Sandra Healing Steiner's Blog

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How did I get started blogging and writing? Where do I get my drive from? What inspires me?

I have always been an intensely private person. In October 2013 I actually had about thirty Facebook friends. I had never heard of Twitter, and blogging was something successful writers did. It’s hard sometimes to believe how rapidly things have grown!

In November of 2013 I made the decision to follow through on something I had wanted to try since my grade school days. I wanted to write. My goal was to create a blog of my own that shared my life. My hope was that individuals would be inspired to keep going, follow through on their dreams through reading about my experiences. If no one else read what I wrote, that was all right, I just needed to write.

I began by researching options. I checked out various blogs, looked at their formats, content, and cost. I decided to go with WordPress because it had a good reputation, the cost was within my budget and it appeared to be user friendly. Another important factor was that it had online templates available. These templates make it easy to change the blog’s appearance and give it fresh appeal. Something that was important to me.

I wrote my first blog post and it was about two paragraphs long. The feeling was amazing. From there I continued on blogging right through to now. I write about topics that are familiar to me, including my dogs, chronic pain, and focussing on the positive.

I reached out to various blogs looking to provide guest blogs and received a huge response. Over the last year I have had the good fortune of writing on a huge variety of topics including grandparenting, dealing with loss and so much more.

Many of my readers have sent me private messages on Facebook or through my blog, sharing their experiences or just thanking me. This inspired me to keep writing. Each time a new subscriber was added to my blog, it inspired me. My blog now has about 1800 subscribers who have chosen to receive each post via email, as well as tons who view and share my posts daily.

The overwhelming feeling of intense relief at writing that very first blog post was the start of the second part in this journey. I followed the rest of my dream in January 2014 and wrote my first novel. By the end of March 2014, I had completed the second one. Both were published in the summer of 2014.

I remember clearly the shock when someone purchased my book, I was stunned! But at the same time I actually cried, tears of joy. I was hearing back from readers who loved my story. Cherish the Past, and Live for Today were my first attempts at writing a novel and it was so much fun! Both were published under the name Sandra Steiner and are available online or through me.

It is now about a year later and I have completed four more inspirational romance, suspense novels. I am taking more time with them, working my way through them and adding more details. Using the critique information from readers of the first two books, to make these novels even better.

I have opened up my thoughts and feelings in the form of blogging and writing and my online presence literally exploded. I currently have about 35,000 followers in total, a huge jump from thirty! My email goes continuously with comments and stories from readers.

There was a slight wobble when I announced my name change, and took a break to recoup my inner strength this spring when my marriage ended. Physically I have relocated to a new province, closer to my kids and grandchildren. Mentally I am back to myself, perhaps an even stronger version. I am very excited to be writing again and I am looking forward to having my new den set up! Right now it’s a room full of boxes!

Amidst the chaos is order and as I regain my inner strength my presence is again growing rapidly. Thank you all for continuing to inspire me to do more, be more, and share more.