I blog, therefore I am

(See what I did there? Twisting Anton's title from yesterday? Isn't that clever of me?)

I blog...well, I blog in large part because it's easier than standing around outside with a copy of my book, jumping up and down and waving it in the air while shouting, "Look at MEEEE! Look at MEEEEEE!"

But I also blog because it's fun. I like blogging. It's my own little platform for my own little opinions. It's a way to connect with other people, too, which is certainly valuable these days. Not just for promo, but for companionship. I love my blog friends. I love the people who read my blog. I notice when they stop popping in to comment. I cheer when good things happen to them and feel awful when bad things happen to them. It's nice. It makes me feel like I'm part of something.

I've been blogging for years, since...late 2003, in fact. I started with a livejournal, a personal one. Then when I sold my first December Quinn stories I started a new one. Then I found Miss Snark, and along with her a whole community of writers I liked. People whose words and thoughts I enjoyed. And I actually got to become part of that. People actually link to me. They read my thoughts. They say nice things about my work--and I don't even pay them, can you believe it? Writing my blog and reading others has made me feel like there is always someone out there to talk to.

And I love reading author blogs. To me a website isn't nearly as important as a blog. It's on a blog that I get a sense of an author's voice and personality. Do they have the same sort of sense of humor as me? Do they like the same movies? Because if they do, I'll probably like them and their books. And if I already like their books, it's a way for me to keep up to date, to find out what's happening in their head as they write the next book, or when that book will come out, or what new stuff they're working on.

See, we get entertainment news in other industries. We can go on IMDB (ahh...IMDB...) and see what movies are in production, and who's in them. We can read music magazines to see who's working on a new album. But there's no way to tell, before a book appears on Amazon for pre-order, what an author is working on unless you visit their site or blog. There's no big clearing-house website that tells you what everyone is up to. In a way maybe that's good. But I like to know. I like to anticipate. I like to get the occasional sneak peek.

Yes, my blog is promo, and as we march ever closer to the Personal Demons release I'll be doing more of it--more excerpts, more contests, more discussion of the book itself. But honestly, I always feel kind of bad doing too many promo posts, because I owe my blog friends some real interaction. Maybe that will change when the book comes out, or the subsequent books (got word today that the Personal Demons sequel, The Demon Inside, is tentatively scheduled for a January '09 release!) Maybe my blog readership will expand or change and will be more interested in that sort of thing as opposed to what it is now, where I rant about stuff. (I already notice a distinct difference in tastes between my Blogger readers and my Livejournal readers.)

But for the past few years, and for now, I blog because I like to. I blog because it makes me feel like I'm contributing something, like I'm getting my name out there, and like I'm not alone in this big crazy world. And that's one of the best feelings there is.

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