Website almost finished!!!

I have our new website just about done, although I can see me adding to it on a regular basis, over the years. I have sent a sneak peak to our authors and close supporters to get their thoughts. Already, two have provided a similar comment, and I addressed their concern immediately.

I am so proud of the Guide and of all the great volunteers, and now I am growing proud over the new and very attractive website. In addition to access to all past issues, and all new issues, there are links to our Social Media sites, to the websites of many of our authors, and a very nice little section for free Celtic music.

Anyone who plays and records Celtic music, and has a tune with no copyright issues, is welcome to send it to me via an MP3 file.

Down the road we may start a Celtic Guide store, where my authors can display their wares, their books, their services as lecturers or whatever comes up. This may take a while to do, as I am still trying to get January's issue of New Beginnings ready to publish. Some articles are finished, some are sitting on my computer waiting for me to work with them, and some are promised and expected in the email shortly. It will be another great issue, no doubt.

I never pretend that we cover every single facet of any monthly theme, and yet we often get interpretations of the theme that surprise us and make for great alternative reading.

Kudos to all my authors, to the tens of thousands who have hit on the main site, the Facebook site, the Pinterest site, or even this blog.

With all the emails and hits and postings and support I am receiving I truly feel like we have built a community over the last year, and I mean "we" not me.

Happy Holidays if I don't get back this the blog before then . . . and stay tuned for another great year!

Sincerely,
Jim McQuiston

My bad.

In November's story about my hero Andrew Jackson I mistakenly wrote that the Cherokee lost in the Supreme Court. I realized my mistake just last night while doing research for another article, for another publication. They won. Jackson's answer was to let the court enforce their decision. What I believe he meant was that unless there was some resolution to the frontier massacres on both sides, they would continue and maybe the Supreme Court should saddle up and ride to Tennessee and Kentucky and stop the bloodshed themselves. Of course they would never do that.

I don't ever go back and change an issue of Celtic Guide, except for a few tweaks occasionally made in the first few days of posting, where small changes are requested by the authors. However, in this case I did not want this mistake to be out there for however many years we are able to keep this magazine going, and so, in this case I made the correction.

January is building nicely with some out-of-the-ordinary interpretations of "New Beginnings" for the January theme. Also, a fair amount of the new website is built, although there will be much more done to it next year, AFTER we get through the crunch of the holidays, the website building and the creation of the January 2013 issue.

Themes for February, March and April are "Celtic Ceremonies," Celtic Saints," and "Celtic Freedom."

The Ceremonies theme came about by special request from a Floridian who performs Celtic weddings. The stories can be about any type of ceremony, from coronations and knightings, to weddings and funerals. I am sure there will be surprises.

The "Celtic Saints" theme was prompted by St. Patrick's Day in March.

The "Celtic Freedom" issue was prompted by National Tartan Day, which is April 6th.

So the general direction is laid out. There will be pitfalls and brush to clear, along the way, but a team of well-intentioned, knowledgeable authors will help us find the best path  forward, as any good Celtic Guide would.

December online and 2013 in the works.

I just posted the December issue today. To look back on all the covers on the main page and think of all the stories inside, all the struggle to hit deadlines, all the great emails back and forth from all over the world, it is an indescribable feeling I feel right now.

For 2013, I have some great new plans including a new opening page to the Guide, which will carry links to the 2012 archived issues, to the latest 2013 issues, to links to other websites and perhaps even to musical gifts, and maybe even a Celtic Guide store, if the bugs can be worked out.

The e-mag will remain a printable, searchable, downloadable PDF.

I am looking forward to continuing our growth and presence in the Celtic world.

I, of course, didn't do this alone, nor could I, and so thanks goes out to everyone.

Happy Holiday in whatever way you celebrate.

See you next year with the January issue and hopefully a brand new website look.

Jim

The good ol' Celtic Guide

A Gift For You!

Here is a gift to our readers and authors from the Celtic Guide and Celtic Creek.

Celtic Music for your listening enjoyment

Out with the old

. . . the old Celtic tales that is! December is chock full, once again, of great and varied stories related to gifts, in honor, of course of the Christmas Holiday Season. Once again Guide authors didn't disappoint with the wide range of topics that fall under the "Celtic Gifts" theme. This final issue of 2012 should go online next week, maybe midweek as it is almost finished.

. . . and in with the new!

One thing about this type of publication, you have to be already thinking of the next month or two, to line up themes and authors and stories. So, in January we are going to feature, as our theme, "New Beginnings." I suspect there will be stories of new kings and rulers, new countries formed out of old, and who knows what other juicy items will be thrown at us.

For February, I had a special request from a Celtic-based minister to feature "Celtic Ceremonies". While he is particularly interested in Celtic-styled weddings and funerals, I think this could be expanded to coronations, ordinations, initiations, any event that gathers people around in some type of tradition or ceremony to honor or advance a person or group of people. The Masons come to mind, as well as famous Celtic weddings or funerals. I am sure with a little thought, many twists will come about for the February theme.

Haven't yet thought about March as Thanksgiving turkey is calling my name. Gobble, gobble.

Happy Holidays of all shapes and sizes to you and yours. Thank you for your participation in the fun, informative, and exciting Celtic Guide.

Jim McQuiston
Editor/Publisher
Celtic Guide

Click here to go to the Celtic Guide

November, December

Hits for November are around 700 so far, by the 7th of the month. Be sure to share the link with all your friends. Also, I have about eight great stories already for the Celtic Gifts issue. It is interesting to see how the tales vary while still fitting under the umbrella of "gifts." That's one of the things that makes the Guide so much fun as you never know what's going to show up in the inbox.

Once December is posted, I will work the front page of the website to have a link to all 2012 issues, while leaving room to display the 2013 issues. As the months roll by we try new things, we see what works and the little that doesn't and hopefully we improve, not in leaps and bounds but in fits and starts.

This is a labor of love for so many people and is truly a Celtic Gift being offered to the world.

Click here for the Celtic Guide

Dog gone it, and the Scotch-Irish

Ha! First, we received a few more "Celtic dog" photos on our Facebook page and I will try to get them into the December issue of Celtic Guide. We already have received several "Celtic Gift" articles for that issue.

Secondly, long before I began the Guide, I purchased a few website URLs that related to Celtic culture. I hope to update all of these and link them to Celtic Guide. I just finished one at

Scotch-Irish.net

. . . which gives my breakdown on the true nature of this race. You are welcome to read it and pass it along.

I also own

I Love Scotland.net

I don't have much posted there, yet, but I hope to make it a repository for all the great photos that are being sent my way of that beautiful land. When I first visited Scotland, in 2000, I was with my son and a friend. We had driven for hours until we found ourselves in the midst of Glencoe. We had spoken the word "Wow" many times, and I said, 'We must have said Wow a hundred times by now."

My son replied that it was just like being inside a postcard. We stopped and took a 360 degree video of where we were and there isn't a place on that film that isn't postcard worthy.

I hope to develop my other sites as repositories for particular facets of Celtic culture and also as links to direct more people to Celtic Guide, though there is no real lack of visitors. We hit 3,800 last month and already, by only Nov. 2, we have around 400 hits.

I am so glad everyone enjoys this effort, and I am very appreciative of all those who participate to make it happen.


The Celtic Guide