This one is going to be special – I mean really, all of these are so don’t get it twisted – but this one is EXTRA special because the book lover that I am putting a spotlight on today is celebrating her BIRTHDAY today! So, let’s all wish her a happy birthday, and get to learn more about the woman I absolutely adore, that is Sammie @ The Writerly Way!

(1) Tell me a little bit about your start in the book community

I started in January 2018 on a complete whim. I’ve always loved books, and I’d discovered Paper Fury’s Twitter and blog and I absolutely loved what she did. Being boring old me, I was like … I’m sure no one really wants to hear me ramble on about books and geeky things, right? But after trying for five years to have a second kid, I’d just had my first miscarriage and I really needed something to occupy my mind so I wouldn’t just wallow in depression. And thus The Writerly Way was born! Honestly, it was exactly what I needed, and I’ve met absolutely the best people since then.

(2) How did you come up with your blog name?

It took a while. I’m notoriously bad at naming things. I have a little committee of friends that I run names by, and they respond to each via meme to let me know just how bad it is. Trust me, they’re extremely creative. They vetoed quite a few names before I found The Writerly Way. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I wanted my blog to be about when I started, and I thought I’d blend my writing life with my reading life, and at that point I was posting a lot on Twitter about my writerly life, so it seemed to fit. Also, writerly is hecka fun to say.

(3) How do you keep the motivation to continue blogging?

Sometimes it’s hard, especially when life gets busy/chaotic in other ways. Ultimately, though, I absolutely love this. I wouldn’t be blogging still if I did. Because of that, I prioritize it and make time. Also, I’ve met the best people and had the best conversations. Where else is someone going to geek out with me about dragons and necromancers?!

(4) What is your favorite part about being a blogger?

The people I meet, hands down. I didn’t realize, before I started, that the blogging community was so big and that it was, in fact, a community. I was sort of blindsided by it, but in a good way. Everyone’s been fantastic, and I’m so lucky to have met y’all.

(5) Have you ever received advice on how to run your blog? Did you take that advice?

Personal advice, no. I try to read all the advice posts I come across and the threads on Twitter, of course, and I implement those as much as I can. One big piece of advice I did take was way back when I started, Jenniely was posting about self-hosting your blog, and I had stumbled across her blog at that point, which is when I really started thinking about if that was something I wanted to do or not. Her post really helped me decide to take the plunge, because it made it sound a lot easier than my brain was building it up to be. I’m glad I made the switch!

(6) Where is one place you’d love to go that you read about in a book, and why (can be a fictional or real place. Let’s live big!)

Honestly, I want to go to Nevermoor, because it has pretty much everything you could possibly want and I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to live there. You can learn dragon riding, learn magic, travel the umbrella rail, get your very own Wundercat (or any other snarky magical creature), and so many other things! Plus, the magic takes all sorts of different forms, which you can’t necessarily control, but I’m willing to roll the dice and hope I get some good ability. If not … eh, there’s dragons. Can’t really call that “settling,” now can you?

(1) Unpopular Bookish Opinions || Time To Spill The Tea

I had so much fun writing this post and was even more surprised by how many people agreed with my unpopular opinions. What is this tomfoolery? Does this mean my opinions are suddenly popular?! Blasphemy.

(2) 10 Reasons to Read the Illuminae Files

 I read this series this year, and I’ve made it my mission to continuously shout about them until everyone at least gives them a try. I just loved them so much. Speaking of which … have YOU read the Illuminae Files yet? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

(3) Where Are The Adult Superhero Books?!

I’m still asking this question. Also still accepting recommendations. Each new Marvel movie reminds me just how much I love the idea of superheroes, and I want to see more of this in books, because we adults deserve it!

(4) Is YA Becoming “Too” Mature?

This is a question I still struggle with, especially as my sister and offspring approach this reading age and we try to weigh their emotional maturity with the content of the books they might potentially pick up.

(5) Dishing on the DNF List: Ditch or Finish?

This was one of those really liberating moments in my life, where I realized I don’t have to finish every book I start! I try to be picky about books so I don’t tend to DNF all that often, but I’ve allowed myself to admit when a book and I just aren’t a good match and need to break up.

*** No Specific Order ***

Cait @ Paper Fury

I know this one is so cliche, but I really wouldn’t be blogging if not for Cait. She was the first blogger I stumbled across, and I loved what she did. She was also friendly and welcoming and responded to comments and I decided, yes, this is a thing I want to do because of her. Also, not gonna lie, I’m totally jealous of her awesome writing and recommend everyone check out her books.

Annemieke @ A Dance With Books

Another blogger I stumbled on early on with my blogging. She’s just fabulous! She enjoys a lot of the same books I do, so I’ve gotten so many recommendations from her (and my TBR curses her, and rightfully so).

Krysta and Brianna @ Pages Unbound

These girls are fabulous. Not only do they recommend the best books, but they’re my number one go-to place for really thought-provoking discussions. I dream of the day when my discussion posts are even a fraction as good as theirs! They always make me stop and think.

Susan @ Novel Lives

Another blogger who’s absolutely killing my TBR with all the best recommendations. Also, she has the funnest (totally unapologetically using that word) interviews.

Literary Creatures I Want to Own (Even If They’d Eat Me)

This was a Top Ten Tuesday post, and I just love books with diverse creatures. I had quite a few comments from people who’d never heard of some of these, though they were taken straight from mythology, and it’s always nice to learn about diverse cultures and their awesome beasts.

Battle of the Book Covers: Alternate Cover Showdown

Another Top Ten Tuesday, but I had so much fun with this one. I mean, I know that different versions of books have different covers, but it never occurred to me how many different covers a book might have and how different they might be. I hope to do another post like this again in the future, because I enjoyed it that much and just loved all the different artwork!

Favorite Literary Villains (Because Sometimes It’s Good to be Bad)

You had to know these would all be TTT. They have the best prompts. I want to include this as a shout-out to all the great villains who deserve some love. Nothing can make or break a book for me more than a villain. I absolutely love me a well-developed villain. They don’t get nearly as much love as they deserve.

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

This is one of my early book reviews, and I think it’d look different if I had to rewrite it again today. But the thought is still there. This is probably my all-time favorite book. I read it last year and instantly fell in love with both this book and Fredrik Backman as an author, and I’m almost ready for a re-read of it already. I read it the month after my grandmother died, and my daughter was about Elsa’s age, so it was just perfect timing to completely tear my heart out. But in a good way. I can’t recommend this one enough!

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

I mean, since this is book two, you should totally read Scythe first. You know second book syndrome, though? The Arc of a Scythe series suffers that in reverse. The first book was good, but this book? GREAT. I’m both terribly excited for book three and also completely fearful, because Thunderhead broke me in so many ways and I don’t see the third book somehow being any kinder. So if you haven’t read this one yet, do yourself a favor and definitely pick up this series!

Interact with your community, whether that be your fellow bloggers/booktubers/bookstagrammers or just the people that show up on your page. This is so taken for granted. Not only will you grow your readership this way, but you’ll meet all the best people who will support you no matter what stumbling blocks you come across. Being part of something feels so much better than trying to go it alone in your own corner of the interwebs.

Aww Sammie! I absolutely adored your answers, and I’m so glad that I have met you! I love the advice that you gave, because it’s so true! Sometimes we need to remember that we need to interact with others, not just ask for all the likes and comments without saying anything back! Plus, sometimes you can end up creating some great connections from those people, like me and Sammie!