Frequently Asked Questions

The collective "we" used at times on the pages of this website is technically me, myself, and I—Patricia Petro. I am solely responsible for design and development, routine maintenance, textual content, blog entries, and all things creative. Tom, my brilliant IT and partner in life, handles the tech side. He keeps computers, office machines, and software updated and running smoothly. SuzieQ sorts through email, does bookkeeping, files paperwork, and offers other part-time secretarial support for both Inspiration for the Spirit and my web design site, Sweet Solutions.

Part of the ongoing appeal of Inspiration for the Spirit were the beautiful graphics and background music that accompanied the site's content. Through the years I received many positive comments from visitors who found the site peaceful and soothing; and, I do agree that some of the graphics and pages were truly stunning. So why change a good thing? After eight years online, Inspiration for the Spirit underwent a major redesign and migration to WordPress. The intention was to—simplify simplify simplify—update the code and redesign the site with minimal graphics for easier management and a cleaner, more-polished look. For those who find the look less appealing, I apologize. The layout and color scheme of this website may change from time-to-time, but I have no intention of going back to the way it was. Sorry.

"Summersong" was an online nickname I started using after someone I knew read one of my poems and said it was "lyrical—like a summer breeze" . . . thus summer song. When this website was first launched in 2002, I called it "Summersong's Inspiration for the Spirit." While streamlining the layout and content during the redesign of 2010, I felt the time had come to trim the title. It made perfect sense. The URL for this website has always been www.inspirationforthespirit.com, and trimming the title was in keeping with my mantra to simplify simplify simplify.

There is a lot of debate about music and/or other sound effects on websites—some people like it . . . others don't. After taking a college course in Web Usability and Interface Design, I decided to follow the experts' advice and redesign the pages of Inspiration for the Spirit without embedded background music. Experts, and just about everyone else, agree that landing on a website with music playing is especially annoying and bothersome to those who surf the Internet at the office.

Most photos and illustrations used on this website are stock images purchased from iStock, 123RF, and similar royalty-free photo sites. Other images are public domain, personal photos, artwork, or stock photos that can be found free-of-charge at Stock.xchng. Still others are original graphics created by various artists on the web. Whenever necessary, to comply with copyright or artist policies, photo credits and links to the source sites are provided.

If you have written poems or essays that are thought-provoking, inspirational, or relevant, and you would like to see your work featured here at Inspiration for the Spirit, feel free to contact me. I am always looking for new and interesting material and would be happy to consider your work for publication.

OK, here's the deal . . . this website was a lot of work, and I cannot tell you how much in actual dollars it cost without crunching the numbers. Let's just say it was a labor of love that took quite bit of money and an intense amount of time to create and compile. Everything on this website is protected by copyright. Please do not steal anything. There are scripts in place to protect the pages and authors'/artists' rights; but we both know that those of you who are so inclined and savvy enough to get around the scripts can grab what you want. Please don't. My poems, writing, and blog entries (anything written by Patricia Petro) may be reprinted online with written permission. Just send me a quick email. I'm happy to share my work, but I like to know where it is being used. I do not have authority to grant permission for other authors and cannot redistribute their work. Contact information, when available, has been provided so you can easily contact the authors yourself. Graphics, artwork, illustrations, and photos are off limits . . . sorry. If you see an image you want to use, send me an email about it. I may be able to tell you where I found it so you can pick one up legally for yourself. Read more