Blogger Interview!

Hey, everyone! As part of Utah Book Month we Utah bloggers got the opportunity to interview each other. It's been quite fun as both my interviewer and interviewee were both strangers to me. So I got to meet two new bloggers from my very own state. Fun, huh? Anywho, I was interviewed by Krista at Cubicle Blindness (in case you missed it) and today I get to interview Shanda from LDS Women's Book Review! Enjoy.

Hey, Shanda Welcome to my blog! Let's get started, shall we?

Hi! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a wife, mother of four children (3 daughters, 1 son), and lover of good books.

I have always loved to read. My mom told me I was reading the TV Guide before I started kindergarten. The first “grown-up” book I read was Shadow’s Song by Dorothy Keddington. My best friend, Hillary, loaned me her mother’s copy in junior high. I loved it, reading the rest of Dorothy Keddington’s books shortly after. I was hooked on the “good story.” I’ve spent the last 15+ years looking for and finding it. I love fiction, especially stories that are so well written you can’t stop thinking about the characters as if they were real people you know. It helps if there’s a good romance, too.

I also enjoy scrapbooking, photography, movies, walking, being in the mountains, crocheting, instrumental music (especially Celtic music) and dark mint chocolate. Happy reading.

How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

I actually started reviewing books and interviewing authors on the LDS Women's Book Review podcast before starting the blog. We've been podcasting for 6 1/2 years so the LDSWBR blog is just a little younger than the podcast.

I founded LDS Women's Book Review because I had started reading again (my kids were getting older and less demanding) and I had no one to talk to about the books I was reading. My hubby told me about podcasts and I knew what I wanted to do. What started as three women talking about books on a podcast turned into author interviews and book reviews promoting good clean reads and a lot of local and LDS authors. I love it!

What has been your favorite or most memorable moment blogging?
Oh, wow. It's hard to choose just one.

LDSWBR has been able to present a Whitney Award each year for the last four years and that is a huge honor for us. Rob Wells was the first author we ever interviewed on the blog, and now that he has been published nationally with VARIANT it's nice to have that claim to fame. And James Dashner has been to my house. We podcasted with James Dashner and J. Scott Savage while James was working on Maze Runner and now both are national authors.

The best part of what we do is watching all of the local authors we have interviewed and met over the years find success after all of their hard work. We love to promote and support local authors.

What else do you do besides read and blog? Other hobbies, etc.
Is there anything else besides reading and blogging? Just kidding. :)

I like photography and scrapbooking, but can't tell you the last time I finished a scrapbook layout. I have been known to crochet on occasion. I've recently started writing, but I'm not sure how that will end up. Taking the kids to the park to play volleyball, baseball, frisbee, etc, and snuggling on the couch with my hubby is how I've spent most of my not-reading-or-blogging time lately. Thinking about this question has made me realize how boring I am. :)


What's been your favorite read of 2012? And why?
I had to cheat and go look on Goodreads to remember the 70+ books I've read so far this year. If I could only pick one, it would be I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells. I loved I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster, and IDWTKY was the perfect wrap up to this fascinating, brilliant series. I did not expect to cry, but cry I did. On a side note, Dan Well's Night of Blacker Darkness is hilarious and I highly recommend it. I laughed out loud so many times my hubby didn't know whether to be annoyed or jealous.

 If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
IRELAND. I really don't like flying but I would get on a plane to go to Ireland. (Valium, anyone?) I love the countryside, the culture, the history, the castles, the music, the people, the accent. Not sure about the food. My ancestry says I am mostly German but that drop of Irish in my blood overtakes everything else. My two littlest are redheads and the youngest, my 3 year-old daughter, has naturally curly red hair. They even have Irish names that I chose before I ever knew they would be redheads. So, yeah, Ireland.

*********************************************************************************

Thank you, Shanda. I love your answers! I too love Dan Wells' books. I've yet to read Night Of Blacker Darkness because it's only on audio book right now but soon I'll get my hands on it. I also loved learning I wasn't the only one with an obsession with Ireland. I really want to go there too. I have a strong Irish streak in my blood and a strong English streak too. You can imagine the confusion that causes. ;) We seem to have a lot in common. It's been fun getting to know you better.