7 x 7 Link Award and ROW80

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Thank you to Trisha for the 7 x 7 Link Award!

So I've gone through four years (!) of blog posts and found the following: a quote about Tolkien and orcs by Joanna Bourne, a fly-by comment about myself writing romance that was oh so wrong ("I guess writing romance has had it, now that I've gotten those two fan-based novels out of my system and don't seem to be writing any new, adult stories..."), a question about bringing snails to Constantinople, a dream about being a snail, thoughts on serendipitous character naming, and a review of Lady Chatterley's Lover that was very pleasurable to re-read, if I do say so myself.

I also seem to have learned a lot about blogging after the first two years, when I was merely throwing words into the dark - and at a select few friends. I'm glad to be part of a wider community now!

But the award actually specifies that you link to seven types of blog post:

Most beautiful

I'm not sure it's beautiful, but here's the longest sentence I've ever written.

Most helpful

Not sure I've ever had any helpful posts. I have, however, had a few posts where I've asked for help:

What is this thing in Bardstown, Kentucky?

What trees are these?

Where do these quotes and literary references come from?

On the other hand, I did contribute two posts to the Your Neck of the Woods contest by Marsha Moore (aka Talli Roland), one on Istanbul and one on Montreal.

And I have a recipe for börek, featuring Charlie Sheen's mug.

Most popular

I was hoping this one might be: Why Tahereh Mafi should read The Lord of the Rings.

And I thought this one, a guest post by Talli Roland, might be.

But, nope, it was actually the Second Challenge of the Second Writers' Platform Building Campaign.

Most controversial

It wasn't at the time, but for better or for worse I'm bringing it back into the light: the post where I critique Ariana Franklin and Jason Goodwin.

Hmm, there's a spelling mistake in that post. And one more each in two other posts. Tsk!

Most successful

Wrap-up of the Constantinople Writers' Houseparty.

Fifteen minutes of fame for my MG/YA The Face of A Lion!

Most underrated

The post in which I interviewed Vince Ditrich of Spirit of the West about his favourite children's books.

Also my kitchen mystery story, which I wrote in elementary school.

Most prideworthy

Something about having twenty story ideas under my belt...

Hosting a book fair to raise money for charity.

And, I reach 500 posts!

I'm adding an extra one:

Most frustrating

I mentioned that I woke up, in New York City, with a fully fledged idea for a mystery.

But I didn't write down the idea! Now I can't remember the details, anymore, unfortunately.

Since I originally saw the 7 x 7 award on a number of Aegean bloggers' sites (Ayak's Turkish Delight, Turkeys for Life, Being Koy and Glynis Smy), I'll pass it on theme-wise as well, to fellow Compuserve forumites:

Zan Marie

Jill

Sara

Jen

Lara

Aven

Tara

As for my ROW80 check in, I've been doing really well, making corrections/changes to Out of the Water based on beta readers' reviews, as they come in. And I've got my query letter and synopsis ready to go. Also, my essay on the lavender fields is up! It's hard to believe that summer's over already...