Books Forward is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and one of the ways we’re celebrating is by showcasing 25 people you should know in the book world. There are many unique roles in the book world, and the many kinds of people who play a part in the community we love.
Today, we’re getting to know Madeira James, website designer and owner of xuni.com. Stay up to date on other industry professionals by reading our Lit Happens blog throughout the year.
6:36 a.m.
(Because who wants to set their alarm for a boring old time like 6:30?)
My dog Ripley and I wake up and open the sliding glass door blinds so we can see what animals might be in the forest outside. We’ve seen lots of deer, elk and foxes. There is a herd of bull elk that like to settle behind my garage. Pretty cool. Today, nothing is seen in the kind of deep fog; it rained all night and everything is wet and dripping.
I skim The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR and the Christian Science Monitor. News can be hard to read so I always make sure to read something uplifting as well. Recently there was a story about a cow who escaped from a slaughterhouse (no joke!) and is now living her best life at a farm sanctuary and has been christened Mootilda. Her new boyfriend is called Adorabull. I mean come on, if that’s not uplifting what is?
I do the normal morning stuff — feed and walk Rip, make my homemade frappuccino (yes, I am one of those weird people who only likes my coffee frozen so it’s a mixture of cold brew, protein powder and ice). So good!
7:47 a.m.
I get to my desk, which is a short walk across the living room and into the sunroom where I am surrounded by shelves of client books, Christmas lights, plants on the desk and fish in their tank. I am truly happy to get to work; we have the best author clients and have so much fun working! I went through emails the night before, but there are always SO MANY more to wade through. I cannot start work until my inbox is cleared to only to-do things. Emails include responding to potential client queries, finding out what clients whose designs are in progress think of something we’ve done for them, and answering five bazillion questions from clients whom we have worked with forever and know I will take the time to answer them thoroughly. I am nothing if not thorough. I think others might call it “wordy.” 😉
9:03 a.m.
My son/co-worker Riley and I usually FaceTime around this time to talk about the important to-do items for the day. I notice that he has shaved his hair super close so the two koi fish tattooed behind his right ear are visible (their names are Bonnie and Norman, after his grandparents) but I don’t notice that he also shaved his face. But hey, he didn’t notice that I am wearing something different than yesterday.
Riley is the best employee I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. He handles website edits, designs client newsletters and does all the amazing backend coding of new websites and other fun stuff like that. I do most of the new client interaction and design work, which is also fun. We both love color and organization so this is a perfect job for us.
When we get off the call, I design a header for a mystery writer who wants her site to have a “gothic” feel with a creepy looking iris. I am up for the challenge!
Then I answer more emails.
10:52 a.m.
Riley walks his dog, Cake, down to the huge park in the middle of the city where he lives. I walk Ripley into the forest hoping I won’t see this neighborhood kitty who was caught on my neighbor’s driveway camera around the corner from my house in the middle of the freaking day last week.
11:25 a.m.
Since Rip and I survived the mountain lion, I sit down for a phone meeting with a client. She is trying to decide whether to start a social media campaign before her agent has started shopping her book. I give her some ideas but we also catch up on life because so many of our clients have also become friends. Then I answer more emails.
Riley is laying out a site for a client who has written a book about a dude who was killed and left floating in a swimming pool. We can’t seem to find a good copyright-free image on any of the image sites we like best, so Riley asks me how I would feel about him playing around in ChatGPT for something purely decorative (ha!). I hesitate, as I am no fan of AI. However, we need a super cool image to open this site, so I give in. He tells ChatGPT that he needs a dead body floating in a pool. Chat GPT answers him: “I cannot give you a dead body in a pool. Can I interest you in an inflatable pool toy?”
I am still cracking up.
12:17 p.m.
I make a salad with grilled salmon on butter lettuce with a little heap of ramen noodles and a huge spoonful of my addiction: Chui Chow Chili oil. So good. I read Bruce Borgos’s The Blue Horse while I eat. It’s even better than the salad. SO GOOD. If you have not read his Porter Beck mystery series, you need to.
1:01 p.m.
Back to work and the creepy iris. It might need some fog swirling around it, or maybe I am being influenced by what is out my window. I also answer more emails.
2:22 p.m.
Riley and I FaceTime again to talk over the “feel” of the website he is working on. We spend a lot of time making sure the websites we create match the authors we are creating for. That is the joy of the work. It’s one of my favorite things to hand a site over to Riley (after I choose the colors and design the headers, etc.), let him work his layout and coding magic, and then come back onto FaceTime to go over it and decide on things together. So fun.
4:13 p.m.
I answer more emails. Bet you didn’t see that coming. Then my daughter calls so I can FaceTime with my little cutie granddaughter and I watch her dance on their rock coffee table (yikes!) and eat the wrapper off a stick of butter. So good? 😉
5:05 p.m. to 9:17 p.m.
Riley is done for the day, but I admit that I work on and off most evenings. The difference is that after regular work hours, I put a show on in the corner of my monitor so that I have “company” while I design stuff. Tonight, I am designing a flyer for a children’s book author who will be at a book fair. Sometimes I match the show to what I’m designing. Children’s book author? Maybe some Harry Potter. Food writer? The Great British Baking Show of course. Mystery writer? Definitely true crime.
And then I can’t sleep because I am positive there is a serial killer on the deck.
9:54 p.m.
In bed reading. I read every night before sleep … the very best way to end a day.
Madeira James is the owner of xuni.com, a small, dynamic website development company that has created, designed and maintained author websites since the late ’90s. Her son Riley joined her in 2018. Specializing in customized WordPress sites for all types of writers, they are best known for their creative, well-organized sites and amazing responsiveness to clients. Check out their work, client list, and much more at xuni.com.
Jennifer Vance is a publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
Interested in what’s possible for your book sales and building readership? Check out our services, tell us your goals, and get a customized publicity campaign tailored just for you.
