Storm Goddess Book Reviews Turns ONE!!

Wow, time sure does fly. At about this time last year, my life was in the midst of chaos.  We were in the process of trying to qualify for a home loan for the house we lived in. Things were nuts as we were working on small and not so small projects that had sat unfinished and suddenly needed finishing for the appraisal. I'd been toying around with the idea of starting my own blog, but just never did.  But then, I had the sudden urge, so I fooled around in Blogger and came up with a blog.

And then, Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More was born. I picked this name because it represent so much about me.  I'm an avid lover of weather, often times when there's a storm outside, you'll find me there, camera in hand. So, why not combine my love of weather and books?  I've gotten many compliments this past year about my blog's name, so I know I made a great choice.

 When I first started out, I posted sporadically. No one knew me, or my blog, so who was going to read what I wrote? I didn't have review requests coming in. So I started posting a few reviews of books I'd read recently to get something up. One of the first was Forged In Fire, by Trish McCallan. I posted in yahoo loops and on Facebook about my new little blog, which gained a few pageviews, but still was very unknown, but I did get a little interest. I had a few requests for hosting spots, and even a few reviews.

I've worked with and met some great authors out there! It's really neat to network this way, meet so many people, and review books I may not have known about before.  January of this year started my blog off on a good note. I was gaining more followers, had more to post...I started working with blog tours. The first ones were through Chick Lit Plus.  Then found a few more places to go through. As an aspiring writer, I am in a few groups devoted to writing and critiques, so of course I offered for anyone to come on the blog if they needed a spot.  March and April were good months for me. By the end of April, I was getting quite a few review requests.  More than I could take on at one time. So I decided to open up the blog to accept other reviewers.  As I started getting a few that were willing to review for me, I emailed publishers, most of them small press and epublishers, to see if I could get on their review list. Some of them were totally willing, and I did have a few turn downs.

Now, I have plenty to keep the blog flowing. I have sixteen reviewers including myself on board, and what an asset they have been!

Now here we are, entering September, and through GFC, Networked Blogs, email subscribers, and Facebook followers, the blog has over 500 followers.  I'm striving to make new and fun posts for interaction. I started the Monday Blues Promotion, I think in March- every Monday ( There have been many Mondays I don't post it, but most Mondays) I post a theme/topic, and authors are welcome to post excerpts within that theme. I also started Follow Me Friday: Blog style, where I interview blog owners about their blog. Some have said they've gained a few new followers from it.  I have a new idea in the works that I'm getting ready to unveil which is called Saturday Showdown.  And I'm still looking to create other fun things to get readers, and writers involved!

I want to thank all of my followers, for simply clicking that "Follow" button. There are some who are avid commenters and come by every day! it's amazing, I want to thank authors that have reached out to me and help make the blog a success from your fun and interesting interviews, books, and personality.   I want to thank my fellow bloggers in Romance Book Bloggers- You have answered many questions, been there through ups and downs in blogging life, and even in real life. It's great to be a part of such a great community and support system. I want to thank my reviewers. You've been amazing in helping this blog grow. Doing a simple thing as reading a book and writing your opinions on it really mean a lot to authors. I love that feeling when an author gets their review link and can really make their day.  Thank you for being a part of my team.

If I've forgotten anyone, I'm sorry. I am just happy to have this one year milestone, and hope for many more.

With much love and appreciation,

Nikki aka Storm Goddess