Sunday Spotlight - Darkly Reading

Today I have a great blogger stopping buy to share more about her blog. She's a fellow lover of Urban Fantasy and I'm really enjoying her blog. She generally reviews adult books, but there's no reason not to stop by and take a gander when you need a bit of a 'darker' read. Learn more about Heather and her awesome blog Darkly Reading below.

Name: Heather
Nickname and/or blog name: Darkly Reading
Blog URL: www.darklyreading.blogspot.com

Tell me a bit about yourself.
I'm a thirty something graduate student in CT. I live with my lovely hubby and cute dog, Tucker. I love reading books and greatly increased my reading volume now that I have my trusty e-reader. I secretly dream of being an urban fantasy heroine with leather pants and firearms but I'm too lazy to start exercising my bad guy butt-kicking muscles.


When and why did you start your blog?
I started my blog in January of this year. I wanted to discuss the books I love with other book lovers out there and so far it's been great. Not only do I get to meet some great book bloggers and twitter peeps I've also met some of my favorite authors on the web.


What is your blog all about? Any cool features you want to share?
I primarily read urban fantasy and paranormal romance though I occasionally branch out to historical romance or a nice gothic mystery. I post reviews of what I read on my blog and occasionally do random book posts where I write about a general topic common to the books I read (like covers featuring men with tats or love triangles in books) or I feature some favorite posts on the blogosphere. I've also started a new feature called "Wicked Wednesday Quickie Review" where I do reviews of e-books that are approximately 100 pages or 50,000 words. And if I really like the book or feel like giving presents, I occasionally do a contest to give away that book.


What are some of your favorite genres and/or books currently?
Urban fantasy and paranormal romance are definitely my favorites - I love tough as nails heroines and sexy alpha males. Some of my favorite authors are Kim Harrison, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Larissa Ione, Moira Rogers, and Jeaniene Frost. I like the books I read to have a little (or a lot) romance, some butt-kicking scenes, a good mystery, and some snarkiness.



How do you find out about the books you read?
I primarily find books to read on other book bloggers websites. I also love goodreads and find some books on that site as well.


Any tips or advice for those starting or thinking about starting a blog?
Well, I just started blogging so I have a lot to learn but things I find important to me is to try to keep a regular schedule for posting, you don't need to post every day but it's good to be consistent. The best way to build a follower base is to respond to your comments on your post. If someone takes the time to leave a comment you as a blogger should take the time to respond to them. And make sure to spread the love - if you read other bloggers posts, leave a comment, even if it's just to say hi.


Thank you Heather for stopping by today! Heather always has some sort of giveaway going on, so keep your eyes on her Contests section of the blog! You may not want to come back here when you see her lovely layout. I simply adore it!

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