I don’t think I’ve ever really spent much time explaining how this blog and website came to be. I have answered a bunch of emails about that though. I clearly remember reading a statistic about how 90% of people who have a question about something never actually reach out and ask it. So, this week, I thought it might be a good time to make a blog post about why From In Here exists.
Over the past few years, a couple of writers for whom I had done some editing work told me that I should write a book about my life. I thought that was pretty funny. I have no big accomplishments to my name, no unique and phenomenal skills, no ‘claim to fame’ as it were. I have three children whom I cherish. I have always been a voracious reader of all sorts of things, both fiction and nonfiction. These are not uncommon things.
And then somebody else told me I should write a book. And another person, for whom I conducted some research, told me that in his opinion I should write a blog, because what I had to share was very varied and a blog would be best suited for it. I am a widow because of a drunk driver, disabled by MS, a single parent, a graduate school student. I was made to understand that sharing my experiences more widely could reach more people, maybe help other people see that they are not alone in the challenges they face.
I must admit that even though I spend a lot of time on the computer, I really did not know very much about blogs. I mean, I knew what they were, but had never followed any. Like the research geek that I am, I started looking into it.
I found several blogs that I now really like and a few that I really disliked. I realized that I needed to identify an audience if I was going to create a blog. After giving it a lot of thought I decided that I was going to make a multi-topic blog, even though there was a lot of Internet advice against doing that. For me, it was the only thing that made sense. There were 3 huge factors at play in my life: Being a widow, being disabled, and being a parent. So those 3 things would be among the primary topics, along with another category for various things that would come up and be on my mind but not fit one of the 3 categories. Makes sense, right?
With my concept firmly in mind, I needed a name for my blog project. From In Here was my first choice and almost an instant one. Because of my disability, I am basically stuck in my home. The name also represents the fact that everything I share within my blogsite is from here in my home, from in my heart and from in my mind.
A website and graphics artist who has since become a trusted friend was kind enough to meet with me at my home when I told him about this project. I explained the concept to him in detail, and asked that he design a logo for me. He presented me with multiple options over the couple of weeks that followed, and the one you see was instantly my favorite. The graphic itself is housed in a heart, representing the heart I put into all of this. The intricate detail on the top of the woman’s head represents my mind and thoughts. The earring is shaped like a keyhole, as a representation of the entrance to my home. I surveyed people I know to get their opinions before I finalized the choice of logo. The responses echoed my choice by a significant margin, which was gratifying.
It took several months of working with him and his talented website design team to create the site, which launched in late February of 2020. We have been making gradual improvement and changes as the time has gone on, while staying true to my purposes. The positive feedback I receive is very gratifying, because I really do put myself out there in every blog post.
Currently, I am working with the website design team on a significant expansion to what I present for readers on my website. There will be new sections, some suggested by readers of From In Here. There will be ways for readers to interact with each other. Interviews with authors. – Features about subscribers. – Spotlights on causes that matter to you. – Special promotions for subscribers. – An increased social media presence. There will be things to hopefully entertain you, encourage you, inform you, give you a reason to laugh or smile, give you something new to explore.
If there’s anything you would like to see on this website, please comment here or email me, or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook. I really do value your feedback!