Between the Boards - Bloggers Over 50

Many thanks to Katerine from Katherine's Corner blog for coming up with this series.  I didn't grow up with the Internet, like kids do today.  But I've been on it since the days of 286 processing speed and amber or green colored text on a black background.  No pictures.  No videos.  No Facebook time suck.

On the other hand, the Internet is responsible for me being where I am today.  I met my husband online during the Internet Stone Age in an RPG (role-playing game).  My character was a vampire and his was a shaman.  That was in 1993.  We met face to face for the first time in March of 1995.  And six days from now we will have our 19th anniversary.  And we have three children, all of whom know more about computers than I do.

If you notice #3 above, that's me! :O)  You can click on the "Between the Lines" banner above and go to Katherine's Corner to see a little bit about each of the bloggers behind the blogs listed above.

When I was little, I used to think about what age I would be in the year 2000...it was 38 for most of the year.  That sounded so old!

Then, my father passed away when he was 47, during my senior year in high school.  As I neared the age of 47, I thought a lot about the 'rest of my life', however long that might be.  Now, I've been on the Earth seven years longer than my father.  He would be 85 this year, if he had lived.

Back Porchervations started out as a 'mommy blog' in July of 2007.  I did not post with any kind of regularity.  Sometimes the gaps were months at a time.

But then, at the end of 2013 (cue the movie music), I 'discovered' reading challenges.  Now, I hadn't read for pure pleasure for y.e.a.r.s.  Most everything I read was either for a class at college, a job, or for one of the kids.  I joined way too many reading challenges for my own sanity, and in 2014 I was off to the races.

Secondly, I discovered that sometimes, authors offered one of their books free or low-cost on Amazon and other online retail booksellers.

Last, but so very very far from least, there were things called 'virtual book tours', where you could sign up to review books on your blog and get a copy of the book to read.  I've gotten so many print books, my husband had to build more bookshelves for me!  And e-books?  Oy!  I'm surprised my Kindle hasn't had a stroke, and that's all I'm going to say about that!

Then there are sites like "NetGalley" and "Edelweiss" that offer books in exchange for reviews.  Sometimes they are just available for the asking, and other times you have to wait to be approved.

Recently, I've begun looking at ways to 'monetize' my blog, joining some affiliate programs and the like.  I'm probably average at Social Media, but you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Bloglovin', GoodReads, Instagram, Tumblr and probably a few others that escape me at the moment.  The one thing that truly mystifies me about blogging and websites is SEO.

So, tell me a little about you!