In the Spotlight ~ "Rogues Under the Covers"

This week I am excited to have Lisa from Rogues Under the Covers here "In the Spotlight".  I met Lisa in goodreads, it seems our taste are similar when it came to reading romance books. I am on a historical romance kick and it seems that Lisa is too!! If you haven't had a chance to catch her reviews at goodreads, don't miss out on her wonderful blog!!!

Well on with the interview, welcome Lisa!!

Thanks again for asking me to participate!! Looking forward to the other posts :)

Lisa

When and how did you decide to become a book blogger?
I started by blog about three years ago because I was home with my two sons and when they would nap I had a bit of free time so I thought 'why not try writing up reviews?' (Looking back, I really don't know what I was thinking, lol)

What’s the hardest part of being a book blogger?
For me it is just trying to keep up. My work and kids don't allow me to post as much as I would like as they don't allow me as much time as I would like to read and write up reviews :)

I love your blog's name, Rogues Under the Covers, how and why did you come up with that name?

Actually, when I started my blog I had it titled 'Under the Covers' which I got from Toni Blakes Destiny series (its the name of the fictional bookstore). But then I started working again so my time to read and blog cut way down until this past year when I was able to make some time for both again. However, I came to notice there is another, quite bigger, blog also called 'Under the Covers' and I wanted to adjust my name to separate from them and since I mainly read historicals now, I stuck Rogues in front and it seems to be working for me. I didn't want to change the URL as I have some quotes on authors sites and I wanted them to still be directed back to my site (that is the BEST part of reviewing for me...seeing that an author took the time to read my review and post a bit of it on their website! It makes me so happy write up reviews)

How did you start your "historical romance binge"?
Well, you can blame Goodreads and Sarah MacLean for that :) I was reading mainly contemporaries and never really gave a thought to reading historicals (why I never know as the BBC Pride & Prejudice is my favorite movie) but so many of my non-historical readers were reading this book called Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake that I decided to give it a try. Yeah, I devoured it in a day (which is really really hard for me to accomplish!) and I have not looked back. I love the rakes, the history, the rules of society, everything :)

How do you keep in touch with your followers? Any tips?

Since Google is changing there Google Friend Connect feature I have added a 'follow by email' link and I also have my twitter link posted. You can still follow by GFC by clicking at the very top left 'follow' button, but in the future you need to have a Google blog to follow (I think, which is very annoying!) I do not have a Facebook page at the moment, but I am considering it for the future.

I have found a great way to have visitors is to participate in a blog hop. The only one I do weekly right now is called Waiting On Wednesday, which is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Each week you post a book you are looking forward to and you post your link on Breaking the Spines linkey list and you can visit lots of other sites and in return get visitors to your own site. Again, posting to Twitter is a great way to get visitors and if you are comfortable tagging the author, sometimes the author will retweet your review to all of their followers, which is always so appreciated by me :)

Who are your three favorite authors?
Thats like asking which of my kids I love more, lol! Some of my auto buys are, obviously, Sarah MacLean. Also Shana Galen for her wit, intrigue and romance. I also love Elizabeth Hoyt for her deliciously hot books set in some unique locations in London. There are so many more that I auto buy and I have so many more to discover as I have years and years of books to catch up on!

Any words of wisdom to new bloggers?
I have found Twitter to be a great way to connect with authors and fellow bloggers alike. Try to go around to as many other blogs as you can and make yourself known (this is personally a goal of mine as I hope to increase my own blog followers and I need to dedicate more time to this). And just make sure the blog reflects you and what you like to read, etc. Reviews are always your personal thoughts so don't be afraid to express them.

Which author would you most like to meet (dead or alive)? Tell us more..
Wow, hmmm...well, any of my three mentioned above would be awesome! I'm not to particular really, I would love to meet any author that I have read and enjoyed their work. To me they are all mini-celebrities :) It would be so much fun to travel back in time and talk with Jane Austen or Lewis Carroll just to see how they created some of the most memorable literary characters.

How big is your TBR pile? How many books do you read/review in a month?
Big. Very big, lol :) At least 100 physical books plus at least that much on my Kindle. I read about 12-15 books a month and my reviews vary depending on how many are ARCs versus regular books and how my real life is treating me. I usually write about 10 reviews a month. My work also allows me to listen to around 4 books a month as well.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
Umm, I don't know? I'm a very quiet and private person (thats another hard thing about blogging for me--speaking up) so something along the lines of... Unsuspecting Book Lover? LOL. I really don't know, I'm not that creative either sometimes!

On a Personal Note:

My name is Lisa and I work from home doing data entry (love working from home and the flexibility it provides but hate not talking to any adults day after day). I have two sons, ages 5 1/2 and 4 that occupy my days and are the loves of my life even as they drive me bonkers! I have been engaged to their dad for close to eight years and been with him ten. One of these days we will make it legal :) I refer to him as my hubby online just because its easier and he feels like it anyways. I am a huge Packer fan so on game days you will see me tweeting about the game. I live in Southern Wisconsin and I hate winter and was so happy it had not snowed and now that it has...I still hate it :) Kids love it though. My favorite part of the day is when the boys finally go to bed and I can get an hour or two of reading in before I have to go to bed since my kids have no clue what sleeping past 6 am means!

Are you interested in being featured "In the Spotlight", stop by and fill on contact form.

Lisa is graciously offering (1) $10 gift card to either Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or up to $10.00 value at the BookDepository.com but there is a catch you have to live in one of the countries they ship to for free. Click here for list of countries. (If you live in the US, you can also select this option if you prefer it).

All you have to do is make sure you follow my blog and also Lisa's blog and our  twitter accounts, it's that easy!!   The giveaway will end March 7, 2012.

Good luck to all! For those who just love to read the fine print, before you enter a giveaway please be aware of a few simple rules: Giveaway Policy.

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