When I created this blog, I decided to keep it simple by making my posts free, accessible, and closed to advertising. The only income I earned directly from the blog recently ended when Amazon.com rightly terminated its partnership program in California, due to the state’s new dictate to tax online purchases. As you can see from the Archives, posts are fairly regular. I enjoy writing in this relaxed forum, which I started in 2008 as an outlet for my thoughts. The cost of living has gone up, as you know, and, while people hire me to write, edit, and produce, and I have partners and patrons on certain works in progress, every dollar helps.
So, a PayPal ‘Donate’ box has been added to the blog for those who gain value from what I write. Readers who like a post and/or want to help may choose to click on the ‘Donate’ button on the right to make a safe, secure gift transaction through PayPal. I don’t expect to make much money from the feature, which I view as a simple trade with those who value my writings, so feel free to read and enjoy without worry and know that I appreciate your consideration in advance. I’ve also added the ability to ‘Like’ a post on Facebook and, through a WordPress plug-in called Add This, which insists on describing its cross-posting function as ‘Share’, post one of my pieces on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, or you can e-mail or print the blog post by clicking on corresponding icons. These add-ons are hardly new or cutting edge, but I prefer a slow, deliberative approach to integrating my work with technology and social media.
My book review of Joe Camp’s The Soul of a Horse elicited a nice response from the author, and thanks for the plug to tutor, horseman and blogger Michael Gold, who linked to the review on his blog. I appreciate everyone’s links to my posts. Incidentally, one of my interviews with the writers of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is cited by the editors of the Horizons of Cinema series published by State University of New York (SUNY) in Second Takes: Critical Approaches to the Film Sequel (2010).