2024 Ended with Two Book Awards & An Explosion in Blog Views!

Larada Horner-Miller

1 year ago

2024 ended with two book awards and an explosion in my blog views and visitors! What a great way to end this year! Let’s look at which of my books won the awards and how my blog increased this year!

Two Awards

2024 ended with two awards, but I had a book, Hair on Fire, won other honors earlier in the year, also.

Global Book Awards

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Life

This book won Gold in the Global Book Awards in the Poetry – Verse category. Where life’s moments unfold in verse. Begin your poetic journey with my first book in the Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry series, where I transform personal moments into universal touchstones.

Experience poems that:

Guide you through life’s peaks and valleys
Transform grief into healing
Celebrate nature’s quiet wisdom
Capture family bonds and cherished memories
Light the path from heartache to hope

This collection offers:

Intimate reflections on life’s transitions
Gentle humor amidst life’s challenges
Moments of discovery and wonder
Meditations on love and loss
The promise of renewal

Perfect for:

Poetry lovers
Those seeking comfort in life’s transitions
Readers who appreciate personal reflection
Anyone navigating their own life journey
Those who find solace in shared experiences

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

This book won Silver in the Global Book Awards in the Christmas Books category. Where Christmas chaos meets cherished memories! Unwrap a delightful blend of poetry and prose that captures the magic, mayhem, and mirth of holiday celebrations.

Experience Christmas through stories that will:

Make you laugh at familiar family mishaps
Warm your heart with tender moments
Remind you of your own holiday adventures
Bring back memories of Christmas past

This unique memoir combines:

Heartwarming family stories
Festive poetry that captures holiday spirit
Real-life Christmas chaos everyone can relate to
Moments that transform holiday disasters into precious memories

Perfect for:

Holiday reading by the fireplace
Anyone who needs a good laugh
Christmas enthusiasts
Readers who love both poetry and prose
Those who know that imperfect holidays make the best stories

Hair on Fire also received other recognitions this year:

1st Place – March, 2024 Nonfiction Book Cover Contest on AllAuthors.com
Finalist – 2024 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards in Two Categories of Parenting & Family and Philosophy/Religion.

Gigantic Shift in Blog Views

Thanks to all who have viewed my blog posts this year. I appreciate your support!

2024 increased unbelievably in views and visitors of my blog posts. And I think I know why! Last year, I promoted my book, Hair on Fire, in Asia. I didn’t sell a lot of books there, but I did see some increase in 2023. I wondered at that increase, but this year I witness an explosion as shared below.

My evidence came from the views and visitors this year. In August, I had 10765 views and 8748 visitors—my best month all year. The post, A Dream About George Strait or Not? – My New Poetry Book!, caused this gigantic serge this month with 4660 views. Also I had three other posts that had excessive views: Mental Health Amplified by Simone Biles & Update on Me (1626), Hot August Nights: Collaboration at Its Best ( 1443) and Poetic Topics? Take a Photo of Life in Words! (1079). As you can see, I write about a variety of topics.

The top views in 2024 came from Bangladesh (28,300 for the year) and India (18,500 for the year). Painfully, views from the United States (5976) lagged horribly behind, yet came in third.

Take a look at the growth over the last five years! I dipped in 2021 but grew in 2022. Then my views grew sizably in 2023, but 2024 zoomed off the map. It’s amazing for sure!

Finally,

I feel honored to have received gold and silver—two awards in the Global Book Awards for two of my books. What a great way to end the year! I love both books, but both are so different—a Christmas memoir and a poetry book!

Then as I watched the views increased and go crazy, my blog became a major focus for me.

But I have a couple statements for visitors on my blog: like my posts when you visit, make comments on each blog post you read, and buy my books, my e-books, my audiobooks!