Follow Me Friday: Blog Style June 14

Hi! Welcome to Follow Me Friday: Blog Style!  I believe that book bloggers should help one another, because well, we all have one thing in common- the love of blogging, and books. I've had the pleasure of meeting and networking with some great bloggers out there, and my little tribute to everyone is to start up this fun Friday post!  The power of uniting has helped Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More grow into what it is today, and I'm not about to forget the help I've gotten to achieve this goal. My hopes in starting this is to get other blogs some more followers, whether they are a well known blog or a small one, a blog that's just starting out. I'm here to help.


This Friday I'd like to feature Living, Loving and Writing (http://laurabesley.blogspot.hk/). The owner/create of this blog is Laura Besley. I hope you'll follow along as I ask some questions pertaining to the blog, and a few fun questions. Ready? Let's begin!

Hi! Welcome to Storm Goddess Book Reviews and More! I'm really excited about this, and glad that you have taken part of the fun!

So, tell us a little bit about yourself!

I’m half-English half-Dutch and grew up in both England and Holland. I loved living in both countries for different reasons and feel that having lived in different places has given me different perspectives on life and people.

I did English Literature and Film Studies at university and graduated in 2001. After a brief stint in management I decided to retrain as an EFL teacher (teacher of English as a Foreign Language) and have been teaching ever since. I started in England, teaching foreign students from around the world. Then moved to Germany, where I taught business English to adults for two years. Now I live in Hong Kong and teach mainly children. I love teaching as it gives you such insight into the language and I love teaching people from different countries to my own as it gives you such insight into their country and culture, something which I think will always be fascinating for me.  

What made you decide to start a blog?

I’ve fairly recently rediscovered a passion for writing and decided this was a good way to get in writing practice. Now, I’ve been blogging for a while and I’m totally addicted! I love connecting with other people and the thought that others have read, and sometimes commented, on my posts is just great!

How did you come up with a blog name?

I can’t really remember – it just came to me.

How many people do you have on staff, and how do you decide who does what job?

It’s just me! ;-)

How long has your blog been live/active?

Since January 2012.

What type of things do you do? Services you provide?

I post three times per week.
Monday – general musings about life, writing, living in Hong Kong/abroad.
Wednesday – midweek book review.
Friday – ‘Best of the week’ Flash Fiction.

What are THREE unique things about your blog?

I write about Hong Kong, I write Flash Fiction, that’s two…can’t think of anymore!

How do you go about spreading the word about your blog, and the posts?

I post the link onto facebook, Book Blogs and send out an email to friends and family.

What's the best thing about blogging?

People reading your blog and posting comments.

What's the hardest thing about being a blogger?

That it just eats time! I sometimes think I’ll have a quick look and before I know it, an hour or two has gone by!

Besides blogging, what are some of your other hobbies and passions?

I love reading – have done ever since I could read as a child. I love writing too. One day I hope to write a book, but at the moment I’m cutting my teeth on my Flash Fiction project (writing a piece of FF every day – I post the ‘best of the week’ onto my blog on Fridays). I also love the cinema, eating out, the beach – in summer and winter – and chilling out with friends and family. Oh, and coffee and chocolate: couldn’t survive without either!

Which author have you not hosted on your blog that you'd LOVE to have?

Anne Lamott – I’ve read both fiction and non-fiction written by her and I think she’s brilliant!

How does one go about getting a review request to you?

Just send me an email or drop me a comment on my blog.

How does one go about becoming a reviewer for you?

Nothing to review just yet…

Where can readers find you?  How many ways to follow do you have?
Just the blog, facebook. Haven’t ventured into the world of twitter yet.

How do you accept review requests? What genres do you review?

Gracefully – haha! I don’t do horror, sci-fi, vampire, etc. Although this does appear to be very popular at the moment, it’s just not my thing. If an author contacts me and their book looks interesting, I’m happy to give it a go.

How would an author go about getting a feature, whether it be an interview, guest post, etc?

Just contact me via email or on the blog.

Most memorable post/even?

My most memorable post is probably my first, which I launched onto my previous blog a little while ago. Maybe I’ll repost it onto my current blog. It was about eating snake soup in Hong Kong. Needless to say it got quite a few responses. But from that very first post, I was hooked!





Let's share some firsts!

First post: Snake soup.

First review: Incendiary by Chris Cleave

First author interview: (not done)

First guest post: not done yet, but hoping to have Katie Andrews Potter feature in June

First milestone: getting to 1000 hits

First great compliment about your blog: Any compliment is great!

First time your quote has been put in a book- whether it be print or ebook) (not happened)

First publisher you got to send you review requests regularly. (not happened)



And now for some fun questions!

Three books on your keeper's shelf. Rosie – Anne Lamott, The Book Thief – Markus Zusak, When God Was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman

Favorite authors? Anne Lamott, Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, Kate Grenville, Nicole Krauss, Roald Dahl, William Boyd.

Book you've re-read the most? I have to say I don’t often re-read books, there are too many other greats out there. However, I’ve read The Book Thief three times and loved it each time.

Favorite TV show? At the moment: Game of Thrones.

Favorite color? Purple

What's your dream job? Full-time author

If you could travel anywhere in the world, no money holding you back, where would you go?

For a six month tour of South America. I’ve been once, to Argentina, and it was such an amazing trip – I’d love to go back. The scenery is extraordinarily beautiful, the people are warm and friendly, the food is delicious. Heaven.

Anything else you'd like to add in, maybe something I didn't ask in the interview that you'd love to share with readers?

I’d like to thank you for taking the time and effort to make this possible.


I really appreciate you answering my questions. It's great getting to know other bloggers that share the same interests as I do.  Before we end this post, please share any links that come in handy for you and your blog.

Blog – Living, Loving and Writing - http://laurabesley.blogspot.hk/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=651575520
Book Blogs - http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/LauraBesley



Readers, I hope you'll check out this blog and give it a follow if you haven't already!