The 7 Links Challenge — A Roundup of the Best (& Worst) of THE HAPPY BOOK BLOG

The 7 Links Challenge — A Roundup of the Best (& Worst) of THE HAPPY BOOK BLOG

When my Twitter friend Julia Monroe Martin, a freelance editor and blogger working on her novel from the coast of Maine, contacted me to let me know I”d been nominated to participate in the 7 Links Challenge, I couldn”t have been more relieved! Over the weekend I knew I was going to be in Nashville for the Southern Festival of Books, doing some research for my novel-in-progress at Vanderbilt Children”s Hospital, then coming home to put up applesauce with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Needless to say, I knew any new blog post wasn”t going to get the attention that it deserved. I hope you all enjoy the links I have posted below. Don”t think of this as a rerun, but as a behind-the-scenes peek. : )

Most Beautiful Post: I believe that the best writing evokes emotion and that emotion evokes the best writing. Both of these posts were written through tears, and I still cannot read over them without missing my dear friend in A Window of Borrowed Time or being so grateful that my best friend made it through her cancer battle described in Wading Through Troubled Waters.

Most Popular Post: This post continues to receive the most hits out of any I have ever written. So, if you are ever trying to drive traffic to your blog, just write a post that should be a “What Not to Do” in a marriage counseling seminar. You won”t be disappointed. The Litmus Test for Marriage.

Most Controversial Post: I still can”t believe that PETA isn”t breathing down my neck for this one. All I can say is RIP, little Ratatouille, I’ll know better next time. Why I Am No Bear Grylls

Most Helpful Post: This very tongue-in-cheek post is one I wrote after becoming weary reading about the gadgets every writer supposedly needs to become the next Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer. 10 Gadgets Every Writer Doesn’t Need But Should Definitely Have Around. Oh, yeah . . . sure hope y”all don”t have a thing for Adam Lambert or Lady Gaga.

Most Surprisingly Successful Post: Apparently, revealing that your writing insecurity is so bad that you want to remove warts from people”s feet for a living instead of crafting sentences is another great way to drive traffic to your blog. Who knew. I sure didn”t, or I would”ve laid it on the table a whole lot sooner. The Truth Behind My Fiction (Or Why I Should”ve Been a Podiatrist)

Post That Didn”t Get Attention: One night I was helping my father type up a query letter for the country gospel song he”d written when I realized he and I are now both chasing the same seemingly unattainable dream of publication. This was another post that brought tears to my eyes while writing it, and I was surprised that it didn”t get the same amount of traffic as the ones that had made me cry before. Chasing My Father”s Dreams

Post I Am Most Proud Of: The reason I am so proud of this post is because it took a lot of guts to publish it. Believe it or not, I do not always like to portray myself as a dumb blond. Especially a dumb blond with snot running out her nose. Because she”s sobbing. Because she lost someone”s bank deposit. Living Up to My Hair Color

And now here are five other bloggers who I enjoy reading and who I now nominate for the continuation of the 7 Links Challenge:

Christine M Grote: Random thoughts from midlife

Paige Crutcher: Ringing out my balalaika

Kimberly Brock: What She Would Have Said — Tales of a Storyteller

Stephanie Alexander: The Cracked Slipper

Amy Lyles Wilson: “It Is The Sharing of Our Stories That Saves Us“