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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Swag Pack Giveaway!

Who wants to win some swag?

Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.

That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get intense Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.

Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything she once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.

This book sounds absolutely amazing and eerie and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! Meanwhile, here's a swag giveaway! You can win all of the items shown above, which, if you can't see, are three Dark Light bookmarks, three wristbands, and three stickers! EDIT: I also received a poster (signed!) to include in this pack! Who wouldn't want that?

THE MEAN STUFF:

• US only
• 13 or older, or if you have your parent's permission
• Ends June 17th!

Umm...that's it! Just enter the Raffleopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Showcase Sunday

Hey, I'm back! But I'm afraid not for long. This week I'm going ot New York! No, not for BEA, sadly. Just for summer vacation. I really want to go to BEA, but there's this small problem that I'm not 18 yet. So I'm afraid that's out of the question. I will, however, most likely be at Teen Author Carnival, so look for me there! Anyways, there will still be posts (that I scheduled ahead of time just for y'all. Don't worry. There's a post each day that is either a giveaway, review, or something), but you'll find I won't be as interactive as usual. When I come back I'll share some pictures maybe!

Click here to find ut how to join!

For Review
    

Bought


NetGalley


I can't wait to read these, particularly Rapture. After Passion, I'm interested as to what exactly is going to happen. I finally finished Hereafter after each exam so I'm now onto Arise.
I bought Tempest rising after one of my friends told me it was absolutely amaazing. Is it? I saw it last year, but I never liked stories involving surfers. I don't know why.
Innocnet Darkness! I'm so excited to read this and can NOT wait to read it!