Procrastination or Saving a Life with Heather Boyd

Hi everyone. I’m Heather Boyd, regency romance author from down under. I’m visiting Tote Bags ‘n’ Blogs to celebrate the release of my latest regency romance. Miss Merton’s Last Hope, the fourth and final book in the Miss Mayhem series, came out last week.

Book release weeks are a stressful time for authors no matter how many stories we have shared with the world. It’s like giving birth (without the screaming) We pace, lose sleep, and occasionally get snappy with those closest to us. The first and third habits I mastered long ago. Actually I mastered those before I became an author… every time I’ve had to speak in public I’d almost have a meltdown. There are many ways to cope with stressful events but since I’m not a big drinker or exercise fanatic I’ve had to become creative with my calming distractions to keep my mind occupied during release week:

Option one: Movie Marathons – I ran through a few Fringe episodes, the Loki Trilogy (Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World) and then dove into a Jane Austen marathon. There were others, but you don’t need all the titles do you? 

Option two: Baking – while watching movies. Choc Chip Cookies, Scones and even a Chicken and Spinach Quiche. The family happily gobbled up the food while I cleaned up the mess.

Cleaning up unfortunately didn’t stop the butterflies.

Last book release I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards and rearranged the linen press. Oh the exciting life a full time author leads.

In desperation I turned to Option three, the one thing more frightening than the book launch, even worse than public speaking.

I did my quarterly taxes.

Bye, bye butterflies, hello headache! I really must remember to time my future book releases to these quarterly tax responsibilities. Such a good distraction and, if it didn’t make me entirely calmer, I was pleased I had accomplished more than just refreshing my Amazon book page over and over.

Everyone copes with stressful events in his or her own way. Tell me when you’ve got a big event you both long for and dread at the same time, how do you keep calm?

About Miss Merton’s Last Hope: Never-to-wed Melanie Merton had a knack for repelling suitors, that is until Walter George got close enough to learn her secrets. But even a gentleman like Walter must be kept at a distance for his own good.

Amazon - http://amzn.to/1IOjQrk

Apple - http://bit.ly/MMLHiBooks

Kobo - http://bit.ly/MMLHKobo

Nook - http://bit.ly/MMLHNook

About Heather: Bestselling author Heather Boyd writes sizzling regency historical romance that skirt the boundaries of propriety to keep readers enthralled until the wee hours of the morning. She has published over twenty novels and shorter works. Catch her latest news at www.heather-boyd.com