About the Site
This site was designed and is maintained by me, Kodi Wolf.
My first fiction site debuted on Leap Day, February 29, 2000. It's been through several permutations since then.
The current incarnation forced me to brush up on my web coding skills in order to make the site mobile-friendly. I also wanted to streamline it and pare it down from the busyness of the previous version.
To do that, I used W3School's W3.css framework.
Then I added in a little JavaScript:
Also some Font Awesome icons and a couple Google fonts (EB Garamond, Libre Baskerville).
And finally some extra special CSS formatting to create that awesome fading horizontal line in the top menu.
Another goal I had was to add a little ambience to the different story pages to kind of set the mood, since they're all quite different from each other, but I didn't want to do anything too crazy that would make the site hard to read or make you feel like you were no longer on the same site. I wanted it to feel cohesive.
After a little brainstorming, I decided to set different backgrounds for the main story pages, but then use a more generic background for the actual chapter pages, so you wouldn't be distracted while reading.
I ended up on Pixabay and found some amazing images that were all licensed to be free for commercial use with no attribution required.
However, I like to give credit where it's due, so here are the links to the original images I've used on the site. I've edited some of them, like using grayscale or enhancing colors, and I've put all the images through optimizers to reduce their file sizes as much as possible for faster loading, so some of the images won't look like they do on my site.
Also, the descriptions I use are for how they appear on my site, since the original images don't really have titles.
Welcome page - Sun rising behind blue planet
Image by qimono on Pixabay
This is kind of a nod to the previous site design that had a red-orange planet as the main graphic as if it was being viewed from a screen on a spaceship (since my preferred genre is science fiction). But I like this image's connotation of a fresh day and all the possibilities that implies.
Information pages (Contact, About, etc.) - Rainbow nebula
Image by geralt on Pixabay
I wanted a rainbow on the site. :) And it's in keeping with the space theme, so I think it works.
Chapter pages - Cracked gray paper / leather / cement
Image by andreas160578 on Pixabay
I wanted something sort of generic that wouldn't be distracting while reading, but that would still have a "personality" that fit the site and my stories. Once I grayscaled the brown paper, I loved how it could be seen as not only handmade paper, but also possibly leather or cement. I feel like it adds texture without takng the focus away from my stories.
Assassin - Black and white photo of gun and bullets
Image by Brett_Hondow on Pixabay
Again, once I changed the image to black and white, I loved the statement it made. It's just stark and menacing and implies danger.
A Bondage Primer - Grayscale sketch of partially bound naked woman
Image by DekoArt-Gallery on Pixabay
I still can't believe I found this image for free. It fits ABP so perfectly, I don't think I could've done better if I'd had it specially commissioned. The peaceful look on the young woman's face and how she's only partially bound, implying she's there by choice, is exactly how I see McKenzie. And the fact it's done in the style of a sketch and McKenzie is an artist is just perfect. It even inspired a scene (not posted yet) for the story.
Lights of Life - Looking up at night sky surrounded by black trees
Image (originally found on Pixabay, then it disappeared, but then I found it again on Flickr, still public domain)
As soon as I saw this image, I knew it would be perfect for Lights. The story takes place in the mountains, Kaylee is found at night, and she comes from the stars. Even the color palette of the dark bluish purple looks good juxtaposed against the yellow of the book cover.
New Gaia - Forest trail during the day
Image by Pexels on Pixabay
Finding an image of a green forest with a trail that doesn't have anything modern in it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but I finally happened on this image. I enhanced the colors to make the greens and browns more vibrant and also upped the contrast to remove some of the haze.
Prisoner of War - Wartorn planet seen from space
Image (originally found on Pixabay, then it disappeared, but the link above will take you to a Google search where you can find the image)
I know this image is just supposed to be a photo of the Earth taken from space and shows the clusters of city lights, but it always looks like meteor strikes and craters and fire and explosions to me, like the planet has just been ravaged by war.
The Vampire Hunter - New York City at night
Image by teetasse on Pixabay
The story takes place in NYC, at least at first, so I wanted something that encapsulated that vibe. I love how it shows the city lights and a wide view of the city, even including some of the bridges and iconic buildings. I decreased the 'noise' in the image, since it was a bit grainy, and shifted it ever so slightly towards a red hue, which I think subconsciously evokes the vampire theme.
