This blog’s been up and running for over a year without having a proper “About” page. Rejoice, O ye masses, for we have rectified the situation!

So . . . right. Originally, we conceived this blog as a place where we could post “typos in the wild,” horrible headlines, and other such humorous (at least to us, and we hope to you readers) subject matter. And we did so, for a while.

Then life happened.

Now life’s a little more under control (because, face it–it’s never entirely under control, or it wouldn’t be life!) and Karen’s been posting regular grammar/usage/mechanics (GUM) tips over at Google+, where she spent a good nine months or so as a moderator of the Writer’s Discussion Group. (Yes, it should be a plural possessive. The group owner has despaired over that error since he realized the time window to correct it had already ended–about two hours after he created the community. ::sigh::) She’s also been taking requests for tips from folks, and has found that basic grammar questions are perennial favorites.

But there are a gazillion (it’s a technical term, trust us) grammar sites out here already. WHY ANOTHER ONE?

Because. That’s why.

And because Karen’s been told by enough people that her explanations work better for them than others they’ve found elsewhere. See, she taught middle-school language arts (that’s right, she’s a former English teacher) in addition to having those years and years of editorial experience (what? You didn’t read her CV yet? Go there when you’re done here, or you’re going to the office instead of the cafeteria. And while you’re at it, read Ray’s page too), so she apparently has a knack for explaining grammar to people who hate it. Also, we tend toward the irreverent. (NO! Really?) That seems to appeal to some folks, too.

So, Karen’ll be posting regularly here and linking to both G+ and Facebook (which is linked to her Twitter account), in order to apprise all you lovely people of the latest information on all things GUMmy.

If you have a request for a specific topic, by all means leave it via our Submissions page!

Thanks for reading this far. We hope you enjoy what we’ve put together here, and look forward to your comments. ::Karen raises her copy of the Chicago Manual of Style: 16th Edition overhead with both hands:: Grammar rules! (Except when they’re guidelines or opinions, of course.)