The San Antonio Mom Blogs’ Featured Blogger is back! This week’s  San Antonio mom blogger is Angela Lee. Want to be selected as a Fan of the Week? Like San Antonio Mom Blogs on Facebook and participate!

Angela blogs about recipes, deals, being a mom, as well as about grief and loss

When I first found Angela’s blog, Written By Mama, I learned, sadly, that her husband passed away unexpectedly last September. Angela is a lovely young mother with an adorable toddler son. The candor and grace with which she writes about her loss on her blog is powerful. But how was she able to be so open in the midst of such pain, I wondered.

Angela told me, “I find it kind of healing to talk about my husband and I pray that the strength I show can help someone else who goes through a loss. I was completely alone for months, with no one who understood. I don’t want anyone to feel like that.”

Angela’s husband was her biggest supporter when she started her blog in January of 2012. It’s fitting, then, that she continues to write, and her blog touches more and more people every day. Written By Mama is a beautiful tribute to her husband and a wonderful gift she will one day give to her son.

You built your blog from the ground up. What was the best part? What was the most challenging?

The best part of building my blog was the challenge and the satisfaction of knowing I did this, by myself. I really felt accomplished. The hardest part was not knowing a single thing about websites, hosting, HTML, etc…I did a lot of Googling.

On Written By Mama you’re very candid about becoming a widow last year. During that difficult time, how did you handle (or not handle) blogging?

I guess you could say I didn’t handle blogging. I know I published some stuff, but I was emotionally and mentally not here. I had a “friend” help for a couple weeks, but she decided it was too much work for her to take on. I don’t really remember those first two months. I know I was really excited to start blogging again after I realized that it’s what made me happy, even during that difficult time.

Your blog’s Facebook page has over 8,000 fans. What’s your best tip for growing a fan base for a blog on Facebook?

The best advice I can give on building a fan base is sharing content people love. There is always someone who will care about what you say. Before Cody (my husband) passed, I had a larger fan base. When I stopped doing so many reviews/giveaways, I lost most of them. I understood though: those people were only there for the giveaways. I started writing more about raising my son and grieving. That’s what helped me heal. I noticed different readers and people were compassionate. I got to know my readers better, and they got to know me.

Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram: which one can you not live without and why?

Oh man, I love Facebook. I’m on it all the time :-P. I think my favorite is Instagram, though. I love taking pictures and love sharing pictures of my son. I may be a little partial to him, but he’s pretty darn cute 😉

What are your three favorite blogs?

I hate picking favorite bloggers, because I am friends with a lot of bloggers, but I do have two that I visit often:

Food Good, Laundry Bad – she’s a local Austin Blogger. Her blog is hilarious and I can relate to a lot of what she says.

Pandora’s Deals – I may just be picking her because she’s my favorite blogger friend, but she’s also got a great blog and loves getting to know her readers. I was following her before I started blogging. 🙂

Find Angela: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram