This post is also available on my Patreon Page. If you want to support my writing, or simply receive these posts in your e-mail, rather than schlepping your way to my blog, https://www.patreon.com/posts/first-patreon-137201704. It's free!

This photo, incidentally, was taken earlier this month at the Route 401 Diner, at the intersection of Kipling Avenue and Robson Drive in Etobicoke. It is possibly in the most cursed commercial location that could exist in Toronto, tucked up against Highway 401, almost beneath the Kipling Avenue bridge, in the midst of a sprawling industrial park, with planes overhead coming in for a landing at Pearson Airport.

And yet it's been here and functioning as a diner since at least 1969. So, yes, the food and interior ambiance were excellent.

Anyway, let's see if this Patreon gig works...

As a writer, I want to be read. It's been my privilege to write well enough to be read for over thirty-five years, including fan fiction, professional fiction, non-fiction for kids, business journalism, freelance communications pieces and more. And, since 2002, I've been blogging.

Of course, the biggest challenge to writing is finding and keeping your audience. I watched blogging grow into a revolution of engagement before fading into history thanks to corporate social media and their pervasive algorithms. Through it all, I have kept blogging because I keep control over my writing, and it remains all in one place for review and discovery. But with everybody sticking to social media, it seems the challenge of having your audience find you remains.

I've suggested that people search out still-active blogs outside of corporate control, like Blogography and Daring Fireball, and download RSS feed readers like NetNewsWire to keep in touch, but with limited success. Some writers, like Arthur Slade and J.M. Frey, have successfully engaged their readers through newsletters, and I think if I want to engage more readers, it's time I invest in getting my writing out through newsletters as well.

After cancelling an attempt at using Substack due to issues with it platforming Nazis, I've decided to try using my Patreon account. Creators like David Gerrold and Jessie Gender have built successful paying platforms, but I'm nowhere near as popular. However, I can still offer free memberships to encourage people to stay in touch, and receive my posts in their mailbox.

I plan to write regularly, trying to keep a schedule of at least one post each week. I'll update you about my writing projects, and I may repost older posts and fiction (like the Dream King's Daughter) while also unleashing some new stuff, and I'll probably be talking politics (Canadian and urban transit-related) when the mood takes me or I need the therapeutic release. Whatever happens, I hope you'll find my work interesting and enjoyable and, if so, that you'll support my work by signing up for a free membership.