So Long, Swagger!

Kim Van Sickler

I was always amused by the name we chose for ourselves, three plus years ago. Swagger Writers. We were mostly a group of writers with lots left to learn. There was talent galore, but room for improvement. We wanted to become even better. Hardly the quintessential essence of boastful or arrogant. We liked the confident, talented connotation. We were writers with plenty to say, and heart and soul and grit galore.

Swagger took many of us to the next level. It made us better writers and more tech savvy. It was a huge part of my life for more than three years. I will miss it, but I am also able to see it for what it was; a chance for a group of writers to bond, grow, and stay connected.

And even though we won't be writing under the Swagger masthead any longer, Swagger will always be an important part of me.

For now, you can find me on my website . Twitter . Goodreads . LinkedIn

Swagger Salute,
Kim Van Sickler
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Kathy Cannon Wiechman

Today I write this post from a place called the Barn at Boyds Mills. Built in 2010, this building is where the Highlights Foundation holds its workshops, and it is the place where Swagger was born.

From the Barn, I can look down the hill to the old white farmhouse, where the workshops used to be held. I attended my first Rich Wallace workshop in that house in 2003. (I had previously met Rich at Chautauqua in 1999.) In 2006, I met Jon Egan in that farmhouse, and in 2009, I met the rest of the original Swagger writers there. Both the Barn and the house hold special memories for me, and it seemed appropriate to write my final Swagger post in this place.

I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing a part of myself with the readers of this blog, and plan to keep visiting the blogs I've met along the way. Swagger has had a run of three and a half years, and I will miss it. No longer being part of it will not keep it from always being part of me.

Please stay in touch with me via my website . Twitter .  Goodreads .

Swagger Salute,
Kathy Cannon Wiechman
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Melissa Kline

And you can find Melissa Kline here: website . Twitter .  Facebook