Book Blogger Spotlight: Book Me!

Book Me!


When and why did you become a book blogger?

I started blogging about six months ago to give my partner a break! I would shoot through a book within two days and then spend the next week talking his ear off, giving him a run down on all the things I loved and the things I hated and what I would have done if I were the one writing that book. I believe it was actually his idea, though. I think his exact words were "You should start a blog! Go blog about this!" He's a smart guy!

How did you come up with the name of your blog?

I actually had a blog called Sugar Me Timbers! over on wordpress, that was dedicated to cakes and my kids parties. When I switched to blogger I shortened it to Sugar Me! And then when I started my book blog, Book Me! just seemed like a natural progression.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

The followers! Without a doubt! Book Bloggers have such a strong community and aside from the occasional Dramarama, everyone is so supportive of one another! We stick together in a show of nerd-girl/boy solidarity! I've met some extraordinary people through Book Me! and made some lifelong friends!

What do you find the hardest about blogging?

The memes! I love the memes, I love getting to visit new blogs each and every week, but I also find it the most time consuming! I have two babies under five and two YA manuscripts in the works, as well as running an author site, hosting a blog tour for the FEAR Anthology, which my short story WHAT GOES AROUND will be featured in. To say I'm a busy girl, would be the understatement of the century! Sometimes I'm a little lax in the time in which to get back to people, but I always get there eventually, and I ALWAYS, ALWAYS FOLLOW BACK!

Does your blog participate in any weekly features and if so which is your favorite?

Too many! I've actually dropped a couple from the list because of time constraints, but Teaser Tuesday and Feature Follow Friday are my absolute faves!

What has been your favorite moment since you became a book blogger? Which review, interview or giveaway have you been most proud of?

Can I say all of them? Just kidding! Shortly after I started Book Me! I had Jennifer L. Armentrout stop by the blog to read my review of Obsidian. I swear I let out the biggest fangirl squee, I ended up waking the kidlets! ;) I also got to do a character interview with Daniel and Farley from Sovereign Hope, which was just so much fun! My Review for Blackbrooke was featured in ... Blackbrooke, so I'm pretty proud of that as I was the first person outside of the beta and publishing team to read it! And for some reason I'm just really proud of my review for Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma and my review for Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. Though now that I've said that I'll probably re-read and cringe, cringe, cringe!

What kind of genres do you enjoy reading and reviewing the most?

YA most definitely! But when I've had too much of all that unfulfilled sexual tension I have to find something steamy to sate the grown-up in me. 

What is your favorite individual book or series? What makes you love it so much?

There are just too many. Okay here goes:

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, this book almost killed me. It was physically painful to read because it was so good and so incredibly sad!

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I finished this book and felt like I needed face re-constructive surgery from smiling so much! It's everything I love about YA!

Blackbrooke by Emma Silver, because it's well written and so, so imaginative!

Easy by Tammara Webber. I loved this book. Easy was sort of my first foray into contemporary new adult and I loved it.

City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare, the first three novels of the Mortal Instruments just rocked my world! Before this I'd never really understood how limitless an author's imagination could be. I've been really disappointed with the latest instalments of The Mortal Instruments, I feel like a lot of the magic of the first three was lost by the publisher's need to milk a sure thing. But I still class Cassie as one of my all time favourite authors because she's just that clever!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, OH MY NOAH! I think that's all that really needs to be said ;)

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. I LOVE ME A GOOD ZOMBIE STORY! Combine that with YA dramarama, the odd kissing scene or two, and some really scary situations and I'm in heaven!

Who is your favorite fictional male character, why and from what book or series are they from?

Can I say my own? No? Um ... Okay, I think it's a tie between Daemon Black (Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series), Jace (Cassandra Clare's Moratal Instruments), Seth (Jennifer L. Armentrout's Covenant series) and Alpha male Ren (Andrea Cremer's Nightshade series)

Who is your favorite fictional female character, why and from what book or series are they from?

I love Alex (also from the Covenant series). She's fiesty as hell, without risking her femininity and funny, too! And I love Dru Anderson from Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series. In a way I suppose they're quite similar, just the right amount of kick-ass meets girlieness. I can't stand a whiny damsel. I don't mind a damsel every now and then, but it's the whiny bit that will literally make me throw my book at the wall and never pick it up again.

Who are your favorite three authors and why?

Well, you've probably got an idea by now that I'm a huge Armentrout fan! There's just something insanely believable about the characters she creates, even when they're out of this world ;). And chemistry? Good lawd can that woman write a book! I'm also a big fan of a controversial read, the writer in me likes to be challenged when I read, so I loved Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden. And I'm completely in awe of Cassandra Clare's world building abilities in The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series.

If you could turn one book or series into films, what would you pick and who would you cast as the main characters?

Oh gosh what a hard question! Well, I'd love to see Emma Silver's Blackbrooke made into a movie! I think Emma created something incredibly original with Blackbrooke and I'd love to see those characters and the Crits brought to life. Also, I think Sovereign Hope by Frankie Rose just reads like a blockbuster movie, so that would be kinda fun, too!

What are you reading right now?

I'm two timing at the moment ;)

Shadows by Paula Weston

and

Seduced In The Dark by CJ Roberts. This one is the follow up to Captive In The Dark, which just blew my mind into the next century!

Paper books or ebooks?

Ooh! Another toughy, I'm going with ebook because they're so lightweight and I can take it anywhere, despite the number of the pages I'm reading. Can you imagine trying to cart a book the size of Breaking Dawn in your handbag? But I do really miss the smell of ink and that feeling of cracking a spine (I know, book lovers everywhere are horrified with me right now)on a new book.

Which would be your favorite place to read? Curled up on a cold day in front of a fireplace, in front of a window on a lovely overcast rainy day or outside on a hammock on a warm summer’s day?

Cold day, fireplace, window. I live in Australia and our summers are HOT, HOT, HOT! I'd take the cold any day!

Milk chocolate, white chocolate or dark chocolate?

Milk! Definitely!

Coffee or hot tea?

Tea, I love a good cuppa! Though I'm insanely picky about how I have it. It's kinda crazy, I'm even picky about what cup it comes in.

Would you like to give any other details about yourself? How can others find you around the web? Such as Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc...

As well as running the pinkest blog on the block, Book Me! I'm also an author, and I love me some stalkers! Come visit me at:

Author Website: http://www.carmenjenner.com
Carmen Jenner Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carmen.jenner.1
Carmen Jenner Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarmenJAuthor

Book Me! Blog: http://www.bookmereviews.com
Book Me! on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookmereviews 
Book Me! Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookMeReviews

Thanks so much for featuring me Christine! I had a blast!
You ask some tough questions! :)