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Bloggers who Win: Little Lovely Books

Posted by Redhead on May 22, 2013
Posted in: blogs, WIN. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Today in our series  Bloggers Who Win it’s my pleasure to have Dana of Little Lovely Books join us. She’s a reader, a busy Mom, a book lover, and her heart skips for Zombies.  New to book blogging, Dana let me put her through a gauntlet of interview questions.

Dana Lovely Books

How did  you get started blogging?
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I started a blog back in 2007 after a friend at work said he started one. It originally was just to share cute stories of my kids but it evolved over time. Late in 2012, I started reading again and decided it would be fun to have a books only blog so Little Lovely Books was born.

What kinds of books do you most enjoy reading?

My heart skips a beat for zombies, dystopians and post-apocalyptic but I read pretty widely in both YA and adult fiction. I enjoy quite a variety of non-fiction too….especially books about entrepreneurship. 

I see a ton of bloggers are involved with Bout of Books, but I don’t know anything about it, except that the girl in the graphic looks sick, so I feel bad for her. What’s Bout of Books all about?
Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon with basically one goal…have fun. It isn’t about competing with others, its about reading more than you normally do. There were challenges and Twitter chats. Great way to find new bookish friends.
What’s your favorite thing about book blogging?

Bloggers who WIN: Over The Effing Rainbow

Posted by Redhead on April 16, 2013
Posted in: blogs, WIN. Tagged: , . 6 comments

Lisa, of Over The Effing Rainbow, might be new to the blogging world, but she’s already doing it right!  Gobs of reviews, read-along posts and love for Harry Dresden, it was lovely to be able to pick her brain on all things books and blogging.

over the effing

Tell us a little about your blog, Over the Effing Rainbow. How long have you been book blogging? What got you interested in doing this?

I’ve been blogging seriously now for about six months; I started my blog properly in November, last year. I’ve been interested in books for as long as I can remember, though anyone who knows me would tell you that “interested” is a massive understatement! I am a bookworm, and proud of it! As for what got me into this, I think it was basically a combination of a lot of free time (I work part time, in evenings) and constantly reading something and thinking “I want to talk about this!” If I review those books online, then I can take that excited edge off without having to wait around for someone, anyone, to read that book as well! So in a way, I suppose this is my therapy …

I get a grin on my face everytime I visit your blog because of it’s name. What’s the story behind the Effing Rainbow?

It comes from the phrase I’m always using to describe myself! I tend to daydream an awful lot … “Effing Rainbow” is a bit of a concession to the fact that it’s always possible my mother might read my blog. I can swear, but never in front of her … I know, not very rock and roll, but one can be naughty and still be nice!

 

What are some cool things happening on your blog in April? Any upcoming or recent book reviews or author interviews you’re super excited about?

First up has to be the Stardust Readalong, hosted over at Stainless Steel Droppings. I’m relatively new to Neil Gaiman, so what better way to change that? I had fantastic fun with a couple of recent Terry Pratchett Readalongs (as well you know), so I’m hoping to continue that trend. Then there’s the Emoticon Generation Blog Tour, with Guy Hasson. It’s been posted by now, but I have my very first author guest post up! That was amazingly cool, and Guy is genuinely very nice – and I apparently convinced him to buy a book after he read a review I wrote! It was a book I love already – Gemsigns, by Stephanie Saulter. Reading and reviewing that one was awesome for me, so I’m thrilled that I could get someone else into it.

As for upcoming reviews, that’s easy – I’m currently taking part in the Once Upon A Time Challenge, also at Stainless Steel Droppings. Five fantasy novels of my choice, and two months to read them? Easy!

On top of that … we’ll see what comes out of the pot, but I have a couple of eARCs waiting to be read – The Blue Blazes by Chuck Wendig, and The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough. I’m really excited for both, so they’ll likely be bumped up the list.

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Bloggers who WIN: Mr. Rhapsodist

Posted by Redhead on April 12, 2013
Posted in: blogs, WIN. Tagged: , . 1 comment

Welcome back to our series on people in the book-o-sphere who WIN.  These are the people who are doing it right.  Today I’m happy to be talking with Alex of the blog  Mr. Rhapsodist.  Alex let me pester him with a bunch of questions about who he is and what he does. Take a look at his blog Mr. Rhapsodist, and all the other projects he is involved in. He’s got great tastes in books and anime!

mrrhapsodist

Tell us a little about your blog, Mr. Rhapsodist.  How long have you been blogging, and what made you decide to start? What do you focus on at your blog?

I’ve been blogging for almost three years now.  I started my current blog, Mr. Rhapsodist, on May 10, 2010.  While I’ve been writing my whole life, I was more focused on trying to write a novel that never got anywhere during college.  After I got laid off from my first post-college job, I decided to focus on blogging and generating an online audience.  I decided to share my passion for the science fiction and fantasy genres, which later extended to the medium of anime, and these three are what my blog focuses on.

What genres or types of books do you specialize in on your blog?
Genre-wise, I focus on Science Fiction and Fantasy, particularly stuff set in an urban or modern-day-to-future setting (like cyberpunk and urban fantasy).  I also focus on seinen-style manga anime, which is geared more toward adults. My blog also serves as a platform for producing short stories on a weekly basis–a series called Flash Fiction that runs every Thursday. I started the series after I started working for Plympton, which inspired me to try my hand at online serialized fiction. As for books, I look at mostly novels and short story anthologies.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

The best book I read last year was Redshirts by John Scalzi.

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Bloggers who WIN: Dab of Darkness

Posted by Redhead on April 3, 2013
Posted in: blogs, Interviews, WIN. Tagged: , . 1 comment

Today I’m thrilled to feature Susan, webmistress of Dab of Darkness. Blogging scifi, fantasy, historical fiction and more, there’s always something interesting happening at Dab of Darkness and at Round Table Farms, be it a book review, read-along, interview, or funny goat story.

to learn more about WIN and how to get involved, click here.

What got you interested in book blogging?

I went to my first science fiction convention in 2010 (Dragon*Con) and it opened a new world to me in many respects. People who love books also love to talk about books, and blogging was a natural extension. Through that convention, I learned of the existence of ARCs and book bloggers. Then my friend Elizabeth Campbell (who had invited me to Dragon*Con) also invited me to start writing for her blog, Darkcargo. Through her persistent encouragement, I decided to start my own book blog in April of 2012, Dab of Darkness.

 

How long have you been blogging?  Are there things you talk about on your blog other than books?
Honestly, before Darkcargo, I wasn’t really aware of the blogging community at all. Yes, I do live under a rock and the rock is made out of petrified dino bones, and perhaps dino doodoo. So, when I started writing for Darkcargo in 2010, there was all sorts of basic etiquette and wordpress skills I had to learn. By the time I started Dab of Darkness, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted on that blog – reviews, read alongs, interviews primarily, and giveaways/contests and commentaries secondary. Other stuff going on in my life that I feel the need to blog about, goes on the my farm blog, RoundTableFarms.com. Yes, that is where all the goat jokes and questionable donkey pictures end up.
What are you favorite genres to read?
My top three favorite genres are fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction. I’ve been reading SFF since I was very little, as we had used paperback Norton, Asimov, Bradley, etc. novels all over the house. In early highschool, I started throwing historical fiction in the mix as it is a much more fascinating way to learn about history than actually staying awake in History class. And why did English class teach good historical novels (like The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck) while History class had to go with some text printed 2 decades ago with only half the facts correct? Sigh…If History class was more like my archaeology magazine articles, more kids would voluntarily sign up for the classes.
What’s your favorite book you read in the last year?
This is probably the toughest question in this lot. How can I narrow it down to just 1 when I easily read over 100 books a year? How about this: Epic Fantasy – Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin;  Science Fiction – The Forever War by Joe Haldeman; Historical Fiction – A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files; Urban Fantasy – Cold Days by Jim Butcher; Historical fiction – Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden; Mystery – Hiding Gladys by Lee Mims; Kids’ - The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt by Ilana Waters. I would go on, but I think this was meant to be a short answer type of question.
Where do most of your books come from?
I use paperbackswap.com for many of my books. I also have a large personal library collected over the years. I am an hour’s drive from the nearest book store, and 1.5 hours from the nearest used book store, so when I want a book, I try paperbackswap first, then BetterWorldBooks.com, and finally Amazon. If I want the ebook version, I will see if it is available on Smashwords.com first, then Kindle. I also love my library, which I can swing by on the way home from work. Their on-line database makes it easy to ‘browse’ from at home.
What’s your favorite thing about the blogging community?
There aren’t many assholes. Really, in a statistical study, there are far fewer people being dicks in the book blogging community than in other communities and in real face to face interactions. I like that. By and large, folks are supportive and want to engage in chatting about books. Yes, there are several of us who are a bit socially dimwitted, but that is OK as enthusiasm for this book or that book more than makes up for it. For instance, I am finally using emoticons. Or, at least, two of them. Here is one: ;) . The other is a rude one, so I will spare you (see, me not being a dick).
p.s. 23% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Where can we find you? (websites, twitter, etc)
Book Blog Dab of Darkness: http://dabofdarkness.com/
Farm Blog Round Table Farms: http://roundtablefarms.com/

Last but not least, M&Ms or Skittles?

Haha! Me and my mouth prefer Reese’s peanut butter cups, but peanut M&Ms will do in a pinch.

BSBBConxn gets interviewed at Coffee, Cookies & Chili Peppers!

Posted by Redhead on August 23, 2012
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Come learn a little more about the people behind Bookstore Bookblogger Connection, over at Coffee, Cookies and Chili Peppers.  Big thanks to Sue for interviewing us!

Here’s a snippet of the review:

1. Could you introduce yourself?

Andrea: I’m a nerd, book reviewer, blogger, and lover of books. Bookstores and libraries are my bat-cave.

Elizabeth: uh… ditto. Sort of. I am a lifetime reader of science fiction and fantasy, and I’d have way more money in my savings account if I didn’t buy so many books. But, of course, my life would be so less the richer. I don’t review books very much any more, I found that it’s not really for me (it’s too much work!) but we keep up a running discussion on bookish life with Darkcargo.

Click here for the rest of the interview.