Celebrating Web Wordsmiths

First of all, congratulations to Sergio Angelini, whose excellent blog, Tipping My Fedora, celebrates its second anniversary today. Sergio has done some fine work exploring mystery-fiction classics, both of the printed and film/television sort. As a consequence, Tipping My Fedora is a regular stop on my circuits through the Web.

I owe another thanks to Sergio, as well, for he’s just selected The Rap Sheet as one of the best blogs of 2012. I am certainly pleased to see that my humble efforts, and those of my occasional, talented contributors, are appreciated by readers.

This awards program was evidently started by the folks behind The Thought Palette, and has spread quickly. Here are the rules:

1. Select the blogs you think deserve the “Blog of the Year 2012” Award.
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blogs you have chosen--there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required--and “present” them with their award.
3. Please include a link back to this page, “Blog of the Year 2012” award at The Thought Palette, and include these “rules” in your post.
4. Let the blogs you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the “rules” with them.
5. You can now also join the Facebook group--click “like” on this page, “Blog of the Year 2012 Award” Facebook group, and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience.
6. As a winner of the award, please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award--and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar.

I have periodically listed other crime-fiction-oriented “Weblogs” and bloggers meriting particular attention, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t mention them again. So here are those to which I present Blog of the Year 2012 honors:

• Beneath the Stains of Time (TomCat)

• Crime Fiction Lover

• Crime Time Preview (Robin Jarossi)

• Criminal Element

• Davy Crockett’s Almanack of Mystery, Adventure, and the Wild West (Evan Lewis)

• Detectives Beyond Borders (Peter Rozovsky)

• ‘Do You Write Under Your Own Name?’ (Martin Edwards)

• Existential Ennui (Nick Jones)

• Getting Away with Murder (Mike Ripley)

• In Reference to Murder (B.V. Lawson)

• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel (“Puzzle Doctor”)

• Mrs. Peabody Investigates (Katharina Hall)

• The Passing Tramp (Curtis Evans)

• Past Offences (Rich Westwood)

• Pretty Sinister Books (John “J.F.” Norris)

• Pulp Curry (Andrew Nette)

• The Venetian Vase (Steven Powell)

• Up and Down These Mean Streets (Don Herron)

And of course, let me mention again Tipping My Fedora.

Yes, I know: these sorts of commendations have minimal value. But the more publicity I can offer to other high-quality blogs, the better. Writing one of these Web resources may seem easy, and it can be--initially. However, maintaining a thoughtful, informative blog over the long-run is damnably difficult. I know; I’ve been writing The Rap Sheet for more than six years already.

Congrats to all of my Blog of the Year nominees. Long may you thrive!