When Frances Flynn Thorsen and I first connected about Project Blogger, she asked me if I wouldn't like to do a blog on Haunted Real Estate since I already had a web page devoted to that topic. I really wasn't ready to do that - I just collected the stories. "How about one on Los Gatos, my town, instead? Or on Silicon Valley?" I offered, since I had two flimsy blogs, one on each topic, already. She said Los Gatos was a good sized topic and town, so we settled on that.

And then she started giving me homework, especially when she learned that I didn't read blogs - at all. I was suddenly reading blogs by the bucket. Next I needed to write a blog review. No, make it two. Wow, Fran was happy that I could actually write. So let's up the ante and write an article about Haunted Real Estate. That concerned me a little: again, what did I know? I had read dozens of books and had a few experiences and collected the stories, but I sure didn't have a degree in parapsychology or haunted houses. But I did write it and it went over pretty well. Fran was ecstatic.

Project Blogger has been 14 very intense weeks (even before it began, I was stressed about it!). Now we're down to a handful of days left. I think all the contestants (mentors and apprentices) are tired and ready for closure, though many of us are at least a little sad to see it end. We've made some great friendships and learned a ton here. Even so, most of us are ready to coast a little.

But Fran's idea has been nagging away at me. You know, that quiet little persistent voice that just won't go away. "Do it. Do it. Do the Haunted Real Estate Blog."

At the same time, I've now tried blogs on Blogsource (don't), Typepad, Active Rain, and Real Town - but most of my friends in this competition seem to be using WordPress as a platform. At times I've been a little jealous of the versatility of that program so I wanted to test the waters.

Why not? So today, in a moment of spontaneity, the Haunted Real Estate Blog was born.

It's a long way from being finished. We saw Ines and Kevin bring forth great blogs out of nothing during the course of Project Blogger with a million eyes watching. I'm not under that kind of pressure. No points. No competition. I do, though, want it to be a good blog. Above all, I'm hoping that it will spur a lot of authentic sharing.

And to that end, I invite you to drop by. Feel free to make suggestions (please understand that I'm a total newbie to WordPress and don't know what I'm doing with it). Add your stories. Please, add your stories. I'm looking forward to that most of all!