Hi. Just in case you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m the Jeff Chappell behind this eponymously-named site. For several years I spent time abroad teaching English as a foreign language. For many years before that, I was working as a news reporter and journalist — and for much of that time I spent at a high tech trade pub — semiconductors, anyone? All the while my role as webmaster here at jeffchappell.com was just a some-time hobby; I’ve had this domain for nigh on 20 years or so, and had other sites on other domains for several years before that.
But now, all I want to do is write — creatively, this time, and just for me — just following my muse, as it were.
So why did I name this thing Wandering whilst Wondering — especially considering I housed many other things here for many years (shout out to the Gecko’s Bark)? Well, let’s just say when I let my feet wander where they will, my mind often wanders too … and wonders. Hence the nifty moniker. It started out as just a temporary placeholder, but I kind of liked it, and it seems to have stuck.
In fact, some of my best ideas regarding writing happen while I’m out wandering in the woods. Then I come home and write them all down — except for the ones that require … visual manipulation, I guess. But that is down the road a bit — Blender takes time to learn well — as far as this thing is concerned. In the meantime, the rest of those ideas get copyrighted and published right here on jeffchappell.com for your perusal and (I hope) enjoyment.
Huzzah.
So How Do You Get Around?
… metaphorically speaking, that is. It’s quite simple, really; just follow the menu links at the top of every page — rather self-explanatory, I should think. Of course miscellany is just where I shove everything that doesn’t qualify as “literature” (if I may be so bold as to call my self-published writing literature). And miscellany kind of classes up the joint a bit, as opposed to just calling it a blog,
But in essence this thing acts just like that ‘ole blog. “Fiction” and “nonfiction” act as broad categories to house my writing; below them are subcategories like science fiction or memoir, for example — more will be added in time. Below each short story, novella or novel chapter — or blog post — you’ll find tags to help you navigate, should you need or want them. Then there is always the search function, too: just click on the magnifying glass icon and type in your search terms in the resulting dialogue box. Child’s play, really.
I should add that there is no place for comments anymore at jeffchapppell.com. If you want to reach me there is always email; yeah I know: so old-fashioned. Of course there are other places where you can comment. *cough cough* Patreon, etc. *cough cough*
One More Thing …
You’ve probably noticed the links for PayPal, Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee (BMAC); if you feel your time here is worth it, you should visit one of them (and you can comment on my Patreon and/or BMAC pages!).
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years/been on Facebook, PayPal and Buy Me a Coffee are both avenues to offer a one time donation — although both offer a recurring monthly option as well; Patreon of course is all about monthly or even yearly memberships. Just take your pick.
By the way, if you do head over to my BMAC page — that’s the one with the “Buy Him a Cappuccino” button below — and you just want to make a one-time donation (as opposed to a monthly membership), just click on the “Support” button and you’ll be all set.
But let me just be clear: while everything on here is copyrighted and all rights are reserved by me, you can read and/or download and use whatever you like on jeffchappell.com for free: the images, the writing — all of it. I’ve even converted the various writings on here to EPUB format as well (reserved for monthly members though), so you can download to your tablet or smartphone and use your favorite app if you don’t want to mess with downloading plain text or reading online.
All I ask is: 1) you give credit where credit is due, naturally (and word-of-mouth helps too; don’t forget to tell your friends and family), and 2) don’t change anything; leave it as is, warts* and all.
Now I could spend a lot of blah blah blah on why I chose to do it this way — trusting my life’s blood to the hands of strangers, etc. — as opposed to more traditional routes, but it really just comes down to this: ultimately, art should be free for everyone in the end, be it literature, music, painting, sculpture or what-have-you.
However, having said that, artists, writers, sculpters and musicians, etc., deserve to make a living, too. We like to eat and squirrel a bit away for a rainy day, just like everyone else.
Hence those links to PayPal, Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee. A little or a lot, monthly or just once — or none at all — it is all up to you.
— Jeff
*Please send me all wart-related alerts to my email. Danke!