Yes, the blog theme has changed. Yes, it is currently under construction. This wasn’t something I planned, at least not yet. But circumstances converged and last night I decided to pull the plug on the previous theme. So, please bear with me over the next day or two as I tweak this theme and get the blog back to where I want it to be.
The longer explanation for the change is two- or three-fold. The first is the theme I’ve used the last few years is a paid theme. I liked it and, to be honest, still do. However, even with the updates (or maybe because of them), I noticed some issues as I moved between browsers and OSes. Specifically, the sidebar widgets didn’t always load the way they should, making the blog look broken.
So, when I logged in last night and got the message the theme needed to be updated–and that to do so, I’d have to pay again, I decided to look for an alternative. I’m not sure I will stick with this theme long-term. But, for now, it does what I want it to. Better yet, it is free. That gives me the chance to look for another premium theme if I so desire without investing in something I might not like simply because I felt the pressure to make a change NOW!
What changes will this make to the blog?
Basically, the only real change will be that the list of my books will no longer appear in the sidebar. I’m not sure I like that, but it is what it is. I’ll be putting together an up-to-date page listing my books, novellas and short stories by series and pen name over the weekend and that will be added to the menu.
Speaking of the menu, I need to play with it as well. But that is down the list of things to do. I’m not convinced about the header image. It’s something I threw together very quickly last night because I was never fully satisfied with the previous header.
I am also going to have to go in and adjust the featured image dimensions so entries are consistent on the page. But that’s no biggie since it only impacts those posts featured on the home page.
What I like is the clean look of the theme and how it looks on my smartphone. We’ll see if it manages to do everything I want as I try tweaking it over the weekend. Let me know what you think.
Now, go have a great weekend!
Featured image created using Midjourney AI.
