peeks

    I love being able to come and read your outtakes after I get done reading one of your books. For me, it just adds to the book.

  10. Kat on November 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    Links when you write for other blogs like History Hoydens. I like History Hoydens, but I don’t always have time to follow it. I’d like to know when you post though.

  11. Elizabeth aka Miss Eliza on November 4, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    A forum would be great, because I love the reading recommendation Fridays. So some way where we can discuss all books!

  12. Diana on November 4, 2010 at 5:21 pm

    I would like to second Dayana’s suggestions. I also like the idea of a forum/discussion board.

  13. Suzanne on November 4, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    Have a on line question and answer session with you so fans can ask questions about your books.

  14. Bevin on November 4, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    I really enjoy your reading recommendations and would love to see more of those! (as well as the discussions that ensue..)

  15. AngelB on November 4, 2010 at 9:18 pm

    I think a forum, well monitored of course, would be ideal. And have it include pictures. So when we are casting we can post photos, or post our photos of Pink in the Wild, etc.

    Second, I’d just really like to see the current Diversions updated…ie Family Trees, Cast of Characters, Quizzes, etc.

  16. Erica D on November 4, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    Outtakes for sure!

  17. Ashley on November 4, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    I would love to see:

    Book recommendations (love the Weekly Reading posts)
    Outtakes
    More about your writing process, past experiences with writing, publishing process, etc.

  18. Christy on November 4, 2010 at 10:21 pm

    My favorite parts have been your frequent notes / blogs, your sneak peaks, your contests, your links to Lauren in the Wild (appearances and reviews on other websites) and your book recommendations. I would love an updated Diversions section. In particular, more of the e-cards (updated) would be fun to send to girlfriends. Also, why not offer a contest to include a few quizzes? Results could even be posted to facebook to gain interest among your fans’ “friends”.

  19. Christy on November 4, 2010 at 10:26 pm

    One more idea… I love all of the ideas for casting books and am absolutely horrible at doing that myself. Why not do that more frequently with choice photos of some of your favorites? Yes, the may say it distracts from ones imagination, but I think it’s really fun and always end up learning about new actors.

  20. Camellia on November 5, 2010 at 1:23 am

    Quotes from Ms. Gwen (of any others) you deem especially entertaining, whether there in the books or just something you think they would say.

  21. Am7 on November 5, 2010 at 3:32 am

    I love the idea of discussion boards particularly for specific books or characters. I’ve never seen a writer’s companion although it sounds like something Rowling was talking about after HP 7. It sounds cool enough.
    I know we were all reading Mistletoe, but I miss weekly round-up. I”ll keep thinking about it.

  22. Meredith on November 5, 2010 at 11:38 am

    I know it’s a silly request, but I would love some quizzes. My Pink loving friends and I always debate over which heroine best represents us, which man would be suit us, etc.

    Also, some discussion boards would be fantastic. That way we can get to know other Pink fans, too.

  23. Christine on November 5, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    I would also love a discussion board, but it should be monitored and possibly require registrations. It’s sad and pathetic how some people are willing to troll random boards just to be jerks and I would hate to see a Pink board turn into something like that because anyone can post anything to it.

  24. Natalie on November 5, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    I’m am thiking that the Discussion Board idea is a good one, and that there needs to be like a Fan Art Section! For those of us that want to draw from Pink, and share it!

  25. Christy on November 5, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    Maybe we could do a “Get Lauren Willig on late night TV” campaign similar to the push for Betty White on SNL. That would be fun. Or, how would one start a blitz to get Pink made into a movie or miniseries? Hmm… I’m afraid on this one I have the ideas but not the means of execution. Alas!
    Also, could someone make some facebook “flair” with pics and witty quotations?

  26. Diana M. on November 5, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Sheila’s ideas sound great: Outtakes (these were awesome), sneak-peeks (always appreciated), a discussion board, and another novella (to hold us over until the next book is published). Updates to the family tree would be good. Book recommendations or a peek at what’s on your bookshelf would be welcome, too.

  27. Stephanie on November 5, 2010 at 9:53 pm

    Would like to see the character profiles and family trees updated, as there aren’t any for the characters after Crimson Rose.

    Adding to the chorus about outtakes too- will you be putting the more recent ones up on the outtakes page in Diversions at all? I like being able to read them all in one place. 🙂

  28. Gina on November 6, 2010 at 12:19 am

    I’d just like to second the idea back in comment 8 about the companion. I realize that’s a lot of work and time, etc, but if one was made, I’d be so excited. 😀

  29. Amanda on November 6, 2010 at 11:20 am

    I would love to see more outtakes or sneak peeks!!!

  30. Sheila on November 6, 2010 at 6:31 pm

    Another suggestion–How about reader’s favorite quotes? I already have 1 great one from Mistletoe.

  31. Stacy on November 6, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    I’ve never posted here before, even though I lurk quite a bit, but I’m always impressed with how well you keep this site updated in spite of writing full time.

    I agree with many of the others that discussion boards would be awesome.

    And you might already have something like this on the site, but it’d be fun to learn about your research. You must have a quite a collection of weird historical facts by now. You know, the things you never knew about Regency life.

    And I’d love to see anything Vaughn related on the site. Really ANYTHING. I love him more than Mr. Darcy and Gilbert Blythe combined.

    I am looking forward to your reading in Ann Arbor next week.

  32. Adam on November 6, 2010 at 8:40 pm

    Some of these ideas are really cool, but from an organizational standpoint the Discussion Board would seem to solve a lot of them. You’d be able to set up a sub-section for each book, allowing you to keep topics related to each book relevant to the parent thread, but it’d also give you wiggle room to post pictures and what not relating to the contests. I’m a huge Photoshop fanatic, and it appears that I’m not the only one, based on the Orchid cover contest a few months back. A place to post this kind of material would be very amusing.

    I’m honestly surprised no one mentioned this: a wiki. Am I the only one who thinks it’s sad that theres two dozen online databases for the show LOST, but not a single one for Pink? I know, it sounds like a massive undertaking, but there’s already a ton of regular posters here and on the Facebook group that would be able to get it up and running in a reasonable amount of time. Heck, I bet my girlfriend alone could have a beta out by tomorrow morning if she needed to :-P. Not only would this be a great resource for catching up on the history, but a prime place to post specifics like family trees, as mentioned in the above posts. Whereas it still won’t stop many of you from re-reading the entire series before Orchid hits the shelves, it would be helpful to some of us.

    Security was also something a lot of you mentioned, and it’s really not as big of a deal as you’d think. If “trolling” is what we want to avoid, then we’d have to move to a registration-based website. We already provide our e-mail when posting, so why not have a username/password based system? For Lauren, this wouldn’t be difficult to implement, especially if you’re planning on adding a Discussion Board, which would require registration anyways. Using an open-source or publicly available messaging board system is not only easy to implement, but free. As for your news feeds/blogs, you can easily migrate to something like WordPress with a custom skin to suit your website. Either way, this is advantageous because it allows us to block accounts of those who are “trolling”, but more importantly it allows us to block IP addresses, so those people can’t register and continue to be obnoxious. Still, the boards/wiki would require moderation, but based on the frequency many of us spend on this website, I feel like getting volunteer support wouldn’t be a problem at all.

    Basically it boils down to this: Lauren, you have a lot of fans, and we can’t get enough. Adding all of these features can seem like a majorly time consuming process, but I for one am willing to help, and based on the talent I’ve seen submitted to prior contests, I have a feeling I’m not the only one willing to lend a hand.

  33. Olivia on November 7, 2010 at 9:20 am

    I agree with Adam, if you use a phpBB based forum, I have experience with those (creating, moderating and administrating etc.) so I’d put my name in to be a moderator, if that’s the route you want to go.

  34. Anne K on November 7, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Oh, I so agree with Cristy! “Get Lauren Willig on late night TV” is a great idea. If we can’t get that, more clips form live readings? Also, Adams’ idea of a wiki is super. And, of course, outtakes!

  35. Kristen on November 8, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    I love the idea of a dicussion board. I know that that has been brought up as a suggestion before. I used to post more and I think if there could be more interaction, I would start posting again.

    I think it’s a bit early for a companion book. nothing is worse than when you have one but it’s outdated because the author kept putting out more books so you need a new one. but I do love my sackett’s compaion, when you are talking family trees it’s great to refer back to, so maybe that’s more of a “further down the line” idea?

    the wiki would work great in the meantime. I for one would be willing to help out on that.

    I don’t read sneak peaks or out takes, so I don’t really have an opinion on those.

  36. Georgia on November 9, 2010 at 11:59 am

    Hi Lauren,

    Timelines, maps, and historic images/illustrations would all be nice additions.

  37. Liz on November 23, 2010 at 12:13 am

    More casting idea posts! I’ve cast almost every major role in my head, so I’d love to know what others think.

Leave a Comment