The shoe is on the other foot. . .the book reviewer/blogger foot.
You've read what book reviewers write on blogs, how they interview the authors of the books they read.
Have you ever wondered about the person behind the book review and blog? Have you ever wondered about the book reviewers/bloggers out there who talk about your books or recommend books you read?
Of course you have!
Now is your chance. Learn how one book blogger does it and why. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, or in my case a Mountain Dew, and enjoy the interview of April from Cafe of Dreams.
Not only can you read the interview, but feel free to post a comment or leave a question. April will pop in off and on throughout the day to answer any feedback.
If you haven't visited April's blog, please hop over to Cafe of Dreams and see what you are missing.
First, let me thank April for taking the time to answer my questions and share a little of her world with us.
On with the interview:
What made you start a book blog?
The biggest reason behind starting a book blog was to simply keep track of books that I read. I had kept a written journel for a couple of years and thought doing the blog might be fun. Plus with the blog, I gave more detail into my thoughts on the book, rather than just a title and a rating number. It's amazing how the blog has taken off since I began. It's been a very exciting and fun journey. I have to say that it is also quite interesting to go back into Cafe of Dreams' beginning reviews and compare them to the present review. The growth, I would like to think, has developed well.
What are your aspirations for your blog?
I would love to see Cafe of Dreams continue to grow and become better and better. I love that I am able to participate in the Virtual Blog Tours - Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotions has really sent that aspect of my blog soaring. Meeting authors, doing interviews, guest blogs and giveaways has been so wonderful and fulfilling. One thing that I would like to do is add some of my own writing - short stories, poems, etc. Perhaps that may be better suited to doing on another blog, but we shall see.
Where do you get your books you review?
In the beginning, the books that I reviewed were simply ones that I had on my personal bookshelves. Now, however, after getting my name out there a bit more, I get requests from publishers and authors to do reviews for their books. I cannot tell you how exciting and humbling that is. Also, I will request book periodically from publisher through Shelf Awareness and Bostick Communications. Through book tours, such as Pump Up Your Book Promotions and Kidz Book Buzz, I am able to obtain books for review and tour stops.
How many books do you read and review each week? Year?
Oh jeez, now there's a question. You know, that is one of the reasons that I began keeping track of my books, to see how many I could read. I am waaay behind on my yearly running list on my blog, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say 2 - 3 a week right now. Before summer hit, I was doing probably around 3 - 4. That's not including audiobook reviews. I usually manage 2 of those a month. It really depends on how well my kids get along so that I can read and how willing my eyes are willing to cooperate and stay awake after I put the kids to bed, lol. My goal is to get 100 books read and reviewed this year, so hopefully I will hit that mark. I also do reviews for Children books, so those are pretty quick reads and reviews.
Do you have a blogging philosophy?
Have fun! If you don't have fun doing it, what's the use of doing it? Blogging is such a creative outlet for me and truly relaxes and de-stresses me. I have fun sitting down and searching around the web for fun little tidbits to post about. Holidays are especially a blast - I try to post trivia, recipes, etc. Blogging is also such a great way to meet other people that share your interests. When ever someone says that they are picking up a book that I reviewed because it sounded so good, I feel great.
Do you write?
Well, you told me to be sure to put YES to this question, so I better, lol. Actually I have written since I was a child. I have many of the little stories that I wrote from when I was age 7 and up. I had my very first story published in our city newspaper at 7 and a few throughout the years, so that's always fun to look back on.
I think that first story consisted of one REALLY long sentence, lol.
Playing with words is so much fun for me. Writing out my feelings is also so theraputic for me. Poetry is a great outlet for me in this respect. Also by writing short stories, it's like being able to play God in your own little world. My dream has always been to write a full length novel, however, I have not even begun that journey yet. I have a few outlines and ideas, just need to get my butt in gear and swallow that lump of fear of failure and get to it.
How do you keep your book reading and blogging fun and fresh so you don’t burn out?
Honestly, I do get burnt out. When that happens, I just take a step back and take a break. Every now and then you will notice a few days lapse in between posts and that is usually what I am doing - taking a break (or going crazy insane from my kids, lol)That is one of the reasons I backed off a bit on the Virtual Book Tours during the summer - between the stress of keeping the kids busy and not killing each other and my inablity to get as much reading done. I am always happy to do guest posts and book spotlights, however. Those are always fun and easy to post. I do worry that my blog gets tendious to readers, so my hope is that if that is the case, someone will speak up.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Other than my addiction to reading and being on the computer?! lol I guess it would be a couple of yummy men that I like to invite into my home by the names of Ben & Jerry. Yes, as a child I never had much of a taste for ice cream, but now as an adult I am addicted to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream! My favorites are Karmel Sutra, Americone Dream and Twisted with choco chip cookie dough and brownies - YUMMY!!! When they are on sale, I stock up, when they are not, I pout, lol!
What are the fundamentals to success in your blogging and building long-term traffic?
I think consistancy. You want to have topics and posts that are interesting to your readers. Also adding the fun of giveaways, trivia, quizzes, etc, makes things interesting and does a bit to liven things up.
What makes a book amazing to you?
If a book draws me into it's pages and refuses to let me go, that is amazing. A story whose characters I think about when not reading the book and long after I have finished the final page is amazing.
Any last comments, April?
Please visit my book blog at: http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
