KotB Logo Art

I initially made this post to see how well Microsoft Word worked as a blog editor and it was perfect and painless.  What you see here is the completed logo for my current work-in-progress, Knights of the Blood.  I hand drew it, scanned it, and worked it up in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2.  It turned out better than I’d hoped.  Now it’s time to work on the actual novel again.

Not Exactly a Redesign

I finally started tinkering with my main site again, removing links that were never going to be used and updating the status information for both To Everything a Purpose and Fallen Sparrows. I removed all links and references to the hacked-and-therefore-defunct feedback forums. I redirected the latest news link to this blog and added a direct link to my Flickr site so they can view any photos I post.

So far, there is nothing on the main page that even mentions Knights of the Blood or 411-SINGLES. Because of the way the site is currently laid out, this is where a redesign becomes necessary. Most likely, I expect to center the redesing around 411-SINGLES as that is my main focus at this point. The two current novels will keep there own sections, which will probably stay as they are now. Knights of the Blood may get set up with a similar section, but it’s not a priority. This blog will still be the best source of updates for anything I do, mainly since I can update it from anywhere.

The main holdup for a complete redesign is coming up with some graphics I can use for 411-SINGLES and deciding what the new layout should be. The graphics will be the harder part, as I have not really toyed around with Paint Shop Pro since I did the cover art for Fallen Sparrows. It shouldn’t be too hard once I come up with an overall graphic theme for it. I’ve got ideas, but none of them are rising head and tails above the others yet. Keep your eyes open, though. This is my second update in as many days. That’s gotta be a good sign.

Out with the old, in with the…old?

This is the first new post in the blog. News updates from the main site have all been ported into backdated entries and now reside seamlessly here. Until I can host the blog itself on my site, I will still do what I can to see that the blog and site complement each other as much as possible. The fact that all the links from the old posts transferred without a hitch helps in that regard.

As for the title of the post, that refers to temporary posts that I used to test this blog out. Obviously, they are no longer here.

Now that I have the blog set up and working how I want it, I can hopefully do all kinds of updates since I can now do them from anywhere. As easy as it is, I’m actually trying to work on getting this set up for my Sunday School class, too. It’s perfect for it.

Small updates

Just a few more small updates. The buttons have been scaled down a little bit on the left and I’ve added a little bit of scrolling text at the top so anyone checking in can see where the newest information is. I’ve changed a few of the gradient graphics on the feedback page so the colors better match the scheme for the rest of the site. I was definitely surprised by how well it worked out. As you can probably see on the left, the short story section is coming fairly soon. I’ve already got material to put there, it’s just a matter of actually getting it done. Another feature planned for the near future is something I’m tentatively calling “Snippets.” Basically, it’s an effort to get myself writing on a regular basis, even if it’s not on something specific. They could be a self contained short story, a snippet of a larger story (hence the name) or just a simple writing exercise. Quality is not necessarily guaranteed, but I plan to post as many of them to the site as possible. There will, of course, be a section in the feedback forums as feedback is something I will always welcome. Not sure how I’ll work the navigation for that, but one thing at a time.

Edit: The snippets idea is still not a bad one. The beauty of this blog setup is that it perfectly allows for something like that to happen much easier.

More site tinkering

Took down the ‘under construction’ graphics on most of the novel pages, as they are now considered complete. The Status page will continue to be updated, of course, so don’t hesitate to keep checking over there. I also got a good start on my Links page, and I’m pretty happy with how it looks so far. Also, as you may have noticed, the past group of updates has now been moved to its own link. I do still need some reader reviews, though, so please head over to the Feedback forum and add one as soon as you get a chance. It could help me sell the book.

Edit: The updates (including this one) are now integrated into the blog.