Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today is a day set aside to honour Saint Patrick, a man who converted Ireland to Christianity while respecting the basic values of their culture. This is perhaps one reason the Irish are so fond of Saint Patrick, because he left them happily Celtic instead of insisting they become more like the Romans. Once they were converted, this made it more difficult for would-be meddlers to interfere and ruin their culture.

It is also a day to remember Ireland, to think of those beautiful green shores, those lush fields, those magnificent coasts... Yes, a good part of my ancestry is Irish. In fact, I could qualify for Irish citizenship (and depending on how the Presidential election goes, I just may apply) handily; I have two family members who are, alone, enough to qualify me. And I love hearing Irish voices speak, seeing Irish landscapes, eating Irish soda bread (there will be some of that, nice and hot, later today), hearing Irish music...

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I do also want to share a little more with my readers about my plans for this blog. Before events kept me from posting for so long, I was considering some changes, and I've thought still more about those in the meantime. I may be setting up my own site, and moving this blog to a WordPress platform on that domain. Over time, once I get the ongoing projects I'm bogged down in cleared away, I hope to set up a more regular posting schedule, and post more on topics of interest to writers.

I will still be making some fiction available, but I need time to decide how I'll do this. The sad fact is, once a writer 'publishes' a story, it is virtually unsellable. If it is a very small blog, some markets may still agree to purchase "first publication rights" - but some will not. And if it is posted on a larger blog, or any public site, it can no longer be sold except as a previously published story. And, unless the author is very well-known, there is no market for previously published stories.

There is also the issue of doing this in way that won't interfere with my pursuing a more serious writing career. I have decided, even more firmly than before, that is the direction I am headed in. That means I have many decisions to make, and I'll be revealing those to my readers as soon as I have made them. Also, in an effort to make things a little easier, I have become an affiliate of Holly Lisle's shop, selling books of interest to writers and some fiction.

While I don't criticise anyone for what they choose to do with their own blogs, I don't plan to cram my own blog with ads; that just isn't what I want for my blog. I don't expect any of my readers to buy any of Holly's books, unless they truly decide they want to. I chose this program for several reasons. First, the products are ones I have bought, or would like to buy, myself. Second, when I contacted the program, I was specifically told, by Holly Lisle herself, that I was free to write honest reviews of her books, mentioning things I disliked or disagreed with as well as things I liked.

I will be writing reviews of some of these books, and I hope to have a nice offer for anyone who is interested up soon. In the meantime, I will simply say this. The books I have bought and read all share several qualities. First, they were written by an actual, working author who makes her living by writing, and knows what it takes. Second, they are, as much as possible, written to take into account all the varied and individual ways each writer must work. They offer useful suggestions and ways of coping, not rigid rules or useless theories.