The BBAW Interview with Julie of A Tale of Many Reviews

This is the fourth time I've participated in the BBAW Interview Swap, and it's always introduced me to someone new.

This year, my interview partner is Julie B., founder of A Tale of Many Reviews. She launched the blog on her own in August 2010, but it soon turned into a group project. A Tale of Many Reviews also features many other things - author interviews, book and blog tours, giveaways and contests - and it's easier to pin down what they don't review (nonfiction, novellas, short stories, poetry, or kidlit) than what they do, but they favor romance, thrillers, mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction.

Julie and friend (not a co-blogger!)

Here's my Q&A with Julie (my Q's, her A's); you can find the flip side of it posted at A Tale of Many Reviews today!

You're part of a team of four reviewers on your blog. How did you all come together, and were any of you blogging before you started there just over a year ago?

Hi! Thank you for having me on your blog for BBAW. I started the blog a year ago after I left working in a school district as a language arts teacher. I missed talking to the teachers and students about book recommendations and reading great books to my students. So, I started blogging to help stay connected. The review requests and review books started to become more than I could handle on my own, so I asked my friend from high school Aaron to review from time to time. The majority of books, however, seem to be more YA and/or romance-ish in nature and I asked my cousin Jennifer (middle school language arts teacher) and another friend since elementary school, Leisha (art history professor), to come on board. They were all avid readers anyway, so it was a natural fit.

Your blog has a great mix of content - reviews, interviews, giveaways, book tours. Which do you like best?

That’s difficult because I like them all. We do the mix of content to hit the various aspects books/reading. Ultimately, we really like making great reader/book connections. This way, we have multiple avenues to share great books and authors we’ve enjoyed. Plus, we all have education backgrounds, we like to share, and know we have a variety of followers. So we provide a variety of content.

What's your favorite book you've read this year? If it's too hard to limit to just one, what are your top 3?

Holy cow! Ok…top 3 this year: 1) Trace of Fever by Lori Foster 2) Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake 3) Vampire Empire: The Rift Walker (Book 2) by Clay & Susan Griffith

What ways do you like to interact with other book bloggers (not counting your co-bloggers)?

I mostly interact with them on twitter (@Tale_of_Reviews). I do read certain blogs more often than most, but always comment on the posts I read, no matter if I follow them or not. I do other blog’s book tours too. I’m planning my first big book event to ALA Mid-Winter Conference in January 2012. Looking forward to actually meeting some of these bloggers not just online.:-)

How do you like to spend your time when you're not reading, blogging, or doing your day job?

Julie: I like to play RPG Xbox 360 games. I like Fable II, Oblivion, Borderlands…I do play COD and Halo in co-op with my husband and friends, but I get killed…a lot and my language tends to go #?! while playing those two games. I like to work-out, but have to keep a trainer or I make all kinds of excuses for myself. :-) I also love movies!! Anytime and anywhere, I’ll go!


Thanks for swapping interviews with me, Julie - it was great to meet you!