Category: Uncategorized

Lazy Sundays: Posting Inconsistencies

I know my posting hasn’t been the most consistent lately.  It’s partly because of a project I’m working on that’s unrelated to my blog that’s sucking up a lot of my time but also partly because I’m not feeling quite my best.  No, it’s not an infection on my tonsil beds or anything serious like that.  I’m just feeling tired all of the time and a little sick to my stomach if I engage in too much activity at once.  On Friday I had a fever in the morning so I think it’s just a minor viral thing.  It should pass and I’m already starting to feel a little better.  It’s just really taking the energy out of me.

I hope you guys are having a much better Sunday!

The Best and Worst of July 2015

Well, July hasn’t been the most consistent month for me posting-wise but it has been quite busy.  August will be a little more consistent for me as things wind down but then at the end of the month posting may be a little more spotty again because I’m moving off to the city.  It’s exciting and not a little terrifying but I think it’s going to be an overall plus.

Stats-wise July was of course quite bad but I expected that because of how inconsistent my posting was.  I had a total of 3,727 views with 2,472 of those being unique views.  That’s one of my lowest months in the past year but it was to be expected.  August will be much better, particularly with schools starting throughout North America and more teachers and students start searching for resources.

So what were the most popular posts this month?

  1. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
  2. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
  3. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
  4. Guest Post: #WeNeedDiverseRomance…Now
  5. The Day an Author Suggested I Kill Myself

The first three were predictable and #5 suggests that my author post made its way around Facebook again, as it periodically does.  Other bloggers seem to discover it and share it even years later to warn others so I can definitely say that publishing it was a good idea.  No other bloggers (or editors!) should endure the abuse that total arse dishes out at the slightest drop of the hat.  What I’m really happy about, however, is how well Madhuri Blaylock’s post about diversity in the romance genre did.  She put a lot of effort into it and I was so happy to host it and promote her upcoming romance novel.  She’s absolutely right: romance and fiction in general needs a lot more diversity, particularly when it comes to mainstream novels that the big 3 publishers put out.

Okay, then what were the least popular posts this month?

  1. My Interview with Janeal Falor
  2. Electrify Me by Bibi Rizer
  3. Blood Oath by Felicity Pulman
  4. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  5. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Again, none of these are particularly surprising.  They’re either older books or books that aren’t exactly the most popular books ever.  It’s too bad in the case of most of them but as always no one article stays on the worst list from month to month.  My interview with Janeal Falor was disappointing to see in the bottom 5 but again it’s not a big deal as the worst 5 always rotate.

So folks, that was my July.  August is off to a rough start, I know, but things are going to get better.

“Djoser Mad” and Other Weird Search Terms

Yes folks, it’s time for another weird search terms round-up!  And yes, they got pretty interesting this time around.

djoser mad

yes i am bad

patso mafia

what is kiera cass clue

the effect of one book review blog

what was the first man in roman history

why are zombies so scary police

when reply the reviewer, how to reply yes

was the third servil war, good or bad?

why does amanda hocking adress so many stereo types about psychics

And finally, the oddest one this time:

i hate seeing other women naked

Um, okay?  I’m not the most secure woman in the world and I still don’t care if other women are comfortable enough in their own bodies to be naked on television or even in real life.  Some of these are bizarre and others are just plain funny (patso mafia being one) but that was the absolute weirdest one this time around.

Character Interview Poll Results

A few weeks ago, I asked your opinion about authors doing character interviews.  Do you love them?  Do you hate them?  Well, I finally have the results in and they were somewhat surprising to me.

There was a virtual tie for first place: an almost equal number of people picked “I haven’t read any” or “Yes, I even like ones from books I haven’t read.”  Mind you, not that many people participated in the poll this time so this is probably in no way representative of how the general public feels but it was interesting to see that particular tie.

If you didn’t participate in the poll but would like to have your say: What do you think of character interviews? Let me know in the comments section below!

Lazy Sundays: Barbecue Season

Yep, today I’m mostly reading an amazing new ARC I got from Marc Secchia and then I’m attending a family barbecue.  My throat’s all healed up so I’m going to thoroughly enjoy finally being able to eat real food.  And my friend’s barbecued ribs are so delicious you could kill for them.  (I’m not really even exaggerating about that last bit.)

So have a fun Sunday!  What’s your favourite food to eat at a barbecue?