In theory, bios for business purposes should be written in the third person in order to give them a more professional appearance. That, anyway, is the conventional wisdom, which you’ll notice I’ve chosen to ignore. I’m not ignoring it because I’m a maverick. I’m ignoring it because to introduce myself in the third person would make it sound as if my business included more than just me. It doesn’t. I’m a sole proprietor, a freelancer with a career that’s moved me from newspaper journalism to book publishing to an assortment of things in between. I like to think I’m continually evolving, perhaps in the same way that you are with your own business pursuits.

That evolution, for me, brings me to web design. Why? Because I like it. It’s dynamic. It’s creative. It’s also reflective of the most exciting and challenging shift in how we do business since the Industrial Revolution. But even more than that, web design is about communication and though most of my career has been involved in communicating through the written word, at least in the online world the written word is often best expressed through the visual energy of design. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. I just know that’s how it is, and I prefer to move forward instead of peering over my shoulder at where I’ve been.

That’s not to say I’m blowing off my history. In fact, I’m proud of my history and for those of you interested, here’s the short version of it, dutifully presented in the official third person:

Laura Belgrave is the author of the Claudia Hershey mystery series, and a long-time writer and editor whose career background has taken her from the "murder and mayhem" side of the newspaper business to the editorial side of the book publishing business. Her staff positions have included everything from police reporter and then city editor of a major Florida daily to managing editor of a children's book publishing house.

Eventually, she struck out on her own as a freelance writer and editor, and has provided services to numerous media clients. She abridged novels for an audio producer, wrote a pilot script and treatments for Mary Lou Retton’s PBS show, “The Flip-Flop Shop,” and has—in her words—“done just about everything in between.”

But her passion for words has always resided most strongly in fiction. “I grew up surrounded by books, magazines, newspapers . . . everything. What sticks out most, though, is the image of my mother at the dining room table, a novel in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Her habits rubbed off. I read a lot. I drink a lot of coffee. But I took things one step further and started writing as well. Journalism was a natural transition. Writing novels is the ultimate progression.”

The Claudia Hershey mystery series includes three titles: Deadly Associations, Quietly Dead, and In the Spirit of Murder. Each has been well received not only by book critics, but by thousands of readers across the country.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Laura now calls South Florida home, and has for more than twenty years. She is a journalism graduate of the University of South Florida and is married to a man she met when both served in the U.S. Air Force “moons ago.”

Of course, to move from all of that into web design I’ve had to learn a lot of the technical detail lurking beneath every single web page on the Internet. I’ve learned a lot on my own, through the patience of more accomplished web designers online, and through a variety of classes. But I still don’t know it all. I’m not sure anyone could. The construction of web sites is a continually changing process and right now, it’s still muddled with inconsistent standards, browsers that interpret code differently and . . . well, I’m getting off topic. Maybe it’s best if I just stop here and invite you to drop me an e-mail if you want to know more. If you’d also like to see some of the other web sites I’ve done, please check out my portfolio. The sites you’ll see there aren’t the only web sites I’ve done, but they’re still active online and offer a picture of the very different approaches to design that can be produced, depending on the nature of the business.

Thanks for stopping by, and meanwhile? Ever onward for all of us!

—Laura Belgrave
 

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