Monday, June 29, 2009

MY CLUSTR MAP

Writing is a lonely business. I sit here in the Welsh countryside with only the occasional cow passing the office window while I pound away at the keyboard and, once in a while getting out to have lunch with the far flung authors in the Romantic Novelists' Association Carmarthen group. We did that yesterday. A glorious sunny day, delicious crab salad and great conversation.

Mostly, though, it just me and the clustr map to let me know where my blog visitors are coming from. To remind me that the books don't just disappear into cyber space, but are out there, being read by people all over the world.

All those red dots are a comfort but I've just had an email warning me it's time to archive my red dots and start over with a clean sheet so I took time out to look at where you all are.

Chile? I'm not sure I've had visitors from Chile before -- I'm rather excited by the fact that I seem to be making more of an impression in South America generally. I suspect you all prefer the rather hotter romances, but I have another sheikh on the way for you. And a hot kitchen scene that I'm hoping Phillipa Ashley will add to her "whew" scene in Her Wish List Bridegrrom.

But back to the dots. I notice that there's one on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe right by the Victoria Falls. Ah, memories, memories.

The dh took me there for our first date -- a very long time ago. We flew from Lusaka to Livingstone for the day, looked at the Falls and I stood right where that photograph was taken on the Zambian side of the border. I had long, very dark hair and was thin. :)

We took a trip on the Zambezi, drove through the local game park and checked out a tribal village.

I've had lots of new visitors from India and Pakistan this year following the opening of Mills & Boon's local office on the sub continent -- and more from South East Asia, too, maybe as a result of that.

There are a couple of dots in Israel which may indicate that I've finally had a translation there; it was a sudden rash of dots in Germany that gave me the heads up that I was getting a load of reprints there early this year, as well as a couple of new translations.

And I'm really curious to know who is out there in Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Nepal reading my blog.

13 comments:

Phillipa said...

The aginst-the-wall-hall scene is her Wish list Bridegroom will always be my yardstick for hot, Liz. Not to mention squashing into the shower afterwards.

The build up of tension in that book was unforgettable.

Which new hot scene is this?

Liz Fielding said...

In Christmas Angel for the Billionaires I've progressed to the kitchen floor, Phillipa... :)

Anne McAllister said...

Good heavens, Liz! The kitchen floor? Where will you go next? ;)

I just had my ClustrMap archived, too. The new one looks very -- spare -- but I hope it will soon develop lots of red spots. I love looking at them and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who avidly scans my map for new dots!

Liz Fielding said...

Who can say, Anne? It's not me... I kept saying "No! Don't do that. Not in front of the Aga." But they were in a world of their own.

Cheryl St.John said...

Nebraska is not as exciting as those other locales, but the red dot in the very middle of the US is me!

Liz Fielding said...

Cheryl! How lovely. Now whenever I look at the map I'll think of you. :)

Penn said...

Well, now, how does it know where we are? Ususally I'm one of the dots in north Texas, but for the next almost 4 weeks, I'll be in Colorado visiting my family. So where will it put me?

Penn

Anne McAllister said...

I understand that it puts your dot wherever your ISP originates, which is why mine is in Denver, Colorado even though I'm not! I asked that question when I was wondering why my friend in Invercargill, NZ would come visit my blog, yet I had no dot in Invercargill. So I queried ClustrMaps and that's what they told me -- her ISP was elsewhere. I think she was my Christchurch dot. But someone has an Invercargill ISP, because one eventually showed up!

Liz, I hope the Aga wasn't scandalized!

Liz Fielding said...

Thanks for the explanation, Anne. I did wonder about a few odd anomalies.

As for the Aga -- well it's very old so there's probably not much is hasn't seen in its day. :)

Liz Fielding said...

Have a great time in Colorado with your family, Penn.

Lacey Devlin said...

Wow the Falls look amazing. They're now on my list of things to do (it's a rather looong list ;) )

Liz Fielding said...

The Falls are amazing, Lacey. You have a restricted view from the Zambian side, but by that visit the border was permanently closed between Zambia and what was then Southern Rhodesia.

I had made the trip earlier with some friends and been able to cross to the other side (now Zimbabwe) where you can see much more of Falls -- and get soaked from the spray! There is one part where the ground is covered in tiny rainbows from the refraction of light.

Lacey Devlin said...

Oh how magical :)