Interlude: 1,300-th post

I look forward to these 100-mark posts. It gives me a chance to look back over the last weeks and months and reflect.

I try to track my stats. I'm a chemist, after all.

This milestone has me humbled, and ecstatic. For the first time - ever - the blog exceeded 3000 reads in April. Over 1800 first time visitors sampled and looked at the contents. That's just beyond my wildest thoughts and dreams. More than 32,000 total reads, now.

As I've said so many times, I started this blog to keep track and tuck away bits and eclectic pieces of Lovecraft arcana. A real pal, Meg, helped me understand blogger back then. I thought I'd never figure it out. Heh. My plan was just to write some essays for my own use and I needed a safe place to keep stuff. The blog sort of took on a life of its own as Lovecraft seemed to possess more and more of me. Slowly a few people started to notice, and then as google began to pick up my exotic word combinations, even more people came across it.

Many like the "Cthulhu Kitty" links or "Images of Cthulhu links" that are here, others use the blog for research. It's all good.

I enjoy the many emails I get. There aren't so many that I can't answer them all leisurely and at length, which is a pleasure. The email addy is at the top of the blog page. It's worth deleting a dozen+ spams a day to get to those of you who do write.

I so enjoy being with the Zoetrope Lovecraft group folks. It's quieter there, but I'm honored to have so many writers stop by there and share their news. The Google Group is growing faster than I could have dreamed, and there are so many knowledgeable and scholarly people who participate there. Thank you all.

The blog is about Lovecraft, but sometimes a few of you might wonder about me.

Yes, the HPL blog cuts deeply into my writing and other obligations. For those of you who don't know, I do write at +Horror Library+ (over 80,000 reads and counting - thank you readers!), I do book reviews at Horror Mall, help edit the slushpile at +Horror Library+, and have had many stories and essays published in many places. I'm found sometimes at Down in the Cellar (Hi, Jeff!) , Dark Recesses (Hi, Bailey!) , and Bloood Moon Rising (Hi, Al!) - all fine publications. I was in the book Horror Libary Volume 1. I blog three of every four Tuesdays at the +Horror Library+ blogarama. I'm a part of the antiquarian thread at Horror Mall (1,000 posts now - yay!). I also have a few other blogs that I have a passion for, like my Weird Beast blog that gets some nice traffic. It's very family and youth friendly. School children often click on it.

I have a very demanding day job. Family comes next. But I like Lovecraft and he seems to hover close by me. Maybe he likes that I'm a chemist? Then I fit the other things in.

All that means terrific time management skills and often little sleep (Sleep is not an option!). Right now its nearing midnight, and I have to get up at 5 AM. :)

I think that's one reason my typos are rampant. You folks are a forgiving lot, but I'm sure you often curse Chrispy's many odd rearrangement of letters. (Chrispy: Chris P. as in Chris Perridas).

What's happening? Well, I have a new King in Yellow story going live in a few hours or so at +Horror Library+. I'm writing a new Jack Steele short story for submission, and other Jack Steele action tales and Chad Spence ghostly adventures are sketched out. I have a very lengthy Nyarlathotep novella set in 1893 Chigago that will one day get finished and edited. I've got a laundry list of other requests and obligations that I have to take care of soon, too. (Really folks, I haven't forgotten and am working on them).

I've resisted adding ads to the blog. The extra micro-shekels it would add to my bank account isn't worth the effort. I do try to promote as many of my friends' works and stories that are Lovecraftian as I can. They respect Lovecraft, are fans, and while they could be writing much more profitable page turners, they choose to honor Lovecraft's legacy by adding to the canon. Bravo and Brava!

One day - maybe not soon, but one day - the HPL blog will be fully encyclopedic. I think it'll slow down in a year or so as I get close to the 2000th post. (I'm not getting any younger. Heh. ) It'll be its own entity and won't need me to cleave to it and post more. I do kind of worry that all these million words and hundreds of hours of work could be obliterated if Google goes under. However, it's a multi-gazillion dollar corporation adding billions to its coffers each month so I think we're safe. Still, if you see something you need, you should print it out or copy it somewhere safe. A book is forever, these are only electrons in cyberspace. :)

Alright, yadda yadda yadda Chrispy. It's time to close up, and move on to the 1301-st post soon.

Thank you, each of you, for reading.

Mr. Lovecraft would appreciate your interest in him.