Armchair BEA: Keeping it Real and Young Adult

How do I grow an audience? Honestly, I want to say that I post consistently and that they're recent books or soon to be released.

But the secret lies in giveaways half the time. Or, rather, the giveaways are lures, but it's the consistency that's the hook.
Giveaway Hops guys. Always go with the Giveaway Hops!

And how do I keep blogging fun? By knowing that I'm helping a favorite author help spread the word, or helping out a friend. And getting to recommend books? That's absolutely the best. I love it when someone tells me they bought a book because of my review. And my negative reviews? I hate reading bad books and, no matter how guilty I feel, I'll post my review and hope that I help someone find a better book instead of this.
Plus, the people are definitely a giant help. Twitter is my <3

As for YA? I read YA because it's so easy to connect to the characters as a teen myself. But I know I'm going to keep reading it. It has the perfect amount of romance, of action, of characters, of everything. And the books I think should be on every kid's shelf?

MG
ANY BOOK BY SHARON CREECH
The Percy Jackson Series!
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger!
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilson

YA
THE IRON FEY SERIES
Splintered by A.G. Howard
Venom by Fiona Paul
If I Lie by Cory Jackson
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Stolen by Lucy Christopher

And ermm...yeah. YA list is WAY longer than MG list.

Armchair BEA: Ethics and Non-fiction

Ethics of blogging? Oh my, that's a big one.
As bloggers, we have to understand that these are our opinions first of all. If you liked it, don't ATTACK someone who didn't. I mean, I jokingly say that I hate them but I don't attack them. But have I seen it? YES. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have to address this!

And plagiarism. We work HARD on our reviews. Don't you DARE copy others' hard work and claim it as your own--it isn't. So what if it's hard for you? WE have issues too. WE have personal lives. We don't write reviews so that you can use it and call it your own. We do it to help others find the books they want and help people discover their new favorites. My friends have been plagiarized--as far as I know I haven't. But it's still absolutely horrible.

Don't diss an author or the publisher in your review. Don't say stuff like "The editors must've been BLIND if they couldn't see the horribleness of ___" No. You didn't like the book--so don't blame the authors. The author probably did his or her best. Don't bring them down because of it. If you have negative feelings towards a publisher, don't talk about it publicly unless they actually WRONGED you. Seriously?

While this isn't "Blogger Ethics" I have to address it. Haters. Ignore them. They're beneath you. Haters gonna hate. But we don't need to hate them in return. They're not worth anything if they try to bring people down, and they need a life if they have the TIME to. Our blogs are OURS. It has, quite obviously, OUR opinions. You want to argue over some political nonsense? Go somewhere else. We talk BOOKS.

As for non-fiction, I don't read it. Maybe I should--but which ones? I would love recs.

But not biographies. I don't want to read about someone's accomplishments--I want to make my own and not feel insignificant about them. X)

Armchair BEA: General Fiction--Life Changing Books

SO. Life changing books? LET'S DO THIS.

When I was little, maybe 5 or 6, my teacher read this to the class.

And that was it. I was suddenly loving books. (Strangely, I NEVER read the Magic Tree House Series and the ones I did read? I remember thinking they were too easy and too boring and too short. I was a strange kid. I also researched killer mermaids.) But I never really read anything BUT Boxcar Children until I discovered:

her. Nancy Drew. 

The Nancy Drew books took me 1.5 years to completely read (since I was also into Sailor Moon at the time. Seriously. WEIRD KID.) I read all of them. the yellow books, the comics, the ones with the elementary Nancy Drew, the others--all of them. Every. Single. One.

You know, I used to go to my school library every day before school and for 15 minutes after school. So maybe that's why I became such close friends with my librarian when she urged me to read this.

And...I loved it. It was wonderful, it was real, it made my little 9 year old self think and it was the first time I truly loved a character. So I read more and more of Sharon Creech's books. She was my first favorite author. Even the author of Nancy Drew couldn't compare in my little eyes. 

I read Ruby Holler first of course. 

Then Chasing Redbird. 

Then Hate that Cat. Love That Dog. 

Absolutely Normal Chaos (which absolutely SCANDALIZED me with it's kissing scene at the end. But I may have read that part over and over, glancing over my shoulder guiltily. WHAT. It was an adorable scene!) 

Heartbeat.

Replay

The Wanderer

I never could finish Walk Two Moons though! But I even read her picture book. A Fine, Fine School. 

And I absolutely adored all these books. They were beautiful, wonderful, absolutely stunning. They were heartbreaking. But out of all of these, none touched me like Heartbeat. I forget what it was that made me love it so much--but I do remember reading it over and over, clutching it as I walked to school. It was...hopeful. And I think that was OFFICIALLY when my love for books started.

But that's not where the story ends. I was still hesitant to read any fantasy and my mom told me to read only award winning books. But then again, librarian to the rescue. I visited her and asked her for recommendations. And what did she say? That I already read most of her recommended books. But on her desk, there was a ripped up book, completely torn, half taped up. She was fixing it. But I could still see the cover. And it looked like this.

Yep. The PJO series was my librarian's sidekick.

I was intrigued. Why were they running? Why the fog? Was that an EYE? And I asked to borrow it. She said to come back the next day--so I did. And even though I'd never read the series before, even though this was just the second book, I snatched it and devoured it. And then went back to get books one and three. And read them out of order--but I still understood everything!

So yes. Rick Riordan definitely made a humongous change in my life. But what sparked my YA addiction? None other than this series. 

But that's a story for next time. 

Armchair BEA: Development and Genres

Ah. My development as a blogger. Now THAT is something to talk about. I mean, my first post was unbelievably, ridiculously, horrible and cringe worthy. My first review was ranty, had poor grammar, and reused the same word several times. I don't even want to LOOK at them.

Now my reviews still aren't "professional" but they're...better I think. And honestly, sometimes I hate calling them reviews. Can I just call them my opinions? Because that's what they are right?

And my online presence has SO grown lol! Now I'm on twitter and FB 24/7 connecting, stalking, posting about random things...it's actually really scary when you think about how much I looked at social media with contempt. Ugh. I would like to slap past me! Social Media is EVERYTHING now! And I'm a lot more outspoken on the internet actually...so if I said I was the quiet one in class, WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME?

Probably not. It's been almost a year and a half, and the best year ever.

As for genre...
My favorite?
Contemporary, Thriller, and High Fantasy. And Historical Fiction.

Okay. So maybe I should say Favorites. I CAN'T CHOOSE JUST ONE!
Contemporary books usually make me giggle even when I feel depressed, or they make me sob like an absolute baby and rip my heart out. Obviously I'm into self inflicted emotional pain.
Thrillers absolutely kill me and have me clutching a door frame at a twist. Or they have me looking furtively over my shoulder. Because I'm paranoid like that.
High Fantasy takes you to another world and worldbuilding is almost always my favorite part of a book. Poor worldbuilding? Unless the other parts are absolutely amazing, POOR BOOK.
Historical Fiction takes you to another world too--except one that existed. And that, my friends, is always something magical.

AND here's my priority (wrong word, but I hope you know what I mean) list when I read.

1. Worldbuilding
2. Originality 
3. Main Characters
4. Plot
5. Romance/Love Interests
6. Minor Characters

And as for books I absolutely have to recommend?

My Favorites List
My ABSOLUTE Favorites list

Armchair BEA: Icebreaker

Eep! SO excited to participate in Armchair BEA again! Last year was a bit of a fail for me actually lol! But with my BFF off at BEA (well, on Thursday and Saturday) I WILL BE SLOWLY WITHERING HERE. Or not. Since there's Armchair BEA. I also answered one extra question?

1.Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 

It is cockroach season. 
Of course, that means this is Texas.

2.What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

I, MY FRIENDS, am currently reading Book of Broken Hearts, Burning Sky, and Truly Madly Deadly. Favorite book of the year? HOW CAN I PICK BETWEEN SOME QUIET PLACE AND IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS? I can't. 

3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

Ummm...I started my blog at 11?

4. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? 

Well, it's an interview I did on my BFF's blog. Okay, well, 2. Apparently I went super crazy

First one: http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/blogger-interview-fiction-freak.html

Second one: http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/blogger-follow-up-interview-fiction.html

5. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

Totally A.G. Howard of ze Splintered. Like, seriously? SHE'S THE NICEST PERSON EVER AND she's just amazing! Plus Splintered was my favorite read of 2012. So DUH.

Character? Ash from Iron Fey. Always. Completely. <3

6.What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 

My favorite part of the blogosphere? Absolutely the people. They're the absolute best, they totally understand the stress of blogging sometimes, they're my partners in fangirling, and they're just amazing. Bookish people are also the craziest--and that always counts for something! 

Link me up to your posts! I promise to stalk comment!

Armchair BEA: Ask the Experts

My questions for all those other amazing bloggers and my own tips for blogging. Warning: My tips will most likely be cheesy sayings

Tips

• Never give up; keep at it.
• Post as frequently as possible! I, for one, hate going to a blog and seeing that there hasn't been a post for a week or something
• Socialize! I've found that being on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads help spread the word about your blog and helps you make a few blogger friends of your own! And those friends are some of the best!
• Post your actual opinions! I've seen a few bloggers (who've admitted it) post reviews where half was what they actually felt and the other half was just what everyone else was saying. Trust me. A lot of people can tell when it's not your actually opinion.
• Make blogger friends! This is basically rephrasing Tip #2, but seriously. Blogger friends are some of the best friends you can have. After all, who else can rant about books as much?
• Don't diss an author or book. Using Ann Stampler's words (find the interview here) "It’s inevitable that some people just won’t like a book.  It’s their prerogative to say so, although, one would hope, not in vitriolic way.  I have seen some bizarre, nasty stuff, but I suspect it is more a reflection of the reviewer than the book in question It makes both viewers, publishers, and authors thinking badly. After all, no one wants to read a book full of hate, hate, and hate, with no reason why or no good things. After all, a book can't be completely bad.

Questions

• How do you keep your content unique and fun?
• What do you think publishers particularly look for when you request ARCs?
• Have you ever made an author friend? Just curious. :)
• How do you gain more followers; what do you think attracts more followers? Besides giveaways of course.
• When you review books, do you just use one "layout" or do you just end up rambling about the book?

Armchair BEA: Tips for Blogging

"Have you done any freelance writing? Are you monetizing your blog and how so?"

Since neither of those apply, I'm was going to go with the third question:

"How do you make connections outside the book blog community on the Internet?"

But then I had no idea how to answer or what they wanted. So I went with Option #2:

"If none of these apply we'd love for you to share a fun aspect about your blog or life that may be completely separate from books!"

So here I am with a "fun aspect about my blog or life"!

The Post:
Blogging is hard. No, not as in it's hard to write the posts, that's easy! I just do what Jen (http://www.jenryland.blogspot.com/) does and pretend I'm just talking about a book I read instead of feeling like I'm writing a review. What's hard is finding the time! The Internet hasn't been working in forever so I write my posts on the library computer everyday. I spend 4 hours at least at the library, scheduling posts, socializing with the blogosphere and chatting with a friends. Multitask! But it's definitely worth it to introduce new books to people, give readers a chance to win a book or swag, and talk to bloggers/readers/authors! Another thing I love about blogging: literally anyone can be a book blogger! You don't have to have amazing writing skills or a 1000 foot deep understanding of books. You don't have to have an A+ in ELA or have enough books to fill a library! God knows I don't have any of that! I just love books so I write about them.

I don't think any of that fit the topic, so here's what I think of as a fun aspect of my life:
My mom is so awesome, she buys me three batches of 20 books a year and around 3 books between those giant batches. :3 I am happy. My mom will one day be broke. Oopsies.

Armchair BEA: Real Life Book Experience!

OK, the topic for today was a real life bookish experience which would definitely be fun to write about! Problem? I've never had a real life bookish experience. Why? Because...

• There are no indie bookstores within 25 miles of me
• My local library never has any fun programs
• No authors come to Sugar land. Austin, Dallas, and Houston, but usually on a school day so...

That's basically it. I asked one of the moderators on what I should do and she said that I could "express my frustration with he lack of opportunities" or how I may start networking outside the WWW.

So...

Since I have never been to any type of book convention, I always try to track down all the bookish events and see if I can go. And guess what? I finally found one: Teen Author Carnival. I'll be in NYC on June 5 and June 11 so this corresponded perfectly! I'm so glad I found out about it! Since I'm scheduling this, I have no idea what I felt yesterday...that's weird. This is basically a past me talking about yesterday me...anyways! I think that with Summer Break here, I can actually go to one of the eve ts that's 5 hours away or something! Hopefully! This is pretty short, but that's all I have so..bye!

Armchair BEA: 2012 Favorites!

Another Armchair BEA post! What are some books at BEA that I hope will make it on my favorites shelf...It's a gian tlist. Let's see:

Favorites at BEA: You have no idea how jealous I am of the people who get to go to BEA! These are some amazing books and hopefully I can snag a copy!

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson

A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies

Starling by Lesley Livingston

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Renegade by J.A. Sounders

Did you make it through that list? What are some of your favorites of 2012 or books at BEA you hope will make it to your favorites list?

Armchair BEA: Self Interview

I decided to join Armchair BEA and this is the first post: a self interview where I answer 5 questions. Hopefully I can get all the posts since I wont have a lot of Wi-Fi. Ugh. So here it is:

Armchair BEA: Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

Fiction Freak: I'm a teen blogger who (I'm saying this for the fifth time) can not believe how many followers I have! It's just mind blowing! I've been blogging for 7 months and first got into it because...in all honesty, I was just bored on Thanksgiving. All my friends called be a book freak and I joked saying I was a fiction freak since I hated textbooks. I got so bored I just decided why not? And started this blog. It only made sense at the time.

A BEA: What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

FF: I'm currently reading Katana by Cole Gibsen which is rocking my face off! I can't believe how awesome it is. My favorite book, however, has to be Sweet Evil! It was absolutely stunning!

A BEA: If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

FF: Meghan from The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa for sure! Her or Ash, but I'm afraid that if it was a dinner with Ash I'd be swooning all night. So let's go with Meghan. Why? Because I've always loved the series and I'd love to ask Meghan why she did some things or how she felt on other things. There are just so many things that aren't revealed. Like if Keenan was actually born!

A BEA: What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?

FF: All the authors and bloggers I meet and the books I'm introduced to! I've met so many awesome people and Haas some fun interviews with such talented authors. Bloggers make amazing friends especially since they have a giant love for books thar can challenge mine!  And I can't think of much I'd love to change except for the fact that a few bloggers aren't exactly nice to others because of how many followers we have. But I have met a lot of nice bloggers too, so I can't say anything bad.

A BEA: Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

FF: Yes actually! I used to end up reading unsatisfying books that made my stomach churn in a bad way or just...ugh. But now, thankfully, I can sniff out a good book! It's such a relief!

~°~

So how was it? Fun? Not so fun? Well I hope you enjoyed!

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