A New Website and Some Eye-Catching Banners....Oh My!

This long holiday weekend I found myself with time on my hands....did I just say that?

After months of looking at a tired, old-looking and mechanically unappealing website, I revamped it.  But that's not all. 

For months I've seen these cool banners posted on social media.  I mean, I've done many banners before, but these banners were ultra cool with captivating backgrounds and three-dimensional book images, etc.  Now, I know that most authors pay a pretty penny to have that stuff done for them, but I myself am a DIY kind of person.

So.....I did some research, and found out that if you use resources like myecovermaker.com, Canva.com, and of course, Shutterstock, you can make yourself a tidy little eye-catching banner for way less than what it would have cost to have someone do it for you.

Here's the first one:

and the second:

you get the idea...

I just couldn't get enough!  You can make all sorts of marketing materials in different sizes and formats for your website header, Twitter and Facebook banners, and posts. 

With a little time and imagination, and of course, nothing is free, so a little money doesn't hurt, you can go a long way in promoting your books beautifully.

What do you think?  Which one do you like best?

Happy Reading,

Sandy Appleyard

New Look....Same Great Content!

It's been a long time since I posted a blog.  After going back to work full time nearly two and a half years ago, finding time to blog has been tough.  Most of my spare time has been dedicated to writing, and I don't feel guilty about that at all!

That being said, on this wonderful long holiday weekend, I have managed to find the time to revamp my website.  It was looking rather mechanical as a Wordpress site, so I have switched back to Weebly.  Take a look and tell me what you think....www.sandyappleyard.com

In other news, I'm about eighty percent finished writing my latest creation called 'Knowing'.  As I've said with all my previous works, this is my best one yet!  I think that happens each time us authors write another masterpiece...it's bound to be better than the last one.

My website has a few changes.  One is that I've compiled all three of my 'To Hide in Holly Springs' novels into one book.  The cover is fabulous; it's one of my favourites:

I love how it captures the essence of the story with the mysterious mist in the background.  The red lettering is my favourite, too.  It's my favourite colour and I often try to get it at least a bit of it into each cover I create.  If you're interested in checking out what the story is about, you can do so here.

Now that my online course is over I might actually have time to do more blogging...so stay tuned!

Keep reading,

Sandy Appleyard