Passionate Foodie's Fifth Anniversary & Contest

This month, and specifically May 9, is the Fifth Anniversary of The Passionate Foodie blog. Five years! Many blogs never make it that far and I have seen numerous food and wine blogs come and go during that time. Overall though, there has been growth in the amount of local wine and food blogs, which now number over 500, most which did not exist when I first began to write my blog.

My longevity is possible because I still love what I do, I still have a passion for writing, for sharing my experiences with others. It is not an easy task, requiring discipline, effort and plenty of time. Not everyone who has a passion for food and wine can maintain such discipline and effort over the long term. I find it all fulfilling and satisfying, and hope to continue my blog for many more years to come, believing that my passion will never dim.

These last five years have been wonderful and I have learned much about food, wine, sake and spirits yet there is still great room for growth, so much more to learn and explore. That is one of the greatest joys of this field, that there is always something new to experience and learn. And it pleases me to share my new found knowledge with my readers.

For over two years, what once was merely a hobby has now become my profession. I am a freelance writer and educator, though that is a far from easy endeavor. I also work part time at a local wine store, Beacon Hill Wine & Gourmet, gathering additional experience, and a different viewpoint on the wine trade. In addition, I have self-published my first short story, Yurine's Pot, as an ebook on Amazon. It is a Sake related tale, exploring an ancient Japanese legend in a modern setting. Currently, I am writing a sequel to that short story, with the tentative title of A Murderous Tea Kettle.

To make this a profession you need to be flexible, versatile and creative, always seeking new opportunities. Making money is certainly not easy but if you persevere, you can find ways to do it. You'll probably never get wealthy, but you might be very happy, and that is what is most important in life.

I want to give thanks to all of my readers, and hope they continue to provide me their input, questions and comments. I want to thank all of my family and friends, who have been so supportive for all these years. I am very appreciative as well to all of the new friends I have met through the food and wine community, from fellow bloggers to chefs, from wine store owners to wine makers. Food, wine, sake and spirits are always much better when shared.

To commemorate my Fifth Anniversary, I am holding an Anniversary Contest, a way to reward all my readers. I am going to make it very easy too, all you have to do to enter is leave me a comment here or send me an email to ubarluther@aol.com. You can only enter the Contest once and it will end on May 9 at midnight. Then, the winning entries will be selected by a random number generator.

Ten winning entries will receive a free copy of my short story ebook, Yurine's Pot, as well as a copy of its sequel, once it is published.

The Grand Prize winner will also receive a copy of Yurine's Pot and its sequel. In addition, they have their choice between two different prizes:
1)  Lunch or Dinner with me at Moksa in Cambridge (Asian small plates & Sake). And you will even learn plenty about Sake during our meal.
Or,
2)  A $50 Amazon Gift Card so you can purchase food & wine books.

Good luck all, and go forth and drink and dine with passion!

5/10/12: The Winners Are Announced
Here are the ten winning entries, who will receive a free copy of my short story ebook, Yurine's Pot, as well as a copy of its sequel, once it is published.
--Anthony
--Bianca
--Todd
--Betsy
--Erica
--Bastard Books
--Martha
--Dennis
--Steve
--Corey

And the Grand Prize Winner is.....
--Alexis Karlin
All winner should send me their email address so I can send them their prizes.