Sixteen Candles

Break out the cake, the party hats, and the beribboned gifts—today is The Rap Sheet’s 16th birthday! It’s now old enough to procure a driver’s license as well as to “legally engage in sexual intercourse in most [U.S.] states,” says this facts-of-the-day blog post.

Not a great deal has changed here since this time last year, though The Rap Sheet continues to rack up statistical advancements. It’s nearing its 8,300th post, and its eight-millionth pageview. (Weren’t we just crowing about it reaching 5,000,000?) I have a couple of design modifications in mind for the near future, and I’d really like to get back to interviewing authors more often—something I used to do quite frequently. I would also enjoy visiting a crime-fiction festival or two, but continuing waves of COVID-19 variants provide serious disincentives to gathering in large groups.

I’m not a frequent complainer, though if pressed, I could share my dissatisfaction with such matters as the worsening political crisis in the United States and the alarming spread of white supremacy. One thing I cannot grouse about is my work on this page. Sixteen years of writing and editing The Rap Sheet have brought me so many memorable joys, not merely from reading but from meeting other people with similar passions for crime, mystery, and thriller fiction. When I created this blog in 2006, I had no idea that I’d still be happily laboring over it all these years later.

So on those occasions when the woes of the world seem far too extensive to endure, I can refocus at least part of my attention on The Rap Sheet. And apparently, this Web page is now able to ask even more of me than it has in the past, because it’s legal in this country for a 16-year-old to finally demand fulltime work hours. 😀

Stay healthy, everyone, and thank you for following The Rap Sheet through all of these long years!