I don’t normally look at my stats. WordPress makes it easy for me to do so — and occasionally I glance at what search terms my blog popped up for, or which site most of my visitors were referred from — but for the most part I ignore them. Just for giggles though, I’ve been looking at them a little more closely lately and had noticed a few trends, especially in regards to the searches. Out of curiosity, I dug a little deeper.
The all-time top search term my blog popped up in is not “babbling” as one would think. It’s “Mr. & Mrs. Darcy”. I suppose I should stop procrastinating and finish the rest of the series, considering how often some variation of the search term pops up in my stats.
You’d think, based on the above stats, that the review for “Pride and Prescience” would be the most viewed post or page on my blog. It’s not. It’s the 6th most viewed book review post (this excludes “About Me” and the various challenge pages/posts that had higher view counts).
The top most view book review?
“These Old Shades”. Georgette Heyer, and search terms referring to her books or characters, appear more frequently than almost any other subject. The other most frequent topic is Star Wars. There are three book in the top 10 most viewed reviews:
01. These Old Shades (G. Heyer)
02. Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil (J. Luceno)
03. Nicola and the Viscount (M. Cabot)
04. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (M. Stover)
05. Lady in Waiting (A. Herries)
06. Pride and Prescience (C. Bebris)
07. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (D. Karpyshyn)
08. Maid of Honor (P. Marshall)
09. Magic Burns (I. Andrews)
10. Murder in the North End (P. Ryan)
This wealth of data tells me I should ditch the reading challenges that can’t accommodate Heyer, Star Wars, and the Darcy’s mystery series. Regency England and A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Wow.
Those were the all-time stats. Lately, I’ve been noticing that my blog pops up in searches for anything related to the Kate Daniels series or its author. Inquiring minds want to know if the main character hooks up with a certain Beast Lord in book three. Me, I think she’s in denial. 
And people seemed to be anxious to learn the title of the third book in the White House Chef mystery series. No idea. Sorry.
And where do most of my visitors come from?
Brie’s blog, Musing of a Bibliophile. I bet she voted for “Slave to Sensation” in my poll and will be stopping by to see what I think of it. And I’m sure she’ll be by to see what I think of “Silent on the Moor“. So, I owe Brie and her readers a big “THANK YOU” for their many visits.
That’s all the fun I could handle for one day.
Update!!! Corrected the post title. Shesh. That’s what happens when you stay up to all hours. “Addition” changed to “Edition”. Plus…
I’ve been sick all week, so I haven’t been in the mood to read. However, I’ve been contemplating my “best of” for 2008. That got me thinking about Magic Burns (by Ilona Andrews), which got me thinking about Magic Strikes, book 3 in the series. I amused myself by imagining Kate and Curran talking about their book covers. I thought it would make a clever post.
Of course, the characters don’t belong to me. 
Without further ado:
Kate: So. Here we are again. Book 3. Imagine that.
Curran: Yes. We haven’t killed each other yet.
Book 3
Kate: Interesting cover.
Curran: If you say so.
Kate: You know, I have a theory about our covers. Would you like to hear it?
Curran: No.
Kate: You see. . . with the first book, we were the new kids. The unknowns. No one really knew us. Just another butt-kicking girl with a sword, who hangs out with a shape-shifter –
Curran: “Hangs out with”?
Kate Who???
Kate: So hair, make-up, and wardrobe was do-it-yourself, you know? Just show up and pose. You did notice that it was a muted cover, right?
Curran: Yes. Go on.
Kate: But by the second book, we’ve gained a modest following. People are taking notice. So we get a little star treatment.
Curran: Sparkly Atlanta and some lip gloss?
Kate: And my hair’s pretty, too. But it’s still not accurate. Hmm. You look like you’re frowning on that cover.
Sparkly!!!
Curran: It’s the company I keep. I’m almost afraid to ask this. What about the third book?
Kate: Oh, they asked if I’d show a little skin.
Curran: Your idea of “a little skin” is to shed the jacket and go sleeveless?!
Kate: Yeah. So?
Curran: I think they were looking for bare midriff and cleavage, Kate.
Kate: Goes to show you what you know. Notice the first two covers? Yeah. Cleavage.
Curran: Never mind. What’s with your arm?
Kate: It does look bruised, doesn’t it. I imagine I take a beating. The title does say “Strike”.
Curran: Oh, I know where that came from. She had a poll. Kate, Don’t you have a tattoo?
Kate: Yeah. It must be on the other arm.
Curran: Hmm. Isn’t it the norm around here for Urban Fantasy heroines to show off their body art?
Kate: You’re right. You’d think they’d take advantage of my sleeveless shirt.
Curran: Probably momentarily stunned by you’re misinterpretation of “a little skin”. I think you’re not the typical UF heroine, Kate.
Kate: Because I usually wear sensible clothing?
Curran: That, and the fact your tattoo isn’t someplace . . .interesting.
Kate: And I don’t have lovers. Or a lover, for that matter.
Curran: Yet.
Kate: Why rush? We — that is to say, me and the other party — might not be right for each other.
Curran: You’re right.
Kate: Thank you.
Curran: Cat and mouse is soo much more fun. Right, mouse?
Kate: Hey!
Curran: So. Do you think I’ll ever be depicted as a human on a cover?
Kate: No! It’s the “Kate Daniels” series, buster! I’m not gonna be upstaged by a hunk in a t-shirt! Besides, some confused soul might mistake you for a Navy SEAL and shelves us in the with contemporary romances!
Curran: You know, you make an excellent point. . .
Kate: Thanks!
Curran: Mouse.
Kate: Ugh! Stop calling me “mouse”!
Curran: As you wish.
