Amy Writes turns two!

Amy Writes, my website, approaches its second birthday this fall.  When I designed it, I wanted to make it engaging for people on a number of levels.  It wanted it to be interactive, entertaining, provide a reason to come back, be timely and be attractive to the eye with a warm feel.   At its young age, I believe it hits the mark and is still evolving with room to grow!

I refreshed the website this week, always a delicate and odd balancing act for me.  You see, the website is a vehicle to spotlight my writing, not me.  However…from research I’ve done and in analyzing my own personal preferences on websites I visit, I also realize that a reader wants to know a little more about the person behind the writing. 

Primarily, Amy Writes gives me a venue to share my published pieces, which range from local op-ed pieces to a cover story for Cats & Kittens magazine.  To place “Journey’s Beginning”, my upcoming contribution in Chicken Soup for the Soul: finding my faith, on the home page as an announcement was an “is this really happening?” moment for me.  There are some writing works in progress that are currently poems and essays.  A few short story excerpts and possibly a chapter or two of a novel I’m working on are set to go up soon.   

As I write, read and research, I love to come across references and have shared some of the sites, authors, blogs and books that feed the writing craft for me and are a source of inspiration.  Some I’ve stumbled upon by chance and some have been direct referrals.  Either way, I count myself fortunate to have found each one and am pleased at the opportunity to lift them up as the mentors I view them as.

My blog, My Writing Corner, is the baby sister to the website.  It will be one year old in January and has been much harder to raise and get to know!  It’s much more demanding on me as a writer, requires constant attention and challenges me to be honest to my developing writing style.  The only “theme” it follows is the mantra - “A place to share my writing, the process of doing so and the part of me that it comes from”.

There are three other passions in my life besides writing and I take a bit of liberty in sharing those.  Bundled under miscellany, is a nod to my husband , Steve – my greatest supporter, soul-mate and best friend, a few of the recipes that satisfy the love I have for cooking and my Goodreads link (which holds currently just a spattering of the books I’ve read, but I’m working on getting it more complete!)

Last but not least, I provide a place to contact me.  It’s a wonderful day when I get a comment from the website!

So sometime this fall, probably around the release date of Chicken Soup for the Soul, I’ll make a cake (most likely chocolate with chocolate frosting – two fabulous and easy make from scratch recipes that never fail – and yes, I’ll add them to the site soon!) and celebrate the birth of Amy Writes.  It is after all a part of my writing, a witness to what I do and a validation of the same.