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My new website is ready

Posted: July 26th, 2012, 12:51 pm
by MattLarkin
http://mattlarkin.net/

Well that was some work. Back to the writing...


...Ok, a little bit about the site and why I dropped the blog. I wanted a static website because blogging kind of lost its luster. It was a fun experiment. I don't regret it, mainly because it taught me my time is better spent elsewhere. In the end, I mostly just reviewed books. I can do that on Goodreads, without the pressure of trying to maintain a regular schedule. Sommer is always saying, blog if you want to blog for its own sake (paraphrasing, don't hit me with the ray gun Sommer). And it turned into blogging because a writer is supposed to blog. Really, the things I want to say, I can mostly say in my novels.

So instead, I wanted the site to be a place people could buy the books, or find out a little bit more about them and the world they are set in. So I have a list of characters, a nice map, a timeline, and so forth.

Hope the community enjoys it. The support here is always amazing.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 26th, 2012, 3:20 pm
by Ryan
Nice. Setting up that $ht takes a long time. I think having an informal blog to share rambling and whatever else doesn't fit on the book's site isn't a bad idea. So don't scrap the blog completely.

You look more fantasy-guy with long hair by the way. :)

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 27th, 2012, 9:04 am
by MattLarkin
Ryan wrote:
You look more fantasy-guy with long hair by the way. :)
:lol:

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 27th, 2012, 11:06 am
by MattLarkin
'Fraid the blog is already scrapped, Ryan. Database deleted, file space reused (you may notice the new site has the same url?).

And yeah, it took a long time to set up. But hey, I got to use my day job skills a bit, and that's a plus sort of.

Really, the thing is, now the time on the website is done and finished, and I can dedicate my time to writing. I doubt my blog brings that much business in. Even David, whose got a killer platform, says he probably gets only a small % of his sales through the blog. And I don't feel much need to ramble (in public) in general. What need I have is satisfied by FB, Twitter, the Bransforums, Goodreads, and so on.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 29th, 2012, 10:17 pm
by Claudie
Wow, Matt, congrats! It looks all kinds of pretty, not to mention simple and efficient. I have to say, I'm dying with curiosity about the images in the background. Are they related to your books? Because they are incredible. (I couldn't find a copyright so I figure they belong to you? If not I'm not clear on the exact rules but I think there should be some sort of recognition around the site?)

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 10:23 am
by MattLarkin
Claudie wrote:Wow, Matt, congrats! It looks all kinds of pretty, not to mention simple and efficient. I have to say, I'm dying with curiosity about the images in the background. Are they related to your books? Because they are incredible. (I couldn't find a copyright so I figure they belong to you? If not I'm not clear on the exact rules but I think there should be some sort of recognition around the site?)
Hi Claudie, thanks for looking at the site. So I actually meant to add something about the images to the FAQ--good you asked.

The home page (red cave) is a license free image. The other images own the site I have licenses for, or were created specifically for me. The Chinese mountain path image is done by Fan Ming, an amazing artist from China (the image you see on the Bio and other pages). The temple in the background of the Skyfall pages is a picture from Java.

The background on the Children of Sun and Moon page is the cover for my book, with text removed.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 1:05 pm
by Mira
Wow, Matt. That is absolutely gorgeous!

Nice job!! :D

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 1:08 pm
by MattLarkin
Thanks, Mira!

It was a lot of effort, but I'm proud of the result. Or I should say, I'm proud of my books and I wanted a website to add a nice visual to them.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 1:22 pm
by Mira
Well, I think you accomplished that! And now you can be proud of both your books and your website. :D

Btw, I love fantasy! Just added your book to my 'wish list'. I have to say, as a reader, going around to writer's forums really pays off in my TBR pile. Since I write non-fiction, I can just be a fan in that way. :D

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 3:28 pm
by MattLarkin
Thanks, Mira. I didn't realize you were writing non-fiction.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 3:56 pm
by Mira
MattLarkin wrote:Thanks, Mira. I didn't realize you were writing non-fiction.
Yep. Memoir, essay, humor, and prescriptive non-fiction (pop psychology). Not nearly ready to publish, but working on stuff. I'm alittle envious of fiction writers. I can't do story. Just have no idea 'what happened next'. Wish I did! But instead, I'll get in on the ground floor and enjoy all you debut authors and your fun books. :)

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 4:59 pm
by AnimaDictio
Love the site! Pretty.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 30th, 2012, 5:02 pm
by MattLarkin
Thanks, Anima! Writing's my passion, but it's nice to get a little use out of my day job.

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: July 31st, 2012, 4:22 pm
by dios4vida
Mira wrote:Just added your book to my 'wish list'.
You won't regret it!

And yeah, you know my opinion already, but I'm gonna say it up here in public anyways. I love the site! :D

Re: My new website is ready

Posted: September 3rd, 2012, 4:56 am
by lindsayB3462
Wow, i really amazed seeing your website. nice color combination and workings. I felt like to read your books after seeing the website. :ugeek: