What The…
Obviously I’ve changed my theme and with this post on my newly designed site, I thought I’d share the reason why.
Like many writers, I spend about as much time reading about writing as…, well, as writing. More than once, I’ve come across advice which states any social media outlet used should reflect a writer’s work, or at least convey a similar tone.
And so, here it is. Maybe the look of it caught you by surprise? Like maybe the site was taken over by a depraved psycho? I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you. What happened to the friendly, calm green background with the slanty lettered title? No more! The little archaic writing pad resting on the old, graying planks of wood off to the side? Gone!
That was then…, this is now. The last theme and all it’s spinachy, green beany, (maybe it was more like English peas?) coloration and the ancient little notebook wasn’t right anymore. It was too…homey. Sure, it had been great for representing the previous two stories. The first, a coming of age story about an eleven year old girl in Alabama, and the second told of the struggles of a young family in the Blue Ridge mountains during the late 1920’s.
However, green reflected the wrong message for the genre of the third book. All wrong. And it would have been wrong for the next book, and more than likely any book I write from here on out. If the stars line up and behave.
My earlier stories certainly contained some violence – of a different kind. Child abuse, both physical and mental. A drowning, a shooting and maiming in the second. However, when I thought about the current story, it occurred to me (finally) the green blog interface was as good a fit as a pair of too tight shoes. If I wanted to talk about this book a little more, or share an excerpt or something, it would be like viewing the body of a loved one at their funeral with the festivities of a birthday party going on. Imagine our dismay. Or…, (because I love making up analogies), it would be like perusing a bookstore for one of Stephen King’s books – lets say MISERY – and Oh Hell, a pretty pink and white cover jacket with a beautiful white dove floating in a pink sky? What’s up with that?
The only proper color for this book, and any others I’m thinking about is black and gray. Dark, pitchy, murky, and dim. The capture across banner? Well, with that I’m going for mysterious, or maybe even suspenseful. Or maybe brooding. I think it works. I took the picture in Mississippi, just off of the deck at my in-laws house and cut it so it only shows the treeline and a pre-dawn sky.
These are my reasons, and what’s important is…
Like it? Hate it? Is it sending the right vibe?
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