Interview with Empress DJ for Angela Petch

 

The divine wordsmith known as Angela Petch noticed my silly little blog during a recent blog tour of her outrageously fun, superbly written, and endearing novel, which also just so happens to be one of my favorite books of the year – Mavis and Dot.   Ms. Petch contacted me with some questions, oh my!  Maybe I scared her with my comment of being her rabid fangirl and now feels the need to check for the possible requirement of additional security, or even to alert the authorities?  This could be extremely bad – or it could be epic!  Taking a deep and somewhat shaky breath, I scanned her queries…

1. How did you start blogging and why do you do it?  Please tell us a little bit about yourself… are you a writer or a reader or both?

Greetings and Aloha to all – I am DJ Sakata aka Empress DJ, Honolulubelle, and DeeJay Sakata on Facebook.  I am an avid reader, crazy old cat lady, recreational swimmer, Hawaii resident, renegade book reviewer, and all-purpose Goddess.  You can find my nonsense at  Books and Bindings  and Rockin’ & Reviewing

I am an incredibly lazy blogger – actually I’m not really a blogger at all, I’m basically an obsessive reader who posts her twaddle opinions about the books she’s read using a blog site.

I started off as a guest reviewer in 2013 after reigniting a long-ignored love of reading and discovered the vast world of book blogs, Goodreads, and Facebook.  Another blogger tracked me down after noticing my verbiage on Goodreads and asked me to be a guest reviewer on her blog as well.  Due to family issues for the first blogger and a serious illness for the 2nd, I ended up being the sole contributor on both blogs – can you say sucker?

So counting with my fingers, I realize I’ve been blogging for over 5 years now – wow ~ mind-blown!

 What advice do I wish I’d had when I started?

2. Is it a business?

No.

I don’t make a cent from my blog, I don’t have ads, I don’t have affiliate links.  I just get free books.  Which is all the motivation I need.   I mean, come on…  Free books baby!  I’m a retired government worker living on a pension, I’m in it for the FREE BOOKS!   I don’t care one whit if my reviews are read or not, I don’t expect or believe anyone actually does or will read them other than once in a great while a desperate indie author stumbles onto one or maybe a bored PA now and then.  I’m always surprised, shocked, stunned, and even a bit horrified when someone new finds them and leaves a comment.

 3. What is your best tip for an author embarking on a blog tour?

Be patient, select your tour operator with care, and have thick skin… BTW – Rachel’s Random Resources is excellent.  I have worked with many and several have come and gone in the short period I’ve been blogging.  Rachel is by far, the most organized, personable, and dear to me.  I have never met her in person but I call her my English Rose – without her awareness, of course.  She would most likely cringe in horror if she knew, yet she is very patient with me.  I know I’m a bit of a wildcard for her and she always seems immensely relieved to receive my links with a positive review as there have been a few that I didn’t care for.

Every blog is different and I cannot speak for anyone else but I know my personal style is different than most.  I am not a commercial blog, I’m not selling anything and I only write honest reviews – but authors need to be prepared for odd opinions with any blogger.   I am never nasty, but I will give my unqualified and highly biased opinion of what I did and did not care for.  I know authors are spending their hard-earned coins with the tour organizers for blog tours, but they should not send a book only to become torqued when the result is not a rave.  If the book makes me itch, I am not going to blow smoke, even for a best-selling author.

On the other hand – if I love a book, such as the precious Mavis and Dot, I will rave about it obnoxiously and post it on every retail outlet and social media I subscribe to.

Some authors skip the tour organizers and seek out reviewers on their own.  Understandable, as blog tours cost $$.  I have no idea how much, I’ve never bothered to look.  But for anyone brave enough to risk rejection and their precious ego seeking reviews from unknown readers, please stop and first take a look at the blogger’s About Me or reader’s Goodreads page to check what genres they enjoy reading.

I have learned to be selective in my choices and subgenres –  I like women’s fiction, spicy romances, cozy mysteries, thrillers, suspense, contemporary fiction, and some paranormal… but I am not a fan of horror or zombies – they have such poor hygiene!   I don’t care for YA, dystopian, or anything that involves child abuse or sex trafficking, and please NO dom/sub fantasy BS for me.  I would most likely snatch the whip and beat any man to death if he even thought to try using one on me.

So now you have been subjected to more than anyone would have ever wanted to know about a tiny, obscure, and shiftless peruser of books.   I send sweet aloha to the devastatingly talented Ms. Petch and her lovely followers, as well as a fervent request for more delightful Mavis and Dot adventures.  And if I may make a suggestion, perhaps her gray daring duo could win a trip to Hawaii and meet a lovely cougar sipping Moscato in a beach cabana…