Things to Harlie likes in the book/blogging world! @UTCbookblog @PrismBookTours @GoddessFish @GiveMeBooksBlog

*EDITED*

I know, this blog was supposed to be up months ago and I’m sorry.  Life, vacation…you know.  Anyway, I didn’t take out a thing.  Enjoy!

I’m back!!!!!  This week is going to be busy.  The kid turns 12, in-laws coming in, and still don’t have a clue what the boy wants to do for his birthday!  *beats head on desk*  Oh to be 12 again…NOPE!

So, this week I decided to let you know what I actually like the book/blogging world.  Shocked, aren’t you?  Last week I had a list of what I didn’t like.

When I started to blog, I thought that it would just be a hobby.  Something to keep me occupied and busy.  I went into it blind.  We had recently moved from Dallas to East Texas and I was bored.  I went to Walmart and bought the book, Shadow Dance by Julie Garwood and I fell back in love with romance.  I went to the library and devoured everything that I could get my hands on.  The librarian and I became friends, too.  She would ask me for recs for books to buy for the library.  And yes, not just romance books.  I would also donate my old paperbacks to the library and watch them being shelved.  So blogging for me became a way for me to share my love of books.  I still love books.  My current library doesn’t have near the romance collection that I had before but OMG, their YA section?  Jealous.  Hell, even our high school library has more YA that I’ve ever seen.

But then, I found that I actually liked talking about books.  English was my favorite subject in high school and college because I got to read.  Score and the win for me.  I just treated blogging like writing a book report.  Of course, I didn’t do the whole spoiler thing and I still don’t.  What I didn’t anticipate was how much work actually goes into actually blogging.  Over the years, the blog has taken a life of its own and at one point I almost shut it down.  I just couldn’t say “no” to everyone.  My anxiety had anxiety and it was slowly eating away at me.  I took some time off and really thought back to the “why” I blogged and the blog itself.

I take breaks now.  Especially in the summer.  We go on vacation.  I know, it’s very old-fashioned.  But we do have two family reunions that we go to, also.  I realize that I substitute teach full time that maybe I should take the school year off but reading/reviewing/blogging is how I keep sane.  Taking the summer off, I can recharge.

So here is what I like about the book/blogging world:

Sisterhood

I know that I will never be as popular as my all time favorite blog, Under The Covers (http://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/) and I’m okay with that.  Francesca is the best in the business.  She doesn’t put up with the b.s. and she is a great sounding board for me when I get frustrated.  She runs a tight ship with her ladies and the professionalism is top notch.  I’ve seen a lot of blogs come and go but her’s is consistent and up to date.  I used to worry about a number of followers, likes, comments, etc. that other blogs have.  Each blog is different and that’s what makes us unique.  Plus, when I stopped all the craziness about being popular in my head and discovered my niche…the blog took off.

via GIPHY

Blog tour companies/Publicists

Blog tour companies come and go.  It’s just the nature of the business.  I’ve had some interesting companies that I have worked with over the years and the fly by nights are gone.  I feel bad for the authors that signed up with them but I learned a thing or two from them.  Like I said before last week when it came to publishers…clean up your own house before coming into mine.  I’ve had some truly dreadful ones that never got me stuff on time, not to mention never getting the book to read.  I used to completely stress out about it but I learned that it wasn’t my issue to deal with.  You can send email after email but when you get no response, you’ve done everything you could do.  Now, if I knew the author, I would definitely let them know what is going on.  Publicists are the same for me.  They are even more flighty than tour companies.

I have some companies that I will work with until they close shop.  Goddess Fish (http://www.goddessfish.com/) is the best in the business.  I had a few hiccups when I first started working with them but now…they are my go-to tour company.  Give Me Books  (http://givemebooksblog.blogspot.com.au/) is my other go-to company.  And of course, my source for anything Harlequin is Prism Tours (http://www.prismbooktours.blogspot.com/.  I have some publicists that I love, too and even when they have left one publisher, they always keep me in the loop.  I can sense the head-scratching right about now.  So what do I like about them?  It’s called professionalism.  Look it up.  It goes back to good manners, no b.s. and just doing their job.  And trust me, I’ve had publicists and tour companies drop me for THIER incompetency.  I still have the emails to prove it.

Aren’t they pretty?  *swoon*

via GIPHY

Friendships made and lost

I know, it sounds weird.  I’ve made some wonderful friends through blogging and I’ve lost some, too.  Life gets in the way, blogs come and go; I get that.  I met some wonderful fans from other blogs, too.  I remember when Author Blogs were HUGE!  Social media was still new and no one was on Facebook or Twitter.  Yahoo groups still ruled the roost.  When I was going in and deleting some emails from 2009, I got really sniffly.  I was re-reading some group emails from Yahoo.  I can honestly say that most of the ladies that I was in groups with, I don’t talk to anymore.  Sad but that’s the way life goes.  Do I miss them?  You bet.  The authors, at the time, were new and fresh.  They appreciated each and every one of us in those groups.  But when I moved to Facebook, I made new friends and found new authors.  Do I try to keep up with all those authors from yesteryear?  Honestly…no.  I have a few (maybe 3) that I’m still friends with and buy their books.  I’ve seen some very BAD behavior from authors from those groups and I don’t associate myself with them anymore.

via GIPHY

That’s about all that I’ve got right now.  I know that I had more dislikes but I picked my top 3 likes.  Tell me what you like about the book/blogging world.