Fifteen Years of the Blog

Tomorrow marks a special anniversary for me. I posted on this blog for the very first time on 13 October 2007, so that will mark the 15th birthday of 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?' I won't bore you with too many stats, but in that time there have been well over 3,300 posts and over 2,750,000 pageviews, currently clocking up at 1000 a day. Which is a lot. But the real story, as far as I'm concerned, lies in the personal - the wonderful connections with people all around the world that have arisen as a result of my blogging. Over the years, I've met quite a number of you face to face, and that's been incredibly rewarding. But even if our paths have never crossed in person, I've definitely benefited in all kinds of ways from your interest and support. 

In my very first post, I said this: 'The aim is to share my enthusiasm for crime fiction, and the craft of writing. From childhood, I dreamed of becoming a crime novelist - and I love being part of a fascinating world. I’m not only a writer, but a fan, and I’ll have lots to say about lots of terrific and often overlooked books and films, past and present. As for my own writing life, I’ll share the frustrations - and also the pleasures. If this blog encourages any would-be writers among you to keep at it, I’ll be delighted.' And believe me, every word of that still holds good today.

But life goes on and my writing life has changed significantly over the past 15 years - out of all recognition, really. As I've said before, I've been hugely fortunate. In 2007, I'd been a published novelist for 16 years, but I'd never won an award, though I'd been in the running for a few. I was still a full-time partner in a law firm, and I wasn't even a member of the Detection Club, let alone its President.

What has happened since then seems to me to be quite astonishing. There have been a few tough times, as there always are in every life, but I never dreamed so many good things would come my way. (Mind you, my hair is no longer as dark as it was back in 2007 - as per the above photo, taken at the Poisoned Pen bookstore that year!) It's hard to analyse precisely the extent to which the blog may have contributed to the marvellous developments of recent years, but I don't think the improvement in my literary fortunes has been a complete coincidence. 

Just as a novel is nothing without readers (except, maybe, in so far as it serves as therapy for the author), so a blog is nothing without readers. So the success of the blog is really down to you, the loyal readers who over the years have done so much to encourage me and build my morale. And that means that the final words of year fourteen of the blog are simply these: 

                                  THANK YOU!