Monday, January 14, 2013

A Chat With Book Reviewer, Carole McKenzie

I am so excited to have the lovely, Carole McKenzie visiting today. She is awesome. I met her through my Golden Blood blog tour and we have kept in touch. I always ask her to review my books now and I'm always SO glad I do. Her Life of Fiction Blog is gorgeous and she writes thoughtful, in depth reviews. I have added many books to my TBR list thanks to her :)


Carole, welcome along. Thank you so much for taking them time to answer some of my questions :)


When did you first discover your love for reading? 
Probably the day I learned to read, I started and never stopped! I used to read a lot as a child. My summers growing up were spent reading a book a day even through High School (I know I was/am pretty nerdy). When I began picking finishing a book over going out in college I really understood that this obsession I had was for real and I have no regrets. I’ve always loved to read and always will, I just hope I can instill that love into my students.

What do you look for in a book description? 
Something new. Originality is a big factor for me, so if I read a book description and it is unlike anything I’ve read I get very excited. I also look for a romantic element, the book can be almost any genre and I’ll read it if it has some romance to it!

How do you like to feel when you finish a book? 
Honestly, I enjoy feeling absolutely crushed and emotionally drained; as well as elated. Depends on the book but if I feel that deeply for a story, I love it no matter if the feeling is negative or positive, I just want to feel something.

What do you like most about reviewing books for authors? 
I have loved getting to know so many wonderful and supportive authors through reviewing for them. They’re not only supportive of each other but of bloggers like myself as well. Reviewing books is my passion and to be able to do it for such awesome people has been a dream come true. I get to meet rock stars everyday and it is so freaking cool! I really enjoy knowing that these authors email me asking me for my opinion about something they poured their time and energy into, it really is a lot of fun and I’m so lucky to have had the opportunities that I have. Best community by far!

Do you find it easy to picture characters and settings in your head? How descriptive do you like an author to be? 
I do find it easy to picture characters in my head and sometimes make them look how I want them to as I read completely ignoring how the author describes them (crazy I know); but settings take a little bit more work for me. World building is usually one of my favorite parts of a book if done right, but I need that image to be planted from the authors words. It’s a talent that I deeply respect and love! I think the more descriptive the better, but not everything needs 12 adjectives to describe it. Writing really is an art form.

A REVEIWER'S RECOMMENDATIONS
A traditionally published author you love: hmm. It’s always so hard to pick just one, so I’ll pick a favorite that I’ve had for years (probably my longest running fave); Sarah Dessen! Her books are always touching and just lovely.
And indie author you love: Of course Melissa Pearl! In addition to Melissa’s awesomeness I have to include Liz Reinhardt and so many other wonderful ladies! I love them all!!
One of your favourite YA books: Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Katsa kicks some major booty!
One of your favourite Adult books: I don’t read very many adult books, but I have been reading a lot of New Adult or Mature YA books and one of my favorites is Tammara Webber’s Easy.
A book you've read more than once and the reason why: I have read Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire probably a dozen times. Any time I need to clear my mind, especially when I’m in a reading funk. Travis Maddox is my go to guy and he manages to makes me LOVE reading all over again. I don’t know what it is about that boy but man.

Thank you so much! :)

Great suggestions, Carole. Thanks!

If you'd like to connect with Carole online, you can follow the links below...

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for having me on your blog today!! :)

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    Replies
    1. You are so welcome!! It's great to have you visit :)

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