Navy Wife and Columnist Launches Web Site for Military Families

Sarah Smiley, wife and daughter of Navy pilots has taken the humor of her syndicated military column Shore Duty to the Internet. This week www.SarahSmiley.com launched in response to demand from a growing number of Shore Duty fans nation-wide. Ever since Shore Duty debuted in Pensacola News Journal in September 2003, its enormous popularity with military wives across the country has taken it from a small local column to a nationally syndicated piece. SarahSmiley.com will offer resources, support and humor for military families.

What began as a small local newspaper column in Pensacola, FL, by writer Sarah Smiley, has grown into a national military craze. Less than four months after debuting in Pensacola News Journal on September 19, 2003, Smiley's column "Shore Duty" is now syndicated nationally and Smiley's insights have spread to the Internet. On January 5, 2004 Smiley launched www.SarahSmiley.com, a place for and about military families.

Shore Duty is a weekly syndicated column with a lighthearted look at life in the military from a wife's point-of-view. Women readers everywhere have identified with Smileys tongue-in-cheek humor and touching sentiments, making it one of the few widely successful columns written about military spouses. When Shore Duty first appeared in Pensacola News Journal, it received more fan mail in one day than any other column at the paper ever has. Miriam S. Gallet, editor of JaxAirNews in Jacksonville, FL, a military base paper that features Shore Duty under the title On the Homefront," says her female readership has increased 30% in response to Smileys column.

Surprised by a sudden influx of fan mail and requests, Smiley launched www.SarahSmiley.com as an outlet for her growing number of loyal readers. The website offers resources, support, and humor for military families, plus information about where to find and read Shore Duty.

Sarah Smiley is the wife and daughter of two Navy pilots. She is currently working on a book, which she hopes to have published this year.