I had it all planned out, at least in my head. All the goodbyes, all the thank-yous, all the don't-lose-touches. But now the moment has come, my mind is blank and my fingers are hovering over the keyboard without the smallest idea what I'm going to say. Nothing new there, then.
Let's begin at the beginning. It's a little over ten years since I was invited to join a team of bloggers who each contributed a weekly post to a blog called Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room. My role in the chain which linked the progress of crime fiction from idea to bookshelf was publisher, because at the time I was proprietor, managing editor, filing clerk, envelope stuffer and chief bottlewasher of a tiny publishing company specializing in crime fiction by new authors.
At the time, my little enterprise had recently spread its wings; a distributor in the USA had taken us on, and our books were set to reach a wider audience. I don't think it's entirely coincidental that shortly after I joined the Dead Guy team (as I began affectionately to call it) we scored our two biggest sellers in the US. It helped that they were great books, of course, but getting out there and waving our flag a little must have had something to do with it. So, thank you to anyone and everyone who made a contribution to that challenging, fulfilling and hugely enjoyable part of my life. It didn't make my fortune, but hey, who needs a fortune when you're having fun instead?
Life moved on, and things changed. My tiny company is now part of a much bigger one; the name lives on, and crime fiction is still the focus, but the new authors part had to go when I sold up, which saddened but didn't surprise me. I still edit a book or two a year for them – and I'm proud to say that the author I edit most is one I 'discovered' way back then. His name will be familiar; it's appeared over Thursday posts more often than mine during the past few weeks! A big thank-you to my good friend Chris Nickson, partly for being a great writer, and also for being ready and willing to pick up the pieces when the ball has slipped out of my hands.
So yes, movement and change – but crime fiction still plays a large part in my life. I haven't published it for seven years, but I still edit it and review it, and when I'm doing neither of those things I read it voraciously. But if you've paid more than a couple of visits to this blog, you'll know that. So there's another thank-you, to loyal blog-followers, some of who have taken the trouble to comment on my pearls of dubious wisdom.
And now for the biggest thank-you of all. There have been many Dead Guys over the years, and I've enjoyed and gained something from their posts without exception. I've even met a few face to face. Bouchercon 2009 was great fun thanks to a few now departed members, and Chatsworth 2013 was a lovely day; thank you, Marilyn. But most of all – Jeff Cohen, stand up and be counted. This man, ladies and gentlemen, is a prize beyond price. (OK, you can sit down now, and hide your red face.) Not only are his books guaranteed to make me smile; he also seems to have a handle on whatever cyber-glitch has caused me to tear my hair – and there have been a few!
I shall miss writing my Thursday blog posts; even on the weeks when I stared at a blank screen and couldn't think of a thing to say, something eventually appeared up there. I don't have an alternative blog to direct you to; my uneasy relationship with anything technological will not have passed unnoticed, and anyway, I no longer have anything I need to tell people about. So – goodbye, thank you, and to anyone who cares enough, don't lose touch. It's been a good ten years.
Awwwwwww.... we couldn't have gotten by without you, Lynne. You stand up and take a bow yourself!
Posted by: Jeff Cohen | December 28, 2017 at 07:58 AM