Armchair BEA: Consistency

Consistency.

It's good for many things: child-rearing, blogging, branding.

So what is my brand? "Variety is the Spice of Love"

Variety isn't exactly consistent. But I write in a variety of romantic sub-genres. Vampires. Ghosts. Witches. Futuristic Space Sagas. Futuristic Space Pirates. Time-travel. Contemporary romance. Sweet Romance. Erotic Romance (MM, MF, MFM, MMF). I'm sure I've forgotten a couple.

However, I try to stay consistent with blogging. This week aside, however, when I've had killer bronchitis and also trying to participate in Armchair BEA.

Mondays is MMF better known as "Monday Minute Fiction". I write a new free short story and post it here. It's always based on a picture sent to me by my friend Brynn Paulin.

Wednesdays is always an author interview or guest blog. This week because of Armchear BEA, it was a reader interview.

Saturdays is always "Saturday Snippets". In other words, romantic excerpts from one of my books and excerpts to several other Saturday Snippet excerpts.

I try to blog at least a couple other days a week, but don't promise. Usually I blog most days of the week. And I've been trying to stick to writing/reading/promotion related topics.

I like to follow several blogs. Two that come to mind have consistent blogging rituals.

The Bumbles hosts their Monday Movie Theme, Friday "On Blogging", another day "On Photos", etc.

Brynn at Writing at the Speed of Life hosts Monday Minute Fiction every Monday and author interviews on Wednesdays.

Do you have any blogging rituals? Do you think it matters?

Recent posts you might like to read:

Author Interview: Wendi Zwaduk 

Author Interview: Frances Pauli


Author Interview: Marcia James

Author Interview: Elaine Hopper

Weathering A Bad Review

What Do You Want in a Romance Hero & What Do You Want in a Real Life Husband?

Rejection: Where Do You Go Next?

Procrastination

Cliche or Coincidence?

Incognito: free short story

Dedicating Books

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Wendi Zwaduk are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Armchair BEA Week: Interview with Book Blogger Kathleen at Boarding in my Forties

Please join me today to celebrate Armchair BEA for those of us who couldn't join the BEA festivities in NYC. We're interviewing each other and I'm lucky to be interviewing Kathleen from Boarding in my Forties book lovers blog.

Please give her a big welcome and be sure to leave comments and questions for her.

1) Why do you like to review books?


I love talking about books and reviewing them on my blog is a way to talk about what I think about books and ready in general.


2) What type of books do you like to review? Which is your favorite genre?

I read all types of books. Before I started blogging I probably read a lot more non-fiction than fiction. Now I tend to read more fiction which includes literary fiction, classics, mysteries, crime fiction, etc. etc.


3) How long have you been reviewing books?

I think I started my blog and began reviewing books about 2 years ago.


4) Have you ever reviewed for other sites besides your own blog? If so, for whom?

I've never reviewed for any other sites. I do post some of my reviews on Goodreads at times.


5) When did you start blogging? Have book reviews always been the focus of your blog? If not, what else was?

I started blogging about 2 years ago. I think initially my blog was me talking about things that were happening in my life but after just a few posts I decided to focus exclusively on book reviews. Of course the personal stuff still creeps in but usually in the context of what I am reading.


6) Will you be attending any book conferences this year? If yes, which

ones? Where and when?

I really wish the answer to this was YES but unfortunately I have none planned. I attend the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2007 and haven't been able to go back. I do event planning as part of my Marketing job and my busiest show season is Spring which coincidentally seems to be when a lot of the book festivals and conferences take place.


7) What was your favorite book to review? Why?

I'd have to say Fahrenheit 451. I'm so passionate about books and thinking of a world without books really sent me on a tangent. I had a really easy time talking about that book!


8) What is your reviewing schedule like?

I work full time for a high tech company in Silicon Valley so my work life takes up most of my time. I read and review books as I can. I'd like to post several reviews a week but that just doesn't end up happening.



9) What are your future goals for your blog? For reviewing?

I'd love to read and review more and post on a daily basis. It would be great to get more involved with ARCs. I'd love to change the way my blog looks and feels and create more links and put more information up that would be of interest to my readers. Right now I just don't have time so I stick to something that is very basic.


10) Do you have any other passions besides reading and reviewing? If yes, what is it? Why?

My other passion is definitely my family. I have a 16 year son who I spend loads of time with and a wonderful boyfriend who supports me in everything I do. We love to travel whenever we can.


11) If you have any pet peeves about books, what are they?

I can't think of any pet peeves beside the fact that books are so darn compelling to me that I can't seem to get enough of them!


12) Is there something you'd like to tell writers to do or not to do?

Writing is such a personal thing that I can't imagine what I could tell another writer. They have to write what they feel and what they see in creative eye.


13) What is your best memory?

I've had such a wonderful life that I have a lot of great memories. As it relates to books I would say my best memory is my mom taking me to the library when I was a little girl and letting me pick out as many books as I wanted to bring home and read.



14) What is your favorite comfort food?

Mashed potatoes with gravy or biscuits with gravy. I never eat either but I sure do love them!



15) What relaxes you?

Drinking a nice cup of coffee and reading The New York Times.


16) What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Eating ice cream in bed.


17) What decade has been your favorite? Why?

Every decade I am living in currently is my favorite. I never think my best days are behind or in front of me. Every day I am alive is always my best!


18) How do you promote your blog?

I really don't promote my blog which is kind of ironic given that I promote stuff for a living!


19) Where is your favorite place to read? Why?

In a big comfy chair on my patio. I also love to read on the beach in Hawaii.


20) What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

Beauty and the Beast. I love the idea that people aren't always what they seem and that you have to look past surface looks to see the beauty inside of everyone.


21) What was your favorite vacation?

My favorite vacation is always my last trip to Hawaii.


22) If you could have one wish, what would it be?

World peace. I know it is trite but it would be great if everyone could live peacefully in the world.


23) If you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

Grateful


24) Who is your favorite American Idol contestant this year? Why? (only if you watch the show)

I really like the two finalists. They are both really unique talents. I love that Crystal Bowersox is kind of a hippie chick. She definitely doesn't fit the standard Idol mold. I also really like Lee DeWyze. I love the tone of his voice. I feel like he has a lot of layers that we aren't seeing and that intrigues me.


25) Are you a cat or dog person? Do you have any pets and if so, please tell us about them.

I love animals. I'm allergic to cats so I can't have one but I think they are beautiful. I have a little white maltipoo named Bentley. He's a rescue from Hurrican Katrina. He was born the night before the hurricane hit. He came all the way from Mississippi when he was 6 weeks old and has been entertaining me with his antics ever since.


26) What is the one thing you most want to do that you haven’t yet?

I really want to jump out of an airplane (with a parachute of course). I wanted to do it for my 40th birthday and didn't so maybe when I'm 50??


27) You state on your blog that you embrace midlife and plan to live to the fullest. How are you doing that?

By being grateful for every single day, even the challenging ones. And by being open to learning about new things, going new places, meeting new people, and having new experiences.

Please be sure to visit Kathleen at Boarding in my Forties. Also be sure to come back the rest of the week for more Armchair BEA articles.

Armchair BEA: It's So Nice To Attend From My "Armchair"

Actually, I'm in bed working on my laptop.

I just came from the doctor's office for a recheck on my bronchitis. Unfortunately, I'm still in pretty bad shape: 101.5 fever, trouble breathing, coughing. I had to have a breathing treatment, a shot of steroids, and more meds yet.

My son's also been ill all week. I couldn't leave him in this condition.

Despite all this, I can still attend BEA.

I love the Internet, Twitter, and blogging. I love Skype.

Even if I hadn't been ill, I didn't have the money to trek to NYC much as I'd love to go.

The Internet and the nifty media that comes with it, opens the world to us. We can chat with a roomful of people from many different countries all at once. We were able to plan events, interview each other, and coordinate blogging.

My son's been seeing a counselor in our local area. He told me this weekend that she's moving to Georgia. I thought he'd have to find a new counselor. No. Instead, they'll hold their meetings through Skype. As he's a computer tech, he's won more work to set up several of her clients on Skype.

At my day job we recently set up a web conference room. Instead of spending a lot of time and money to travel, we'll be conducting more webinars and conferences from the comfort of our office.

Think of the possibilities. In future, we'll be able to attend many more conferences from our armchairs. We'll be able to choose counselors and work with many professionals around the globe we couldn't in the past. We'll be able to save gas, cut back on pollution, and save our vacations to visit family and friends.

I don't think in person conferences will ever go away. I'm really looking forward to going to Cincinnati to Lori Foster's Readers and Writers Get Together in a couple weeks. I want to see my family and friends, go to movies with them, eat side by side, and touch them. But it's sure nice to have the option.

Please come back each day this week for more BEA activities. Tomorrow please check out my interview with book lover Kathleen from Boarding in my Forties blog. We had a lot of fun chatting and I'm sure you'll enjoy it, too. As much as you love hearing from authors every Wednesday on my blog, it'll be a change of pace to hear from an avid reader.

Be sure to check out all the other participating blogs. Find them here.

Also be sure to check out #armchairBEA on Twitter for more fun.