Interviews

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Interview…with Lucia from iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

This week we’re welcoming Lucia to Aside from Writing for an interview about her love of books and the blog iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books.

So let’s get started – can you tell us a little about yourself and the iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books blog?

Hi, all! Thanks for inviting me! My name is Lucia (pronounced Lou-Chee-Ya) and I’m an American-Asian high school teen. I’ve been blogging since January of last year, so it’s been over a year now. I’ve been reading ever since I can remember and I love books almost as much as chocolate! There. I said it.

 

What prompted you to start writing your blog and was there anything particular you wanted it to achieve when you began?

I kind of just did it on a whim, with no real ideas of how far I would get. Now, I don’t want this to become a pity party or anything, but I started blogging almost a year after I was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease. Because of this disease, I had to quit a lot of extra-curriculars and miss out on fun events with my friends to rest. Thus, this “house arrest” led to me searching on Google and discovering the blogosphere. I needed something to do, and what better than to lie in bed and read.

 

What’s been the best part of running the blog? Any particular highlights so far?

The best part? Oh, there’s too much! Meeting awesome bloggers and authors and publishers. Everybody’s so nice! I loved going to ALA Summer last year, and I hope to go sometime again! I had to miss out on the recent Midwinter Convention.

 

And the hardest parts?

Sometimes the amount of posting and reading that I’m supposed to be doing weighs down on my shoulders. It can get difficult to balance school and blogging, you know? Bonnie: Yep – definitely know what that feels like – although it’s work and writing for me 🙂 

 

What’s an ideal day for you – and how do you fit the blog into that?

An ideal day… Waking up at a comfortable time, such as 11 AM. Going out to lunch with the fam. Returning home and reading until my eyes fall out. Okay, not really. But reading counts as blogging, right? Really, a super nice day for me is no homework and getting to Tweet and write blog posts and read all day. I would much rather do that than, say, WHAP. (See? Blogging is my ideal day!)

 

Running your blog you must meet a lot of authors – what do you like best about the engagement you get with them writing the blog?

 

Honestly, just feeling their awesomeness. I respect authors, every single one of them. And if they wrote the book that I totally loved and shamelessly fangirled about on Twitter, it’s hard to describe how amazed I am to get to talk to them! They’re real people! It’s nice to talk about books and normal things with them.

 

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers? 

Pretty much just as good as talking to the authors. Man, these awesome bloggers and readers that are willing to do the fangirling (or fanboying…) along with me feel like my best friends!

 

What genres/authors do you love to read? 

I’ll read just about anything teen and middle grade. Contemporary, historical fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, you name it!

Any ‘must have’ books that you want to get hold of in 2012?

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. Maximum Ride: Nevermore by James Patterson. SQUEEEEE. All by authors I have loved since middle school. (I’m sure there are plenty of great authors and books that I read in high school, but these have special, older connections with me.)

 

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Oh, gosh. A hard one. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Why? Because she’s brilliant and strong and one of the best female characters ever. And she has a British accent.

 

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

NARNIA!!!! C.S. Lewis’s series is my all-time favorite. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read the series, but I read it first in second grade.

 

Best super-evil baddie?

President Snow from The Hunger Games is pretty despicable and twisted. I can’t wait to see him and his bloody roses (pun intended) in the film. The only reason I said him is because I already mentioned HP up there so I didn’t say Voldemort. Galbatorix is pretty evil, too.

 

Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

THANK YOU!!! (Sorry if I blabbed too much. I do that a lot.)

 

 

Want to know more? Check out the blog!  

http://livelaughlovebook.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/LiveLaughLoveBooks

https://twitter.com/LooChiaPet

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Interview…with Pike from Pike’s Quest

So far our character interviews have been attracting a rather varied mix of…erm…people…with aliens and big feet popping onto the blog for a chat. We’ve got some more interesting ones scheduled throughout March and April – then a whole month of author mini-interviews as part of our Indie Author Month.

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Q: Hello Pike, welcome to Aside from Writing, it’s great to have you here today. It’s not every day that we can welcome a bona fide visitor from the New Dawn to our site – or our era, for that matter. Can you tell us a little about yourself and, maybe, what the New Dawn actually is?

A: Me? Well, I’m in my sixteenth year and up until the longest day I had no idea we were even in the New Dawn. I was happily assisting Molag the Melon Mogul to harvest his crop of juicy watermelons, but I had a memory: many years before, my mother sent me to the Fertility Stone of Ooze – Ooze being the name of my village – and there I met Moorlock the Warlock. He told me that I was the one who was chosen and that I must return there on my sixteenth birthday – the longest day of the year.

Apparently, the New Dawn comes after the destruction of most of the world. Ancient Magicks resurfaced and the technology you know is all but gone. Certain fallen wizards and despot tyrants want to rediscover the bad technology and use it along with dirty magicks to merge our world with the demonic one and to gain ultimate power.

Q: A quest? What did that involve?

 A: A sparrow, a horse and a tub of moisturising cream, mostly.

 

Q: That just sounds bizarre. 

A: It was. You see, horses are gifts from the gods. No one owns them, no one rides them, yet there I was befriending one and riding on its back, with his permission. I’d never have done it if Robyn hadn’t made me.

Q: Robyn, who’s Robyn? I thought you said you were with a sparrow?

A: Yes, a sparrow called Robyn. Robyn Fynch, actually.

Q: So, Robyn persuaded you, and the horse gave you his permission?

A: Yep. That about sums it up. Did I mention they can talk to me, and that I can talk to them?

Q: No. I suppose the horse is call Mule, or Donkey, or something?

 A: Don’t be stupid, he’s called Horse.

 

Q: OK…What are actually happens on the quest then?

 A: Quite a lot: we get captured by Lord Nairy du Well – otherwise known as the Lisping Lord. He finds out about my riding of Horse and decides that he’s going to supply me with an army to continue my quest on the agreement that I train his troops to capture and ride horses as well. I had to agree, but had no intention of keeping my side of the bargain. Then he sent out a huntress to track us – Scarlet Deadnight. She nearly succeeded in stopping me. I don’t understand why he did that after supplying me with troops. Maybe I’ll find out in the future.

 

Q: What were the most challenging aspects of your Quest?

A: Mostly it was all a nightmare: the Stinking Peat Bogs of Lanklandishire were tough, giant sabre-toothed worms, one-eye winglekrats, treachery, man-eating flowers … and then there was the Fair Maiden.

Q: Ah, there’s always a fair maiden.

 A: Yes there is. But this one was central to my quest: I was to win the heart of the fair Maiden and rescue Moorlock from the clutches of his arch enemy.

Q: And how did that work out for you?

 A: Well, I found out that things weren’t quite what I had been told. The Fair Maiden, for example: not what I was expecting, and certainly not fair … nor a maiden. If you want to know the rest I suggest you read the book and find out; my biographer, K J Bennett, did quite a good job, you know?

Q: And you mentioned moisturiser: what’s that all about?

A: I have this really bad skin condition, and du Well’s handmaiden sorted it out with a moisturiser. I didn’t know that it also had magical properties, which would come in very useful.

Q: We’ve got some random questions for you now about books – hopefully you’ll have learned enough stuff from the 20th and 21st century to be able to answer them.

If you could be any character from any book – who would you be and why?

A: In the New Dawn we don’t have books for pleasure. I was given a copy of the Great Book during my quest, but that was full of esoteric stuff.  I do rather fancy myself as a dashing hero, but I’m more of a dashed one!

 

Favourite fictional world – where would you love to live?

 A: K J Bennett showed me the Lord of the Rings movie. Hobbiton – or the Shire generally – is a bit like Ooze, except for the hairy feet. I like the look of that place.

 

Best super-evil book baddie?

 A: That big eye thing in LotR.

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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Pike’s Quest, by K J Bennett, is currently available as a Kindle e-book. Want to know more about the book and the author? Check out the links!


The Author: Web   Facebook   Twitter – @kj_bennett

The Book: Amazon US   Amazon UK   Goodreads 



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Interview…with Crystal from What R U Reading

For today’s blogger interview we’re welcoming Crystal from What R U Reading? Crystal was one of our first guest book reviewers in February (check out her review here). Let’s find out some more about her! 

Hi Crystal, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself and What R U Reading?

Hey, thanks for having me! Well my name is Crystal and I am 21 years old. I live in Virginia where I am a full time college student at Radford University. In my very limited free time I love to read, and I thought it would be nice to share my love for books with others. So I created my blog What RU Reading, I am still new to the blogging scene but I am really enjoying it so far!

What prompted you to start writing it and was there anything particular you wanted the blog to achieve? 

I do not really have many friends that share my love for reading so I decided to create my blog as a way to meet others that also love books. When I created What RU Reading my main goal was, and still is, sharing what I am reading with others as well as my thoughts after I am finished reading. I also love hearing what books other readers have read and really enjoyed.

What R U Reading has a facebook page that closely tracks the blog – some people have both, other bloggers don’t bother with facebook or twitter feeds to promote the blog. Why did you add one and what difference do you think it makes?

I decided to create a facebook page for my blog to attract more readers. By having my facebook page I have expanded my audience beyond fellow bloggers. Before I created the facebook page I felt that my audience was limited to only other bloggers who found me through similar blogs. With facebook I am able to gain readers that aren’t bloggers. I hope that makes sense lol 🙂

What do you think are the best (and perhaps worse) things about engaging with authors through your blog/facebook?

I really like being able to talk to authors through facebook and blogs. It gives us (the reader) a chance to express our thoughts and such about a book directly to the source. The worst part?? Well I would have to say it is the fact that they are all so creative, I wish I had the skill to put together stories but I do not think story telling is my thing.

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers?

The best thing about connecting with other readers would have to be all the suggestions they give. Without all their book suggestions I might not have read some awesome books!

You’re studying graphic design/art…. at the moment. Do you think you judge a book by its cover more than another person might?

I absolutely tend to judge a book by its cover, I do not think I do so more than any other person. But I do think that I judge a book by its cover in a different way than other people might. I tend to look at the composition, layout, colors, etc of a cover and think about what they did well as a design or what they could have improved on. As a graphic designer I tend to really notice the typeface on a cover, the wrong typeface can just throw the whole design off. 🙂

Do you have any book cover favourites, from a design point of view?

I really like simplistic designs, I think that you can tell a story with a single image. I do not really like covers that have to much going on. I love the cover of Elixir by Hilary Duff. They made a beautiful cover that is very simple yet eye catching, and the image is very representational to the story. The cover for The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is really nice I like the use of complementary colors. I also really like all of the Twilight series covers, another instance of simplicity.

What genres/authors do you love to read?  

I really enjoy reading Young Adult books, usually paranormal romance. I particularly  love Richelle Mead. I have really enjoyed all of her books, her Vampire Academy series is one of my favorites. Definitely team Dimitri ♥

Best books you’ve read so far in 2012?

So far this year I have read City of Fallen Angels, Hush Hush, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and Cinder. I really liked all of them but if I had to pick the “best” I would go with…..oh this is so hard lol. I would pick Cinder, I loved the twist on the classic fairy tale.

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Bella Swan, only because she gets Edward!

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

Narnia!

Best super-evil baddie?

Jace from the Mortal Instruments, not super evil but definitely has a dark side. 😉

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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Want to know more about What R U Reading? Check out the links!

Blog: Http://whatrureading.staytruehost.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-RU-Reading/110757122336121

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30 Days of Hunger Games…Interviews with Suzanne Collins

Our fourth post as part of 30 Days of Hunger Games event is a selection of links out to the best interviews we’ve found with Suzanne Collins about the Hunger Games trilogy. Take a look and see what you think…

Scholastic – Teachers Q&A Session    New York Times – April 2011     School Library Journal – 2008

Author Page at Scholastic    Interview on Mockingjay   Various Interviews on The Hunger Games

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Interview…with Emily from Confessions of a Bookaholic

Welcome to Aside from Writing, Emily, we’re really excited to be talking with you today about your book blog Confessions of a Bookaholic and the Goodreads group your run: Books, Blogs, Authors and More, which has quickly become one of our favourites 🙂 

 So…can you tell us a little about yourself and the blog/group?

Well my name is Emily (as you already know) and I am a self professed bookaholic. There’s never a time when I don’t have a book on the go.

My blog, Confessions Of A Bookaholic is a place where I express my views on books I have read and share news that excites me. I also have author interviews and guest reviews although ive only had one person send me a review.

My group; Books, Blogs, Authors and More is very new. In fact I only set it up a few days ago. I made it because people needed a place to promote their blogs and books that focuses primarily on just that.

What prompted you to start writing the blog in the beginning?

Well I was searching the web and I came across a review blog and I was very bored that day so I decided to make one too. Since then it has become a kind of obsession of mine, my friends are probably sick of me constantly  telling them how many followers I have. But they put up with me 🙂

What about the Goodreads group? Was there anything particular you want the group to achieve?

Ah the group, well it was my second group that I had made on good reads and I really wanted more followers without the hassle of searching through all the groups to find one where I can submit my link. So I just made a group to save me and others the fuss. As its only been open a few days I hope to get many more members and see many other people’s blogs.

What’s been the best part of running the group? Any particular highlights for you?

I like it when I get positive comments or when I get a new follower then see they came from my group. I also love getting tips on how to make it better because then I know people like it enough to want to improve it.

You’re right – followers are one of the best parts of running a blog – it’s nice seeing that people like what you’re doing. If that’s the nice side, what are the hardest parts of being a moderator?

Hmmm… The hardest part has to be keeping the group interesting and active because at some point we all run out of ideas, yes even me.

What’s an ideal day for you – and how do you fit your writing, reading and blog work into that?

An ideal day for me… That would probably be a day when I don’t have any work to do so I can just relax. Usually I blog on a morning and read on a nighttime. I don’t know why it just always seems to work out that way. I am also attempting to write a story but I only usually do that on a weekend when I have the whole day.

So – blogging, moderating, reviewing AND a writer in the making too…you’re as crazy as us! 🙂 You must meet a lot of authors through the group and blog – what do you like best about the engagement you get with them?

I like it when a writer actually writes to me and says they are a fan of my blog instead of me telling them I’m a fan. I also love it when I write to an author and they write back even though they are really busy. An example of this is the interview I had with Daniel waters who was the only one of the fifteen authors to reply and agree to an interview.

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers?

I love it when they comment on my posts because I know someone is actually listening to what I have to say and not just following my blog for the sake of it. I have 57 followers but I doubt most of them have read my blog, the ones who do though I am thankful.

What genres/authors do you love to read?  

My favourite genres are Paranormal Romance, YA, Dystopia and Urban Fantasy. As most are written for my age I find it easier to become engrossed in than lets say horror (which I do like but it’s harder to get into). My favourite authors wow that’s a hard one. Probably Richelle Mead,  Rachel Caine, Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Clare, Jeaniene Frost and Malorie Blackman. They are all VERY talented authors.

Any ‘must have’ books that you want to get hold of in 2012? Or good ones to recommend so far?

There’s loads, the ones I’m looking forward too most are The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead, Black Dawn by Rachel Caine and Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare.

Books I would recommend are Bloodlines and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, Morganville by Rachel Caine and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Random Questions:

 If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Oh that’s difficult, maybe Sydney from Bloodlines then I could have Adrian. Or Katniss from the Hunger Games.

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

I think I would want to live the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines setting with the constant excitement or perhaps Morganville because Myrnin is there and he is just plain awesome.

Best super-evil baddie?

Avery from Vampire Academy, she was evil but really clever. What every good baddie should be. Also Dimitri while he was Strigoi, he became so much more exciting and badass. Rixon from Crescendo also, a charismatic bad guy.

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today Emily and good luck with the new group. 

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Want to get in touch? 

My Goodreads profile: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6810492-emily

Books, Blogs, Authors and More: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/62777.Books_Blogs_Authors_and_More

The other group I moderate: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/58144

My blog: http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.com/

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK


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Interview…with Grizz from Undermountain

Hi Grizz, welcome to Aside from Writing, we’re very excited to have you here today as you’re not only our first character interview on the blog, but you’re also the first bigfoot we’ve ever met.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and what life as a bigfoot is like?

First of all, allow me to greet you and your readers formally. If we were meeting in person, I would hold out my hands to show you I held no weapons, then I would speak the word of peace, Donovthosameezu.” It’s a “footese” word meaning, “I am not a child.” The inference is that because I’m not a child, I will not try to kill  you. Our children are exceptionally violent.

Now to answer your question. The whole “bigfoot” thing is a human term, of course. We do have large feet compared to humans, but that’s because we range from eight to twelve feet tall. There’s also a misconceptiont that we are some class of primate, but we aren’t. We don’t really even resembled them. I’ve been told that we look more like bears, actually, though that’s coincidental, since we’re not from Earth.

The popular legend of “bigfoot” is based in truth. Our footprints have been discovered several times, and some of the film/video footage is authentic. When we are on the surface—which is very rare—we dress intentionally to promote the wrong ideas about us. We even wear masks to do, in fact, look more ape-like. The last thing we want is for humans to discover our true nature.

Obviously, we don’t think of ourselves as bigfeet any more than you think of yourselves as  “little feet.” We refer to ourselves as the People in our language. Most of us live in the city of Undermountain, deep beneath the Canadia Rocky Mountains. There are small settlements beneath the Himalayas, the Alps and a few other places.

The thing humans would find most surprising is that all of us take an oath of nonviolence when we reach adulthood. This is not an oath to be passive in the face of attack, however. We can and do defend ourselves if needed.

You’ve met a number of humans in your life – what do you think of us really?

I’ve met five of your teenagers, and I was extremely impressed with their resourcefulness and resolve amidst extremely dangerous circumstances. I’d like to think those five would consider me a friend now. In truth, I was a bit overwhelmed by their emotionalism at first.

In general the People see all humans as children due to your proclivity for violence. That, and your hilariously backward technology. LOLhumanz is a popular meme going around right now. There’s a popular TV show running in the North America right now called “Finding Bigfoot.” It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

Bigfoot society is much more technologically advanced than our own, are there any gadgets you have that we would really like?

You’ll understand, of course, that I cannot speak in too much detail about our tech. The main reason we stay in hiding is because we don’t believe your civilization is ready for our technology. We’re concerned the first thing you’d do is reverse engineer it and make weapons.

Do you have bigfoot writers? And if so – what do they write about? 

I’ll let you in on something very intereting about life in the galaxy. Every intelligent species we’ve found tells stories. Well, every one except the tangoga, but they’re a special case, so forget them.

Anyway. We have a rich tradition of story, though the most popular tales tend to focus on a race called the Asht, who are now pretty much extinct.

Unfortunately, we do not know the whole history of our rise as a species and our ascension to travel among the stars. This has led many to concoct legends to fill in the gap. In fact, most new stories we write are set in the time prior to the oath.

What are your favourite things about being a bigfoot?

The sport of deshuk. It’s based upon ancient martial art of the Asht, called deshuk-lan. We’ve adapted it into a team sport. It involved three teams on the field at once. In fact, whenever I watched human sports, I always wondered why there are only two teams on the field at a time.

And the most challenging aspects?

The fact that there are no females of our species on Earth. There are very valid, practical reasons for this arrangement, but knowing them doesn’t make it any easier.

We’ve got some random questions for you now about books – hopefully you’ll have read enough human stuff during your socialisation training to be able to answer them.

If you could be any character from any book – who would you be and why?

It’s a tie between Mr. Darcy and Gandalf the Gray. The first is an arbitrary choice. You could put any leading, male character in that slot. I’d like to experience romantic love the way humans do. It sounds quite powerful. The second character is related to the answer for the next question.

Favourite fictional world – where would you love to live?

I’ve always been intrigued with your so-called fantasy genre. The idea of magic is so outide the experience of the People that I’m fascinated by it. I’ve chosen Tolkien’s Middle Earth for this one. I’d like to have dinner with Samwise. I imagine  he’d love peanut butter as much as I do.

Best super-evil book baddie?

Rasheed from A Thousand Splendid Suns. I don’t even want to discuss it. Just the thought of him raises my hackles.

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today! If you’d like to know more about Grizz and being a bigfoot then follow him on Twitter. He also stars in Eric Edstrom’s book Undermountain available now.

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Twitter     @bigfootgrizz       @ekedstrom

Meet the Author www.ericedstrom.com

Undermountain purchase links

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PHZ82W

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006PHZ82W

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/117435

Also available in nook, kobo, apple stores

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Interview…with author and blogger Marie Landry

Our interview today will be of interest to authors and readers alike as our guest is Marie Landry, author of Blue Sky Days and book review blogger on Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Let’s see how these two very distinct areas of interest have influenced one another…

Hi Marie, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself, how you came to be a blogger and then an author?

Thank you so much for having me here today! Over the years, I’ve started several blogs, but none of them really stuck. When I started Ramblings of a Daydreamer, it was mostly a place for me to share my writing—I was writing articles for online magazines and websites—and little bits of my life. I wrote a handful of book reviews for one of the sites I worked for, but didn’t do any reviews on my blog. In April 2011, I joined the A to Z Challenge, which challenged bloggers to write 26 posts during the month of April—one for each letter of the alphabet. I hadn’t really gotten serious about blogging yet, so I knew this was perfect for me—I wrote mainly about writing and books, and the challenge helped me get into the habit of blogging every day.

It was while visiting the other participants of the challenge that I discovered the world of book blogging. I don’t have many friends who like to read, so finding all these people who not only loved to read, but loved to talk about books, opened up a whole new world for me. I started writing reviews for my blog, participating in weekly book memes, blog hops, blog tours, and other features.

When I realized that the majority of book bloggers I came across read mostly YA books, I was intrigued. I hadn’t read many young adult books since my teens, but I decided to give them a try, and I fell in love. It was then that I decided to turn Blue Sky Days—which I’d written seven years before, and which had been an adult romance—into a young adult book.

You’ve recently been working hard on the book launch (January 2012) and blog tour for Blue Sky Days – what were the best bits about going through this process?

Hands down, the best part has been connecting with readers. I made quite a few friends and acquaintances in the book blogging community, so I had a lot of people to reach out to when the time came for me to start sending out ARCs of Blue Sky Days, and planning the blog tour. Getting to know fellow bloggers and book lovers has been an incredible experience.

Having hosted authors and tours on your own blog in the past, was your recent experience of doing it yourself what you expected it to be?

Yes and no. I knew the logistics of it from hosting guest posts, interviews, and giveaways, so I knew there was a lot of work involved, but it was so much more than I thought. I did everything on my own—a lot of authors find or hire other bloggers to plan their tours, but I planned it all on my own, which meant contacting people, then sending out the books, and scheduling dates, plus then all the interviews, guest posts, and other features I had to write, as well as sending out books to giveaway winners. I also visited every blog along the tour, and spent a lot of time promoting on Facebook and Twitter.

Do you think being a blogger has helped you with your creative writing and/or launching Blue Sky Days? And if so, how?

Absolutely. I think that if I hadn’t started out as a blogger, I would have been virtually unknown when I published Blue Sky Days. A lot of authors are unknown when they publish their debuts, but traditionally published authors have a whole team behind them helping to promote the book and take the author from an unknown to a potential star. As for helping me with my creative writing, I think blogging has helped, because it’s gotten me into the habit of writing on a daily basis and keeping those creative juices flowing.

What’s an ideal day for you – and how do you fit your writing, reading and blog work into that?

An ideal day for me would be one without distractions, but that rarely happens (and that’s often my own fault, because I’m addicted to social media, and check it compulsively). I work from home, and I spend almost all day working on one thing or another. If I’m not writing I’m reading, if I’m not reading I’m blogging, and round and round the cycle goes.

Any advice for bloggers who have an interest in creative writing?

Write every day, even if it’s just a few sentences. Learn from others—there are thousands of bloggers out there who write about tips, tricks, and their own personal experiences. If writing is something you want to do professionally, build a platform, even if it’s just as a book blogger at first—get your name and face out there so people know who you are. Make connections, make friends, but be genuine about it. Most importantly, keep writing. Don’t let anything or anyone stop you if it’s what you really want to do.

Alternatively, do you have any advice for other authors looking to network with bloggers for reviews and support with marketing?

Again, be genuine. I think most bloggers are smart enough to know when someone is sucking up to them because they want something, and when someone is genuinely trying to make a connection. One of the best things you can do is be seen, and that’s usually by visiting and commenting on other blogs. Hop around from blog to blog—almost every blog has a blog roll of other bloggers they love, so take time to visit some of them and leave thoughtful comments or join discussions. There are also always a ton of events going on in the blog world—hops, giveaways, read-a-thons. Participate in those, and be visible to bloggers so your name is familiar to them.

If you could only do one – the blog or write books – which would it be?

Write books. Creative writing has always been my first love, and I think and hope it always will be. I was born to tell stories.

So – what else do you have planned for 2012?

Right now I’m switching gears from YA to adult, and writing what I guess people would term chick lit, or women’s fiction. I’m a romance junkie, so there’s a romance in the story, but it’s not the main focus of the book like it was with Blue Sky Days. After that, I have ideas for several projects, but I’m not sure which I’ll start next. I might go back to YA and work on an idea I’ve had for several years that involves faeries—but that’s all I’m saying!

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

It would probably be Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She basically led a simple life, but she had the most vivid imagination that let her live a life that seemed anything but ordinary. She made the best of every situation, and even though she got herself into a lot of trouble with her imagination, she was happy and free-spirited, and a good and loyal friend. Plus, I love Prince Edward Island, where the book was set, and I was totally in love with Gilbert!

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

Hogwarts, without question. It’s my absolute favourite fictional world—the school itself, the people, the magic, getting to go to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I love it all.

Best super-evil baddie?

I’m sticking with Harry Potter and saying Voldemort. He was so evil and cruel, but he was also clever and devious. And not only that, but he represented so much more than just a villain—good versus evil, the power of friendship and love—JK Rowling is an incomparable writing in my opinion.

Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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Marie’s debut novel Blue Sky Days is out now!

Would you like to know more? Check out the links! 

Debut novel, Blue Sky Days, available now on Amazon and Smashwords
Blog: Ramblings of a Daydreamer Author blog: Marie Landry, Author
Facebook fan page, Facebook book page, Twitter, YouTube

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Interview…with Karina Kantas

Our interview this week is with author Karina Kantas. 

Hi Karina, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself and your writing history?

Hey everyone. Well I’m Karina Kantas I’m from the Midlands, UK but I now live on a small village (full of old people) on a tiny island in Greece. I have had numerous publications including non fiction, poetry, prose, film and book reviews, short fiction and of course novels.

 

You’ve written a number of books – how do you come up with the ideas for them?

Most of my ideas come from dreams I’ve had, and my warped imagination.

 

What do you consider to be the biggest influences on your writing?

There are two. Rock music, especially tunes from my favourite band, Iron Maiden. No matter what I’m working on, I’ll always have one of their albums playing in the background. The second is the author S.E.Hinton. She inspired me to become an author, and her book the Outsiders influenced my first novel, In Times of Violence.

 

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes, since I was in high school. But I never tried to get published until I moved to Greece.

 

What are your favourite things about being an author?

Reading the great reviews and chatting to my readers. To know your book is getting read is such an awesome feeling, but to then be able to get feedback from those that have loved them, to me, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.

 

And the most challenging aspects?

I have to promote and market my own books. This can be very time consuming. Oh, and you gain weight. Seriously, you’re at the computer everyday and you just forget to move. The weight just piles on.

 

What’s coming up next for you? Are you working on something at the moment?

My latest novel, Road Rage is being passed around to literary agents (fingers crossed.) And I’m currently 70% the way through the first draft of Broken Chains. It’s a MI5 thriller.

 

Some random questions:

If you could be any character from any book – who would it be and why?

Do you know how many books are out there? Okay… umm let me think. I’d be Sookie Stackhouse. She has two gorgeous vampires fighting over as well as a sexy werewolf. She’s very strong minded, opinionated and knows what she wants. Plus she’s got her own magical powers and she’s a fairy, which is cool.

 

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

It would have to be Rivendell, From Lord of the Rings. I’d love to live with the elves. They have such a calming influence and their world is magical and elegant.

 

Best super-evil book baddie?

The Devil. He pops up in many books and has too many disguises. Nothing is more evil than the Devil.

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today! Bonnie’s review of Karina’s novella Stone Cold will be posted on Aside from Writing next Tuesday, so check back with us then to read that. 

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Books By Karina Kantas 

In Times of Violence 

You Tube   Amazon.co.uk   Nook

 

Meet the Author

Facebook

Twitter   @KarinaKantas

 

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Interview…with Mist from Bookaholics Book Club

Bookaholics Book Club is one of our favourite facebook pages to follow and the blog attached to it is great – interesting, thorough reviews of stuff we like to read 🙂 And so we’re really excited to have Misty from the club here at Aside from Writing for our very first blog writer interview!

Hi Mist, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself and the Bookaholics Book Club?

Hi! Thanks for having me. Well I’m 26, married with three (mostly) lovely children. I love to read books and then tell people about them so in mid-2010 I set up a Facebook page to do just that, six months later I decided that wasn’t enough and I had to give my opinion as well so I set up my blog to run alongside it for book reviews. My Book club is what keeps me sane from the kids and is a great community (I hope!) where people can come and talk about books they like or get suggestions for new ones to discover.

 

You’ve just celebrated the first year of the blog. What prompted you to start writing it and was there anything particular you wanted the blog to achieve?

Mostly I just love sharing books and my blog gives me the opportunity to do that, I write honest reviews that help people decide if a book is for them and I help promote books by having author guest spots. I didn’t really have any big goals for my blog when I got started, just that someone would read it!

 

What’s been the best part of running the blog? Any particular highlights for your first year?

Honestly, getting that very first follower felt like a huge milestone, it meant there was someone, somewhere who was interested in reading what I wrote and I wasn’t talking to myself! I’ve had a great first year discovering this big book blogging community I didn’t know was there and making new friends all over the world!

 

And the hardest parts?

Definitely the amount of hours I’ve sometimes had to put in, whilst I love my blogging hobby it can take up more time than I’d realized it would when I started and I’ve found myself putting together posts late into the night when I just wanted to go to bed but it had to go up… ever since I’ve discovered the ‘schedule post’ feature my life has been a lot easier lol! Writing a review for a book I didn’t enjoy is also a hard thing to do, trying to say why I didn’t like a book without being spoilerish or sounding like I’m just blasting the book is a hard balance.

 

What’s an ideal day for you – and how do you fit the blog into that?

Hmm an ideal day for me is spending time with my kids, reading good books, getting some me time and generally being a domestic Goddess, of course there just aren’t enough hours in the day for all that so my house is a tip lol

Now that I know I can write blog posts in advance and schedule them, I usually try to get my regular ones written at the start of the week and I always give myself a night or two away from the computer, just to relax and spend time doing other things so I don’t end up resenting it for taking up all my time and wanting to quit something I love.

 

With the wide content you cover on the blog and the facebook pages, you must meet a lot of authors – what do you like best about the engagement you get with them writing the blog?

I definitely love that lots of authors are so accessible on Facebook and Twitter so I can ‘Meet’ them; I’ve certainly had some fan girl moments when my favorite authors have responded to me, you don’t get that with movie stars! I’ve also met a lot of new authors along the way and discovered books I might not have discovered otherwise.

 

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers?

Just the shared excitement about our love of books, I don’t really know anyone in ‘real life’ that are hardcore readers like me or even like the same books, so if I want to talk books I have to get online to do that and social networking sites are great for finding other booksessed people who understand my passion.

 

What genres/authors do you love to read? 

Mostly I read paranormal books, for any ages! But I also like YA fiction, things on mythology and some women’s fiction and I’m a huge fan of Dystopian and post-apocalyptic books. Some favourite authors are Maria V. Snyder, Rachel Vincent, Richelle Mead and James Dashner.

 

Any ‘must have’ books that you want to get hold of in 2012?

I’ll try to keep it short lol I’m super excited for The Kill order by James Dashner and The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead… there are tons more but it’s best I stop there lol

 

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Rosemarie from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, that girl kicks butt! But she also makes mistakes and lets her mouth run her into trouble, she’s not perfect but she’s loyal and determined, certainly someone I’d be happy to be.

 

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

Every summer I wait patiently for my Hogwarts letter but sadly it doesn’t come L

 

Best super-evil baddie?

Voldemort!!

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today and being our first interview!

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If you like the sound of Bookaholics Book Club check them out!

Blog: http://bookaholicsbkcl.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bookaholicsbkcl

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bookaholicsbkcl