730 Posts

 Well, well, well, this is my 730th post on Vraie Fiction this year. So it means that I posted for every day of the year already, one post in French, one post in English. I know blogging is now the least popular of all form of social media expression, but obviously, I really enjoy it and I try to write daily. I guess I pretty much succeeded. I also find that the more you blog, the more you find inspiration to blog. Anyway, I wanted to mention this benchmark today.

Halloween in Vienna

For today's countdown to Halloween post I come back to my very first post of the month, when I shared the picture of a display window in Vienna. Because the display was gorgeous, for one, also because I was so glad to see that Halloween is getting traction on the continent. Austria is a great place to celebrate Halloween, I thought, but I also always thought Austria and Vienna especially are great places for old fashioned horror stories. It has been in the past, of course, I know of at least one anyway. Because of the architecture, the history, the atmosphere (not to mention the music), the city deserves its own critters and iconic supernatural villains. When I was in Vienna, I could not help but imagine what I could do with the setting, imagining malevolent presences and hapless victims. What do you think? And do you know of any horror stories, old or new, set in Vienna?

Countdown to Halloween

 We are the first of October, which is, of course, the official starting date for the countdown to Halloween. I took this picture in Vienna. A proper display dating back from August., with elements of macabre and also looking very autumnal. This is the favourite window display I have seen in years. And it is proof that Halloween is getting popular everywhere. On a side note, Austria is a perfect setting for Halloween and horror stories. Speaking of horror stories, a lot of my countdown to Halloween posts will be about horror stories in some way. In any case, happy countdown!

Halloween Activity Books

Oh goodie, goodie, goodie! Halloween is not as big in this country as it is in mine, but at times, the English make an effort. So I was walking in one of the local shops yesterday when I saw these Halloween activity books. I didn't buy them, although I was very tempted. I think Wolfie might already be a tad old for it, but I might try to convince him all the same. I love doing activity books with him. And, I know you cannot judge a book by its cover, even a children book, but I'd buy them for the cover all the same. What do you think?

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 You might have noticed another badge on the sidebar of this blog, a badge I also add on this post. As the Countdown to Halloween is getting closer and closer, I have of course decided to become a Cryptkeeper again. I am a little bit nervous this year: as I registered to the countdown a bit late, Vraie Fiction is not on the blog roll yet. Not as I am typing it. But otherwise, check this space for a lot of Halloween stuff, most of the time related to scary stories.

"Un deux, test": un anniversaire

C'est un anniversaire d'une certaine importance aujourd'hui: le tapais "Un deux, test" le 25 février 2008, commençant ainsi Vraie Fiction. Il était 21:41 quand mon tout premier billet a été publié. Je sais que bloguer est un art assez oublié de nos jours, c'est un peu perdu dans tous les réseaux sociaux, mais je ne m'en lasse pas, même quand je manque un peu d'inspiration.

I'm a Cryptkeeper

 It is not officially the countdown to Halloween, but I have been counting the days since last Halloween. And, more specifically since August, I have started the preparation. Because yes, the Halloween season starts as early as possible for me. So anyway, you may have noticed that I put up the Cryptkeeper badge for 2024 already. There was a wide choice, I went for the one with the scarecrow Jack O'Lantern. Scarecrows, especially with pumpkin heads, are a staple for Halloween and they are great in horror stories. This one is suitably spooky.

Deux questions existentielles 374

 Bon, petit billet meta ici: je viens de me rendre compte que j'ai écrit deux questions existentielles 374: une le 25 octobre 2021 et une autre le 23 novembre 2021. La question technique qui me vient en tête: que faire? À part abandonner les questions existentielles entièrement, puisqu'elles ne sont que très rarement commentées. Plus sérieusement (ou pas), je n'aime guère quand je commets des impairs comme celui-là.

The 29th

 Okay, here we are, today is the 29th of February. A first in.. four years. I don't have much to say about it, except that we are a leap year. February is not my favourite month of the year, not by a long stretch, it usually my worst month job-wise, or at least this is the month I find most difficult. It is also often in February that I receive work-related bad news (or at least it did when I had that job I hated). So yeah, February is short, but I often find it a bit too long for my taste. That said, February is also the month when I started blogging, back in 2008, also on a leap year. So I guess it is not all bad. But anyway, how do you feel about the 29th of February? Does it mean anything to you?

Missed blogging anniversary

 Quick post today, just to mention one thing: I missed my blogging anniversary, which was yesterday. I missed another birthday, then another from the day before, but these two are for two different posts. So anyway, it baffles me, but I missed my blogging anniversary. I have been blogging since the 25th of February 2008. Blogging is a lost art, on social media it looks bleeding ancient, but I happen to love it, so I try to feed Vraie Fiction regularly. So yes, that's it really.I feel like I missed my own birthday.

Nouvelle lectrice du Saguenay

Petite nouvelle dans la publication de Vraie Fiction: j'ai une nouvelle lectrice. Oui monsieur.Ou oui madame, car c'est une femme. Et du Saguenay en plus, sans doute de Chicoutimi. Elle a répondu gentiment à ma question sur ce billet, quand je demandais des adresses de cafés où aller à Chicoutimi. Pas que j'irai bientôt. Mais au moins là j'en ai deux, grâce à ses suggestions: un café et une maison de thé. Des endroits que je compte bien visiter avec ma femme et mon fils lors de notre prochain séjour, qui ne sera pas demain. Espérons qu'ils ne fermeront pas d'ici là. Dans tous les cas, bienvenue à Maryse sur Vraie Fiction et au plaisir de lire tes commentaires.

Les bleus (ou pas) d'après Noël

 Bon, ben, pour le moment, je n'ai pas de mélancolie d'après Noël. Touchons du bois. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi: d'habitude, ça arrive assez tôt et ça me prend le 27 comme une claque au visage, ou comme un grand vite d'air. Peut-être que c'est parce que nous sommes plutôt casaniers cette année, dans notre petite faille. Casaniers et assez vegge: on mange, on regarde la télé, on lit et c'est tout. Les Fêtes s'étirent plus que d'habitude et se terminent en douceur. Et vous, comment se passent l'après-Noël?

Le blogue hiberne (un peu)

 Bon, j'ai passé la barre des 700 billets depuis un bout et l'année n'est pas finie. D'habitude, j'essaie d,avoir environ 730 billets, deux par jour, un en français et un en anglais. J'ai quelques projets d'écriture d'une autre nature qui vont me tenir occupé, sans compter le reste (lecture, vie familiale, etc.) Je vais donc tenter de ralentir le rythme d'ici à la fin de l'année. Le blogue va hiberner un peu, en quelque sorte. Je dis un peu, parce que je risque de trouver l'inspiration pareil, surtout que les Fêtes s'en viennent. Mais ne vous étonnez pas si je saute un ou deux jours de temps à autre.

Countdown to Halloween

It is the first of October now, which means this is finally, finally, finally, the official Countdown to Halloween. Although mine started in August. Okay, it truly started in July, maybe even June. On Vraie Fiction, the countdown will mainly but not exclusively be about the horror aspect of Halloween and thus scary stories of all sorts and the spooky and macabre aspect of Halloween. So watch this space.

I'm a Cryptkeeper again

You may have noticed this badge on the margin of the blog, with the rest. You will easily recognise its use: tomorrow the official countdown for Halloween starts. Although for me, it has started since August, even earlier. I have made myself relatively discreet on the blog about it, but this will change tomorrow, when Vraie Fiction will gofull on spooky. Watch this space, as they say. But until then, I wanted to share the badge I chose. It was quite hard, as everyone of them is very nice, as always. So I followed my motto: when in doubt, go for a Jack O'Lantern.

15 years of blogging

I forgot to mention something two days ago:the 25th of February was the date of my first post on this blog. I have been blogging for 15 years. To say that I enjoy it is an understatement: I love blogging. Not sure why. There are more modern channels/mediums on social media, but this is the one I love the most. It's like having a personal journal, but for anybody to read, if they are so inclined. When I started Vraie Fiction, I was unemployed, bored and thought I could use my free time like this. It was also a dreary, depressing February, like February often is, so I thought this could cheer me up. I guess it did. In any case, I have been blogging ever since and I try to write two posts daily, one in English and one in French, even if it is for trivial matters. So yeah, I hope you enjoy Vraie Fiction, in any case.

Bring back personal blogging

I recently read a column on The Verge (don't know this one) from Monique Judge (don't know her at all) titled "Bring back personal blogging." I really enjoyed the article and the arguments brought forward. Because a blog like Vraie Fiction is now pretty much a rarity, in fact personal blogging is a lost art, maybe a dying one even. And I think the online world would be poorer without it.After about 15 years (give or take), I still blog daily and I enjoy it a lot, even though I migt only be blogging for a handful of readers, if that. But I find the interaction more genuine on a blog than other social media platforms, even when we have trivial subject matters (which is often the case for me). So yeah, I hope Monique Judge's call is heard and we see more blogs and more blogging this year.

The Early Cryptkeeper

The countdown for Halloween has not officially started (unofficially that is different: I have been starting the countdown since last month), but I decide to get ready early this year and I added to my blog layout this year's badge. There is a wide choice of badges, all very nice, but I hesitated a moment until I chose this one. I had to go for the Jack O'Lantern with the skeleton bodyand the clawed fingers. It's scary, sinister, ghostly and so very perfectly seasonal. Anyway, I will be reporting for duty on the first of October, until then I will of course post about Halloween anyway, to get myself in the spirit.

Countdown to Halloween

This is the first of October, so the begining of our official Countdown to Halloween. As I am a Cryptkeeper, this blog will now be all about my favourite holiday. I hope you don't mind. A lot of my post will be about scary stories, but all aspects of the holidays will be touched. And to kickstart the countdown, I thought to share this picture taken at Sundown Adventureland back in 2019. That year, they had spooky Halloween displays (especially a Halloween house, where I took the photo) as early as September. I love that attitude. So enjoy the countdown and watch this space.

I'm a Cryptkeeper

Tomorrow is the official start of the countdown to Halloween. That said, I start counting down since the first of November, or almost and I prepare myself mentally to Halloween and to this time of year from August onwards. And every year, for the month leding to my favourite holiday, I become a Cryptkeeper and blog almost exclusively about Halloween. I also get my cool badge from the Countdown to Halloween blog, THE big online gathering place for Halloween lovers. And what a cool badge it is this year: it is a changing one! It has an image of witch, of zombie rising from the grave and of a raven. My favourite is the raven. Anyway, I cannot wait for tomorrow and please keep reading this blog.