The Pot Thief Blog is dedicated to the strange things people say and think about race, culture, and ethnicity and to my murder mystery books, The Pot Thief Series, that gently pokes fun at our misconceptions about these topics. I am currently on a book-signing tour for my books – thirty events in 45 days in seven states – and I have been posting daily blogs about the people and places on the tour and random thoughts generated by them.
I write murder mysteries for a living, if you can call it that. Fortunately, my wife has a day job with a salary and health benefits.
I started on the first day of the tour, May 9th.
I’ve had the blog for a almost a tear, using it at first as an experiment in a class I taught at Valdosta State University in Georgia in the fall semester of 2009. The class was called The Philosophy of Race, and I required my students to post weekly blogs on the topic, the idea being that in a class with 40 students, we might be able to create more of a sense of community by constant exchanges on the blog. It is difficult to sustain a conversation in a class with 40 people. When I was planning my 2010 book-signing tour, I decided to use the blog for daily posts about the tour.
This is embarrassing. I am not computer or Internet savvy. I know there is a way to obtain this information, but I don’t know how to do it and have never tried. I make duplicate posts each day – one at my blog, The Pot Thief, and one at the blog of my publisher, Oak Tree Books. I receive a number of emails after each post, and I have to admit that more of them see the post on the Oak Tree site than one my own blog.
My blog does not have an income. I receive frequent emails from Google and others telling me that I can “monetize” my site, but I just delete them. I’m too busy writing my books and writing my blog to have time to figure out how to place ads on it or get paid by the hit. I suspect that the few dollars I might receive would not be worth the time and effort, but if I am missing out on a bonanza, I welcome advice on how to cash in.
My blog would appeal to people with intellectual curiosity, a healthy dose of cynicism about political correctness, a nostalgic longing for the simpler life of bygone years, and a sense of humor. They would also likely be people who enjoy Champagne and Margaritas, although not in the same glass.
Approximately an hour.
You should subscribe to my blog in order to be part of group with intellectual curiosity, a healthy dose of cynicism about political correctness, a nostalgic longing for the simpler life of bygone years, and a sense of humor. And you wouldn’t have to put up with distracting ad words, banner ads, and other crass commercialism. 
Write what you want to say, not what you think people want to hear. Blog readers can spot a phony from a mile away on a hazy day.
This blog can be visited at http://www.thepotthief.blogspot.com/
Hi Mike. My name is Carmen. I found you on the bloginterviewer.com site as the blog just before mine on the books and writing list when I clicked on that after reading my interview in the main section.
I am writing to you for two reasons I guess. First, you are the first article I have read at bloginterviewer. Second, a lot (or at least a little bit – lol) of what you wrote in your interview mimiced mine.
I too am not technical and do not know how to add a hit counter or site meter to track my visitors. I eventually want to get someone to help me do this though and will eventually. Also, I haven’t “monetized” my blog yet. Mainly because I think it might look tacky.
However, if I can find out how to get some of the fancy ads that you see in box form on some blogs and, of course, could figure out how to actually technically do it I would. I just don’t want tacky banner ads or anything ugly-looking.
I will be checking out your blog and encourage you to look at mine although the books and writing “tag” probably applies more accurately to yours than mine. I included it under that because I sometimes review books I read.
I also picked the maximum of three “tags” for inclusion. My other two were movies as I sometimes review them and randomness because that is by far the most descriptive way to classify my blog – it’s just about my experiences past and present and whatever catches my attention.
Oh, a p.s. to the last comment. I asked you to check out my blog but forgot to give you the address to make it easy (although in the leave a reply/comment section it seems to have a place for the website. I am adding it here because I didn’t see it listed with my comment.
It is http://catstuff-carment.blogspot.com/ I look forward to you possibly checking me out. I have a bet of sorts with a friend that I can get 75 followers by my 1 year anniversary (Jan 6, 2010). I am about half way there and it’s at the half way point almost in time too.
This is my last comment – I promise. After browsing through several things connected to the featured article aspect of bloginterviewer I noticed a feature (I’m a bit of a newbie so forgive me) that allowed the user to click on the commenters name to reach their blog.
Obviously that happens on this site too. So sorry for the second comment where I gratuitously it seems, left my blog address.
I got distracted by the featured article and related material that I stumbled on when I mistakenly bypassed your web address but I promise to go there now and check out your site as I promised before. I want to end this by saying it again – good bloginterviewer interview.
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