The Return

By Russel D McLean

Two days ago, I had an odd urge. It had been just under a year since I had updated Crime Scene Scotland, the ongoing review blog that had replaced the crime scene scotland website that ran monthly (ish) for around five years.

But I felt it had been left alone too long. I still get review requests and emails from publicists, but the urge to update was never there. The site was stale, the formula still the same.

But I wanted to do it.

Having just created my own new website (following the mysterious disappearance of my old webmaster, which just goes to show you should always get paperwork from your webmasters in case they vanish - - the old website is still up there, unloved and untouchable by me) I figured that a whole facelift was needed. From getting rid of the old handmade logo to adding new sections (splitting reviews from movies and TV into their own area, adding an "extra" area for book trailers, extracts etc, and of course an actual news section, too) I created a simpler, better looking site (admittedly from a template, but hey, the free site creators these days do everything a guy like me needs without the old ads and clutter you used to get when you created a free site).

Writing reviews has always been the fun part for me. I like to look at books that I love on the site, which means that sometimes they aren't quite what everyone else is reviewing - - its done very much on a "what grabs my fancy" kind of basis rather than "everything that comes through". This helps me maintain the enthusiasm of the site and to look at books from my own point of view rather than simply dredging through books without much substance or thought.

Right now I feel energised about Crime Scene Scotland MkIII. I'm hoping I can maintain the momentum, at least with the news and extras updates (The reviews may be a bit more haphazard) and the return of the classic covers on the front page (there will be a gallery of them, too). I hope you'll go over to take a look. I hope you'll support the site, and more that you enjoy it.

And now, having created the site, I'm off to have a good, stiff drink....