Ch-ch-changes…

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After looking at my freshly minted, totally redesigned website you might be thinking: What’s up with this new look? Why did you change everything? 

Well, I’m going to tell you.

A website is a little like a hairstyle; it must evolve over time or risk being out of it, uncool, passe, even dweebish (good luck with that one, spell check). My old site was absolutely gorgeous, thanks to webmaster extraordinaire, Sandy Juettner, but it was a little too…yesterday. It was like having a bi-level haircut when the other girls sported an inverted bob.

The biggest reason for the re-do, however, is that I longed to rebrand myself. I wanted my visitors, friends, potential clients, and publishers, to get a better feel for my fun-loving, whimsical nature, while at the same time showcasing my work. It’s like putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls and some new clothes in the closet.

I write about a variety of subjects: faith, marriage, self-esteem, business and leadership, drug addiction, and even Christmas, but my books  all have one thing in common: they are serious nonfiction.

I, on the other hand, am not always serious, so it was clearly time to switch gears. I still plan to write about important topics such as those mentioned above, but I will be taking on some more lighthearted projects and write a novel or two.

The last couple years of my life have been rough: I lost my father to Alzheimer’s disease, my mother to kidney disease, my 12-year-old Great Pyrenees, Tundra, to lung cancer, and my dear friend and writing partner to kidney cancer. All that grieving knocked me off my game for a while, but I’m back and excited about what’s ahead of me!

I solicited the help of Kaia Calhoun from a Sunshine Moment, who happens to be a whiz at web design, and told her what I wanted to achieve with my new site. Before we could get started, Kaia required me to complete an assignment: create an inspiration board. After I figured out what the heck she was talking about, I had fun on Pinterest developing a board that depicts my favorite things. You can see it here:  Amy’s Inspiration Board.

The plan was to incorporate fun, happy colors that come from nature into a clean, contemporary framework that would be attention-grabbing and easy to navigate. Oh… and I wanted some doodles. Yes, doodles. With that, Kaia was off to the races, and in no time we landed on just what I was looking for (with only a few missteps and some minor head-banging).  I love my new site!

So, now I have some splainin’ to do. Across the top, you’ll see four cute little sketches that stand for a few things I love (we had several more, but it got a little ridiculous):

  • A homemade whole milk vanilla latte
  • Reading and writing books
  • Our log home in the woods
  • Gourmet cooking

I’m obviously a bit more complex than four doodles, but they give you a flavor, anyway. You’ll get to know me better if you follow my blog  up in the top right corner. We cover a little bit of everything and I absolutely love input. So come along for the ride! Let’s do life together. Oh, and have a nice day. :)

Until next time,

Amy

Amy Hammond Hagberg
www.amyhagberg.com

 

  

Posted in A Writer's Life, Have More Fun, Random Thoughts, Storytelling, Writing and tagged , , , , , , .