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…

Curses go to the lovely Christina of Recipe and a Read for having the chutzpah to dare to force work on me by tagging me for a  “blogger award!” Silly girl – she must not value her life or realize what an extremely lazy blogger I truly am!

 

THE AWARD

I don’t qualify for this at all according to the definition:

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion. – Okoto Enigma

But I will graciously accept~ although it is no secret I just write silly little reviews that no one reads, not even my own relatives – which most people would take as a telling portent…

 

THE RULES
• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
• Nominate other bloggers who fit the bill!
• Link the bloggers you nominate
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
• Share a link to your best post(s)

3 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

I didn’t have the time or energy to read anything that wasn’t work-related for about 20 years.  I love being retired so I can read whatever, whenever, where ever, and however I want.  I am a retired School Psych and don’t miss the noise or my sucky boss.  I no longer have to “people.”  ~ Contented sigh, life is good.

I foster kittens and get them adopted – yip – I’m a crazy old cat lady.

I don’t own a coat but I have a few hoodies.  I live in Hawaii and have no need of heavy outerwear, or high heels – I gave all of those torture devices away!

 

THREE OF MY TOP POSTS

I have no idea what those would actually be as  I lost 5 years of my blog to a malicious hacker’s uploaded virus and out of spite, I started it over about a year ago.  I never look at my stats, but I poked around and was actually shocked and somewhat horrified to see the most viewed pages were my Review Policy and About Me page – go figure!   Of the posts, the top three viewed weren’t my best reviews but were probably publicist driven or accidental redirections 😉

Book Review: The Oddest Little Book Shop by Beth Good

Book Review: I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan

Book Review: Atticus by S. Bennett

 

Christina’s Snoopy Questions :

 

What is a book you can never read too many times?

I can’t think of a one I read several times by choice

What are your favorite and least favorite tropes to read?

I am primarily a women’s fiction reader. I don’t read horror or dystopian and generally avoid YA and religion

What is one unpopular book opinion you have?

I despise cliffhangers with the heat of a thousand suns and typically respond by turning the air around me blue and stamping my little foot if tricked into reading one.

If you could pack up and travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?

Valley of the Kings – but I’m lazy to travel that far

Fun/Weird Question: If you could maintain your current BMI and be either one GIANT bee or thousands of bees with a collective mind, which would you choose and why?

I’d be one big badass beehive – I love the idea of having minions I don’t have to supervise or give direction to.

Nominate 5 fools 

Nope, not gonna do it.  I rebel against the rules!  I nominate anyone who wants to consider themselves award-worthy and promise no Crazy Kanye takesie backsies

 

If I knew how I’d put a hex on Julia Swoons for nominating me for a Sunshine Blogger Award and sending this nonsense into my realm of sloth – I sense a dubious honor in there somewhere…

I am the laziest blogger in the world as I really don’t blog, I write silly little reviews that no one reads.  But it amuses me to do so, and it keeps me occupied and distracted from the bright and shiny objects I covet in store windows and tend to overstock to a ridiculous degree.

The infamous Julia Swoons sent me a list of commands – how dare she!  Among them was a list of questions.  I am feeling rather magnanimous today so I will guess I could indulge her, just this once…

11 QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES:

 

Who is your biggest celebrity crush?

 

Sam Neill always caught my eye

and while I’m much too old for him but – hmm, I am a bit of a cougar…  Purrr – Colin O’Donoghue makes Captain Hook look a tasty treat

Do you have any pets?

 

My 3 children wear fur coats – I have a Black Panther named Pudge – he is not really a panther but he thinks he is. I also a Golden Tiger (Tabby) named Caruso – because he sings opera.   I fostered a Siamese kitten that I named Ozzy as he was ill and wobbly when I rescued him, and once healthy he was somehow upgraded from a foster to a permanent resident… hmm, funny how that happened…

 

 

What got you into blogging?

 

I was approached by the original blogger to help with her blog by being a guest reviewer, and later that same week she suddenly became seriously ill and admitted to the hospital for several months, so I did the best I could to keep her blog going. I knew nothing – absolutely nothing about WordPress or blogging. She never came back to the blog but her name is still the first one listed. She will help me with IT issues when I’ve made a total hash of something.

What is your favorite genre of books? Movies? TV Shows?

 

I don’t watch much television anymore, I read. Although I do like some of the Masterpiece Theatre series. My primary genre would be Women’s Fiction, but I also like chewing on Thrillers, Cozy Mysteries, Rom/Coms, and Adult Contemporary Romance.

If you could live in a TV show world, which TV show would you choose?

 

Gilmore Girls

 

How long do you spend preparing posts? 

 

Several hours a day.

 

What is your dream car?

 

One that drives and parks itself and never gets stuck in traffic, dirty, or dented in parking stalls

If you could visit any place in the world, what place would you visit?

 

The Pyramids – but then – I really don’t want to deal with the discomforts of getting there, or the heat, or that pesky desert…

 

What is your favorite season?

 

Spring

What is your dream job? Are you doing it? 

 

Retirement is sweeeet!

 

Does blogging make your reading seem like a job or are you still loving every minute of it?

 

Not loving every minute, especially when WordPress decides to do its own thing or I’m struggling to do an exceptional book justice with my inadequate grasp of words, but I do love reading and getting my greedy paws on all the lovely books for free.

 

So many thanx to Julia Swoons for nominating me and forcing me to spend several tedious hours laboring over this dramatic and revealing expose’  – not like I don’t have a million funny memes and precious cat videos waiting for me to peruse on my Facebook feed.