It started out slowly, exactly a year and a half ago, but it grew steadily from month to month. From an average of 1,000 visits per month, to 2,000, and 3,000 until this August when I received a little over 5,000 visits.
I never had any specific expectations when I started out; I thought I'd help my friends and family members decide what books to read next. Maybe I'd do it for a year or two, see if it was worth it or not. Maybe I'd get bored. Maybe they'd get bored.
It didn't happen. Of course, as other bloggers will tell you --especially those like me who have full-time jobs outside of the blogosphere-- it's not always easy finding the time to write reviews, do interviews, run giveaways, etc. Heck, sometimes it's difficult getting 30 minutes of reading time in a day.
But it's all worth it because I like spreading the news on books I enjoy, and I appreciate the feedback and encouragements I receive. The world of bloggers is like a giant playground where all the kids are friendly and they all have their own toys. Plus, they like to share and help out. I also made many friends that I can't wait to meet at BoucherCon.
On my Facebook status this morning, I thanked the visitors who come to The House of Crime & Mystery; I thanked my collaborators --Grenouille Noire, Bulle Noire, and L'Etranger; I also thanked sales reps, publicists, and publishers who give me books; and I thanked writers who accepted to be interviewed. Now, I'd like to give a special thank you to my fellow bloggers and reviewers who've been good sports when I built my humble little House: my first official follower (outside of my circle of friends and family members), the brilliant Scott Phillips. And a few who started following, almost right at the beginning, Robin Jarossi, Paul D. Brazill, Ronald Tierney, and J. Kingston Pierce. I owe a few drinks to these people, especially to Paul and Jeff because many of my visitors have come from their blogs. When Jeff added the House to his list of blogs at The Rap Sheet, right away I noticed a spike in visits here.
I hope I haven't disappointed any of you and I thank you for letting me in your playground.
Thank you all for visiting the House, for giving feedback, and for sharing with others.
JF
September 2012
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