Three years ago today, An Obsession with Food had its first post. It seems like the most bloggy of navel-gazing to announce a blog's anniversary, but it seemed like a good opportunity to say thanks.
Being a writer, being serious about being a writer, is hard. Even now that I have some street cred, I still get rejection notices, as does pretty much everyone who sends pitches into the cruel world of editorial in-boxes. I wonder what I'm doing wrong; I fret about how to crack through the wall between me and the stable of writers most publications use. I'm occasionally tempted to give up. Give up the notion of being a writer, give up the blog altogether. But you all keep me going. Somewhere in the world, a surprisingly large number of you read what I write and come back for more (and some of you have been coming back for a very long time). That knowledge provides a bulwark against the frustration and self-flagellation.
So thanks for reading. It means a lot.
And while I'm not going to turn this into a "clips" episode of OWF, some of you might appreciate this email I recently rediscovered in my inbox:
Dear Derrick,
I don't know if you recall, I emailed you a few months ago with questions about an "entertaining" post of yours. I recently started my own blog, and as yours is among the ones who inspired me into it, I'd be happy if you cared to pay me a visit! It's called "Chocolate & Zucchini", at http://chocolateandzucchini.com.
Take care,
Clotilde