Busting the Newbie Blues

Busting the Newbie Blues is an annual event hosted by Small Review.

I saw this survey on The Sweet Bookshelf while browsing my Google Reader. I love answering surveys!! So here goes:


1. When did you start your blog?

June 2007


2. Do you ever still feel like a newbie?

Not really. I feel like I have a very good handle on my blog and how to run it.


3. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced so far? Did you make any mistakes new bloggers can learn from?

I think the biggest challenge for me was getting a readership and networking. While I did start out on Myspace, just friending people isn't enough. I had to send out bulletins and make my content worthwhile for people to check out, and also be responding to comments and messages. It's a daunting task to take on when you start a blog.

As for mistakes, I don't really remember any. Not necessarily because I didn't make any (but I can't remember any, lol), but really more because there wasn't much of a book blogging community when I started up so there were no real rules or anyone to call you out/start fights with.


4. What did you find most discouraging as a new blogger? How did you deal with this?

Nothing really. There weren't many book blogs around when I started, so I didn't have jealousy or having to deal with the whole numbers/stats battle. I mean, seriously, when I made my blog, I didn't even know there were other book blogs out there. For some odd reason, I actually thought I was the first person to have this idea. I also had no idea that review copies existed, so there was no jealousy or impatience about that (not that I needed to be impatient anyway- see #10); I feel like once the book blogging community started to grow, more and more bloggers starting out knew about review copies so there's that pressure there, you know?


5. What do you find most encouraging?

Comments are always awesome but what really encourages me, even to this day, is how great the children's literature community is. I made some wonderful friends in the beginning and continue to make friends all the time. I love pretty much everyone I've met through blogging, whether it's a fellow blogger, an author, or someone in the publishing industry. It's great to have those sorts of friends who share such a passion for books.


6. If you could go back to your newbie self, what five bits of information would you tell yourself?

I don't know if I'd really change anything, but I might say that I need to stay more on top of my TBR pile from the beginning so it doesn't grow out of hand, which it has, lol.


7. What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog?

Aside from memes, I don't really replicate anything from other blogs. What I do enjoy about blogs I read are reviews that really show off a blogger's voice and style. I love reviews from The Story Siren, Dreaming in Books, Presenting Lenore, among many others. I also love seeing a sense of whimsy in the posts and the blog; while I do think we should do our best to be as professional as possible, we need to have fun implemented into our blogs too.


8. What do you dislike about blogs you've seen? Do you try to avoid this?

I'm not a big fan of a cluttered blog. I do my best to keep my blog as simple as possible, keeping widgets and buttons to a minimum. I also don't like auto-playing music on a book blog- why is music even there in the first place?!


9. How did you bring your blog to the attention of so many people?

Since I started out on Myspace, I just friended a bunch of people, sent out bulletins, messaged people and basically shoved my blog down peoples' throats, lol. So by the time I moved to Blogspot in 2009, two years after starting, I had a built-in fanbase, so that helped.


10. When and how did you get your first ARC's?

Everyone will hate me for this, but I got my first ARCs within my first month of starting my blog. It was all by accident (well, not the second one)! I wanted to interview Meg Cabot because I love her so a week after starting my blog, which was a month before Jinx's release, I sent her an email about doing an interview. I did this because I knew she's a busy woman so I wanted to give her enough time to reply back with a yes/no and if yes, answer my questions by my deadline. She replied back A DAY LATER, no joke. I may have squealed and jumped around my room.

Then I read the email. Not only did she say yes, but she offered an ARC of Jinx for review. I politely declined because I mean really, I'm not a professional. I'm nobody. But she insisted, saying that ARCs are meant for reviewers, like me. So am I really gonna say no again? I accepted and gave her my address, and sent off the questions. She emailed me a week later saying the package had been sent out with some extra goodies. Those extra goodies, aside from Jinx? Finished copies of Queen of Babble #2, the first Avalon High manga (both of which were her other two releases that summer), bookmarks, copies of her newsletter, pins/keychains, postcards, a cover flat or two. It was a HUGE package and I was immensely grateful for it. Meg is such a sweetheart.

My other first ARC was Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer, which I got because Robin sent me an email in July 2007 about a review. Cindy Ella didn't come out until February 2008. How amazing is that? I was a really lucky blogger and still am. I am extremely grateful for every ARC and review copy I receive.

In My Mailbox + Retrospective

I got no books this week, except for What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman and Is Everybody Hanging Out without Me (and other concerns)? by Mindy Kaling, but those were from the library. I am loving Mindy's book so far- very funny! But I did also get to go to Jodi Meadows' launch party in Harrisonburg, which was a ton of fun, and there will be a recap soon!

Anyway, I needed to do a retrospective because there were some great posts this week, so check them out and comment please!!

Monday- The Incarnate Theatre Treasure Hunt was unveiled! It's a huge hunt going across 45 book blogs celebrating the release of Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. Check out the post for more details, and be quick- the contest ends tomorrow night!

Tuesday- I reviewed Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, which is out in stores now!

Wednesday- I interviewed Lynn Weingarten, author of Wherever Nina Lies and The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers, both of which are out in stores now!

Thursday- I reviewed The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison, which will be out in stores on Feb 14.

Saturday- I reviewed Dead to You by Lisa McMann, which will be out in stores Feb 7.

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Dead to You by Lisa McMann
"Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together.

But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable..."- summary from Lisa's website

It is no secret I love Lisa's books and this one is no exception. It's more of a contemporary than her other books; even though there's the "something unspeakable" in the summary, it's not paranormal-related. It was however an interesting twist though but it comes at the VERY end and it feels like a HUGE abrupt ending. I mean, I guess it's a good ending that doesn't necessarily need more, but it still feels like there should be more to it.

But anyway, let's move on. Like all of Lisa's books, it's a real pageturner. I read it in less than 24 hours and pretty much in just two sittings. Ethan's story and his adjustment back to his old life is just so real and interesting. The interactions between him and, well, everyone is fascinating and runs the gamut of emotions. His parents are relieved, his little brother is upset and dealing with a lot of emotions, his little sister who was born after he disappeared just accepts his appearance and is very innocent about it.

Overall, it is a great new standalone title from Lisa, though the ending is a bit off. It's definitely worth a look though.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
"Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death."- summary from Amazon

Wow, this was one hell of a debut! I absolutely loved it and had trouble putting it down. Ellison's prose is just so fascinating to read and the twists and turns are just amazing. It was a compelling mystery and while I had a feeling who the murderer was (mainly through elimination of who'd been in the novel) way before Lo did, it was still a little bit of a shock when it was revealed.

Ellison did a great job handling Lo's OCD and hoarding problems. They were so well integrated into the whole story, which was nice because sometimes I read a book where a character supposedly has something but doesn't exhibit any signs at all. I really felt for Lo when her OCD got the best of her and when others tried to interfere while she did it; plus, she's very insecure about it and how people view her, even though she tries her best to hide it.

While in the middle of writing this review, I had a chat with the awesome Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit about this book. I want to tell everyone that this is not a paranormal. I know it doesn't look or sound it (the "violent underworld" in the summary made me think a paranormal element might be inside), but it is. This is a wonderful, gritty contemporary with a great romance in it too. I loved seeing Lo and Flynt together- they had an interesting chemistry and some rocky obstacles to overcome.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough. This book is one of the reasons why I'm glad contemporary is still being published and I'm happy that there's been such great buzz for it. It really deserves it. So go grab a copy on February 14!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Author Interview- Lynn Weingarten

1) How did you get the idea for The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers? Were you ever involved in your own Secret Sisterhood?

I was reading a non-fiction book about how to pick up women and was thinking about the idea of using “tricks” to get potential romantic partners. Like, it’s kind of icky, but also really interesting because some of these tricks really seem to work. So then I started trying to come up with fun ways of putting this in a YA novel. And SSH was what I came up with.

I have not myself been a member of any Secret Sisterhoods . . . OR HAVE I? ;)


2) Since I've already asked you your favorite Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor in a previous interview, what's your favorite snack to have?

Yes! I remember that. That’s still one of my favorite interview questions of all time. I love snacks. I’m currently in Scotland and one of my favorite things to do here is go to the fancy grocery store and browse the snack aisle since everything is still exotic and new to me here. They have a ton of delicious jams and jellies here, so lately I’ve been eating a lot of butter and jam on toast. Also I love little chocolaty things (like chocolate straws or mini Kit Kat darks). Also wasabi peas. And these things called Hula Hoops which are little crunchy circles that you can put on your fingers. I also really like snap peas, orange segments, popcorn, and mini tomatoes. Basically anything you can eat with your hands without getting too messy. (Although I snack a lot while I’m working and very regularly have to de-crumb my keyboard).


3) What was the worst break-up you ever had? Do you think you would have gotten involved with the Heartbreakers if they existed?

I had a breakup in high school that hurt an awful lot, part of the reason it was so awful was because it was my first real heartbreak and while in theory I knew that I would one day feel better, I did not yet have any personal experience of having my heart broken and then getting over it. So I didn’t have any, y’know, proof. I also had a breakup in my mid-twenties, which took me a long time to get over.

I don’t think I would have gotten involved with the Heartbreakers in real life if they existed, however if someone came up to me when I first had my heart broken and said they could fix my heart, I’d definitely have wanted to stick around and hear WHATEVER they had to say.


4) What book(s) are you reading now, or are about to start? Do you have a favorite book from 2011?

I just finished Why We Broke Up this morning and thought it was absolutely wonderful. Now going to dive into Game of Thrones, which a friend and I are reading for our two-person book club. I read a lot of awesome books in 2011 so I’m not sure I have a favorite, but A Visit from the Goon Squad was really excellent.


5) You're currently in Scotland. How are you enjoying it?

I am loving it very much! I’m in Glasgow, which is a relatively compact city (especially compared to NYC which is where I was before), so it is pretty easy to get around and feel like I sort-of-ish kind of-ish know where some things are. I have met some really nice and friendly people. I know everyone is different and generalizing is bad and all of that, but I have found Scottish people to be, as a rule, very hilarious. I have heard some very good jokes from the cab drivers here.

I do get homesick and miss my friends/family in the US, but with email/twitter/facebook/free-texting-apps/skype and my magical phone, which lets my US people call me on a local number (and it goes to my UK phone), make it absurdly easy to stay in touch.