A long, long time ago, I hired a web site designer to come up with a charming little web site for me. That was before I became published. It didn't have much of a focus because there I was a writer who wasn't published--at least not in novel length. So I pushed real hard to let people know that I had some street cred. A whole bunch of short story sales. The only problem was, most of the stories were sold to a confession magazine (True Love). Not only that, they don't have "by lines," so no one knew it was me who actually wrote them.
Fast forward several years. I sold my first novel. Only it wasn't under my name, it was under the L.L. Bartlett moniker. Okay, that meant I needed another web site, because I was just sure the book would do well and people would be hungering to search me out.
Nope. Didn't happen (on either account).
Then in 2006, I got a contract to write the Booktown Mystery series ... the only problem was, it was under a pseudonym: Lorna Barrett. The first book came out in 2008 and Lorna needed her own web site. So now I was juggling THREE of them.
*sigh*
But finally, FINALLY in 2009 I sold the Victoria Square Mystery series to Berkley Prime Crime and at last the first book (A Crafty Killing) would be published under my OWN Name: Lorraine Bartlett. One snag? The first book wouldn't come out until 2011. *Yawn* That's a long time to wait. And the worst part -- Lorna has a LOT of readers because I've worked very hard to get Lorna's name out there, and had a lot of luck and support from Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers. But how am I going to get the word out that Lorna and Lorraine are the same person?
Well, revamping the old Lorraine web site wouldn't hurt, and with the enormous help of Glass Slipper Web Design, I've done just that, and I'm as proud as a peacock to show it off, too.
www.LorraineBartlett.com is now live. There are a lot of pages to explore. I'd love to know what you all think about it?
(P.S. Remember I told you about the picture of the candy jar--well there it is in the banner. W00t!)
The new website looks awesome- specially the header image.
ReplyDeleteI love the new website and how the peppermints were incorporated in the banner.
ReplyDeleteLooks wonderful, Lorraine. I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteLovely site. Great front page.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous website! I love the colors and the font. Nice, clear, engaging. Exactly what a website should be. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteJulie
It's a wonderful website. Your Tale of Three Websites is a bit daunting though, to one who is about to try for two. You're a good role model!
ReplyDeleteI've tried to protect myself by registering two names (my own and a pseudonym) and putting them both on my fledgling web site - before I get published. Overly optimistic but hope springs eternal.
ReplyDeleteLovely - great colors. Hmmm??? I wonder if chocolate would be a bit more appealing in that candy jar? :-D
ReplyDelete(Just a thought:).
So - Lorna Barrett is really Lorraine Bartlett? I've read many of Lorna's books. Now I must read some of Lorraine's.
Hi, Lindy. My character, Katie Bonner, has a habit of crunching peppermints, hence the spilled jar of them. It'll all make sense when you read the books! And, oh! I just got my editorial letter on A Crafty Killing today. AND -- they WILL change the cover and make the cat brown instead of orange. Whew!
ReplyDeleteI'd be thrilled if you (and all of Lorna's readers) would discover my other work. It's all listed on the new web site. (And I'll be updating my Alter Ego page on the Lorna site next week.)
That's great news about the brown cat being brown.
ReplyDeleteLove it!!!
ReplyDelete