Felicia Fredlund

Writer. Editor. Reader.

Updates

What Changes and What Doesn’t: Poll Closed for What Blog Posts You Enjoy Reading

Posted:

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll on what blog posts you enjoy reading. The poll is now closed.

It was really helpful to see what you all enjoy reading.

I always try to reassess what to do about my blog about once a year. I want to be sure I posts things you are interested in reading, and I want to have fun with it. So this poll helped me make some adjustments.

Just arrived in Japan on my 1 year visa.

Picture of the Month is the most enjoyed part of this blog so it will definitely keep going! Right now I’m thinking of doing a sort of mini-series inside it.

I’m currently in Japan on a 1-year visa, and I thought I could spend the next year posting one picture from each month I’ve been in Japan on this visa. That means I’d post a picture from April when I run out of already scheduled PotM posts (September would be the first Japan visa post). And then I’d post a picture from May in October and so on.

If this sounds like an awful idea, please comment. I don’t feel strongly one way or the other. What I have been doing is to go through my digital photos and post the ones that are interesting or pretty from across all photos I’ve ever taken.

Second on the poll is updates about my life, including writing, blog, website and other news. I really don’t do those posts very often, but it does lead me into the change I’m planing for my Great Entertainment posts.

A first taste of what my pictures from Japan will show.

I’m basically going to smash together those two. Each month I’ll write about books I’ve read, games I’ve played, movies I’ve seen, places I’ve visited, which I’ve really enjoyed.

That way I’m both telling about what is happening in my life through what I consume (plus this won’t be strict reviews so life stuff will get in there) and I get to share great entertainment that I find.

I’ll also keep doing the release news, but might do like I’ve done the past month (and will do later this month), which is to collect release news together. So the blog might not learn about a release as soon as it happens. For that, sign up to my (monthly) newsletter where I will tell of things the same month they happen.

Also more timely news such as special bundles and sales will only be announced there.

So that is what it looks like for the next year or so, unless any of the changes doesn’t feel great.

Which of My Posts Do You Enjoy Reading?

Posted:

I have a favor to ask you today. I mostly write this blog in advance, as much in advance as I can manage in fact because on a day to day, weekly and monthly basis I’m very bad at remember to write and post stuff on this blog. I’ve now come to a time where I need to write and schedule new posts and I started wondering which posts you, my readers, actually enjoy reading.

I have therefore added a poll below (which closes on July 15th, so please vote before then). If you are reading this in an email, you’ll need to click through to my site to actually participate.

Basically, I’m looking for a feel of what is being read and what is enjoyed. I’ll probably add more of those and maybe completely drop something if no one is that interested. It might also make me change things up.

So please answer honestly about what you actually enjoy reading most of the time. I think I added all types of posts and at least one I divided into two options.

Please comment on this post if you have any additions to your vote whether praise, critique, or an option I missed that you wanted. Also if you have any suggestions for things I could write about on my blog, feel free to add that too.

I can’t promise I will take any specific actions. I thought however that I should ask for your input before I potentially changed things up.

Thank you for your time! <3

Here is the poll:

Obs! The poll closes on July 15, so please vote before then!

Website Update

Posted:

As I seem to do every few years, I have updated the design of my website. For those interested, I changed from the Divi theme (Elegant Themes) to Author Pro (StudioPress). Personally I think this is the best look my website have ever had.

I didn’t change because Divi is a bad theme, in fact I still use it on another website and I will keep using it there. I couldn’t make it work for my website, with a stress on “I”.

Beyond changing theme, I also updated more or less all text across the website. Even most books have new descriptions that will come to the retailer sites when I have time to update there.

You’ll notice I’ve highlighted my books differently in the menu and sub-menu. With direct links to my series, my short fiction, and the anthologies & bundles I’m in. So no more enormous hover menu.

I also went through and deleted a lot of old blog posts, because I wanted to focus my website on my books and a couple of new blog series I’m adding to the website. I’m not ready to announce it all, but…

Picture of the Month is coming back! I hope you guys enjoyed it because I will start it up again in the next couple of months. It all depends on how much time I have to go through all the photos I have ever taken (with a digital camera).

Sounds like more than I need to re-start it? True, but I’m also doing it to declutter my photos so I might actually start looking at them. Just the thought of looking at 500 photos from only one vacation… It is too much. (There were a few years where I thought quantity with photos was a good thing… It turned out to be a recipe for never looking at them or showing them to other people. Opsie…)

You’ll still find the full archive of the previous Picture of the Month posts. A little more than a year’s worth. I’ve already started going through my pictures, and I can tell you I have some great ones for you.

I have another blogging series I mind, but until I have all my ducks in a row for that one, I’m not even sure it’ll happen. Hopefully it will.

That is basically it when it comes to this redesign, at least on the surface. The behind the scenes were pretty ugly at times.