Someone I know in the real world asked me why I had chosen to follow the bloggers who feature on my homepage.  In fact there are more of them than appear, but they are not WordPress bloggers and the widget doesn’t display their avatars.

As you know, I’m a novice wordwright in the blogosphere and I had to start somewhere, so I set out to choose bloggers who interested me for one reason or another.  It was a natural thing to follow Laura Ellen Joyce (Bloody Mary Bloody Mary Bloody Mary), as she is a fellow debut crime writer on the Salt Publishing list; her site is all about necrophilia and other horrors, so I was lost in that from the word ‘go’!

I wanted a spread of bloggers who would keep me up to date with crime fiction I would otherwise miss and the two journalists who set up Crime Fiction Lover do just that, as does Petrona*, who provides a monthly and very insightful account of her personal global crime reading, and Sarah Ward, whose Crimepieces site does not preclude interesting dips into other genres (I like a rogue blogger!) and provides intelligent reviews.  As you know from a previous post here, I admire skill in reviewer writing and Laura Wilkinson earned my regard with her focus upon Carys Bray’s Sweet Home; she also does quality writer interviews, as does the site Best Selling Crime Thrillers, which does exactly what is says on the tin!

Then there are my top bloggers, for different reasons, but not in any hierarchy:  I was touched by the fact that Rhian Davies, It’s a crime! (Or a mystery…), gives profile to debut authors; I now have come to love her witty tweets and hilarious pictures on Twitter (She’s a cat lover, too!).  Elaine Aldridge’s Strange Alliances immediately struck me for her very skilled reading, of books such as Alison Moore’s The Lighthouse and Jane Rusbridge’s Rook, which produces author interview questions that guarantee an incisive portrayal of authors out of their own mouths!  Mel Sherratt, self-published, successful and proud of it, and her killer heels, is a wonderful example to new writers who can’t find a publisher; deserved joy to her!  I have profiled Carol Hedges in a recent post, but I only had to see her pink 2CV and read her zany, ironic posts and ‘Pink Sofa’ interviews to be hooked.  Finally, there is Rosalind Adam, an incurable nostalgic, who delights with her memories and her insights into the City of Leicester – a woman after my own heart!

I could have found others, but the range needed to be manageable and I can safely say that they have made my ingress into blogging more than a little exciting and piquant!  Thanks to them all!  Sorry if you haven’t featured here; I may find you in due course…

*I learned on Monday December 17th of the death of Maxine, @Petrona_.  May I offer my sympathy and condolence to all who were close to her.  I know from both Sarah Ward and Rhian Davies that she will be much mourned and missed.