Happy (belated) New Year, True Believers!

As is common around this time, people are doing retrospectives on the past year, so I thought I’d do something similar. In my case, I’m sharing My Top 5 Most Viewed Blogs of 2015. Admittedly, I didn’t publish blogs as consistently as I should have–consider posting more to be a resolution for 2016–but it was interesting to see what was viewed most often.

So, without further adieu…

Number 5:
Proxy Characters and Wish Fulfillment
Nearly a year ago, I wrote about how authors sometimes create characters who are “Mary Sues,” or characters that they see as idealized versions of themselves. I used Robert E. Howard and his most famous creation, Conan the Barbarian, as my example. I’m still trying to remember where I read that Howard saw Conan this way. I couldn’t find it anywhere online. It must’ve been in a book.

Number 4:
Attacking the Idol
A blog I wrote in response to the backlash I received when I made this satirical video that dared to bash the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. It was one of several instances–all within a short span of time–that made me an internet troll magnet. (The other ones being my follow-up video and this essay for the Theology Gaming Blog). I was new to dealing with trolls, so I was a bit overwhelmed. I didn’t handle it as well I could’ve I think. Regardless, it was a learning experience.

Number 3:
Religious Freedom, Discrimination, and Gen-Con
Another controversial blog. It wasn’t necessarily a troll magnet like the ones I mentioned above, but it did get me a lot of attention. Being a Christian, a born-and-raised Hoosier, and a fan of Gen-Con ( I’ve sold books there since 2012), I was disappointed to hear that the convention’s founder was taking Governor Pence to task for the RFRA law he passed, erroneously believing it legalized discrimination against the LGBT community. It sparked some heated debates when I shared in in some Facebook groups.

Number 2:
‘Marvel vs. DC’ Movie coming in 2020!
This was my April Fool’s Day prank. I originally wrote this after seeing a slick fan-made trailer featuring superheroes from both DC Comics and Marvel Comics battling each other. It was published on my Examiner page for about ten minutes before being removed. That annoyed me since I’d seen plenty of joke articles published by other news sources. Regardless, I was proud of satirical efforts. Perhaps I should write for The Onion.

Number 1:
Upcoming Book Signings for 2015
I’m as surprised as you are. This was nothing more than a simple announcement–no bells or whistles or anything–and yet it’s by far my most-viewed post of 2015. Maybe it’s because of all the tags I put in it? Or all the Facebook groups I shared it in? The world may never know.

What was your favorite blog post from my website in 2015?