Blogging with Mindy of Magical Urban Fantasy Reads

I’ve ran across a lot of really awesome people, and culled an enormous amount of information from blogs. As I raided my brain – yes, I picture myself on the prow of a Viking ship, approaching my own gray matter – for more people I’d like to interview, it repeatedly offered up names of bloggers. And so, the third series; Bloggers of Awesome. Yeah, it’s the BOA.

Today's guest is Mindy (AWESOME name, right?) from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. Mindy is an obsessive reader. She primarily reads YA, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Dystopia, Post-apocalyptic & Sci-Fi. She has a serious problem with falling in love with fictional characters.

So you run an excellent blog over at Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. What made you decide to take the approach you do on your blog?

I was already a little obsessed with writing my opinions about books on Goodreads. Then, one day after reading Nightshade, I saw that Andrea Cremer was hosting a twitter giveaway of Wolfsbane so I thought I would enter! Well, that giveaway opened me up to the world of book bloggers and I immediately jumped in.

You're a prolific blogger! How do you recommend fledgling bloggers become seasoned pros like yourself?

I wouldn’t say that I’m seasoned because I still feel like I’m a newbie. I think one of the most important things is to make sure you do it for fun, and to do it because you like to do it. Book blogging can be and IS a lot of work. It was overwhelming in the beginning, but now…well now, it actually isn’t any easier now than it was in the beginning! I thought in the beginning it would be the hardest, but it doesn’t really get any easier! You just have to find a balance about what’s important to you and what’s not.

I think the most important thing is to get yourself out there! Make sure you are involved in all of the social media websites. Interact with other bloggers and authors. Get to know bloggers who live near you and meet up with them at book events.

You’re a huge reader. How do you find the time? And because I love a challenge – how many books do you think you read in a year?

I mostly read when everyone else in my house is asleep, and I read until way into the late hours of the night…and, sometimes, into the wee hours of the morning! Last year I almost read 60 books and this year my goal is 80. At first I was shooting for 100 but I was dreaming a little too big.

Have you ever given a bad review? Why or why not?

Yes, and it sucks! I very rarely need to do that anymore because if a book isn’t holding my interest, I’ll stop and move on to the next book. I always try to be as honest as I can be for each and every review, and I mainly speak about my feelings from reading the book, so if I have emotions of dislike, you will hear it in the review.

How do you decide what you’re going to read next?

Usually, it’s between a book that’s been staring at me FOREVER or a book that I have to hit at last minute in order to complete a review.

What do you think is the best way for readers to be exposed to debut authors?

Definitely, it’s through social media. There are quite a few authors who I’ve first chatted with on Twitter, sometimes for over a year, not even knowing whether they will have a book releasing soon. And then when I see the upcoming releases, and their name is on the book, I jump all over it!

As a book blogger, what’s your advice to writers on getting themselves out there?

Twitter! I can honestly say that Twitter is the best place to get yourself out there. Find bloggers who read your genre, follow their blog and follow them on Twitter! Through them, you will be able to find more bloggers who read your genre as well. Blog tours, and fun giveaways, are always good ways to get yourself out there too, and giveaways don’t even need to be books. I know an author who gives out knitted stuff she makes, and people love it!

You have an INCREDIBLE first name. I mean, it’s just GLORIOUS. How much do you love it?

I absolutely LOVE my name!!! Whenever an author is asking for suggestions for a character name in a book, I always say, “MINDY” because the name Mindy totally rocks! I’m glad that you agree! LOL

The Stories We Tell

All of our lives can be retold as stories, some of us are just able to do it better than others.

People tell me all the time that my life sounds so fun, so odd, so... interesting. It's not. I've got a 40/wk that I actually love, but I'm also on the treadmill five days out of the weekly seven for half an hour, struggling to not eat drive-thru food more than I have to, and leaning a little closer to the mirror everyday to see how many more grays have spawned during the night. I also consistently forget to change my oil and lock my keys in my car ridiculously often.

I'm not any different from you, or any other average human being. The trick is to make myself *sound* interesting, which I've come to realize, is an inherited ability.

I spent five days in New Mexico with my crit partner, RC Lewis. It was awesome, except for the extra day spent in the airport. When I finally got home 36 hours later than scheduled my mom said, "Let me get my coffee, then we'll sit down and you can tell me all about it."

Then my sister called me to "hear all about it."

I suddenly realized that maybe not all families function in this way. Perhaps storytelling is something I was raised on, intrinsically absorbing the threads of my genetic plot as we invited anyone who had been on a trip, had an extraordinary experience, or we just hadn't seen in awhile, to "tell us about it."

From my German great-grandfather's accent laden stories of coming over on a ship alone when he was just fifteen, to my Irish grandmother's tales of growing up in an orphanage along with her five siblings, to my obscenity-laced overblown narrative of eight hours sitting on my ass in Albuquerque, our stories are part of a larger web that we've learned to spin from those who came before us.

So tell your stories tell your kids, and maybe when they're older they'll still want to sit down with you and share theirs.

Blogging with Rachele Alpine

In the course of internet wanderings though, I’ve ran across a lot of really awesome people, and culled an enormous amount of information from blogs. As I raided my brain – yes, I picture myself on the prow of a Viking ship, approaching my own gray matter – for more people I’d like to interview, it repeatedly offered up names of bloggers. And so, the third series; Bloggers of Awesome. Yeah, it’s the BOA.

Even more special, today's guest is a fellow Ohioan - so it's a BOA-WoW! (We're Ohio Writers!) Rachele Alpine is a fellow Lucky 13'er, a high school English teacher by day (10th grader American Literature), and an MFA fiction student by night. Her contemporary YA, CANARY, will be coming from Medallion Press, Summer 2013.

So you run an excellent blog over at Freckle Head. What made you decide to take the approach you do on your blog?

I decided to make my blog an eclectic mix of things….the publishing process (I started the blog right when I signed with my first agent), reading reviews, pictures, every day life, and any other randomness I come across that grabs my interest. 

The reason I did this is because of my audience. I know a lot of bloggers have a targeted audience, but I don’t. I have found that all different types of people visit my blog. I have other authors who read it, book lovers, friends/family/old classmates, reviewers, bloggers, those interested in writing, co-workers and my students. 

I wanted to mix it up and put a little bit of everything for everyone up there, and that’s what you often get if you follow my blog. It makes it fun, because I never run out of ideas of what to write about.

I know a lot of aspiring writers who are intimidated by the idea of blogging.  They want to, but they are worried it will cut into their (already precious) writing time. You are a high school teacher by day, and an MFA student yourself. How do you make a balance?

I think you have to look at blogging as something you do, because you enjoy doing it. If you start looking at it as something you feel you have to do, it because hard and tedious. I look forward to sharing my feelings, pictures, ideas and opinions with my readers. I also love getting comments and feedback from them, and that makes it easy for me to find time to blog. If you build up a good relationship with your readers, it’s kind of like writing e-mails. You look forward to corresponding and sharing with them.

I don’t have a set schedule (the first I was blogging five days a week….which was NUTS!). This allows me to think of ideas and post things at random. I try to post two or three times a week, which is pretty manageable. Your posts also don’t have to be long. I like to read blogs too, and I really enjoy shorter posts because it allows me to visit more blogs. 

You’ve been blogging for three years. Did your approach change once you were published?

I don’t know if it’s changed that much, but I do know that I don’t blog as often.  It is hard to find the time. 

I do try to be very honest with my publishing journey, because I think that’s what helps your readers build trust in you. The process isn’t always easy, and I share that. The process can be a lot of fun, and I tell them about little things that I find interesting. The process can be slow, and I share my frustrations.  I don’t try to act like once I got a publishing contract, it all got easy. I try to be myself and share my successes and also those times when things don’t go the way I wish they would.

Do you think blogging is a helpful self-marketing tool?

I’ve read blogs that have led me to some amazing books, so I think in that sense, yes. It’s one of the main ways I find books. I hope readers of my blog will do the same. Of course I want them to go out and buy my book. A blog is a great way to market yourself and your book. It allows readers to get to know an author on a more personal level, and it’s another way they can connect to the book.

What other websites / resources can you recommend for writers?

I’m a huge fan (err…stalker) of John Green’s YouTube station, YA Highway, Nathan Bransford's blog, and Absolute Write.

What is your genre, and what led you to it? Does your genre influence the style of your blog?

I write contemporary YA. It’s really all I’ve read my whole life. I was never into other genres like fantasy, science-fiction or mysteries. I liked reading about realistic things. I was led to it at a young age, but I think I continue to read/write it because of my job. I teach high school Language Arts, so I’m surrounded by teenagers every single day. I can never get away from that world, so why not write about it!

I guess you could say it influences my blog, because I write about life and comment on many issues that teenagers might experience.

Any words of inspiration for aspiring writers?

Yes!  I have three main pieces of advice….

1)  Love what you’re writing…you need to be passionate about your writing or you’ll never be able to maintain the motivation to write.

2)  If you do love writing, never give up. Writing can be tough, but you need to keep pushing yourself day after day.

3)  Coffee, gummy candy and a puppy at your feet can work wonders when you’re writing