Huge thanks to Amy (www.goldenbooksgirl.wordpress.com) for this brilliant interview with the YAShot Interns to help celebrate the UKYABA2019!
Do you have any stand-out moments or favourite memories from last year’s UKYABA?
I think it would have to be checking my notifications after I got home from the birthday party I was at on the night and finding out I’d won; I immediately burst into tears sitting on the couch.
The calibre of the bloggers and vloggers longlisted for each category was absolutely outstanding. How did it feel to win and has it changed anything for you?
It felt amazing to win and also utterly surreal. I was up for two categories and won one, and on the one I won I was up against some incredible people, including Lucy Powrie (www.queenofcontemporary.com) who is a huge inspiration of mine. I genuinely couldn’t stop refreshing my emails because I was SO sure there had been a miscount because it would be impossible for me to win over her. I wouldn’t say it changed anything but it was a REALLY lovely boost.
The UKYABA are about celebrating the UKYA Book Blogging & Vlogging community as a whole. Did the Awards help you to discover new blogs/vlogs and/or form any new friendships in the book-blogging community?
The only thing that comes to mind is that Jo (www.bookloverjo.wordpress.com) and I now call each other blogging mum/blogging daughter sometimes because she won Best Adult and I won Best Teen so it felt fitting! We knew each other beforehand though.
Blog-specific questions
How long have you been blogging about books and what prompted you to start your blog? Is there a specific genre or type of book that you focus on?
My blog turns two on June 1st, which is bizarre to think about. It somehow feels like I’ve done it no time at all and forever all at once. I started my blog because I’d always wanted to and just decided to take the plunge because otherwise I would do my usual- overthink it forever and never actually do it. I read quite a wide range of age categories overall and I read from several genres, but a lot of what I read ends up being upper MG.
Do you have a favourite type of blog post to write? Could you share with us what goes into these posts and why they’re your favourite?
I think my favourites to write are probably tags (my friend Sarah from www.sarahwithersblog.wordpress.com calls me tag queen, to give you an idea of how much!) becuase it lets me talk about lots of different books and also my reading habits. I love doing author interviews a great deal too, and I still can`t believe I get that opportunity through blogging!
What is one of the hardest things about running a book blog that most people who read them might not be aware of?
Before I started, it somehow never occurred to me that people probably had deadlines for review copies and so can’t always mood read like I used to pre-blogging. I absolutely love having the privilege of reading things early though, so I wouldn’t swap it even though I sometimes can’t get to my most anticipated releases that I bought myself or got from the library as quickly as I’d like.
Could you share a favourite memory of something you got to do or participate in because of your blog?
I absolutely love interviewing authors- I’ve got to do them with some of my absolute favourites and it’s the BEST.
Is there one important tip you would give someone who is thinking about starting their own book blog?
This probably wouldn’t apply to everyone because I am admittedly a control freak of the highest order, but plan a schedule and schedule posts. Even if you can only write it the night before, it still saves rushing to get it up the day of. I shudder at the thought of trying to do that, honestly. On a less pragmatic note as well, be yourself. Talk about the things you want to and don’t feel restricted by other people.
UKYABA 