Website help, please!

I am treating myself to a new web design. Yahoo! But in order to make it happen, I have to list the design features I like to help my designer know what I want. I’ve been looking through various author sites, and while there are certain features I like, most of them are plain AWFUL. I can’t believe how many bestselling authors don’t invest in a good website. It looks like Joe Schmoe threw something together in his garage.

I’m hoping to achieve a website with a gorgeous landscape photo surrounding the site. Okay, I don’t know if you guys like it, but I’m kind of partial to the castle on the main page. I may try to incorporate it into the rest of the site. In any case, I’m out on a limb here, begging for help. What are some of your favorite author web sites? What features do you like about them?

I’ve been going through the ones listed on the RWA main page, but I’m sure there are other sites I’m overlooking. Got any good ones to share? Thanks!!