Another First Kiss

Hello friends, readers, and worldwide strangers!

If you’re reading these words, it’s because you’ve stopped by on the day I launch a major overhaul of my home on the Internet.  It’s the biggest, most ambitious, and most complex upgrade to the site I’ve ever made in ten years of blogging, and I hope you’ll find it to your liking.  I know these ‘hey, look, new features’ posts are the equivalent of Gov. LePetomaine handing out busted paddleballs in lieu of pay, but if you’re a regular here, you’ll know I’ve been writing a lot more lately, and you can expect that trend to continue into the future.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone who stops by to read this fevered maundering, and I want to make it worth your time.

New content comes tomorrow.  In the meantime, let me walk you through the new format:

• For the first time in over a decade of effort, I’ve finally managed to secure the rights to my own name, which, as you can see, is the new URL.  I know, it’s not a great name or anything, but it’s mine, and it’s easier to remember than the old site name.  There’s no need to replace your links or bookmarks, though; all the Ludic Live pages forward to the new leonardpierce.com replacements.
• The new layout is a modification of the Fashy theme from Premium Coding.  I think it’s quite snazz, but I’d love to hear your opinion.  New content on the front page opens up as a Flash document while remaining on the home page, but you can go directly to the hosted page by clicking on the title or by navigating via the slider, and you can always navigate back to the front page by clicking “MAIN” on the footer page.
• The slider at the top and the boxes on the front page (as well as the sidebar on all individual page entries) will take you to the most recent 15 entries, but for the first time — and in stark contrast to the last layout — you can now access all previous pages in any number of ways.  The search tool is fully functional; you can navigate via the calendar tool in the footer or the archive tool on the sidebar of individual pages; and you can sort via the categories tool on the left of the front page or the pull-down menu in the footer.  The results of searches and sorts will give you all posts, with a ‘next page’ feature at the bottom of the results page, a huge improvement over the last layout.
• Previous functionality from the site is still around:  the search box, calendar, archive, footer links, recent comments, Twitter feed, recent posts, commenting feature, and slider should all still work as before.
• But there’s new functionality like fuck!  Please take note of the new category sort, sidebar links and related posts features, which should all be running just tickety-boo at the moment.
• The new site is social networking its big fat ass off.  Below the search box and in the footer of the front page, you’ll find links to my Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and YouTube accounts, as well as a direct way of e-mailing me, something previous versions of the site have lacked.  Also, in response to a number of requests, I’ve added a new social networking functionality:  at the bottom of every individual page, you’ll find icons that allow you to post a link to that page directly to your Facebook or Twitter account, as well as a zillion other ways to bookmark or cross-post it, including Digg, Tumblr, Google+, LiveJournal, StumbleUpon, Instapaper, and a ton more that frankly I’ve never even heard of.  There’s also easy URL copying, printing, and bookmarking — just click on the plus sign.
• There are links on the front page and every page to the site’s “About Me” post;  a post listing available services offered through the site which please buy something I am begging you; a post linking you to a site where you can buy my book, If You Like the Sopranos; and a link to my curriculum vitae and portfolio, should you be interested in hiring me for freelance writing or editing, or for full-time employment.  There are also graphic links to all of these pages above the footer on the front page.
• There are also links on every static page showing you how you can visit projects I’m a part of, such as the Wasted Words podcast and the First World Problems site, and how you can buy books to which I’ve contributed, like Inventory, The Indie Cred Test, and Field Tested Books.
• Perhaps most importantly, if I might be perfectly crass, there is now a PayPal button on the Services page, so it has never been easier to purchase a tiny fraction of the nest of drunken hornets that I have instead of a brain.  If you can’t find something there that would make your life stranger for the better, you’re not the relaxed bohemian you think you are.
• Inquiries are welcome on any goods or services, and naturally, I welcome your feedback on the new look and feel of the site.

That’s it for now.  Thank you all for your patience, and to old readers for sticking with me and new readers for giving me a chance.  Look for new posts here at least every few days; I look forward to making even more big announcements in the near future about projects I’m excited to be a part of.  Meanwhile, I’ll remind you that my new monthly short story service, which gets you a brand-new piece of short fiction on the first Monday of the month for ten bucks a pop or $100 for a full year’s worth, kicks off in June, and that’s also when I’ll be releasing Moods from Marbletown, a collection of short humor and my next book.  Cheers!