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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bloggers from Around the World

Since Blogger changed a few of its back office options, I’ve noticed the various tools offered to the blog owner. The new layout offers more accessible data and it’s quite interesting to see where the blog traffic originated.
Audience statistics grabbed my attention this morning. In the past, I’ve noticed things like page views, and which blog posts gain the most traffic. If thorough audience stats were available all along, I must’ve missed them, and what a shame. This is pretty interesting stuff and certainly motivated this writer to blog today.
Take a look at the country list below. I’ve included the top ten countries, in order, by number of page views:
United States
India
United Kingdom
Canada
France
Malaysia
Pakistan
Germany
Egypt
Indonesia

Since our blog readers are from around the globe, I started thinking about what books have appealed to readers in the past. Hopefully, some of our friends will drop by and let us know what genres they prefer and what book trends they’re seeing from within their specific region.
Bloggers and guests, please leave a comment and tell us where you call home. Mention how you originally found this blog—not just why you stopped by today, but how you stumbled upon your first visit. Did a certain author steer you here? Did you follow a link from another site? Were you able to locate this blog through a GOOGLE search? Did you see an advertisement or promotion? If you discovered the site after reading one of my books, which one inspired your visit?
After viewing the audience statistics above, I’m curious and would love to know more about your reading tastes and blog interests. Give us information. Tell us about you, what you like to read in terms of authors, books, and genres.
Let us know about your blog preferences. What do you like to see when you visit different blogs? Do you enjoy guest blogger interviews? Do you prefer to read articles about the writing industry or specific books? Would you rather see regular features from various authors and genres? What about columns? Do you follow posts provided by regular contributors?
Regardless of how you found us, I’m sure glad you stopped by. Please let us know where you call home and answer a few questions above, if you have a few minutes.


Destiny

















10 comments:

James L. Hatch said...

Hi Destiny:

I reached your blog after receiving notification from destinyblaine_romance@yahoogroups.com. What do I read? I like paranormal comedy and parody. I also like Sci-Fi, especially the kind that makes you think. Then contemporary fiction, especially with a strong thread of romance. I'll check the stats; I didn't know they were part of blogger.

Thanks,
James

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Destiny,

I, too, am a blogger and always thrilled when someone visits my site. I try to visit as many sites as possible, especially if the hook gets to me (as yours did). But I find myself stymied at least half the time by whatever spambot decides that I am up to no good and refuses to accept my comments. I'd like to respond to your questions.
A: I live in Texas, home of Siren BookStrand,to whom I am also contracted for 6 hist rom.
A: Of course I found a link to your site through your group email.
A: When I visit blog sites, I want to read something captivating about writing/ reviewing, the use of language/metaphor/theme/etc.
A: My kind of books are the ones I write--historical romances--though I have written, and have also read, various hist. and contemp. mm novels. Those are always fun!
A: I like any well-conceived and attractive site. I started my own on March 1 and it is very amateurish and awkward. I'd like other bloggers to visit it and give me some suggestions for improvement. Caveat--I am just starting out! Find me here (please!) http://erinsromance.wordpress.com/
In case this doesn't get accespted, I'll send my comments to y our address via Strand.
Best of luck with your blog. It is now on my permanent "revisit" roster. :) Erin O'Quinn/Bonita Franks

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Destiny, [3rd attempt]

I, too, am a blogger and always thrilled when someone visits my site. I try to visit as many sites as possible, especially if the hook gets to me (as yours did). But I find myself stymied at least half the time by whatever spambot decides that I am up to no good and refuses to accept my comments. I'd like to respond to your questions.
A: I live in Texas, home of Siren BookStrand,to whom I am also contracted for 6 hist rom.
A: Of course I found a link to your site through your group email.
A: When I visit blog sites, I want to read something captivating about writing/ reviewing, the use of language/metaphor/theme/etc.
A: My kind of books are the ones I write--historical romances--though I have written, and have also read, various hist. and contemp. mm novels. Those are always fun!
A: I like any well-conceived and attractive site. I started my own on March 1 and it is very amateurish and awkward. I'd like other bloggers to visit it and give me some suggestions for improvement. Caveat--I am just starting out! Find me here (please!) http://erinsromance.wordpress.com/
In case this doesn't get accespted, I'll send my comments to y our address via Strand.
Best of luck with your blog. It is now on my permanent "revisit" roster. :) Erin O'Quinn/Bonita Franks

Alicia White said...

Hello...Destiny! I'm not a huge blogger, not yet anyway. I just have no idea what to write...do I talk about my books? Sex versus Romance? No idea. :)Some blogs are better than others but as long as they're a little dirty...I'm in. :)

I love so many different author's and reading new books is always an adventure. If the author can pull me in and I can pretend I'm the heroine than I love it!

Have a great day and happy blogging.

Alicia White

Julie Eberhart Painter said...

I'm frequently a guest blogger. I found your site through Champagne Book's yahoo groups.

I read nonfiction such as memoirs and biographies of people like Charles Schulz, the Peanut's creator. I enjoy all kinds of mainstream suspense fiction, like Harlan Coben, Greg Iles, Scott Turrow, Anita Shreve, and humor like Anne Tyler's, or Anne Lamott as well as the madcap southern of Lewis Grizzard, (now disceased). Ferroll Sams was very funny in his day. I prefer southern writers or their similies and metaphors.
(I'm a former Yankee.)

I dislike Promo excerpts, preferring blogs about writing and how books were born -- the story behind the story. I'd like to see more flash fiction used in place of excerpts to promote the writing, not the book. If the writing is engaging the book will be fine.

Mary Lou George said...

Hey Destiny, when it comes to fiction I need a happy ending – or a least a satisfying one. I like to feel a certain amount of reward at the end of any book I read. I relish it when the bad guy gets spanked (and not in a good way) and the good guy wins the reward (in the best way possible).

I'm a fellow Siren/Bookstrand author writing under the maidenly sounding pen name Mary Lou George. I have five mainstream contemporary romances published by Siren/Bookstrand and heard about your blog through the author's group. With the exception of my most recent, my books are paranormal in nature. Personal reading tastes run along the same lines.

I wonder if other people feel the same way I do. I'm irritated at the current tendency to leave the reader hanging at the end of the book in order to hook them into buying the next book, like a pusher whose main goal is to get their customers addicted in order to make bags of money. Well this gal ain't buyin'.

Three of my published books are part of a series but each one comes to a satisfying end and all the niggling loose ends are tied up. Each can stand alone if necessary. I don't want to manipulate my readers because I loathe being manipulated myself.

I don't visit many sites, but yours peaked my interest because you offered some pretty interesting statistics. I had no idea that people in India were so tuned in. Being a Canadian, I egocentrically expected the true north to be second to the US. I'm thrilled hear the news that so many other countries are checking things out.

I used to gobble up the kinds of books I'm currently writing. These days it's a challenge to read them because I tend to get jealous and hear the refrain "why didn't I think of that?" too often in my head. For years it was hard to find paranormal romances that appealed to me. Now they're everywhere.

I love a book that makes me laugh, or scares me or makes me think. I enjoy biographies that aren't written by sycophants. I'm a total suck when it comes to animals and cannot bear it when they're hurt. I often say to my friends that in my suspense books I might litter the floor with dead humans, but the dog will always survive. I prefer it when our better natures prevail. My mother always told me that life isn't fair but I can be...

Thanks for the info Destiny. Cheers

Mary Lou George said...

Hey Destiny, when it comes to fiction I need a happy ending – or a least a satisfying one. I like to feel a certain amount of reward at the end of any book I read. I relish it when the bad guy gets spanked (and not in a good way) and the good guy wins the reward (in the best way possible).

I'm a fellow Siren/Bookstrand author writing under the maidenly sounding pen name Mary Lou George. I have five mainstream contemporary romances published by Siren/Bookstrand and heard about your blog through the author's group. With the exception of my most recent, my books are paranormal in nature. Personal reading tastes run along the same lines.

I wonder if other people feel the same way I do. I'm irritated at the current tendency to leave the reader hanging at the end of the book in order to hook them into buying the next book, like a pusher whose main goal is to get their customers addicted in order to make bags of money. Well this gal ain't buyin'.

Three of my published books are part of a series but each one comes to a satisfying end and all the niggling loose ends are tied up. Each can stand alone if necessary. I don't want to manipulate my readers because I loathe being manipulated myself.

I don't visit many sites, but yours peaked my interest because you offered some pretty interesting statistics. I had no idea that people in India were so tuned in. Being a Canadian, I egocentrically expected the true north to be second to the US. I'm thrilled hear the news that so many other countries are checking things out.

I used to gobble up the kinds of books I'm currently writing. These days it's a challenge to read them because I tend to get jealous and hear the refrain "why didn't I think of that?" too often in my head. For years it was hard to find paranormal romances that appealed to me. Now they're everywhere.

I love a book that makes me laugh, or scares me or makes me think. I enjoy biographies that aren't written by sycophants. I'm a total suck when it comes to animals and cannot bear it when they're hurt. I often say to my friends that in my suspense books I might litter the floor with dead humans, but the dog will always survive. I prefer it when our better natures prevail. My mother always told me that life isn't fair but I can be...

Thanks for the info Destiny. Cheers

Mellanie Szereto said...

Hi Destiny,

I'm another SirenBookstrand author and clicked the link on the author loop.

Writing themed blogs tend to draw my interest.

I have a blog, but for the most part I use it to post updates for what I'm currently working on, covers, release notices, and new sales. As far as stats, I tend to check the number of visits and not much else. I'm not much of a techie so I have no idea how to find where my visitors are from. BTW, I'm in Indiana.

Genres I read? Just about anything. Genres I write? Right now I'm writing a foodie contemporary and a sequel to my fantasy menage series, Bewitching Desires. I've also written some historical into my fantasy, using actual events on occasion. I LOVE the research that goes into writing, whether it's a pirate shipwreck, pole dancing, or string theory. Blogs can be a great source for information!

Fun blog!

Mellanie
www.mellanieszereto.com

Simone Sinna said...

Hi Destiny got to you via Sirenauthors. Interested in blogging cos I do one every week day under different themes ( www.simonesinna.com )but I don't think anyone except spammers get to it! I notice Australia is not on your list- we're too little iguess. I'm a bit technologically limited so haven't worked out how to check hits etc.
I read prolifically - popular (eg reading Hunger Games currently) a lot of crime, psycholgical thrillers and supense- hence my own books have lots of action!
cheers Simone

Destiny Blaine said...

Hi James~If you can’t locate your stats, let me know and I’ll walk you through it if you use Blogger. The new layout has a lot of useful information! :) Thanks so much for your comments, James.

Hi Erin~Your blog is great. I requested a new Wordpress passcode and left you a comment but I don’t see it. If the post doesn’t show up tomorrow then we’ll know this user didn’t know how to utilize Wordpress! :) Glad you dropped by!

Hi Alicia~ Now, I’m curious—just where are these dirty little blogs? Lol. ;) No, don’t tell me yet. I’ll stay up all night tracking them down! Thank you for dropping in, Alicia!

Hi Julie~Thank you for posting and for mentioning Champagne Books. Someone over there has been so incredibly kind by sending readers and authors this way on several occasions. By the way, I love the idea of telling the story behind the story!

Hi Mary Lou~ I love this: “My mother always told me that life isn't fair but I can be...” and that’s so true. Thank you for dropping by with a wealth of information! You inspired a post for next week.

Hi Mellanie~You’re right. Themed blogs make for some interesting reading. I’ll check out your blog and if you need help finding something in your back office, let me know. I’ll walk you through it. Thanks for dropping by. :)

Hi Simone~ I was kind of surprised Australia wasn’t on the top ten list because I seem to have a growing readership in Australia with so many reader-friends from Sydney and Melbourne. I was scheduled to attend the 2009 inaugural Australian Romance Readers Convention and was unable to go at the last minute. The missed trip was such a disappointment. If I’m invited to attend in the future I’ll move heaven and earth to be there. :) Thank you for your comment!

Destiny

Welcome to Destiny Blaine's Online Journal

Welcome to Destiny Blaine's Online Journal
"An Award Winning Bestselling International E-book and Paperback Author, Destiny Blaine and her pseudonyms top the charts at Amazon, Bookstrand, Barnes and Noble, ARE, Mobipocket, and other retailers online and off. Scroll down for a list of available titles, works in progress, and coming soon dates for debut titles.”

Author Bio

An award-winning, international bestselling erotic romance author, Destiny Blaine writes under several pen names. She lives in East Tennessee and spends a lot of time in Connecticut and Virginia, where her granddoll resides.