Best and Worst of 2008

It's that time of year when everyone is either producing retrospective lists of the best and worst bits of the year, or are looking forward to what 2009 might have in store. Now, those of us possessed of a cynical disposition might well suspect that this has a lot do with newspaper and TV journalists not wanting to actually do anything too strenuous over the holiday period. These 'best and worst' lists are a cheap and easy way of filling up space. Of course, here at Sleaze Diary we wouldn't stoop to such measures just to pad out a post. Nevertheless, it does seem an opportune time to look back over he last twelve months and pick out some of the highlights of 2008 at The Sleaze. The decline in traffic we experienced over the last six months notwithstanding, 2008 has seen some pretty decent stories published on the site. One or two of which I was really proud of, not to mention a few which generated some pretty good traffic. Of course, the most popular stories aren't necessarily the best stories. So, without further ado, let's take a look at what I think are the best five of the stories that were written and published by me during 2008.

First up is the most recently published story, A Ghost Story for Christmas, a cracking tale (even if I say so myself, which I do), of the supernatural, although it was all but ignored by readers. I feel I'm justifiably proud of a story which broke new ground for the site in terms of style and approach. An attempt to update the M R James tradition o the twenty first century, it's an experiment which, I think, will be well worth repeating. Next in this ego-stroking session is The Awards on Terror, a topical piece ripped from the headlines and simultaneously satirising fundamentalism and the Eurovision Song Contest. An innovative piece which was also completely ignored by readers. By contrast, Sex Dolls of the SS was (and still is) hugely popular. A long time in gestation, this one gave me a chance to do a World War Two story and indulge in the surrealistic satire I love. Similarly, The Beast That Ate Wall Street was another opportunity to combine up-to-the-minute satire with a heavy dose of surrealism. Once again, it proved very popular. Finally, we come to my favourite story of the year - A Life in Pictures. This one surprised me with its popularity, but that just goes to show that sometimes what's good can also be popular. A satire on the modern world, poking fun at the surveillance society and our obsession with fame and celebrity, amongst other things, this was easily the most subtle piece I've written in a long time. Of course, none of these was the most popular story of 2008,in terms of visitors. That honour goes to The Nude Hunters, which proved to be the most popular of the thirty six stories we published in 2008. Not my favourite story, obviously, but still an entertaining story which I enjoyed writing. So there you have it, my 'Best of 2008', at least as far as my own writings go; as for the worst, well, I think all of this year's stories have merit, I don't do worst!