Blogger interview - Kelsey Burns from Kelsey's Korner Blog

Everyone, please give a warm welcome to another blogger friend of mine - the wonderful Kelsey Burns from Kelsey's Korner Blog! 

Teodora Kostova: Hey Kelsey, welcome! Tell me about your blog and why people should visit it.

Kelsey Burns: Hi Teodora and thank you for having me.

I like to think my blog is a fun place to hang out. I post as much as possible and the posts include cover reveals, freebies, reviews, giveaways, spotlights and I have the occasional page takeover. I've also been involved in hosting live events. You name it I tend to give it a go. I love to interact and get feedback from my followers about the books they are reading and really enjoy chatting to everyone. I'm really passionate about my book world and I like to try and help get the word out about as many authors as I can. Be it established authors or newbies just starting out, I feel that everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip. I especially love interviewing authors for my spot on my website  In The Korner with Kelsey . I have a kind of alter ego me and I transform into her as soon as I start an interview. I love to make the interviews fun and witty.

TK: How did you get into blogging?

KB: I was asked by a friend of mine to help her out with her blog, I wasn't very tech savvy so I was reluctant at first but I gave it a go and things spiralled from there. I decided to start my own blog and that's when Kelsey's Korner was born. I also help out with the sharing on two or three other blog pages. It's all about sharing and caring.

TK: Do you think something has changed in the bloggerverse ever since you started blogging and if so, what?

KB: My blog is relatively new and I'm struggling to find the answer. I've watched more and more blogs appear which is a good thing for authors. The more we can shout about them the better. I tend to watch behind the scenes as trends come and go. I'm not one to follow trends and I'll always do my own thing.

"Her own thing" seems to be getting her boobs signed at every possible occasion LOL

 

TK: What are your biggest challenges as a blogger?

KB: Keeping my blog interesting. I want readers to follow my blog and get a buzz. I tend to think outside the box whenever possible and try something different and exciting. I had a great time when a ton of my favourite authors turned the tables and interviewed me. There were some very up close and personal questions and we did this live! My wonderful author friends took great pleasure in embarrassing me with extremely quirky and fun questions. It was a challenge in itself answering them!!

 I tend to get something into my head and focus until I get it right. Sometimes it takes over my life completely. Another challenge is letting go. It's often hard to remember that this is my hobby and pastime.

TK: Did you ever think about giving up?

KB: Yes I would be telling lies if I said I never thought about giving it up occasionally. We're all human right? It's nice to be appreciated and at times people take bloggers for granted and just expect. You have no idea how many emails and messages I get every day asking me to share, post or review. 90% of the time people are courteous and I do try to accommodate their requests. Sadly there's a minority out there who have no manners. When I have down days and wonder why I do this crazy blogging stuff all for love of it I speak to my close author friends who set me on track again.

TK: If you had to think of a single moment that makes all the hard work worth it what would it be?

KB: I can't single out one I'm afraid because I've had some very special moments! I've been very lucky to have had my blog name and quotes from reviews on the back of 3 books. I've also had dedications to myself personally which brought tears to my eyes. I love to beta read and give my thoughts, I'm very honest and critical but always try to be constructive. When my authors say "Kelsey that makes a difference thanks for your input" I feel like the happiest woman alive and the buzz is amazing. The icing on the cake and funniest moment yet was having a full chapter wrote about myself and two friends using our real names. We were having fun times with a male escort. The day of publication my phone never stopped buzzing and my mother read that book!!!!

I travelled to Chicago to meet a wonderful group of friends from all over the world and attend an author signing. Meeting them was a huge highlight in my life and I'll never forget how that made me feel but one other thing always sticks in my mind. A lady follows my blog page religiously and while I was wandering around at the event she made herself known to me, she said "I'm a great supporter of your blog Kelsey." I'm a big softie at heart and the tears welled in my eyes as I realised who she was. I couldn't believe she was waiting in line to chat and get a picture with me.

There's been many more moments I'll treasure. Including having my boobs signed!!

Yes, Kelsey, we remember the previous photos LOL

 

TK: What’s the best and worst thing about being a book blogger?

KB: The best thing about being a blogger is meeting like-minded people. I love to form relationships and bond. Blogging has enabled me to connect with thousands of people who love what I love. I've been extremely lucky to have met lots of authors, bloggers and readers over the past year at author events and each time I meet someone different and make great friends. The worst thing about blogging for me is reading negative and nasty comments on the internet. There's times I just need to take a step back from it all and have a break. Anyone who has the courage to write is a star in my opinion.

TK: If you stopped blogging all of a sudden, what would you do with all that free time?

KB: Read!!

TK: Do you have any advice for bloggers just starting out?

KB: I'm still learning something new every day. If anyone asked for my advice I'd say don't get dragged into the dramas, be yourself and support the authors and readers who support you.

TK:  What’s your day job, if you have one, and how does it fit in your blogging life?

KB: My day job is perfect for my blogging life. I work on school transport and I take 3 wonderful children who have special needs to school every morning, then deliver them back to their parents on an evening . My husband is the driver so I get perks too, like time off to go to author events etc. Life is good, I get all day to read and blog.

TK: Do your family and friends know about your blog and if so, what do they think about it?

KB: Yes. Everyone knows about my blog but no-one really has the same passion for reading that I do. My son is a web designer and created my website therefore he shows interest. My daughter thinks I'm boring and thinks I spend too much time on my computer. My mother is 80 years of age and reads a book a day, she has made the occasional guest review and is known as The Dark Mamma in my social circle. Anyone who writes a dark read wants my mother to read it and get her feedback. I have one or two close friends who say I've found my forte and have always known I should be doing something like this. Then I have friends and family who called me a boring geek when I started. I'm quite happy to prove them wrong and tell them about my travels to Chicago, Ireland, Las Vegas and Great Britain meeting great authors and friends, what a shame I'm such a geek and my life is so boring.

TK: What do you love to read in your free time, when it’s not a blog obligation?

KB: I don't have a favourite genre but I do like something gritty and dark. I can read almost anything as long as it grips me. I'm a little bit sick so the more a book makes my tummy churn the more I enjoy it. I like an author to take risks and not write for the masses. If there's cheating, death m/m then I get excited. I don't need a happy ending and I like when an author makes it real. I don't believe in stars and rainbows but I respect that readers also want to find a happy place and escape in their books. I've read full series' in science fiction romance and love lots of paranormal. When I'm in the mood for it I enjoy some erotica but I need to have a good story with my sex! If someone makes me LOL in a book I will love them forever.

 Flash round:

·         Backstreet Boys or Nsync

Backstreet Boys

·         Batman or Superman

Batman

·         Morning or night

Night

·         True Blood or Vampire Diaries

True Blood

·         Books or audio books

Books

·         Disney or Dreamworks

Neither

·         Sushi or pizza

Pizza

·         Rock or pop

Rock

·         TV series or movies

TV series

Thanks, Kelsey, for this amazing interview! 
Kelsey's contact details are below - make sure you follow her! 

2014 has been incredibly busy for her and 2015 is shaping up to be even more so - Kelsey will be attending LovenVegas author event in October in Las Vegas and assisting in York and Dublin next year.

                       

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Friday Hottie - Nelsan Ellis

Lafayette is one of my favourite True Blood characters! He's such an amazing, funny, gorgeous guy! So, for today's True Blood hottie I've got some gorgeous pics of Nelson Ellis for you all.
Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday - Then, Now, Forever

Mask Update

Thank you all for emailing me and messaging me on Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads about Mask. I'm still unable to believe how a book I haven't even written yet has generated so much interest. It's surreal.
But what's more, all of your lovely messages make me keep writing.
Because let me tell you, writing Adam and Penn is not easy. I almost gave up a couple of times, and had more than a few dramatic freak outs.
Fenix and Jared were such a pleasure to write! I was so calm and relaxed the whole time I was writing Dance. Adam and Penn are a completely different story. They either refuse to talk to me, or wake me up at 7am on a Sunday morning, screaming their asses off. No joke.
They refuse to do what I tell them to and I never know what to expect. My initial outline is ruined.
Sometimes I dread sitting down and writing because I'm scared what this book will turn out to be. I know one thing for sure though - it won't be what I planned.
I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed that it's taking me so long to finish writing it, but it's really hard. I can't give you a certain release date yet, but what I can say for sure is this - I will finish this book if it's the last thing I'll ever do, and it will be published this year.
I'm not sure how people will react to it because it's so different from Dance and explores theme some may find weird, but it is what it is.
Blame it on Adam and Penn.
Thanks again for all your support, guys. I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you.
Love you!

Teaser Tuesday

Whoever's read Dance knows about a certain scene between Fenix and Adam that Adam kinda crossed a line. That particular scene is featured in Mask from Adam's POV. Here's a little peek ;)

Reaching Jared’s dressing room in an angry trance, Adam banged on the door. Nobody answered. He banged even harder and was ready to kick the door in when it flew open to reveal the man of the hour himself – Fenix fucking Bergman.

“Is Jared here?” Adam asked, unable to keep the resentment out of his voice.

“No. He should be here any minute though,” Fenix said giving him a narrow-eyed look. He was just about to give him some lame excuse and close the door in his face when his eyes fell on the magazine Adam was clutching in his hand. “Oh,” Fenix said as recognition dawned on him. “By the furious scowl you have going on I gather Jared didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t,” Adam snarled as he brushed past Fenix to walk inside. Fenix sighed and closed the door. “What the fuck is he thinking? Declaring he loves you in front of the whole world a few days after you come crawling back?” Adam raged in disbelieve, pacing around the room.

“I don’t think this is any of your business, Adam,” Fenix said in a patronising voice.

Adam wanted to crush his throat and never hear his voice ever again. That guy had ruined his best friend’s life, and Adam couldn’t even begin to understand why Jared had taken him back.

 “I don't care what you fucking think!” Adam erupted, throwing the magazine against the wall. “I know you’re going to leave again because you’re a fucking fame whore. The moment a better opportunity arises you’re going to dump him again, but this time I won't be able to pick up the pieces. I barely managed it last time. So don’t tell me this is none of my business!”

“I’m not going to leave. He’s the reason I came back. You have no idea what I had to do to get back here.” Fenix glared at Adam taking a defensive stance. “I could have stayed on Broadway and my life would have been much easier. I came back because I love Jared and I want to be with him,” he finished, his voice rising. He stepped closer to Adam as if challenging him to disagree.

“Yeah, right,” Adam huffed, and laughed mockingly. “I don't believe that for a second.”

“I don't give a fuck what you believe. Both Jared and I are adults, capable of making our own decisions. You’d better back off,” Fenix said through clenched teeth.

Adam moved closer, not intimidated by Fenix’s anger at the least. Fenix had to look up to meet his eyes when Adam got toe to toe with him, but he didn't back down.

“I wish you would disappear,” Adam said with quiet menace. “I wish I could erase you from his mind and he never remembers you even existed.”

“Why? So that you’d take my place instead?” Fenix shot back. Adam physically recoiled as if he’d been hit. “It doesn’t matter if you wipe his mind blank. He’ll never love you the way he loves me. That’s the issue here, not me. And I think it’s pathetic that you can’t even admit that.”

Black rage covered all of Adam's senses. He couldn’t breathe or think – all he wanted was to hurt Fenix, to make his suffer, to make him pay for what he’d done to Jared.

Drawing his arm back, Adam punched Fenix with all the strength he had in his body. The impact of his fist smashing into Fenix’s jaw cleared Adam's vision and pushed the darkness away. It fucking hurt. 

Friday Hottie - Sam Trammell

Today's True Blood themed Friday Hottie is none other then Bon Temps' infamous shifter Sam Merlott a.k.a. Sam Trammell. I do enjoy a silver-haired hottie if I say so myself...

Throwback Thursday - In a Heartbeat

Teaser Tuesday - NSFW

I can't work on more than one project at a time, I'm terribly ADD anyway, so if I want to ever finish something, I need to work solely on it. So today's Teaser Tuesday will be, again, from Mask, my current WIP, a spin-off from Dance.

*WARNING*

The teaser is NSFW. You've been warned.

The door slung open, startling Adam who had succumbed to his thoughts. Penn stood just inside his flat wearing a short satin nightgown. The spaghetti straps clung loosely to his delicate shoulders, and the black colour contrasted his white, almost translucent skin in a hypnotising way. His hair was tousled, his cheeks bright pink and the sparkle in his grey eyes made them look silver.
Penn looked like he’d just come out of Adam's wet dream.
Any doubt Adam might have had evaporated at the sight. The last shred of control snapped and Adam lunged for him, clasping his right hand behind his neck and brining Penn’s mouth to his. Kicking the door closed and wrapping his left hand around Penn’s waist, Adam walked them further inside the apartment, without interrupting their kiss.
Penn made a deep, urgent, sexy sound at the back of his throat as his lips were being devoured. Adam was way past caring if his onslaught was too much for Penn. Judging by the whimpering though, Penn loved every second of it.
The hand wrapped around Penn’s waist slid lower, cupping his ass, and then continued lower until it was firmly clutching the back of his thighs. Adam gave a little push and without needing any further hints, Penn jumped and wrapped his legs around Adam's waist.Adam smashed Penn’s back against the wall and absorbed the breath that whooshed out of his lungs. The kiss could hardly be even called a kiss anymore. It was lips and tongues and teeth clashing together, exploring anything they could get to, licking and sucking on every inch of skin, biting lips and skin so fiercely they were sure to leave marks behind. 

Friday Hottie - Nathan Parsons

I can't believe I forgot the post the Friday Hottie yesterday!!! 
Better late than never, right? So here's the (technically Saturday Hottie) for this week - Nathan Parsons. He's the newest addition to the season 7 cast of True Blood. 
Not too shabby, eh?