Monday, January 07, 2008

Wonderful new website!

Bloody hell, but my new website has actually gone live. Sound the trumpets and begin general huzzahing!! You can see it here. I’d be delighted if you felt able to pop in and leave me a message via the contact form! And while you’re there don’t forget to admire Lord H’s stunning nature photography, which appears with some of the poems and on pages of novels with no front cover. Yet. So huge thanks to Lord H for designing and inputting it all – though I did work out how to do changes towards the end of the process, you’ll be relieved to hear … - and a thank you to Zen too for finally getting it live. (Of UK Hosts, we will of course say no more).

This very exciting news has also come at the right time as it’s stopped me mulling over the horrors of the first Monday of the year – Mondays are bad enough without having a whole year-full of them to look forward to after all. To cap it all, I was late in – no excuses; I simply couldn’t get myself organised to leave the flat on time. But this morning I have been making up for this cardinal sin by clearing out my emails and preparing more papers for the glut of January meetings ahead.

At lunch, I popped into see Gladys in hospital – she’s looking physically better, thank goodness, but still very confused and unhappy – old age is a terrible thing when you’re ill. Or maybe it's just a terrible thing full-stop. Sigh. And I shall no doubt spend this afternoon getting twitchy about what changes John will be asking me to do to The Gifting.

UPDATE on this: actually he hated it. And I have to say he didn't say it in a particularly pleasant way either. Though bizarrely for the first time ever, I don't mind on either count. Perhaps my writerly confidence is somehow growing after all?? Oo-err, missus! His main complaints were that it's not commercial enough, he doesn't like the MC (well, I didn't write it for him, to be honest, so I'm not terribly traumatised by that) and it's too romantic. Um, I feel - if I dare say it! - that the proverbial plot has been well and truly missed, as I've never been commercial. That is the whole point of me and my stuff!! I am not commercial. I don't write sympathetic men and there's nowt wrong with romance either. Still, it's not an entirely unhelpful critique, as he has at least made some suggestions for improving other aspects, which I am happy to do, and he did admit it was well-written. But it's a relief that this time I'll be able to have responsibility for The Gifting myself, whether it ends up self-published or taken on by a small publisher - I feel more at ease that way, to be honest. And the other good thing is that it takes away the hanging deadline of having to get it back to him for further mauling, ho ho! It took him long enough the first time round really, hush my mouth ... Ooh, isn't it time to mention my new website again? – it's here - still!

Tonight, I am trudging round Tesco’s stocking up on supplies – I swear that there is absolutely no food in the flat. How did that happen??? I have obviously taken my eye off the domestic ball and am hereby (hereby? hereby??) reaping the whirlwind. My, how I love a cliché glut – it does so cleanse the system. And (did I mention my new website? Ah yes, I thought so …) I have sent flowers to Lord H at work today to thank him for all the slog he’s put into designing and setting the site up. So I hope they arrive before he leaves! You can usually rely on Interflora, mind you. UPDATE - they did, hurrah!

Tonight, I’m planning to smile in a sad obsessive person way at the website (in case you’ve forgotten it by now) and maybe watch some TV. Possibly. If there’s time ...

And I've just finished reading J Philip Newell's Echo of the Soul. It was something of a trudge really. I think it could have been cut by at least half - maybe I'm just not spiritual enough but it did feel as if he were saying the same things over and over again until my brain seized up. And, though I surprised myself for thinking this, the constant quoting of poetry didn't help - it just didn't fit the points being made. Or perhaps it was all too deep for me??

Today’s nice things:

1. Hey, guess!!
2. Feeling strangely relieved that I can now deal with The Gifting myself
3. Lord H!

Anne Brooke
My wonderful new website - here!
Goldenford Publishers

10 comments:

Jackie Luben said...

And you can also congratulate yourself on sneaking up the ladder of the Editors and Predators' site - the online competition for books published last year.

You must have a huge number of fans.

Anne Brooke said...

Ooh, thanks, Jackie! It's probably more that there is a huge number of people who feel sorry for me out there - for which, thank you, all!!!

!!!

Hugs

A
xxx

Cathy said...

The website looks absolutely fab, Anne. Love the colours and layout and it all looks very professional. Well done to you and Lord H, it was well worth the wait.

Cx

Anne Brooke said...

Thanks, Cathy! Lord H is now your friend forever!

Hugs to you

A
xxx

Nik Perring said...

The website's looking great, Anne. Keep up the grand work!

Nik

Lover of Books, Films and Good Coffee Shops Everywhere! said...

Anne, love your new website - very clear and professional looking. I shall recommend that my brother looks at it as he is messing with his own site at the moment http://www.flowers-up.com/. He runs his own business (ladies fashion) but is branching out into online fake flowers and the orders are flooding in - he's so good at spotting a market!!! Why can't I do that!

I am impressed that you sent Keith flowers - I wonder if he blushed when the call from reception came to say he had received them? Maybe I should revise what I'm getting Peter for Valentines Day - hmmmm

Emma K-F said...

Great new website, Anne - many congrats indeed! It looks so smart and, as others have said, super-professional. Lord H definitely deserved those flowers! :-)

Emma xx

Anne Brooke said...

Thank you hugely! And yes I think Lord H did blush!

Hugs!

A
xxx

Graeme K Talboys said...

Hmmm. 'Not commercial' seems to me to be the new in phrase for rejection. I've been getting that a bit recently. I now read it as: 'this would take a bit of extra work as it's not a badly written clone and I can't be arsed to try finding a publisher interested in quality work'. Sadly, it seems to be the way of publishing these days - if it can't be stacked high and sold cheap in Tesco, agents and big publishers just don't want to know.

Anne Brooke said...

Good point, Graeme - and you may well be right. Hugs to you

A
xxx