Monkeying Around with Change
Mar302009
There’s some major upheaval going on in my life, plus the usual To Do List from Hell (where is Shane when I need him?), but one of the fun changes is the new website look. Joelle from Moxie Design Studios has done an amazing job on the design which I wanted to reflect the change away from romantic comedy to darker, more complex books like Wild Ride and Always Kiss Me Goodnight and some other projects I’ve got on the back burner. It’s been really interesting trying to come up with a look that matches the feel of the direction I think I might be going. The design is dark and I really, really like it, in part because it’s full of such quirky things.
Like the monkey.
Joelle put in an old building (the Wapakoneta Court House, actually, but it could be the big crumbling house in AKMG, too) and a spooky carousel from Wild Ride along with tarot cards that have meaning for me and a vintage typewriter and, of course, the cherry, and then she put in this monkey:
Why? She just liked the monkey. Then I saw it and thought, “What a great monkey!” and then “What does that represent in my life?” and then “What difference does it make, that’s a cool monkey.” But then it had to come out of the home page banner, and we tried it someplace else right side up, and I have to tell you, right side up that monkey is creepy, and it finally ended up at the bottom of the page and on the interior page banners, upside down and quirky again, not Monkey-From-Hell creepy.
And I thought, “Maybe I should change my symbol from the cherry to the monkey.” Then I realized that would make the Cherries into Monkeys, and while they are broad-minded with good senses of humor, I didn’t think they’d go for it in spite of the great theme song they’d get automatically. Plus, there are fabulous sock monkey earrings available on the net, so the jewelry thing would be covered, but that would mean all their cherry stuff would be obsolete and frankly, monkeys aren’t as pretty as cherries. So after some reflection, I decided a big no on changing the symbol. We’re sticking with the cherry.
But now there are monkeys on my website, or there will be once the programming is done and Mollie and I have the content reorganized–stay tuned–and most of the changes that are coming up are good ones. I figure as long as I look at them the way I’m looking at that monkey, open-minded and upside down–a fresh viewpoint on life, so to speak–everything’s going to be just fine. Change is good.
And so is that monkey.
Filed in Deep Thoughts
Loading ...
40 Comments to 'Monkeying Around with Change'
On March 30, 2009 at 8:57 pm Christine said...
That monkey is creepy upside-down, too, but also quirky. I think I like it.
On March 30, 2009 at 9:18 pm Alison said...
1. AKMG: Please, fast as you can. I have odd moments of worry regarding its fate, hoping you haven’t shelved it.
2. My longing to play with my cousin’s cymbal-playing monkey went unfulfilled. She only let me play with her brother’s toys. I’m pretty sure Stephen King had a short story or novella featuring one of these monkeys. And even though I’d wanted one of these things as a kid, I totally got the horror of it. Maybe that’s why I wanted it.
On March 30, 2009 at 9:19 pm Slave Driver said...
Monkey needs an orthodontist.
On March 30, 2009 at 10:24 pm Courtney De said...
It’s quirky and creepy and I like it. Can’t wait to see the new site!
On March 31, 2009 at 12:33 am Ericka said...
i know i’m a junior cherry at best, but thank the gods it remains cherries. monkeys freak me out. i don’t like them at all.
change up to monkeys and i’ll need to spend even more on therapy, which takes the cash away from my book fund. you’d be safe, but someone else would get bumped from the list and you wouldn’t want to do that to another author, would you? also, therapy for me = alcohol and i probably drink too much now so that’d be bad. down with monkeys.
On March 31, 2009 at 1:01 am Rachel said...
I dislike monkeys intensely, having been attacked by a group of a dozen or so small monkeys when I was 7 years old. They grabbed my hair and pulled me down, smashing my face against a concrete wall. Many dentist visits later, I still avoid the monkey section at the zoo.
On March 31, 2009 at 7:56 am francois said...
The problem with the monkey is the Thatcher Effect. Honestly, its a real thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatcher_effect
Upside down it looks like a smiley face. Our brains are too stupid to realise that if it were the right way up it would be a scarey frown.
On March 31, 2009 at 8:47 am McB said...
Alison, I have a small, plastic cymbal playing monkey on my desk. When stuff starts getting to me, I wind him up and let him march across my desk. Sometimes you need a bit of whimsey.
Jenny, the new site sounds like fun. And I don’t much care what direction you go with the books, as long as there are books. One hopes they will still have the trademark Crusie banter.
On March 31, 2009 at 9:00 am Stephanie said...
My daughter has been getting me sock monkey pj’s for every holiday for the last couple of years so I think I’m covered in the new Crusie-world. Well, at least for bedtime.
On March 31, 2009 at 9:38 am jude said...
Wow! LOVE the new theme.
On March 31, 2009 at 9:58 am Mary Stella said...
The monkey can be the new Cherry mascot. Does he/she have a name yet? In addition to wonderful cherry and flamingo items, fans can now send you monkey stuff. I’ll have to dig out a picture I took on the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades of a gorilla statue next to a sign advertising hot dogs, ice cream, snakes and alligators. Classic.
On March 31, 2009 at 10:01 am MJ said...
Once again we see you collaging your way to clarity. Cool!
On March 31, 2009 at 10:10 am Susan D said...
Whew! Still Cherries. I’m not sure I could change my name to Monkey Beach.
On March 31, 2009 at 10:17 am Chelle said...
My brother got one of those monkey’s for his birthday and still has it. It’s still creepy.
Glad you stuck with cherries. Otherwise, you’d be “The Monkey”.
That’s just not right.
On March 31, 2009 at 10:40 am Susanna Hugo said...
Okay – the scene where Shane takes Agnes’ to-do list and finishes it…it gives me a hot flash every time. While I would occasionally appreciate a hit man in my life, a man who completes a to-do list! Be still my beating heart!
On March 31, 2009 at 12:13 pm Cherry Honey said...
Love the monkey. Change is good. Nothing but good times ahead.
On March 31, 2009 at 12:38 pm Louis said...
Cherry Monkey
Monkey Cherry
Hmmmm
Glad you are sticking with the Cherries.
Cute Monkey anyway.
On March 31, 2009 at 2:42 pm Jill said...
We’re sticking with the cherry.
Thank You ! Cherry Mash is sweet. Monkey Mash is not.
On March 31, 2009 at 3:37 pm Chelle said...
Monkey Mash.
Snort.
On March 31, 2009 at 6:22 pm Jenny said...
Honey, I am The Monkey so often in my life that it wouldn’t be a change for me.
A name for the Monkey. Hmmmm. I got nothing.
But I’m sure somebody here has something.
On March 31, 2009 at 8:46 pm Office Wench Cherry said...
I read a story in a horror anthology for kids about a killer monkey and they have scared me ever since. Upside down or right side up the damn thing scares me.
On March 31, 2009 at 9:59 pm Sheri said...
Harry. I don’t know why. Harry the Cherry Monkey.
On March 31, 2009 at 10:10 pm Slave Driver said...
Let’s ask Ben and Jerry:
Cherry Garcia / Chunkey Monkey =
Monkey Garcia?
On April 1, 2009 at 1:39 am Melissa Blue said...
Glad to still be a cherry. The monkey just doesn’t have the same ring.
On April 1, 2009 at 8:25 am Mary Stella said...
Monkey looks like a Mort to me. Don’t ask me why.
Although now that made me think of the Dennis Quaid/Kathleen Turner movie where they’re ex-agents trying to have a normal family life. Stanley Tucci plays a N’Awlins street thug and keeps showing up to snarl, “I am Muerta!” at them. Dennis just keeps calling him Morty.
On April 1, 2009 at 10:01 am robena grant said...
Coolness counts. It is a great monkey. Maybe it represents getting the monkey off your back and feeling a sense of freedom and change, observing from up high while swinging through the trees, chattering incesssantly, eating bananas, a cool breeze floating around your ass…
On April 1, 2009 at 11:59 am Jill said...
Morticia Monkey
On April 1, 2009 at 1:55 pm Pam said...
Would Bob the Monkey be disrespectful?
On April 1, 2009 at 5:11 pm colognegrrl said...
When I read monkey, I am reminded of the recent news about a chimp in some zoo who started collecting stones in the morning so that he could throw them at visitors in the afternoon. He must have had that grin.
On April 1, 2009 at 6:27 pm Patrice said...
Cheeky Monkey
On April 1, 2009 at 9:45 pm G and T said...
The monkey actually looks a little scared to me. Which is not a bad thing.
On April 2, 2009 at 8:27 am JulieB said...
I think the monkey is kinda scary too. Even upside down. But I can read books upside down, so that Thatcher effect photo on Francois’s link didn’t work for me either. Who knew I was such a scaredy-cat? Oh, wait, I did.
Anyway, I like the site, but I’m glad the Cherries will be sticking around too. Even though I never came up with a name….
On April 2, 2009 at 8:50 am Kieran said...
You can put Monkey and Cherry together and get
The Merries (I like that!)
or The Chunkies (boo, hiss).
On April 2, 2009 at 11:39 am WapakGram said...
My grandson is all about Curious George these days. I am up to my eyeballs in Monkies. Somehow a Monkey Bomb might really frighten people. The Cherry Bombs are bad enough.
Patrice- I know what you watch on late night TV!
On April 2, 2009 at 12:03 pm Bridget said...
Looks like Captain Huggy Pants from Word Girl.
I like Word Girl – snark for the younger set.
On April 2, 2009 at 1:35 pm LadyRedundant said...
Captain Huggy Face.
Word Girl is awesome.
On April 2, 2009 at 5:25 pm eve said...
i like the idea of the circus monkey but in my opinion, this one is just f’ed up. unless youre planning to bring a lot of drugs and crime into your books…I just really dont like the mouth. it doesn’t represent you. there is nothing curious about this monkey.
On April 2, 2009 at 6:59 pm Jenny said...
I think he’s the Id Monkey. He’s the part of the muse that gets out toward the end of the umpteenth rewrite, the part that you’ve been repressing because it’s ugly and weird, and then you let it loose in the book and the book finally tells the truth.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Monkey.
On April 2, 2009 at 11:44 pm G and T said...
I’ll buy that.
On July 17, 2009 at 6:48 am Jessica Week said...
I love that dang monkey and noticed him right away. He is perfect–”Hi, I am a cute monkey….noooooo, I am a creepy monkey. No, I am playful and mischeivous and musical, too! Unh-unh…you KNOW I am a biting, sneaking, pinching monkey!” It makes perfect sense to me, especially knowing you have scary clowns in your brain. eek.