Blogger of the Month #2 - Amber @ Sapphyria's Book Reviews
Hi guys!
2015 will be a different year for me and I am determined to be more active in blogging as part of my Blogger's New Years Resolutions. Instead of the usual reading and reviewing, I decided to come up with my own features to make my blog more interactive and fun!
So what is Blogger of the Month all about?
- Every month, I will invite a favourite blogger friend of mine to do a guest post about a topic that includes everything under the sun!
- This feature will run for the entire month.
- Feel free to ask any questions - remember this is an interactive post!
- If you have any interesting topics you would want the blogger to discuss about, feel free to leave a comment down below or send me a private email at natshane94aa@gmail.com.
For the month of March, I am so excited to have a fellow blogger who I enjoyed working with. She organized the best blog tours I had ever participated in, and she is so very efficient! (Okay, I admire this trait). Conversing with her through emails have been fun and lovely!
I'm an avid reader and I've been in love with the printed page since I was child. My devotion has only increased as I've gotten older. My reading frenzy began with my Grandmother and her collection of vintage Nancy Drew books. I now have my own almost-complete set of hardcover books and about 75% of the Nancy Drew Files paperbacks. I love a good mystery.
Along the way I discovered my absolute love for anything vampire, which then lead to dragons, demons, ghosts, and other paranormal entities. I thank my sister for introducing me to Charlaine Harris, J.R. Ward, and Stephanie Meyer. Some of my other favorite authors are Katie MacAlister, P.C. Cast (House of Night rocks!), Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy also rocks!), and Barbara Bretton (Sugar Maple series rocks!), and Jana Oliver. Do you see a theme here? I've searched and found other authors like Merrie Destefano, Kerrelyn Sparks, Christine Warren, Kim Harrison, Tracey O'Hara, and Amber Scott and I can't wait to get lost in their stories.
Hi Everyone! I'm very
excited to the Blogger of the Month on Dreamland Teenage Fantasy. I have a secret to tell you: I love to
read! Actually, I don't just love to
read - I need books like I need air - books are my life force. Okay, maybe I'm
over-exaggerating just a tad ....but seriously, books are as important to me as
oxygen; I need them to live. Okay, so maybe it's not really a secret
considering most people wouldn't devote time and energy into a book review blog
if they really didn't like to read.
I can thank my grandmother for my obsession with Nancy Drew and those meddling
friends of hers. Oh wait, that's a Scooby Doo line but that's okay - I dig the
dog with a serious case of the munchies, too. If you've read my "About
Me" on my social media platforms you'll notice that Nancy Drew is a
prominent part of who I am. I own almost the entire hardcover collection of
Nancy Drew books. Some are originals, others are not. I also have most of the
Nancy Drew Files paperback books. I've read all of the hardcovers and
paperbacks that I own at least a dozen times or more each. I did a lot of
reading as a child.
My favorite genres - they are like potato chips ~ "You
can't have just one" - include:
1. Young Adult (even as an adult, I love the teenage angst
and discovery of oneself). I still have
some of the young adult books from when I was a teenager. They are proudly on display on my bookshelf
next to my Demon Trapper's Daughter series by Jana Oliver, House of Night
series by P.C. Cast, Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins, and many, many others.
2. Cozy Mysteries. I
love them even more if they include animals like the Pawsitive Organic
Mysteries by Liz Mugavero, and the Magical
Cats series by Sofie Kelly. I love
everything that is written by Duffy Brown - especially her Cycle Path Mysteries
since they are based on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
3. Anything Paranormal.
No age restriction here. I love
everything from the adult-only Blackdagger Brotherhood novels and Sookie
Stackhouse Mysteries all the way to Juliet Blackwell's Witchcraft Mysteries.
I prefer paperback/hardcover books over eBooks and don't
feel bad about it at all. I have an
ereader because some of the books I gets review requests for are only available
in electronic format. I have to be able
to meet the needs of the authors I support and having an ereader fills part of
that purpose.
I have a lot of people ask me "Why Sapphyria?"
Well, it's sort of a complicated story but I'll do my best to not confuse
you.
Part One of the story: My birthday is in September and the
birthstone is sapphire. I love sapphires and dark blue is my favorite
color.
Part Two of the story: I met my husband in 2007 and he
is a serious World of Warcraft (WoW) gamer. His addiction to WoW was
really never an issue but it also helps that instead of getting upset about it
- I decided to go with the old saying "If you can't beat 'em, join
'em." In 2008, I created my very first WoW character, a Blood Elf
Hunter named ---- Sapphyria - who just happens to have a kick butt sidekick
named Orange Crush (after my beloved late kitty cat). So, yes...I'm a
gamer girl.
Part Three of the story: In 2011, I decided that I
wanted to try my hand at running a blog. I didn't really want people to
know who I am so I decided to name my blog after my WoW character. Plus,
it's unique enough of a name to maybe stick with readers, authors, and others.
That is how my blogs and promotions company were born.
Natasha: "Holy cow! I did not know you are a WoW gamer! All new respect here."
Now that you have a little bit of background (OK, a lot of background), here is
what my real life consists of.
Unfortunately, I don't get to read books, write reviews, and create blog
posts all day.
I am in my late 30's (unlike others, I don't care if people
know how old I am).
I am married, have one stepdaughter, one dog, and 6 cats (4 cats belong to
friends - we are cat sitting for them for an unidentified amount of time). We live in Michigan.
I work full time (approx. 45 hrs per week) outside of my home as a senior
administrative secretary at a major University.
I have been attending college since 2007. In 2010, I transferred from a
small University to a major University. I am working on a dual major
Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Administration and Psychology. While my classes are only online, I find that
is a much harder way to go to school since you have to be able to
self-regulate, self-motivate, and not procrastinate. I hope to graduate by May 2016, and that will
free up a bunch of time.
I design and create jewellery that I sell primarily on eBay. I do have a
page on my blog that showcases a few pieces - one day I'll add more to it but
for now eBay is my main outlet. I don't just sell my jewellery on eBay, I
also sell other items I come across.
Most of the time I have a minimum of 50 items for sale.
I create press releases for a virtual book tour company actually located in my
home state, not far from where I grew up. It's a small world, I tell you!
In September 2014, I also became a Promotions Specialist (publicist) for Musa
Publishing, LLC, until their closure at the end of February 2015. During my time with Musa, I also created my
own promotions company, Sapphyria's Book Promotions. I've assembled quite the team, as well. I've enjoyed working with each and everyone
one of them and hope to continue to do so after I restructure the company this
month. You can sign up to join Natasha
and her blog Dreamland Teenage Fantasy on my team at http://goo.gl/forms/Qq5wrXNZw4.
I am a tour host for multiple promotions companies, as
well. I have a post on the blog almost
every day, sometimes more than one. I
don't get to read nearly as often as I would like to right now but I promote
authors in other ways; cover reveals, release day blasts, spotlights, guest
posts, etc. You can find my blog
here: http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for having me here on your blog,
Natasha! It's been a pleasure!
You can find me all over social media and here is a list of
those place:
Natasha: "Thank you for the amazing post!"
Posted by,
5 comments
Thank you so much for featuring me as Blogger of the Month. I'm honored and excited. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with your followers about who I am and that bloggers aren't just all books and reviews and blog posts. We have lives outside of the pages (as unfortunate as that is, Lol.)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a Wow gamer but my time with the game ebbs and flows depending on the classes I take and/or the number of reviews I decide I need to sign up for :)
Thanks again!
Amber/Saph
Thank you for stopping by! :p It was a great fun doing a feature on you and get to know you better! :)
DeleteTeeeheee! I love this author interview! My birthday is in September and my fiance has an addiction to online gaming, too! I also "joined him" by ALSO creating a Blood Elf Hunter! He's since switched to Star Wars so I had to create a bounty hunter on there, but I've been slowly moving away from gaming because reading and blogging has now consumed most of my free time. Lol. I wouldn't have it any other way, though!
ReplyDeletePearl @ AsteriskPearl's Book Blog
Thanks for commenting Pearl! Its amazing to hear that you "game" too! But of course we could never leave our books and blogs :P Thanks for stopping by! And Will remember your birthday :3
DeleteYou’re right! All the points mentioned in the article seem to be truth and it is worth reading. Gifts in Coimbatore Truly had fun reading this post.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Wishing you a dreamy day!