I've been lucky enough to be interviewed, hosted or promoted at many of these places and found it intriguing to interview them about their passion and love of books and authors.
Please welcome my next guest - Cath from My Book Chatter...
Book Blog: My Book Chatter
Blogger Bio: *snort* I hate describing myself but here goes…
I’ve been reading since the age of four, and think people that don’t enjoy the art of escapism are missing out and I will try to convert them!
I’m happily married to an awesome non-reader truck driver who works too many hours and has so far evaded my conversion techniques (I will never give up, never surrender!) .
I have three gorgeous and crazy daughters, who often drive me bonkers with their daily trials and tribulations, but I wouldn’t change them for anything – they are my world.
I LOVE books, food, and coffee – all in excess, and I’m probably a couple cans short of a six-pack! (Translation: I have a few loose screws/the lights are on but nobody’s home/I’m away with the fairies/loopy/weird…you get the idea!!) .
I would love to one day write my own book, but lack the skill and patience to put in the hard yards, so I’ll continue to read other peoples stories. I’m honest, tend to swear like a trooper, and I love hard and forever.
Web address: http://mybookchatterchat.blogspot.com .au
Review preferences: I will read just about anything but prefer:- Paranormal Romance
- Urban Fantasy
- Young Adult/Teen Fiction
- Historical
- Contemporary Romance (or any mixture of the above!)
What inspired you to begin your blog? To be honest I was feeling disillusioned and a little cheated by some of the books I was reading.
They had all these really great and often gushing reviews and 5 star ratings, and I found them to be full of over clichéd characters and unimaginative plots. I was often left confused and perplexed – was I the only one that didn’t get it, that didn’t enjoy the book?
I guess I just wanted to add my voice to the mix, for someone to hear my opinion.
Do you have a favorite part of the job?
When someone contacts me to let me know that they have loved a book that they otherwise wouldn’t have read if not for my review, that just blows my mind!
What hazards come with the territory? My reviews have been known to offend people to the point that they feel the need to send me hate mail! It sounds strange I know, but there have been a couple of books that I didn’t particularly enjoy, and upon reading my review, hardcore fans felt the need to email me nasty messages that included lots of swearing and threats of bodily harm.
I usually just ignore them, or email them back thanking them for their comments - LOL!
Top 10 books: Are you crazy?! That’s a super hard question to answer!
Oh gosh, MY top 10 books of all time would be…
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis
- Charlotte's Web by EB White
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- The Never-Ending Story by Michael Ende
- IT by Stephen King
- The Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier
- Poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Lightning by Dean Koontz
- The BDB series by JR Ward (probably just the first 6 though)
- The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh (I can’t choose just one!)
Auto-buy authors: There used to be so many more but I’ve gotten picky lately: Nalini Singh, Melissa Pearl, T.G.Ayer, Jeaniene Frost, Anna Campbell, Merrie Destefano, Pamela Palmer, and *grins like a loon* Kylie Griffin.
Things that make you go "Ahhh" in a book?
I’m a sucker for unrequited love, especially when a girl is completely oblivious to her best friend being in total never-hurt-her-in-a-million-years, I-want-to-treasure-you-forever kind of love.
And it sounds simple but I love an honest emotional connection; when my heart beats a crazy tattoo in my chest, or I’m crying uncontrollable rivers of tears… whether it’s between me and a character, or between the 2 MC’s of the story - but it has to feel real and unadulterated. It can turn an “Ahhh” moment in to an “Ahhh” book.
Most memorable author interview? I haven’t done many interviews on my blog, but I recently had author Toni Kenyon visit with a guest post and she did an excellent job.
There was lots of funny banter between us and people leaving comments and it was like having an awesome day out with a close friend, I had a lot of fun.
You can follow My Book Chatter on her blog, Facebook, Goodreads or Twitter.
Posts
Hate mail is such a weird response. Bah to the idiots! This was such a fun interview. Thanks, Cath and Kylie :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny :)
DeleteI know right, so much wasted energy in hating on a review/er.
Hope you are having a great week, mine just perked up with Kylie's awesome post!
Cath
xx
Holy cow...that's so cool, I don't quite sound as crazy as I sometimes feel!!
ReplyDeleteThanks heaps for having me Kylie :)
It's lovely having you here, Cath! I think it's valuable for writers to learn a little more about our volunteer book bloggers! You guys do such a wonderful job promoting books and giving out honest opinions on what worked or didn't.
DeletePutting your opinion out there isn't easy, as you've discovered but your passion for books really comes through in your reviews.
Aww shucks *blushes* you are too kind Kylie :)
DeleteThanks for having me, it's not everyday one of the authors you admire wants to interview you and/or ask an opinion of you - I had a blast!
Hi Kylie and Cath,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interview! Always fun to find out what motivates people to read and blog about books.
Hi Gracie,
DeleteTruth be told, I have an over active imagination and so I read so many books in order to escape the disorganized mutterings of my own brain! (see there is a little crazy in there!!)
Hi ladies.
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspired post idea, Kylie! And Cath, it's illuminating to hear from the 'other side' of writing! As a very newly published author, I'm on a very steep learning curve and just discovering some of the many great review blogs around.
I'm popping over to check out your site now.
Cheers, Susanne
There ARE so many wonderful book reviewer blogs out there, Sue.
DeleteI'm so glad I had a swag of bloggers willing to give us the low-down on their experiences. :-)
Hi Susanne,
DeleteI'm just a girl who loves to read, who needed an outlet for her opinions and (sometimes) frustrations. I hope you found something of interest over on my blog though ;p
So, Cath, a 'Galaxy Quest' fan, huh? From the top four on your 'favourites' list I wouldn't be surprised if "The Wind In the Willows" was lurking somewhere close.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kylie, for an inspired and informative post. I'm sure a number of debut authors will be checking out Cath's site. :)
Hi Sandy,
DeleteYes, The Wind in the Willows is great! Full of so many great characters. Mole is probably my fave, closely followed by Badger, oh and I fell in LOVE with David Jason's narrative of Toad in the 1980's animated TV series!
And how can you not enjoy 'Galaxy Quest' - lol!
Hi Cath and Kylie,
ReplyDeleteCath, you're just as much fun on the other side of the interview!
I had a great time when I visited your blog - we should do it again soon ;-)
I'm with you all the way on books, food and coffee - oh, and excess! :D
Hi Toni,
DeleteI'm glad you had a good time on my blog and you'd be welcome back anytime, yes soon!!
Excess - if you're going to do something, might as well do it right!!
Coming in late Cath (been out of town) to say thanks for your reviewing skills. I find a lot of my TBR pile through reviews these days, so it's great to have honest, intelligent reviewers like you to turn to!
ReplyDeleteSorry, coming in late too.
ReplyDeleteYou got me at books, food, and coffee - my three favourite things!! Just sitting on my deck, sipping freshly brewed coffee, enjoying your interview, Cath.
Great blog series, Kylie!!! Thanks.