We have a new look!
What better way to kick off our anniversary week than to launch our newly designed blog? Our new design is by the lovely and talented Haven Rich, with considerable input from the Riskies and even some polling of our readers.
This is the result.
The image in our logo is from Pierce Egan’s Life in London: “Tom, Jerry and Logic Making the Most of an Evening at Vauxhall” by Robert and George Cruikshank. If you received a Risky Regengy button at RWA, you’ll notice the two dancing figures are from that image. Clever were we not?
So…..What do you think?
Change is hard, even welcome changes. As a result, I’m not entirely certain how I feel about the new design, but only because I miss what is familiar. We human beings tend to stick to the familiar, the secure, but we also sometimes gain the courage to change.
That’s what each of us Riskies did when we first decided to write a book. We mustered up the courage to do something different than we’d ever done before, to change from a person who didn’t write a book into a person who does write a book. I’m glad I did, because it has given me this happy life where I can spend my days in Regency England or hang out with my fellow Riskies and all our friends.
In honor of change and growth–and our anniversary–I’m going to give away a copy of The Vanishing Viscountess, the special Mills & Boon Centenary edition, which includes a bonus story, The Mysterious Miss M–and a Risky Regency Button!
There will be more prizes announced each day this week. All our winners will be randomly selected at the end of the week from all the comments this Anniversary Week. So comment often to increase your chances to win.
And, today, tell us what you think of our new look!
Adding my big congrats to Haven for her fabulous design and even more fabulous patience as cats were herded behind the scenes.
I must tell you about the button design. I grabbed the image and started chipping away at the background, using a not particularly sophisticated graphics editing program. It was late at night and I lost a bit of the gents’ arm, which is why it’s tastefully oozing off the edge of the graphic. I never found the woman’s second leg, so Haven photoshopped her one in. I think they were both Waterloo survivors.
I adore the new design so much, I’m a little envious. I want her to redesign my little blog! Congratulations on your third anniversary.
Congrats, Riskies! And congrats to Haven on a beautiful job well done!
One of my kids is very change resistant. He’ll heave a melodramatic sigh and say “Remember our *old* microwave?” Or he’ll wax nostalgic over the minivan I drove 2 cars ago. Ah, sentiment!
The new design is beautiful! Congratulations on your blogiversary!
Congratulations on your anniversary and your great new look. What a surpise to see it come on this morning but I like it very much. The colors are wonderful.
Happy Anniversary! I think the logo is fantastic.
I think this new look is a pleasant and very great surprise. I really love it! It has such style.
And Happy Congratulations on this RR blog Anniversary!!
On change, I think it’s good if it makes one happy.
On writing-careers-other things in life, I always admire a person who has the courage to do something they always desired, no matter what it is.
I commented on Ammanda’s post last night when I first came across the new design. Here was my comment:
HAPPY 3rd BLOGVERSARY, RISKIES!!!
Love, love, adore, love the new site design. Kudos to Haven Rich for the creativity and hard work. What an appropriate week for the launch, since it coincides with her birthday. 🙂
Janet, your Waterloo survivors. Heh. Heh. The “lady,” too. Now, you don’t see that much, do you? What say you, Riskies? What about a lady with a peg leg?
Nice! I love the banner. The whole design is very 2008, rather than the old one, which was more…2003.
Great banner picture — so very appropriate. I know we can depend on you all to keep it risky for at least another three years.
LOL, I thought the first line was we have a new book. Which, of course, you do but it threw me for a minute.
I love this new look and I am pretty sure I got a button. I’ll have to go through my stash at home.
To paraphrase Mr. Bingley –
I think it utterly charming.
“One of my kids is very change resistant. He’ll heave a melodramatic sigh and say “Remember our *old* microwave?”
LOL Deb! I don’t think I’ve ever been nostalgic for old microwaves (at least not once I’ve learned to operate the new one, which might take a while as I am a techno-goober)
And I do hope we will be here many years from now, celebrating more anniversaries (no matter what the blog looks like!)
Congrats on your anniversary! I love the new look, and it is a wonderful way to celebrate!
Ooh, pretty! 🙂 Change might not always be good, but sometimes, it is just fine and perfect! 🙂 I like it lots!! 🙂
Lois
Oh, Happy Birthday RR! 🙂
Ha Ha. I’m like Deb’s son, waxing nostalgic and sighing – remember when we used to have a seasonal quote in our header?
But I do like the new design a lot.
I stayed up until 1:30 am to see the new design in all its glory, and to do my blog FIRST THING, but I am trying so hard to readjust to east coast time, I just could wait no longer. Otherwise I’d still be sleeping.
It is nice of so many of our friends to visit! Waving madly to everyone!
Oh, I love the new design. It’s gorgeous!
Looking good, Riskies.
Congrats on the Anniversary!
I confess I never pictured a powder-blue and chartreuse Risky Regencies site…. 😉
Like Diane, I’m trying to sort through which parts of the design I think need to be tweaked, and which are just discomposing my fuddy-duddy “wonderful old microwave” instincts…
(BTW, blog visitors — you really don’t need to say only good things about the new design to be polite! If you think it could be improved by, say, a darker font or something, please share! We’re still happily in the fine-tuning stages…)
Cara
Happy Anniversary, Risky Regencies.
I love the new look. I love the borders and the banner. I love the light blue color scheme.
I love the new look! Haven did a great job! Happy Anniversary Risky Regencies!
Cara, since you mention…
The font of “Risky Regencies” should be much bigger and possibly a littler bolder. It blends a little too much with the background.
A little more space between posts, because once you have a post with pictures and if you’re scrolling, it’s easy to run off the bottom and not know that you’re on to the next one.
Overall, I really love the design and the little touches. Brava once again, Haven and Riskies.
Haven, I’m curious about the scrolling. It’s a bit jumpy rather than smooth and continuous (holding the down-arrow key).
Great job on the shading and the border effects.
OK, last one.
Should there be an article in front of “riskiest,” as in “the original, the riskiest, and…”?
Keira-who’s-opinion-should-be-sought-judiciously
Haven designed my beautiful blog too. And she did it without my input as a surprise for me—it was so perfect it was like she was in my head (a very scary place to be). I love the new look! Congratulations and continued success, Riskies!
Happy Anniversary, ladies! Looks great, nice job Haven, and Happy Birthday to you.
Very easy to read and get around…well done!!
Thank you all! I’m so proud of the design and think the input from the Riskies made it possible!
The ladies came to me with a color scheme they’d voted on and I took the liberties of tweaking it a tiny bit. For instance the fade from the regency blue to primrose yellow.
Cara is right. Over the next few days you’ll see minor changes but these are only to improve the site.
Please note that some issues are due to browsers. Make sure you’re using the latest version of your favorite browsers for best viewing.
I’m so thrilled to be apart of this project!
It really is lovely and has a real Regency feel. I LOVE the color scheme. That said, I too am a bit resistant to change. (My brothers would be guffawing in the floor if they were here.) I got upset when my Mom had the shag carpet ripped out of her house and had new carpet put in! I think being an Air Force brat and traveling so much as a child is what did it. Now I am a bit attached to almost everything and I don’t change unless I absolutely have to. I get sentimental over getting rid of a car for goodness sake!
However, I do like the look and I have my Riskies button in a place of honor on my writing desk!
Happy Blogiversary, Ladies! And many many more. The Riskies is my home away from home!
Wow. We have heard from almost all our Risky friends. I’m truly touched and very glad your response is positive!
But Haven is right. We’ll probably need some tweaking…more change….
Louisa, O Doggie One, you may have hit the nail on the head. My childhood of frequent moves may have made me more sensitive to things in my environment changing. Makes sense to me (although I don’t think I’d ever mind the loss of shag carpeting)
i liked the two dancing figures and the ‘wallpaper’ on either side.
is it just me or does the site scroll differently than before? it doesn’t go down smoothly and evenly, but in short hops.
Love the new look. Haven did a great job.
I was surprised! I had no idea this was happening.
I like the picture at the top a lot, and the background pattern on the sides is pretty. But my main concern is that the content will still be the same. 🙂
Todd-who-will-then-be-content
Congrats on your anniversary.
I love the new design. The logo and colors are fantastic.
Congratulations on your anniversary and your new look! It’s very beautiful.
Haven did a great job! Happy Anniversary Risky Regencies. Great site/new look.