Blogger Banter #17: Candace (@candacemom2two) from Candace's Book Blog!
The art of gossiping, gabbing and chatting with awesome book bloggers!
Today, I'm featuring the awesome, sunflower-seed-eatin', Epic-Fantasy-lover, CANDACE from CANDACE'S BOOK BLOG!
Thanks for stopping through! Let the Banter begin!
GFC: 3824
Bloglovin’: 92 (I haven't really worked on gaining followers here yet)
Networked Blogs: 451
Linky: 182
Twitter: 5,528
Facebook: 4,549
Goodreads: 1,247
Email: 698
Blogging Since?
2008
Lives in?
United States
Solo (blogger), duo, trio...?
Solo
Print or eBooks?
Print preferably
Average number of books read a month?
20
Favorite Genre?
Epic Fantasy
Book Boyfriend?
I'm going to skip this one. I would say my favorite romance is from the Kushiel's series by Jacqueline Carey. It's a forbidden romance, but has delicious tension.
Rating System?
I just do regular ratings these days.
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GAB and GOSSIP
What was the very first post you ever made on Candace's Book Blog?
A review: Tall, Dark and Dead by Tate Halloway. This was before I knew my blog was going to be something others read and it's JUST a review. There's no book cover or anything. I was just going to keep track of what I was reading. It's so embarrassing now!
I did end up taking a hiatus when my son was born and the first book I reviewed when I came back was Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. It's a half decent review, but the formatting of the post itself is rather sloppy.
I did end up taking a hiatus when my son was born and the first book I reviewed when I came back was Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. It's a half decent review, but the formatting of the post itself is rather sloppy.
Where is your favorite place to read? What’s your favorite snack to eat while reading?
I have a couch in my 'formal' living room (no TV distractions!) and I like to read there best. I like to eat sunflower seeds, though I go through stages where I don't eat them for ages.
If Candace's Book Blog had a theme song, what would it be?
No clue. I don't listen to a lot of music so this would take way too much effort to figure out.
What inspired you to start your blog tour company?
Some authors convinced me. I was doing such a good job pimping out the books I believed in and they (particularly Misty Provencher) urged me to do something with that skill. I had the contacts and I knew a lot of bloggers weren't happy with how a lot of tour companies ran their business. I knew I wasn't happy with some of their methods and knew what I wanted to do that was different.
Glad you did! I really enjoy hosting for you :)
Saturday Situation is such a great idea for sharing giveaways and blog posts with other bloggers and readers. How did you get involved in hosting this meme?
Lori (Pure Imagination) and I are good friends and apparently think on the same wavelength. Somehow we both thought of the same thing (or very similar) and when she mentioned it I said I had been thinking of the same thing. So working together we came up with how it would work and we decided to co-host it. More exposure and all that. :)
What is the BEST thing about being a book blogger?
The best is the people. I get to deal with and talk with people all day long who are like-minded about books. I have made such wonderful friends in bloggers and authors alike. Many I've become real life friends with by attending book events locally.
The worst would be the pressure. I feel the pressure to get all these books read. It's hard to turn down a book that sounds great and it's hard to say no to an author, especially when you know they are hurting for reviews. I want to help out everyone!
The worst would be the pressure. I feel the pressure to get all these books read. It's hard to turn down a book that sounds great and it's hard to say no to an author, especially when you know they are hurting for reviews. I want to help out everyone!
That pressure is a killer! Totally agree. But the good outweighs the bad, yeah?
Lots of bloggers are finding it more and more difficult to maintain a blog and keep up with real life demands at the same time. How do you manage blogging, reviewing, having a blog tour business and real life?
I'm not sure I do. At least, not without a bit of insanity some days. My routine is to get up and comment on and promote tour stops for the tours that are currently running. That sometimes take two hours if I have two tours running with multiple stops. I then answer emails (though I answer the more urgent ones before I start the other stuff). At some point in the beginning of the day, I promote my own daily post, approve Triberr posts, comment on a few blogs and take care of my four year old and walk the dog.
I take a break for lunch and a longer walk with the dog; then work on upcoming tours. I often have a LOT of interruptions by this point so I tend to walk away for awhile to try to keep my son happy. If I don't reach my goal for getting stuff done, then when my husband comes home, he entertains the kids and dog while I finish up. After I get the kids to bed, I tend to do a tad more. Often that's when I do more commenting on my favorite blogs. Some day it feels like I accomplish nothing at all. I'm not even sure how I manage to get any reading done. I guess I squeeze it in here and there. And I read almost a full hour before bed.
Um, I think you DO manage things just fine, lol.
I take a break for lunch and a longer walk with the dog; then work on upcoming tours. I often have a LOT of interruptions by this point so I tend to walk away for awhile to try to keep my son happy. If I don't reach my goal for getting stuff done, then when my husband comes home, he entertains the kids and dog while I finish up. After I get the kids to bed, I tend to do a tad more. Often that's when I do more commenting on my favorite blogs. Some day it feels like I accomplish nothing at all. I'm not even sure how I manage to get any reading done. I guess I squeeze it in here and there. And I read almost a full hour before bed.
Um, I think you DO manage things just fine, lol.
A magical train makes an unexpected stop at the front door to your house. The conductor offers you a one-way ticket to your favorite fantasy world. Where are you going? Pick one person and one item to take with you!
Oh wow, what a hard decision! I would bring my best friend Meredith and we would go to the Kushiel's Legacy world from Jacqueline Carey's books. We both read those books together and discussed over the phone. She lives in NC and I live in WA so we haven't seen each other in 10 years. Spending time together in that world would be amazing. It's also scary though, so I'd want it to be at a safe time and place.
Awesome!
See you guys next week!
