Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Nora_29 via Pixabay

This morning, I was getting ready to create a post with my characters on the porch swing when I realized that today is the anniversary of this blog. Thirteen years ago, I dreamed up the concept on a porch swing at my sister-in-law's house during a Memorial Day picnic, having no idea whatsoever where it would take me.

Thirteen years later (a lucky number for me, as I was born on the thirteenth), I'm closing in on the end of the third set of Marita/Angel/Charli adventures; in fact, I'm paying them a visit as soon as I finish this post. I asked a friend to create a "cover illustration," as it were, for this blog, and her lovely watercolor now graces the top of this page (thank you, Rachel DeMasi!) I signed a contract for my first non-fiction book in fifteen years and am looking forward to its release next month. I regained the rights to Casting the First Stone, putting it temporarily in limbo as I work with another friend on a new cover so I can re-release it, starting a new chapter in my life and Marita's, Angel's and Charli's.

And every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I stop by the porch swing. 

When I cooked up this whole blog thing on my sister-in-law's porch swing, I had no idea that all of this lay ahead, but I also believe that much of it has arisen because I blog. Blogging has taught me to stick to a schedule (even if the responsibilities of daily life mean that a Monday post might appear any time between 12 midnight and 11:59 p.m. on a Monday) and to write tight. It has allowed me to reach out to readers and it has made me a better writer, if only from the sheer practice of putting words on the page five or more days a week. And, it has connected me to a writing community that has opened doors to more writing opportunities and friendships than I could ever have predicted.

From time to time, I reevaluate my blogging, asking myself if it's worth the time I put in, if I need to maintain all of these homes in cyberspace and if I need to post as often as I do. In exploring possible stops for a potential blog tour for my new book, I discovered that a lot of people who were blogging five or six years ago are no longer doing so, having departed, I assume for destinations like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But, although I maintain a presence on those sites as well, I can't imagine not blogging.

So, for the foreseeable future, you'll find me on my spiffed up new porch swing, and I hope you'll keep stopping by. As I said in my anniversary post two years ago, "the nice thing about a porch swing [is that] it always welcomes you back and, each season, the scenery is just a little different." 

hannahlouise123 via Pixabay

Thanks for taking in the scenery with me. I hope this long weekend brings you happy memories and the sense of peace and inspiration that a comfy porch swing inspires. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, my characters are calling. Bets has mixed up a pitcher of margaritas, so if I don't get there soon, I'm afraid of what else she'll come up with.