This lovely lady has been a book blogger for a very long time and friend to many for just as long. If you've been around the book blogging world for any length of time you've most likely participated in a Bloggiesta or at least heard of it! Suey has been the gracious hostess for four years, and I've been in awe of her ability to keep us all corralled and moving forward!
Something I recently learned about Suey is that she is a prolific writer! Actually, I've learned quite a few cool things about Suey lately ~ like her fascination with other cultures, that she does her grocery shopping at Macey's {in the South that's a department store}, and Zumba is her go-to workout of choice and oh, most recently, that she parties during Readathon's. Can I be your neighbor, Suey? 😉
You've been hosting Bloggiesta for years now {how many?} I"ve always admired how on top of everything you stay when it comes to Bloggiesta ~ how do you manage to get so organized? and time management alone during the actual event must be a nightmare - how do you do it?I took over Bloggiesta in 2012 from Natasha after she stopped blogging. There was a year or two break between when she had been doing it and when I took over, so it was fun drumming up interesting again. I think my "secret" is to keep the event as simple as I can. I always ask for feedback and enjoy the different answers, but often the suggestions will be to "add this" and "add that" and "more more more!" So if I think it will just complicate the purpose of the event, you'll know it won't make the cut! Recently, I've managed to survive the actual week of the event by recruiting hosts for Twitter chats. That's saved me! I'm also very lucky to be involved in an event that basically runs itself, so really there's not much I have to do except line up the challenges and post some things to the website. Everyone just does their thing from there. It's awesome!It's fantastic how you've organized the event to run like a well-oiled machine. You've also started a writing site, and I've heard you've got a few manuscripts in the works ~ Do you mind sharing a bit about your writing projects? What has been the most beneficial thing you've done to help you along your writing journey?I've participated (and "win") in three NaNoWriMo's. The manuscript from the first Nano I actually finished and then revised for the next year or two and even sent it to beta readers and got tons of feedback. Which was overwhelming! Now I'm not sure if I should pursue that book or not. I'm so timid about this whole thing! Anyway, all three of these projects are YA stories, all different genres. The first one I'd classify as a contemporary romance but with a touch of paranormal (based on legends in Native American lore) and some historical (a diary written in 1906.) The second one is a romance (romances to be more specific) that takes place in the 80s so... would we call that contemporary? Or historical? (I've had this discussion at length with various people and we can't seem to come to a conclusion!) And the third I can say very definitely that it is a science fiction space opera and is a loose retelling of the Tristan and Iseult romance.The most beneficial thing that helps my writing stay on target is going to writing classes and conferences. Also, meeting and connecting with other writers. I still need to find an "in real life" writing group where I have to be accountable and produce stuff and critique stuff. Once that happens, I think things will take off. I hope.
You do call yourself a writer, yes? With all of the writing you've accomplished I hope you've learned the art of saying 'yes, I am a writer!' This particular question is especially for you, Suey! Your blog has expanded its focus to not just books but to include culture as well. Can you share some of the diverse pieces of culture you've gotten into lately?This question makes me laugh! What a nice way to say... "I hear you are being overtaken by Korean pop culture!" LOL! Well, the truth is, I like (love? Yes, I love) music from all sorts of genres and places and cultures. I also love languages. And of course, I love stories. Mix it all up and you've got the craze that I currently find myself in! Previous to my discovery of the Korean things (and by things I mean Kpop and Kdrama,) I was in love (ok, I still am!) with a singer from France ( Kendj! ) who sings in both French and Spanish. Awesome! And I was adding other random language songs to my playlists all the time, some of them I didn't even recognize ( like this song sung in Breton .) So it was only a matter of time before I fell hard for all things Korean. And now wanting to learn that alphabet and language. It's a fun endeavor and though I find myself semi-apologizing for the obsession, I truly think it's a great thing to be obsessed with anything that includes learning about another culture. Am I right? Wait... am I supposed to share actual "pieces?" What does that mean exactly? I guess I linked to some cool songs up above. You want more? Super Junior's Yesung just came out with a new album which I'm currently playing nonstop and here's the title music video . So there's a little Korean ballad for you. How about some Vietnamese? This song is unbelievably beautiful . Into dancing? Watch this and then get up and dance with them! And if you want to try a drama, watch this, all 24 episodes! (Well, start with one and then you can decide if you're hooked or not.) How's that for a "little" taste of a few diverse things going on with me lately!? You had me at dancing...but honestly, I don't know that my body will pop like those kids! They are phenomenal! What advice would you give to a blogger who wants to expand into more areas than just books? What advice would you give to other bloggers about becoming more creative in their endeavors?Well, even though I, too, worry about it sometimes, I think you can make your blog whatever you want it to be. And if a blogger wishes to expand a bit and do something different my advice is, just do it and see what happens. New readers will find you, some old readers will relate, and it can only make the blog more interesting and layered. As for being more creative, this is where you really need to be brave and believe in your ideas and again, just do it! Is that good advice? I have no idea, but I hope so!Ah Suey, that's excellent advice. Very excellent advice. Thank you for joining us today and sharing all things cultural ~ my Spotify list will never be the same!
Suey can be found blogging at It's All About Books, hanging out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. If you want to be really daring, check out this Suey-recommended playlist.
