Happy 15th Anniversary, SlingWords!

On April 12, 2005, I wrote the first post on SlingWords.

That post was short because it was a Japanese proverb that I'd always quoted when Life kicked me in the teeth.

Click to read Japanese Proverb, the first post.  

That first post had no illustrations. Hey, I was just getting started.

Some SlingWords History

In that first year, I learned the value of adding illustrations to my posts.

If you look back over the first couple of years, you won't see the art work because I started stripping it away every few years to save space.

Now I just leave the art and let Google worry about it. I figure whenever I run out of storage space, they'll let me know.

To date, I've written and published 3,484 posts. I have readers in countries from North America to all European countries, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.

My most-read post has been I Need a Good Cry, I'll Be Right Back—9,429 readers.

In July 2008, I began closing each post on SlingWords with the phrase Takeaway Truth, to succinctly summarize the post or my thoughts about the subject matter.

Around 2009, I got smart and started using an editorial calendar so I always knew what I was going to talk about each day.

I started some regular features along the way and still do some of those. I've interviewed hundreds of authors, written hundreds of reviews about books, TV series, movies, music, products, and apps.

My proposed book on blogging.
I've joined group blogs and still belong to three where I blog at least once a month on each. They are Authors Billboard, Smart Girls Read Romance, and my baby, Romance Gems.

I've learned a lot about blogging, Blogger itself, and how to keep a blog fresh and entertaining consistently.

Periodically, I've worked on compiling a book of commonsense blog tips. Maybe this year, I'll get that book finished.

A Little Freelance History

Also in 2005, I started another blog which I used for freelance copy writing, i.e., paid posts, as well writing creative content to entertain that audience.

For several years, I wrote copy for clients and eventually ghost blogged for clients as well as writing content for free for other website blogs.

I guess I'm just wordy because I was writing books too, but none had vampires or any paranormal element that publishers wanted so I sold stories to website owners who serialized the books on their websites to draw readers. I liked getting paid for writing while I waited for the world to change.

I bought my first Kindle in 2010, and I realized those world changes for which I'd waited had arrived.

I started putting my backlist into ebooks, abandoned all my freelance blog writing, and joyfully embraced life as an indie author/publisher.

But, I never stopped blogging every day on SlingWords. I'll probably never give it up.

Even when time is tight and Life is throwing flaming chainsaws at me, I may miss a day or six, but I always come back to my blog.

Why I Blog

SlingWords, my little experiment, became:

(1) a chronicle of my life as a writer as well as some of my personal life too
(2) a source of inspiration
(3) a work discipline that gets the words flowing every day
(4) a snare for my wayward Muse
(5) a means of communicating with people all over the globe.

Giveaway To Celebrate the 15th Anniversary

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of SlingWords, I'm giving away 15 copies of my new ebook, Liam's Wild Irish Rose.

Available at these ebook sellers for only 99cents:

all Kindle shops * Draft2Digital at a variety of ebook sellers * Smashwords, also at a variety of ebook sellers.

First come; first served. Hurry over to Smashwords and claim your copy. It's metered for 15 copies and will shut down after those are claimed.

Use Coupon Code MZ46T (not case-sensitive). Enter the code prior to completing checkout.

If you don't get a free copy, it's only 99 cents. Here's a short blurb.

Maura does NOT want a relationship, but Liam wants more than sex. Can St. Patrick's day bring him the luck of the Irish and get Maura to admit she loves him?

Liam's Wild Irish Rose is Book 4 of a 13-story series, A Moment in Time. These romance short stories—some funny, some sizzling, all sexy—can be read as stand-alones or read in order.

Each short story introduces new characters and brings back the heroes and heroines of previous stories.

Joan Reeves...Keeping Romance Alive—One Sexy Book at a Time

By the way, if you read a book and like it, do the author a favor and leave a review. I, and all authors, truly appreciate readers who take a few minutes to do that.

Takeaway Truth

Thank you to all the readers who have visited frequently, and those who drop by occasionally. Keep coming back because I'll be here, creating posts to entertain and inform you.

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