This post comes to you courtesy of A Fangirl's Opinion, and she's got several tags on her blog that I will probably steal in the future, but for now, because it's February, we're going to settle on this one.
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1. What book(s) have you been given as a gift that you loved?
I had a friend send me Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés and I thought that was a really touching present.
2. What book(s) would you like to give as a gift to someone else?
I'd like to give my sister a copy of Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson because she recently read Rogerson's Vespertine and liked it, and I want her to get another taste of Rogerson's writing and why A Sorcery of Thorns was my favorite book I read in 2021.
3. If you could gift a random person any bookish item, what would it be?
I definitely enjoy roses made out of pages of books. Even people who don't read books would find something like that pretty!
4. If you could gift a random person any non-bookish item, what would it be?
I think I'd like to give out Goldfish crackers to all of my students just so they can try an addictive American snack staple. They don't have Goldfish here in Japan and I think they would like them.
5. What do you say when a person gives you a gift you don’t like?
I say "thank you" and give them a hug. They don't need to know I don't like their gift.
6. Mention a book based around Valentine’s Day.
I don't know any but here's a list I found of books set on Valentine's Day, and if I were to choose one to read, I'd probably settle on Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall.
7. Mention a film you love to watch on Valentine’s Day.
I don't actually go out of my way to watch any movies on Valentine's Day, but if I did, I'd probably watch Pride and Prejudice (2005), Sense and Sensibility (1995) or Jane Eyre (2011).
8. Mention a few of your favorite OTP’s.
Yadriel and Julian in Aiden Thomas's Cemetery Boys, Harper and Rhen from Brigid Kemmerer's The Cursebreaker series....maybe Isobel and Rook from Margaret Rogerson's An Enchantment of Ravens. Oh, and Nick and Charlie from Alice Oseman's Heartstopper.
9. Which fictional character would you like to see at your door with a bouquet of roses?
Nathaniel Thorn from Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson.
10. Mention any two tips for blogging as a gift to other bloggers and to those who may want to start a blog.
My first tip would be to blog a lot, and my second would be to blog regularly. Even when it's hard, you've got to pump out consistent content or you'll see your SEO impacted.
When I first started blogging years ago, I started small but amassed thousands of views per blog a month...and then when I became a teacher I stopped blogging, posting maybe only once a month or once every couple of months...and my traffic died. I have a brand-new blog (while still at the same domain) and I get less than ten views per post. Four digits down to single digits, and it's because I stopped posting for like two years. I don't know if I'll ever get the views I used to, short of publishing something well-known (like a book) that might bring people my way (especially because my newsletter and my social media are not sending people here, despite my efforts).
I just want to shake the shoulders of the old me and tell myself, "Keep writing! Don't stop!" So that's the advice I have for you -- keep writing. Don't stop.
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As always, folks, I'm tagging YOU! Fill this out on your own blog and link back, or choose some questions you want to answer in the comments! I would love to see what your answers are. Thanks for reading!