(Updated Feb. 19th, 2013)

“Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century.” –Marshall McLuhan, Canadian philosopher and communications theorist

We’ve launched the most useful, literary classifieds section ever—Red Room Classifieds! We hope you’ll post an ad (it’s only $5.00 for two weeks). But for our most recent Blog Challenge, we asked Red Roomers to post a free "ad" on their blogs. We were hoping clever posts would prove McLuhan right and we weren't disappointed. A few posts stood out:

• We enjoyed the stories author D.K. Christi told about her life, stories that have culminated in her novel Ghost Orchid. Travel all over the world but end up at a swamp sanctuary in Florida in her post "Sex, Myth & Magic—The Ghost Orchid Presentation by D.K. Christi."
• While member Eva Schlesinger's entry, "Classified Information" isn't an ad as such, her story of a missed connection is a charming read.
• The path first-time author Catherine Nagle took to get her book published will be familiar to many writers. If anything, her post "Imprinted Wisdom—In Production" is an "ad" for determination in following your dream. 

These bloggers will win the following book from Red Room blogging favorite, author Chris Rodell:

Like a box of crayons, we are all born with an astounding range of color options, from Mauvelous to Tickle Me Pink. We can paint our lives as brightly or dimly as we choose—but through life, some of us lose or wear down some of our more dazzling colors, living each and every day as if it were either charcoal or lampblack.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Nor should it. Use ALL The Crayons! is your uplifting, humorous, spiritual guidebook about how to make every day as vivacious as an Atomic Tangerine to illuminate even your most lampblack days.  The book includes 501 hilarious and thoughtful tips and anecdotes and 33 Colorful Day Diary essays that detail what can happen to your life when you “Use All The Crayons!” Who says self-improvement needs to be boring?

Don't forget to check out all of the "classified ad" blog posts. I hope you'll find your favorites and let the bloggers know in the comments what you liked about their posts. All of Red Room's past Blog Challenge topics are here. Thanks as always for blogging!

–Huntington W. Sharp, Senior Editor, Red Room