Thank You

 

Usually, around this time of the year, I have already sent out invitations to folks inviting them to be a guest blogger in the upcoming year.  I had a note from someone yesterday wondering if they had missed their invite.  It never dawned on me to send a note to everyone explaining we weren't going to be doing a calendar for guest blogs next year - I apologize!!!

 

It's been a delightfully long run of pretty awesome guests, but has run its course, I think.

 

The first Meanderings and Muses post was July 25, 2008.

The first Meanderings and Muses guest blog was January 11, 2009.

And thus began the tradition of guests.  A guest list which has been an impressive line up, if I do say so myself - including:

Avery Aames

Megan Abbott

Patti Abbott

Victoria Abbott

Suzanne Adair

Ellery Adams

Riley Adams

Michael Alatorre

Tasha Alexander

Lou Allin

Beth Anderson

Patty Anderson

Susan Anderson

Donna Andrews

Maggie Barbieri

Donald Barley

Wendy Bartlett

Cara Black

Rachel Brady

Peg Brantley

Duffy Brown

Pat Browning

Brenda Buchanan

Julia Buckley

Robin Burcell

Lucy Burdette

Alafair Burke

Tony Burton

Sarah Byrne

Bill Cameron

Dana Cameron

Chester Campbell

Lillian Stewart Carl

Cathy Lee Carper

Toni McGee Causey

Diane Chamberlain

Joelle Charbonneau

Laura Childs

Jane Cleland

Stacey Cochran

Mark Coggins

Jeff Cohen

P.J. Coldren

Meredith Cole

Reed Farrel Coleman

Alan Cook

Thomas H. Cook

E.J. Copperman

Gary Corby

Shelley Costa

Cleo Coyle

Elizabeth Spann Craig

Bill Crider

Deborah Crombie

Lonnie Cruse

Evelyn David

Hilary Davidson

Krista Davis

Mark De Castrique

Vicki Delany

Deni Dietz

Nan Dillingham

Julie Dolcemaschio

Alice Duncan

Carola Dunn

J.T. Ellison

Hallie Ephron

Linda Fairstein

Nancy Peterson Farina

Robert Fate

Gerrie Ferris Finger

Barbara Fister

Jen Forbus

Barbara Fradkin

Shelly Fredman

Leighton Gage

Kate Gallison

Kaye George

Shane Gericke

Gina Gilmore

Debra Ginsberg

Chris Grabenstein

Andrews Grant

Judith Greber

Beth Groundwater

Carolyn Haines

Tim Hallinan

Denise Hamilton

R.J. Harlick

Rosemary Harris

Libby Fischer Hellman

Sara J. Henry

Sasscer Hill

Beth Hoffman

Judy Hogan

Lesa Holstine

Julie Hyzy

Coco Ihle

Roberta Isleib

Dean James

Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Craig Johnson

Larry Karp

Toni L.P. Kelner

Dana King

Vicki Lane

Bob Levinson

Ken Lewis

N. J. Lindquist

Mary Jane Maffini

Victoria Maffini

Morgan Mandel

Margaret Maron

Nancy Martin

Ashley McConnell

Jenn McKinlay

Marilyn Meredith

Jenny Milchman

Celia Miles

Robin Minnick

Donna Moore

Bobbi Munn

Tim Myers

Patricia Neeley-Dorsey

Radine Trees Nehring

Kris Neri

Scott Nicholson

Doris Ann Norris

Karen Olson

Mike Orenduff

Alan Orloff

Ann Parker

Bronson L. “Bo” Parker

Brad Parks

Sandra Parshall

Louise Penny

Twist Phelan

Dee Phelps

Neil Plakcy

Jonathan Quist

Cornelia Read

Mary Reed

Gillian Roberts

L.J. Roberts

Chris Roerden

Carolyn Rose

S.J. Rozan

Janet Rudolph

Sandra Ruttan

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Karen Schinder

Brandon Seidl

L.J. Sellers

Sarah Shaber

Deborah Sharp

Zoe Sharp

Andi Shechter

Clea Simon

Joanne Campbell Slan

Ben Small

April Smith

Sylvia Dickey Smith

Alexandra Sokoloff

Robin Spano

Earl Staggs

Kelli Stanley

Patricia Stoltey

Niki Strandskov

Pari Noskin Taichert

Marcia Talley

Kathleen Taylor

Pattie Tierny

Elaine Viets

Miranda Phillips Walker

Robert Walker

Kathryn Wall

Mary Welk

Melinda Wells

Jeri Westerson

Molly Weston

Shirley Wetzel

Leslie Wheeler

Sharon Wildwind

Michael Wiley

Simon Wood

Nancy Means Wright

Elizabeth Zelvin

Oh, Lordy - if I have missed anyone or spelled someone's name wrong, blame it on holiday stress (or whatever).  Just let me know, please, so I can fix it!

Not only has Meanderings and Muses had a great list of guest bloggers, I've had some fun and insightful commenters.  Oddly enough, more of the comments have been sent to me directly rather than in the posts, which means I've gotten to know some of you quite well over the years.  You all enrich my life and I thank you.

It was fitting, I think, for Lesa to have been the final guest blogger, as she's one of those who's been here from the beginning.  When I start looking at the names and see how many have come back every year, I'm quite gratified.

When I took a wild chance and sent out that first email inviting guests to come to Meanderings and Muses, I had no idea what I was doing.  

Minutes after hitting "send" I started fretting.  

I mean fretting like you would not believe.

I had gone so far out on a limb inviting some of the people I invited, I have no idea where the nerve came from for me to do that.

How embarrassing it would be for all those people to receive this audacious note and me not receive a single acceptance. 

Instead, within those few minutes, the responses came pouring in.  And next thing I knew I had a year's worth of guests scheduled.

As things go, I ended up going from one guest a month, to a guest a week.  Then it was two guests a week, often with a third squeezed in.

We visited authors' spaces. 

We met authors' pets.

We had conversations with 2 or 3 folks at a time.

We had people open their hearts to share good news, and some bad.

We've cried tears of joy and tears of pain.

And we've slowed down considerable on the guest posts while I've been writing.

But - Meanderings and Muses is still here.  Different, but still here.

You've "listened" while I've ranted, and didn't leave me alone while I cried.  And you've laughed with me. 

You've read what I've written, and allowed me to share my opinions about books, politics, mean people and everything else under the sun.

You've allowed me to share my photography attempts, and stories about my family, my husband and my dog.

You've supported me through publishing two pieces in regional anthologies, a novel and helping Harley write his book.

Hopefully, there will be more of all that in our future.

The guest posts, sadly, are ending with Lesa's.

No more sending out that calendar at the end of the year asking what date(s) guests would like.

It's was a lovely and fun thing, but time to move on, I think.

 

Some of the guests have mentioned seeing a spike in sale while and immediately following their visits. 

 

Many are still getting hits for posts they did several years ago.

 

While most posts have gotten an average of 350 - 400 hits, some have been much, much higher.  The "winner" in the category of highest number of hits is Toni McGee Causey for a piece she did in 2010 - "Positive and Negative Spaces."  It still being discovered and read today and has received close to 4,000 hits.

A lot of you know I have fought with exactly what Meanderings and Muses should be since Day One.  Silly me.  Meanderings and Muses is, always has been, and always will be whatever the day might bring.  It is what it is.  That's what it will continue to be. 

But from now on we'll have no calendar to help us get through the year.  We'll continue taking pictures, reading and talking about books, politics, food, music, the news, and whatever pops into my mind.

It's worked for almost seven years, we'll be here till I run out of things to talk about.

And, truth be told, I think you'll still see a guest here from time to time.

Someone, after all, might have a new book coming out they'll want to tell you about.  We'll see.

In the meantime, I hope you'll continue to drop by.  Some days, I'll be here, some days I won't.  But I'll always be lurking just around the corner, soon to appear once again.

And again,

and again.