Nia Dark and Lovely, a Black Escort in London

Mercurial girl is an American ex pat making a home and creating her life in Paris.

What is the first weblog you came across?

Before I start Nia, I would like to thank you for inviting me to participate. It's been fun reading the answers of the preceding bloggers in this series.

I do not remember a specific blog. I became aware of blogs in college and began searching out those that discussed issues that I was concerned with. Most dealt with politics or social justice issues. Later I discovered introspective blogs and those have become the ones that I am most interested in.

Why did you start blogging?

At the suggestion of a therapist who felt that I would benefit from keeping a journal. A blog was a more interesting medium than paper, the exhibitionist in me liked the thought of readers

Which blogs do you read?


The blogs listed on my sidebar and about 50 more that I have bookmarked. It takes me 2-3 weeks to rotate through them all.

What appeals to you about the blogs you read?

I look for good writing, a point of view and a well told story.

Whose writing do you particularly admire?

Excepting present company, this varies from time to time, but one writer who I feel is really hitting her chops is Gillette at Ex-Courtesan in Transition and another is Mandy at How About Now. Tui is a writer who I might go down to the crossroads to strike a bargain if I could have her ability.

In your reading do you seek out different points of view ?

I am looking for a point of view expressed well, in thoughtful arguments. I can take something away from writers who are persuasive in their logic, particularly when I vehemently disagree.

How do you choose items to link?

More serendipity than analysis, if something strikes my fancy I wil bookmark it for future mention. What catches my attention is a post that is saying something important, either as an observation or the writer speaking of herself.

What is your policy on comments?

Excepting spam or at the writer’s request, I have never deleted a comment. Nor do I moderate them. My attitude is that if someone wants to make a jackass of themselves by making a comment that many would find offensive, so be it. The rest of us will recognize the writer for what he/she is and we will go on.

Do you ever receive abusive comments , how do you handle it ?

Not recently, but I have in the past. I typically ignore the comment but leave it up.

Where do you find interesting links?

Two places, among the links of other bloggers and when I see a well written comment by a writer who has a profile, I will check the profile to see if they have a blog and I will check it out.

Do you ever write to provoke a reaction, how do you do that ?

Not really. Occasionally I will make an allusion to something to see if anyone picks up on it.

How much traffic do you get?

When last I checked, about six months ago, Mercurial Girl averaged about 300 page views a day. I suspect that has dropped since I am not posting as often and the content of my posts has changed. Less smut.

What is your rank on technorati?

Technorati, I have no idea, but I did check The Truth Laid Bear, and Mercurial Girl is now a Crawley Amphibian, up from being a Slimy Mollusk.

Has your writing changed since you started blogging?

Yes, when I started it was pretty much stream of consciousness. Now I take care in composing my posts, often making significant edits before sending them up. Early on I wrote directly on Blogger, but after having several posts eaten by the internet, I decided to write off line so I could have a copy to repost if necessary. Writing off line is different, it certainly is less spontaneous and allows me to be more precise, but it does not make the posts perfect. Often I will re-read a post several days after it has gone up and I will wish I phrased something differently or find a typo. Unless I realize this immediately I usually leave the post as it is.

How many hours do you spend online a day?

I am constantly online, because that is how I run my business. It is how I communicate with my contractors, check on the status of projects and review the work. Recreationally, including communicating with friends, probably a couple of hours a day.

How much time do you spend on your site a day?

On days I post fifteen minutes to an hour, otherwise not at all. I pick up comments via email.

How many blogs do you read?

80 to 100, stretched out over a two to three week rotation. Some I read carefully, others I skim, looking for a nugget.

How do you find new blogs?

Pretty much the same place I find links, among the blogs listed in sidebars and the blogs of those commenting.

How much reader email do you get?

Not tons and it tends to ebb and flow. There are a handful of readers who regularly email me so we have an ongoing exchange.

What do you think makes a successful blog?

Having a purpose for the blog and the ability to tell a story in an engaging manner.

What is your advice for a new blogger?

Have a purpose for your blog, but know that the purpose may change over time. If you are new to writing, pretend that blog is a conversation with a friend and you are telling a story. Keep the post simple and focused.

How has blogging changed your life?

I have become a much better and more confident writer. And I have become exposed to many interesting people who I might not have sought out if it had not been for my blogging.

What blogs do you think deserve wider recognition and why?

There is a young blogger, Kestral, whose blog American Kestral I have been reading for a few months who is very talented and a keen observer of the world around her. She should be showing up in more sidebars (including mine).

Annie Rhiannon, at minimum makes me smile whenever I read her, but most often induces me into fits of giggling.

What are your hobbies?

Cooking! I love having a couple or a bunch of friends over and making them dinner. Other things I do are running and biking. Checking out estate sales and flea markets with my friend Anne Marie is a pretty regular weekend activity.

How has your blog changed over the years?

Initially I wrote just for myself, but overtime the knowledge that there are readers has me choosing subjects and composing the posts with the reader in mind. This results in my playing to the crowd occasionally. Today, I also comment on current events that is something I did not do in the beginning.

Are you fairly accurate in predicting which of your items will be widely linked?

I do not have a clue.

Do you have a background in writing?

Not beyond the requirements for a marketing degree.

When do you blog?

Currently late in the evening, I am not much for TV and the blog fills that time.

With regard to blogging what was your most memorable moment?

I am not sure I can put my finger on a single moment, but it would be the support I received when I have written about crises in my life.

Would you read your site?

Of course!

Labels: American Kestral, Annie Rhiannon, Bloggers on blogging, Escorts, Ex-Courtesan in transition, How about now, Interviews, Mercurial girl, Technorati, Truth laid bare, Tui

The Petulant Pooner is based in Seattle.He writes about what is happening in the paid sex scene there, and other topics of interest related to the industry.

What is the first weblog you came across?

I believe it was on the eve of the Iraq war that I stumbled across a link to Instapundit, who was blogging pretty heavily about Salam Pax at that time (Salam Pax was an Iraqi blogger who wrote about his experience as an ordinary Iraqi citizen in the run-up to the war -- at immense personal risk, I might add.)


Why did you start blogging?

I blogged just a little on Myspace in the spring of 2006, and started to blog seriously in November of 2006.

Why did you start blogging?

Ok, here's 'why':
I've always enjoyed having a soapbox to stand on, but dislike being subject to anyone else's censorship.

Which blogs do you read?

I have several daily reads and too many occasional stops to list. My current favorites are The Belmont Club, little green footballs, HorsesAss, and VodkaPundit. Oh yes, and of course... Nia Dark and Lovely!

What appeals to you about the blogs you read?

Blogs serve two purposes in my world. Firstly, they serve as an information filter -- they screen out a lot of the noise and help me to focus on information that is truly important to me. Secondly, blogs are marvelous for bringing deep background information that would otherwise not come to the fore, and similarly, to provide coverage of important -- yet obscure -- stories that the mainstream media chooses not to allot space for.


Whose writing do you particularly admire?

Wretchard (The Belmont Club) is a favorite. I was also particularly fond of Steven Den Beste (U.S.S. Clueless), who has -- alas! -- given up current events and switched to blogging about Japanese anime.


In your reading do you seek out different points of view ?

Actually, it seems more accurate to say that different points of view seek me out! I think that if one is not regularly exposed to differing points of view, then one needs to adjust their reading habits. The blogosphere is all about diversity of opinion, and it behooves us to make the most of that.


How do you choose items to link?

My blogging has a very narrow focus (that being: prostitution, from the consumer's perspective), so it's relatively easy for me to separate the wheat from the chaff. I look at prospective items and pass them through the filter of my own agenda -- pro-legalization; anti-corruption.


What is your policy on comments?

In spite of what some of my detractors would tell you, I am actually quite tolerant of comments from those who disagree with me. That said, I would also add that I do not suffer fools gladly.


Do you ever receive abusive comments , how do you handle it ?

Where I draw the line is at anonymity -- if somebody wants to throw rocks at me, that's fine... but I insist that they identify themselves (using their locally known Hobby identity, most often as they are known on the local escort review forums). When I have something negative to say, I let people know who I am -- and I expect the same from those who leave comments.


Where do you find interesting links?

For news items, I use Google News Alerts to instantly notify me when something of interest is published. I also devote a lot of my blogging time to the local prostitution scene, and I cover that primarily by haunting the message boards where people in my area hang out.


Do you ever write to provoke a reaction, how do you do that ?

Oh yes! I am all about provoking a reaction... it's the best way to drive increased traffic. It's not difficult at all; it merely requires that one not 'pull punches'. I tell it exactly the way I see it, and usually that gets the job done.


How much traffic do you get?

The Petulant Pooner is currently ranging between 700 to 1200 visitors daily. The single day record is just shy of 2000.


What is your rank on technorati?

I just switched from Blogger to a standalone dot-com a few weeks ago, and I lost some ground at Technorati as a result. My rank at Blogger was in the mid- 300,000's. The new blog is now in the mid 700,000's, and gaining.

Has your writing changed since you started blogging?

I'm sure that it has, but I would be hard-pressed to give an objective analysis. I will say, though, that I tend more towards brevity than I used to.

How many hours do you spend online a day?

At least four to six.


How much time do you spend on your site a day?

The Petulant Pooner usually consumes about a half hour to an hour each day, depending of course on how many posts I create.


How many blogs do you read?

On an average day, perhaps five or six.


How do you find new blogs?

Usually they are brought to my attention by established bloggers, although I do stumble across them on Google quite often.

How much reader email do you get?

I don't get a lot of email that isn't tied to blog comments. My email address is not widely published at the moment.


What do you think makes a successful blog?

Readership is the name of the game. And it's not the number of readers, so much as it is a matter of reaching the right people.


What is your advice for a new blogger?

Find a niche!


How has blogging changed your life?

It's given me a hammer to swat the flies.


What blogs do you think deserve wider recognition and why?

I'm going to throw you a curve in response to this question. I can think of several blogs that deserve considerably LESS attention, most notably Instapundit, which has turned into little else than a list of links. Add to that list ShakespearesSister and Pandagon (blogs which belong to a pair of militant feminists who were let go from the campaign of American presidential candidate John Edwards), which contain a great deal of anti-male hate speech.

Ok, enough of that. Who deserves more recognition? Why, The Petulant Pooner, of course!!


What are your hobbies?

Outside of blogging, I am interested in photography, auto mechanics, gardening and cooking.


How has your blog changed over the years?

Hmm... well, it's not 'years' for me, as I've only been at it for a little less than seven months. In that time, my blog has evolved to suit my agenda, which is to fight corrupt practices within my local prostitution scene.


Are you fairly accurate in predicting which of your items will be widely linked?

I'd say so, yes. In my locality, my blog has become known as THE place to learn the scoop on what is going on with certain sorts of events. When I break news that I know certain people do not want to be known, I can usually count on a deluge of hits.


Do you have a background in writing?

No, not really. I've always enjoyed writing, but until I turned to blogging I never really devoted much time to it. Perhaps one day I will be asked this question again, and the answer might be, "Why yes, I used to write a popular blog."


When do you blog?

There is not set time for me. Sometimes it is early in the morning before work, sometimes I can find some time during the work day. Most often, it is in the evening.


With regard to blogging what was your most memorable moment?

Here in Seattle, a widely popular (but very corrupt) review forum just bit the dust, about two weeks ago. Some say that a series of posts on The Petulant Pooner brought it down, and I have to consider that this is at least a possibility. To date, this stands out as the most significant event.


Would you read your site?

Yes... if I were a hobbyist in Seattle, I most definitely would. And they do, too.

Labels: Belmont Club, Bloggers on blogging, Horseass, Instapundit, Interviews, Little green footballs, Myspace, Pendagon, Petulant Pooner, Salam Pax, Shakespeare'sSister, Technorati, Vodkapundit