Look out, Annie Leibovitz -- Me and my Canon are on the loose

Now that I have the cover for my first Victoria Square Mystery (and isn't it lovely) I can start work on the revamp of my web site.

My LorraineBartlett.com site was created two or three years before I even sold a book. So it needed to look pretty generic.  I didn't know if I'd sell my Jeff Resnick Mysteries, or a cozy mystery first -- so ... generic it was.  Jeff sold first, and under another name (L.L. Bartlett) so it seemed like a good idea to give that name its own site, although they were connected -- just to keep my Lorraine Bartlett options open.  (They have now been separated . . . which created some problems, too.)

Still, the Lorna Barrett name is the name I'm best known for, and I'm trying to figure out if the title page should SCREAM THAT!!!  (Or should I just hire the Goodyear Blimp to go around the country to let readers know that we are one and the same?)

In discussing what I wanted for the new site with my web designer, I asked if we could use a stock photo of a spilled candy jar.  My character has a very bad habit.  She eats hard candy.  That is, she unwraps a peppermint, pops it in her mouth and CRUNCH!  (Bad for the molars -- ask me.  Where do you think she picked up that bad habit?)  But for long complicated reasons we won't go into here, the stock photo wasn't going to cut it.  Hey, bright idea on my part:  let ME take the photo.  Heck, I've got this super-duper camera.  Why not give it a try?

So, with white butcher paper as a background, a 50 cent jar from a yard sale, and a bag of Starlight Mints, I took a bunch of shots from many angles and passed them on to my designer.  She'll choose whatever angle goes well with her design.

It was fun playing Annie Leibovitz (although her subjects are alive and mine was just a jar of candy). Photography has long been a love of mine (although I'm strictly amateur--and I gave that "hobby" to Jeff, too), and it was great to have a bigger part in the design of my web site by using my lovely Canon Rebel.

I'm hoping to unveil the new site by the end of the month.  (And the LLBartlett site is getting a refresh as well.)  When they're ready, I'll let you know!

Oh, and here's one of the candy shots.