What a week! Within the last seven days I have celebrated my own birthday, my daughter’s birthday and now it is time to celebrate the first birthday of this Mary Stewart blog. According to WordPress, this post also just happens to be the 100th I have written, which seems like a pretty exciting milestone to me. When I began this blog exactly one year ago today – and I began it as merely a work-related exercise (thank you so much, 10 Things!) – I had absolutely no idea:
- how compulsive blogging would become – and that I would even begin a second blog account (The Three Rs book blog);
- how the act of keeping this blog would feed my obsession with Mary Stewart and also with Mary Stewart ‘stuff’: I have soooo many copies of each of her books but I am still hungry for more. And take a look at this Mary Stewart-related gift I received for my birthday, three bangles engraved with Mary Stewart quotes, thanks to my wonderful husband (with some, um, direction from me). The quotes are ‘The night swooped by, full of stars’, ‘The whole affair began so very quietly’ and ‘Being kind’s the main thing, isn’t it?’ These bangles with their personalised, hammered quotations are from amazing Etsy shop Stampywampydoodah and I love them. What quotes would you choose?
- that I would still have something to write about after a whole year! My original ‘plan’ was to write about each of the novels in turn every 1 – 2 weeks. Therefore 24 books would take me 24 – 48 weeks (and then what? Stop, I think). I never was a great planner. So far I have written ‘Pages’ for only seven of Mary Stewart’s books, and instead I have had enormous fun playing with quizzes and polls, photo-blogging about following in Madam, Will You Talk? character Charity Selborne’s footsteps in Provence, and sharing gorgeous book covers;
- that I would correspond with so many wonderful people. I have come to see that Mary Stewart must have the best, most intelligent, most funny, friendly, wonderful fans in the universe. I have received so many thought-provoking, kind, guffaw-inducing, insightful comments and emails and I feel that some real friendships have been forged here. Yes, I am getting soppy now, that is most un-Scottish/un-British of me so I’ll stop; and
- that blogging about Mary Stewart’s short story ‘The Lost One’ (for example, here) would lead to its publication alongside The Wind Off the Small Isles in paperback at the end of June. I am never going to be able to achieve anything like that ever again – but that doesn’t mean I am going to stop blogging.
So, my first year of blogging is over – and I’m looking forward to whatever this next blog-year brings. Cheers!
Embed from Getty Images
Mary Queen of Plots 
Congratulations Allison. I find your enthusiasm for both Mary Stewart and writing this blog very inspiring. Did you have any experience building a blog before starting?
My bangle – I’d have one- would say: ‘It was the egret, flying out of the lemon grove, that started it.’ The best first line ever for me.
Looking forward to many more posts here.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Cath. I do have fun blogging about Mary Stewart so I don’t think my enthusiasm will flag any time soon!
I had no idea how to blog before I began but I benefited from an online course at work which gave some blogging tips. And WordPress provides themed templates that make anything look good, plus it has good help pages, and a forum with people who give excellent advice and help. But I still struggle at times and make mistakes – eg accidentally publishing this post last night when it was still the 18th despite my ‘blog birthday’ being the 19th…
I almost had the egret quote on one of my bracelets, I can’t remember if it was slightly too many characters for the bangle or if I just changed my mind but it is a wonderful first line for Nicola’s adventure!
Thanks again for your kind comments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy Birthday! So happy Linda told me about your blog several months ago. I have absolutely loved reading your posts! And congrats on your love of blogging. You are very good…always keeping things fresh and lively!
As far as bangle quotes….(and btw, they are so cute!)…it would probably be something from the Narnia books by CS Lewis.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for your lovely comments! Linda is a wonderful friend to this blog. The Narnia books are an amazing choice for a bangle quote, so many great lines to choose from!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Allison,
Happy belated birthday to you and your daughter and and many thanks for your great blog!
Best wishes, Dorothy
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Dorothy!
LikeLike
Happy birthday – and congratulations! As a relatively recent visitor to your blog, I had no idea it was so young – it’s so accomplished that I thought you must have been doing it for years. Anyway, I hope there are many more years to come for you and for us, Mary Stewart lovers for whom there is no other outlet other than rereading, yet again, her books.
Like Cath, my immediate thought from your post was ‘what would my bangle say?’ The egret quote is a great call. I’m going to have to mull this one over, it’s far too important to decide quickly. But the lines from the last scene of The Ivy Tree would definitely be on the shortlist. Time was. Time is. Time is to come.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Annabel, those are lovely, kind comments to make! I love your and Cath’s quote choices, those lines at the end of The Ivy Tree are so significant to the whole story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (a little late, but no less heartfelt!) Allison & also to your blog!
I love reading your posts – I save each one up until I have proper peace & quiet to settle down with it! Hope you go from strength to strength with the blog – have no doubt that you will!
What a great husband you’ve got – and what a sensible man he is to listen to your oh so subtle hints re the bangles! They’re gorgeous! I’d go with The Ivy Tree’s quotes too!
Good luck with your future decades of posts! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Rosetta, what lovely compliments! And you’re right, my husband is wonderful ☺ I’m pleased The Ivy Tree is faring well for quotes, it’s such a good novel.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations on achieving this milestone with your blog! I think I first came across it when it was brand new and remember being so happy and excited about it – and hoping that it would continue, and continue to be as good as it promised. And it has! I love reading your posts and look forward to seeing many more of them in the future. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, Anj, what lovely lovely comments!
LikeLike