A note from Tara

Dear regular readers:

This is going to be a pretty frank note, and I hope everyone will understand.

I’ve decided that, in order to maintain the quality of this page, I need to take weekends off from posting history stories. Please let me explain.

For those of you who are new to my history blog, I’ve been posting these stories on a daily basis (albeit in venues other than Substack) since the fall of 2013. In the beginning, the stories were relatively short—perhaps just a few paragraphs. It was a little easier to do them quickly. Over time, the stories grew in length to what you are used to seeing today. For a few years, I had research assistance, and it still wasn’t too bad. Lately, though, it’s just me churning out the stories on my own. I use re-runs, as many of you know, which was okay for a while because I had such a big backlog of them. (Nearly 9 years of stories is a lot to draw from!) I’m afraid I am turning the corner on that, though. Some of the re-runs are getting used too many times.

Making matters worse, the last two years of crazy has changed some aspects of my life. Without going into detail, I’ll just say that I’m a mom doing what needs to be done. But I spend more time in carpool and such than I used to.

Now add to all of this: You know that my stories use words (guns; grenade; Congress) that seem to upset some social media sites. (LOL.) It is demotivating, to say the least, to write a new story then watch it get tanked before any of you see it. (Again: I’m not bashing any particular site. I don’t envy anyone the task of weeding out real violence vs. history.) Anyway, I’ve worked my way out of this situation before, and I’m sure I’ll do it again. But this round is catching me when I’m already tired.

I really enjoy turning out new stories like the one I did on the Lipizzaner horses the other day or the one about “Tugboat Annie.” I will be able to turn out a few more of these if I am posting 5 stories a week instead of 7. (Even if I am just posting re-runs on the weekend, it takes time to schedule and cross-post and go through the logistical steps of getting those stories up.) Also: I love turning out new books, and some of you know that I am trying to wrap up a kids’ book about the American Revolution right now! I could use a little more time for that, too.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but a note from a regular reader yesterday kind of pushed me over the edge. I am in no way blasting that reader for noting my reruns. (Ha.) But it did push me into doing something that I’ve probably needed to do for a while.

I so much hope that everyone understands. I will be back on Monday morning with a NEW Medal of Honor story!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tara