One million plus...

I'm just back from my travels, to discover that a little while ago, this blog had its one millionth page view. Like all statistics,this figure should be taken with a large dollop of salt. It doesn't include views or visits to the blog before the current stats started - some time after the blog began. On the other hand, each visitor may view a number of pages per visit. All the same, one million is a big number, and I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has supported this blog over the years. I'm especially grateful to those who have commented or emailed me about topics that I've featured.

How long will Do You Write Under Your Own Name? continue? I really don't know, but the short answer is that I plan to keep it going for as long as I continue to enjoy writing the posts - and one thing I can say is that at present I enjoy the blog as much as I've ever done. There are various reasons for this, one of which is that it's introduced me to a good many lovely people and activities. And it seems to do me good - for instance, I kept the blog going during the most difficult time of my life, five years ago, and it proved unexpectedly and significantly therapeutic.

The joy of writing is the key. I've always believed that writing should be a delight, not a chore. If I don't get pleasure from writing something, why should anyone take pleasure in reading it? Of course, I'm never totally satisfied with what I write, because a few days later I can usually think of a way in which I could have written it better, but that's a different matter. I like to think that readers of my Harry Devlin and Lake District novels buy into the fun that I have in writing the stories, and I'm very glad that reviews of The Golden Age of Murder have consistently picked up on the pleasure I take in the books I write about in that weighty tome.

At present, my plans for the future of the blog are to maintain the mix of subjects much as it is now. I'll talk about my own work from time to time, naturally,but there will be guest blogs, discussion of films and TV, the craft of writing and reviews of new and forgotten books, as well as thoughts about topics that I find interesting. And every now and then I'll seek feedback from you, my loyal readers, as I did recently with a question about the extent to which you are interested in the lives of authors as well as in their books. That's a subject that I do find really fascinating, and I will return to it in the future.

In the meantime, thanks again for all your encouragement over the years.