Interview of Bloggers!

Author interviews are pretty common in book blogs. Even I've interviewed a few authors on my blog! 
But I wanted to interview my fellow bloggers- to know them better and also to give them a space to share their blogging experiences. Hence, I decided to create this section for the Interview of Bloggers!

The first blogger I interviewed on Books Are My Best Friends is Rose from Desert Rose Reviews.

Here's what we talked about:

Me: Hey Rose, welcome to my blog! It's such a pleasure to have you here!! To start the interview first tell us something about yourself.

Rose: Well, I am an aspiring musician, as well as an artist and amateur writer- amateur in the sense that I'm unpublished, for now.  

Me: When did you start blogging and why?

Rose: I started Desert Rose Reviews in May, 2013.  I was reviewing books as a hobby, and wanted a way to share my reviews and love of books with people.  A blog seemed like a great way to do that, so I thought I'd give it a try! :)

Me: Tell us briefly about your blog and what do you do over there?

Rose: Well, my blog seems to be forever changing and growing.  It started out as simply a catalog of my book reviews, then grew into reviews and tour/event hosting.  Now, as of Oct 2013, I'm starting my own tour service, so my blog has taken on that aspect as well. 

Me: What you love most about blogging?

Rose: Probably the ability to connect to people I'd never meet otherwise, and share my love of books with people.  

Me: How do you promote your blog? Whenever there's a new post, how do you connect to people and let them know about your blog?

Rose: I generally share my review or event on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook.  I'm still looking for other outlets to share my posts with, actually! haha

Me: What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you during the course of blogging?

Rose: It's all been incredibly interesting- I don't think I could pick just one instance.  I've met and created relationships with some incredible people, had some good laughs, and found some amazing books!  It's all been awesome so far :)

Me: What do you think is the most challenging part about blogging?

Rose: Probably reaching people, and getting my blog out there.  I'm not naturally a person who likes to flaunt herself in front of people, so it's a little hard for me to go around and say “Hey, come look at my blog!”  

Me: What are your top 5 favourite books? Name some of your favourite authors.

Rose: Wow, that is a hard question.  Those are lists that seem to be forever changing as well!  At the moment though, my top 5 fav books would be: 

1. The Mark of Cain, by A.D. Seeley

2. Blood Roses/Morning Stars, by Jason T. Graves

3. Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer

4. Firelight, by Sophie Jordan

5. Eric Elmoor and The Gauntlet of Godric, by Thomas A. Meyers

Some of my fav authors, besides the ones listed above, are:

Shakespeare

Chaucer

Mark Twain

Ally Condie

Those are all the authors that come to mind at the moment, but I'm sure there are more :)

Me: Besides blogger are you on any other blogging social networks? If yes, which one do you prefer most and why?

Rose: Not any more.  I tried Wordpress and LiveJournal, but I prefer blogger.  Desert Rose Reviews & Tours is actually my second blog- I have a personal blog as well (which has taken a hit in posts lately, with me spending so much time on DRR&T)- when I was searching for a good blogging social network, I tried several out, and blogger won my vote.  I like the template design and layout, and the fact that I can use html and javascript in my widgets and posts.  Plus, blogger blogs seem to be the easiest to promote and share with others, which is a big plus to me. 

Me: What's unique about your blog? Why is your blog different from that of other book bloggers? 

Rose: This question kind of puts me in that uncomfortable area of flaunting myself/my blog, haha.  I suppose if I had to compare my blog to other blogs I've seen recently, I think my blog looks a bit more put together and clean, easy to navigate.  It's more user friendly than a lot of blogs I visit.  Besides that, my blog isn't really for me, it's for others.  A lot of bloggers use their blog as a personal outlet, which is completely cool!  For me though, the whole point of my blog is to promote others, so I'm always thinking about how my blog looks to others, and I try to make it the best it can be for my followers and visitors.  I also put a lot of effort into making sure I'm honest and respectful, esp to the authors I work with.  Finding the balance between sharing my opinions and the things I like or don't like, while still maintaining respect for the author's work.   Honesty and respect- that's what it's all about! :)

Me: Your favourite blog that you follow?

Rose: Ah, I always dislike this question.  I know it probably sounds bad, but I don't have a fav blog that I follow.  There are several I like to visit occasionally, but I don't really spend much time following other blogs.  I like certain posts, and enjoy browsing when I get a spare minute, but I can't say I have a fav blog.

Me: Lastly, any tips for fellow bloggers?

Rose: Always think about your readers.  Your font, layouts, colors, etc- are they simple to navigate, or are they complicated and an eye sore?  I've seen many blogs that have conflicting font colors, and it gives me a headache to read, which is a bummer.  That's probably my biggest tip- make sure your blog is easy to read, and is inviting people in, not turning them away.  That is, if you're wanting to have readers and followers.  If you're just having fun, and don't care about who follows your or if your posts get read, then my only tip is to just have fun!  :D 

Thank you so much Rose for responding to my initiative and sharing your experiences! It was a pleasure to talk to you. :)

Here's the beautiful button of Rose's blog:

You should really visit her blog. It's amazing! :)

Also, I must mention that the idea of interviewing bloggers came to mind as Jazmen from This Girl Reads A Lot interviewed me for her own blog! So, I'd like to thank Jazmen for coming up with the idea. :)

You can interview bloggers on your blog too. It's really fun! If you do, share your link here (in the comments), I'd love to read them. It always feels great to know about more and more bloggers!