I interrupt this Covid haze–mine, yes, I was gifted the virus for Christmas–to present a round-up of all the Rust Belt Girl goodness in 2023, made possible by you amazing readers and followers. (For you math and science types, here are your facts and stats):
2023 total views: 5,069, from 3,575 viewers, for 231 likes, and 170 comments. Thank you for engaging!
Most Viewed Post (MVP) 2023: A stellar review of Jason Irwin’s poetry collection, The History of Our Vagrancies, by Marjorie Maddox (Side note: I met Jason in person for the first time and reconnected with Marjorie in October at the Fall Literary Festival in Youngstown.)
2nd Place for MVP 2023 (and tops for most–and most heartwarming–comments): “Mad Dog, “Steel Poet,” Tim Russell, a literary reflection by poet and publisher Larry Smith. Thank you to Larry for being such a pillar of this literary community. (I also met Tim’s widow, Jodi, for the first time, in October–there were hugs!)
3rd Place for MVP 2023: The Rabbit Hutch‘s Rust Belt Renaissance, a review by Emma Riva, an author and art writer living in Pittsburgh, who is also the founder and EIC of Petrichor, Pittsburgh’s art scene magazine. Check it out!
Most Viewed Author Interview: My interview with John W. Kropf, author of Color Capital of the World. (Though John and I both live in the Greater Washington D.C. area, as luck would have it, we were in Ohio at the same time earlier this year, and I was able to meet him and his lovely wife Eileen at a reading and book-signing not far from where Color Capital takes place.)
And don’t miss all the other 2023 bloggo goodness, including interviews with Mitch James, author of the rural noir novel Seldom Seen; Valerie Neiman, author of YA novel The Lonely Backwater; and David Giffels, author of The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio. (This makes three interviews with David at Rust Belt Girl, some kind of interviewing trifecta!)
Then there was John W. Miller’s beautiful guest essay: From Belgium to the Rust Belt. (In a fun coincidence, John and I ended up in the same storytelling course this fall–the writing world is a small one.)
And in other fun blog news, my 2022 review, Enlarging “Rust Belt lit” and Megan Giddings’ The Women Could Fly, was picked up by Belt Magazine in 2023.
2023 felt pretty good and creative outside of the blog, too: I published a short story and a poem(!) and started querying a novel (a couple of you blog followers and friends beta-read!). I am infinitely lucky and grateful to cross paths with as many of you as I do–even if only on these interwebs.
I think we deserve a happy and healthy 2024 with all the writerly and readerly connections we desire. Those of you local to these D.C./Baltimore parts, find me on January 14 at EC Poetry & Prose’s Salon Series. Thank you again to Patti, my fellow blogger–and extraordinary poet and spoken word artist “little pi”–for inviting me to read!
As for Rust Belt Girl, keep in mind that I love a guest post–author interview, book review, or essay on the writing life and beyond–so hit me up.
Want more Rust Belt writing, book reviews, author interviews, writing advice, essays, guest posts, and more in your life? Follow me here. Thanks!
Oh, and if you want to check out my reading superlatives for 2023, they’re at Goodreads. Or, find me on FB. Share your top posts or top reads for 2023 in the comments. I’d love to hear about your writerly, readerly year.
(Off to nap…again.)
*free header image courtesy of Pexels
Rust Belt Girl 
Oh, my! Sorry to hear that you got sick during the holidays. Unfortunately, I’ve heard its been making its rounds. But the blog sounds like it’s been doing great — and querying. More ‘Oh, my’s!’ Here’s to wishing you and your family a healthy and prosperous 2024! xo
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Thank you, Lani! And Happy New Year to you and yours, too! xoxo
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Fantastic Rebecca! What a brilliant 2023. I know covid is rubbish, but I hope you can feel great at how well you’ve done this year. A happy 2024 to you and yours!
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Thank you, Aggie!!
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Aw, even when you’re sick you’re a gifted writer as you recapped your 2023. So many highs to celebrate, congratulations!! I’m so excited to hear more about your query. As you know, I think it’s a novel that will capture the hearts of the readers when it is published!! 🥰🥳 I also added many of the books that you reviewed to my TBR list and never did get back to you about how much I enjoyed Valerie’s book. As always, I treasure your words of wisdom about writing and life and being a mom and overall you being you! I wish you and your family a fantastic 2024!!! 💖🥰🥳🤗📚📖📑📚💗
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Thank you, Shelley. I am so grateful to you for having beta-read my novel, and your positive response makes my heart sing!! I’m also really glad you liked Valerie’s book–thank you for letting me know. She’s super talented–and prolific! Thank you for being my blogging buddy all these years. I hope your 2024 is already off to a wonder-filled start! I can’t wait to see it all in photos!
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Rest up and get well soon 🙂
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Thank you, Simon!
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🙂
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I SO love when you do this, and every year I say I’m going to do one, and EVERY year, I forget and have no time haha. Because of you, I peeked at my most viewed post. Of course it was my release day. 🙂 You truly provide value to our community, and I’m glad your stats show it!
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Oh, yes, that’s a perfect MVP: release day! Thank you for saying that, Kelly. I don’t post nearly as often as I should but it’s really rewarding that a few kind souls out there (like you!) still peek at this stuff! (This year, WordPress sent an email with most views, etc., so that was a helpful reminder!)
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Congratulations on what sounds like a fantastic year! Looking forward to hearing what 2024 brings.
And when you have a new need for beta readers, let me know if you’d be open to a swap! I’m always looking for beta readers with whom I can swap novel manuscripts for feedback!
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Thank you for being here, Leslie! Yes, I’m excited for 2024. Here’s to new challenges–and maybe even a few mistakes! Just visited your site, and really enjoyed your last post on mistakes vs. failures, etc. What’s the Neil Gaiman quote about doing what scares you? We wouldn’t get the most out of our creative lives if we went around paralyzed by fear of making mistakes. I will certainly let you know about a beta-read swap. Fresh eyes are so valuable!
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Looks like a great year. I hope 2024 is your best year ever! Looking forward to hearing about it on your blog! 🙂
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Thank you, Lisa!
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I hope you feel much better now! Congratulations on all that you accomplished in 2023, it sounded like a wonderful year! We most definitely do deserve health and happiness this 2024. May you achieve all your goals this year, and have fun in the process!
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I do. And thank you, Damyanti!!
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