In the early years of 2000, this new thing called blogging was the rage. All the big-name authors were doing it, and lots of lesser-known ones were, too. I, for one, was more than a bit intimidated by the idea of having to come up with something interesting to say every day, and besides, who had the time? Certainly not me. I was writing and raising four daughters and taking care of a husband and juggling a parttime job, and well, darn it, I could just about care less.
Until it occurred to me there were no bloggers dedicated solely to western romance.
That was in the winter of 2007. The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea. I discussed it with Cheryl St.John, who happens to live within walking distance of me. We met for lunch, discussed lots of fun ideas, tossed around names of western authors we could invite, hammered out a schedule, and by the time I paid the bill, the whole thing had turned absolutely brilliant.
A few short months later, we had a corral full of talented authors, whom I lovingly dubbed the fillies. They were:
Linda Broday
Elizabeth Lane
Lorraine Heath
Patricia Potter
Geralyn Dawson
Stacey Kayne
Karen Kay
Cheryl St.John
Charlene Sands
and me – Pam Crooks
Four of the original Fillies remain — Charlene, Linda, Karen Kay, and me.
A gazillion emails later, we decided to call ourselves Petticoats and Pistols. I bought the domain, hired a webmistress, and on August 13, 2007, I wrote the very first post announcing our arrival upon the blogosphere.
I was so proud.
Until Cheryl St.John emailed me in a panic. “YOU NEED IMAGES!” she practically shouted through her keyboard.
Clearly, I had no idea what I was doing.
You can bet I found some images in a hurry, and evidently, any and all who noticed how green I was forgave me.
Eight years and 4,341 blogs later, we’re still here, and Petticoats and Pistols will forever have a special place in my heart.
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I remember how terrified I was, but I knew when Pam and company invited me to join them that it was too big a thing to pass up. I didn’t know a blessed thing about blogging, had never even heard of it, but I wanted to do it. What would I talk about? And who would read them? But those questions were a little premature. First I had to learn the program we use and still use today. For two weeks, we practiced writing blogs, inserting images and scheduling them to post. I just couldn’t get the scheduling part through my brain so Pam called and we talked. Things were a little clearer by the time we hung up. Cheryl St. John emailed all of us a list of topics and gave tips in case we needed them. Then we went live. I was terror-stricken.
I remember my hands shaking so badly I could barely type when I tried to write a comment on someone’s blog. I was so afraid I’d say something wrong and they’d kick me off. Then came the time for my first post. Lord, was I scared! The title of my very first blog was Sagebrush, Songbirds and Socializin’. It was about a bunch of us Amarillo writers spending the night in nearby Palo Duro Canyon with New York editor Hilary Sares. I was so afraid it wouldn’t post at midnight so I sat up to make sure. And it did. To date, I’ve written approx 175 blogs and made thousands of comments.
Wildflower Junction is my home. I love this place and am so very proud of what we’ve done in eight years. Big thanks to all our loyal followers many of whom have been with us since the first year. You have made us what we are. Thank you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!!
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Happy Birthday to us! I remember well the day I was invited to be a part of the blog. How honored I was. Actually, (knock on wood) I didn’t worry about having material to blog about – mostly because my research into the American Indian culture has so much to say — so much we didn’t know about the people who gave this country so much. But I remember struggling with a new program and then the pictures — it took me probably 3-4 months before I stopped using others’ pictures for my blogs. I believe it was Charlene who taught me how to download my own pictures — and that opened up a whole new aspect to my blogs. Even today, I often post pictures of long-ago paintings, century old photos and do my best to try to present the often incredible and deeply educational history that I run across so often in my research.
Over time, we have all had to decide whether or not we wanted to continue on with blogging. I still haven’t said all there is to be said about the first people who were here, and so I continue on.
No blog about our beginnings would be complete without a deep, heart-felt thank you to all those who have helped over the years. Although I haven’t ever met each filly in person (some I have met, glad to say), I feel as though each and every one of us are fast friends. And that’s really saying something. May it always be so.
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It’s hard to believe that Petticoats and Pistols has been going strong for eight years. I remember back in the day not even knowing what a blog was and I had an author try to explain it to me. Even after her attempts to clarify, I still didn’t get it until I actually saw one in action. Back then, authors ran blogs on their own sites and some still do, but for me, there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all. When fabulous Pam Crooks, Cheryl St. John and Linda Broday herded me into this group, it was the best of both worlds and has continued to be. I’m honored to be a Founding Filly. So with that in mind, here are 8 reasons why we should celebrate the 8th birthday of Petticoats and Pistols!!
- Daily thoughtful posts that never fail to entertain
- Captivating reminders of yesteryear- How The West Was Written!
- Photos and personal shared life experiences from the authors
- Glimpses into what the writing world is all about
- Keeping up to date on new releases, new covers and freebies
- Generosity of spirit and prizes galore
- A wide array of author’s styles and writing genres
- And best of all –the friendship and camaraderie we’ve garnered with our bloggers! We couldn’t do it without you
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FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF THE PRIZE GIVEAWAYS, LOOK RIGHT BELOW THIS.
