YRAH Bday: Interview with Fiktshun + GIVEAWAY!

YOUNG READER blog is now 2 years old!

And 

THAT

calls for a celebration!

Don't forget to check out the previous posts

• Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa GIVEAWAY. International(ENDS TODAY!)
• With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent Review + GIVEAWAY.International
• Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller Interview + GIVEAWAY.International

Character Interview of Frigid by Jennifer Armentrout

Today I have Rachel from Fiktshun over at the blog!

Rachel is an inspiration for me. I stalk her blog and she's been one of the most helpful and nicest people I've ever interacted with virtually. I will literally stalk any site she decides to start up!

So without furthur ado I present to you one of the most awesome bloggers ever.....

What advice would you give to shy book bloggers for improving their networking skills?

I'm not the greatest person to give advice about this as I'm really shy with people I don't know. But I would say get involved in community events online like Armchair BEA or the BBTC that Parajunkee and The Bookish Brunette just put on. Jump into conversations on Twitter with other bloggers. Most of us don't bite. Or join a super social meme that involves getting to know other bloggers.

Just keep putting yourself out there. While it might not always be easy, and the fear of rejection will likely always be there, if you don't do it blogging will be a lonely endeavor. I couldn't have made it through without the friends I've made in this community.

Your tips for blogging success are

Be honest and speak in your own voice. People visit your blog to hear what you think. If you spend all your time trying to emulate someone else, you'll end up failing because you're not being honest with your readers. It will be too hard pretending day after day. Just be yourself.

Don't fall victim to "the rules." There are no rules. Etiquette, yes. But if you try to follow all the "rules" that are thrown out there, you'll end up feeling so stifled and unhappy you won't want to do this. Remember that it's your blog and there's no right or wrong way to do it.

Don't over-promise. It will just stress you out. Big time. You're doing this because you love it, hopefully. Try not to worry about passing on an opportunity or saying "no." Believe it or not there will be other opportunities. It's much better to say that you aren't able to, than to say you can do something and then fail to deliver. Being stress-free and having a reputation as being a reliable blogger that can be counted on are two things that will help in the long run.

Oh and these are just my "tips" for success that seem to have worked for me and not "rules." I've defined success as being able to blog as long as I've been blogging not in terms of how many followers, how many pageviews or how many publishing contacts I have. If you're looking for tips on how to get those... well, I haven't a clue.

Movie/TV show you are obsessed with?

If you asked me a couple of months ago I would have said The Vampire Diaries. Now, though, it's Supernatural. Hands down. I am majorly obsessed.

Books you would recommend to complete strangers? 

Ugh... I'm terrible about book recommendations. Books are such individual things that I'd never recommend anything to a stranger. I'd have to know a little something about their reading preferences.

Even within a sub-genre I'd never offer up a suggestion unless I knew more. Such as if they like contemporaries to have drama and heartache or if they like them fun or flirty. In paranormal - which supernatural beings do they prefer, and do they like their stories dark and gritty or with less of an edge. So, yeah, way too hard to make recommendations.

Some adult novels that you think are definitely worth a gander?

While I love a lot of the classics I don't recommend them, because most people will have read them in school and it just makes me feel pompous to do so.

And while I don't do recommendations, I think Stephen King's THE LONG WALK - a dystopian with characters who are teens - is definitely worth a read. Even with the younger characters, it's not YA. Perhaps due to the time period it was released or the rather bleak/violent subject matter. I'm also quite fond of his Dark Tower series. (And by "quite fond" I mean hugely obsessed. Favorite series of all time and there will be nothing written in my lifetime that will take its place.)

Janet Fitch is one of my favorite authors and while I love PAINT IT BLACK, I think WHITE OLEANDER is also a great read.

Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have some amazing contemporary books. And they also do YA. THE NANNY DIARIES was hugely popular. But my favorite book of theirs is DEDICATION. It's one of my all-time favorite contemporary books, actually.

For those into PNR/UF, anything by Rachel Vincent and Chloe Neill. For those who like things with a bit more heat, Kresley Cole or Jeaniene Frost.

Rapid Fire ( the first thing that comes to your mind when you see the following words...)

Twilight – Sparkly Vamps.

Black - Black Flag. (The punk group, not a bunch of dark flags.) Though Sirius Black comes a close second but that could be because your next question is Harry Potter, LOL.

Harry Potter - Quidditch. (Dunno why that popped into mind.)

Hot - Vampires. (As if I could have answered in any other way.)

Wings - Aprilynne Pike.

Coffee - Essential.

T.V. - Favorite time suck.

Love - Eternal.

Merlin - WIZARD AND GLASS. (Stephen King novel, of course.)

Rachel has been AWESOME enough to offer up something for giveaway (SEE... I told you it's tough to even be jealous of her she's so nice...)

So in honor of Rachel this giveaway is going to be the simplest of all the giveaways I have had so far...

GIVEAWAY 

ONE book of their choice not to exceed USD $20 from Amazon or The Book Depository depending upon location

PSST: Extra brownie points for whoever tweets @fiktshun to thank her for this awesome giveaway use #YRAHbday please. (She didn't let me make this an entry for the giveaway but you'd have my gratitude if you did :)

Don't forget to check out Rachel's website Fiktshun.

I believe she's celebrating 2.5 years of blogging as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway