The Infamous Blog Post

I've just finished off a bunch of renovations on the site that I've been hard at work on since yesterday afternoon, and wanted to let you all know what changes have been made from the obvious to the subtle.

First, the flip-card look has been replaced in favor of the SIMPLER FORMAT I had when I began My Corner of the Catacombs a couple of years ago.  While I liked the flip-card look very much (and I wasn't alone in that opinion), I think this will make the content of the site clearer and more direct for you, so you won't have to jump through any hoops or aimlessly wander around looking for something specific.

The main reason why I switched formats, however, was so that I could include a TWITTER FEED located on the right.  I had tried to do that with the flip-card look, but no matter how hard I tried, it wasn't allowed.  If you go to my Twitter page, you'll see a link for My Corner of the Catacombs, and I felt it was only fair to let the connection work both ways, especially since the site and the Twitter page are my two main ways of connecting with my audience.  I also have a Facebook page, but I can't seem to link it to either Blogger or Twitter.  Maybe I will in the future.

I've also REMOVED THE LABELS that were once attached to each post.  This was done as a matter of convenience.  The labels were meant to help readers zero in on particular topics (articles about plot, character, other writers, etc.), and that worked when I was just starting off with a handful of posts.  But now, with well over a hundred articles on this site, it's too much of a jumbled mess for me to keep track of.  However, there is a SEARCH OPTION on the right above the archives list that will allow you to look up anything you want in any post.

Also to the right, just beneath the "About Me" section, you'll notice a feature called WHAT MARIO IS READING.  I got this idea after seeing it on another site I enjoy visiting called Future War Stories, which focuses on military science fiction; the guy who runs that site keeps his readers up-to-date on what books he's reading, what video games he's playing, and what movies he's watching.  Being a writer, I figured I'd stick to just the books.  It's a nice little way of recommending something for your own reading list without shoving it down your throat.

Finally, just above the search box, you'll see a TRANSLATION FEATURE that will allow you to read this site in just about any language you wish.  I don't know how accurate the translation will be - I'm trusting Google to get it right - but I do know that there are a lot of readers coming in from countries like Russia and India, Germany and Singapore, and I hope that this will make My Corner of the Catacombs more accessible to non-English speakers.

I hope you'll find the changes to the site agreeable, and I hope you've enjoyed the articles so far.