Q&A; Blogging, dreams, books & travel!

Good morning folks. It’s been a hot minute since I did a Q&A around here where the questions came from actual people on Twitter and my blog followers have grown quite considerably since then. So if you’re new around here, first of all, hi! I’m so glad you could join us and second of all, here’s a little bit more about me and I’ll try and make my answers as interesting as possible but I can’t promise anything.

How did you get into blogging?

So I started as just a book blogger and I got into blogging after searching for a review of a book I’d just read and finding a few on these things called “blogs”. I swiftly fell down a rabbit hole of book blogs and was amazed at what these people did and really wanted to give it a go myself. So I emailed one of the blogs I was reading and she very kindly helped me set my own blog up and gave me some advice. And here we are, 5 years later!

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

There’s a few places on my radar that I really want to go to right now but I think at the top of my list at the moment would be Helsinki.

What are three things that are on your bucket list?

I don’t really keep a bucket list – I used to but it made me more miserable than anything else haha! But obviously there are some things I’d love to do in my life; I’d love to go to the 24 Hours of Le Man race, attend a book fair and go on a Yoga retreat (which I can actually tick off next month!)

Would you ever consider writing a book?

I have actually attempted to write a book twice now! Both fiction, the first one I actually wrote about 70 thousand words and then scrapped the entire thing because I thought it was crap and made me cringe to even read back. The second one however I still have, I’ve wrote about 20k and I still really like the premise so I’m keeping that safe just in case. However it’s so difficult and I honestly don’t think writing fiction is for me.

If you weren’t a blogger, what would be your dream job?

Oh gosh! My dream job has changed so much throughout my life from hairdresser, police officer to fitness instructor. It’s safe to say I won’t be achieving any of those particular dreams anymore but honestly, I love blogging so much and I wouldn’t want to give it up and I don’t want for much so my dream job would be to own and run a bookshop to be honest! Just an independent one which I could make entirely my own. That’d make me very happy.

If you wrote an autobiography what would the title be? And if it was made into a film, who would play you?

From cocktails and epic fails to tea and anxiety: An autobiography would be my title! Who would play me? Goodness, well first of all I cannot imagine this film making the big bucks at the cinema, can you? If I’m dreaming big, someone like Jessica Chastain but if I’m being realistic, maybe Anna Kendrick.

Where do you see yourself in a year’s time?

I don’t even like looking forward to next week, let alone next year! Honestly, not looking ahead too much and focusing on the moment or at the very most, the day is what’s helped me with my anxiety over the last 6 or so years so when it comes to long-term goals and plans, I really don’t have any. All I can hope for is that in a year’s time, I’m content with whatever I’m doing, that my family and my dog are here and healthy and that I’ve had some good experiences.

Who is your all-time favourite author / all-time favourite book?

I think my all-time favourite book would have to be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (who would also come under one of my favourite authors) but some other books I’d also consider favourites are The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson-Walker, Looking for Alaska by John Green, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, I Am the Messenger also by Markus Zusak and Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I love everything John Green writes and Claire Douglas is my favourite Thriller author.

What are three things that blogging has taught you about yourself that you never expected to learn?

Blogging has taught me that I’m quite business minded which I wasn’t really aware of before because I’d never been in a situation where I’ve needed to be. It also taught me that I’m very, very dedicated to something I love and finally, it’s taught me how to be Monica Geller style organised. I’ve never been a messy or disorganized person but blogging has really allowed me to refine my organisational skills, find strategies that really work and offer advice to other people too!

What inspires you most in life?

I think other people inspire me the most. I love seeing other people success, hearing success stories and especially from people who have been through hardships or worked their way up from scratch. There’s success around every corner, so I allow that to motive and inspire me even if I’m not in a very good head space.

What is the one quote you feel everyone should live by?

I’m a huge quote person and I constantly find myself searching for the perfect quote on Pinterest. I’ve always been that person to turn over the pages of books with my favourite quotes on. Some that I think offer important advice and that everyone should live by – at least every once in a while – are:

“The sun will rise and we will try again”: to me, this suggests that not every day will be perfect and things will go wrong but there’s always a chance to try again.

“The past is heavy, make sure you put it down every once in a while”: I actually made this one up as a variation of something else but I love it and it reminds me to just let go of the baggage. It’s not serving me.

“You are entirely up to you”: This is probably my favourite of the bunch. It’s beautiful and so true.

What have been your favourite blogging achievements so far?

Oooh so many! Blogging is the main (and sometimes only…) thing I’m ever proud of. Making a solid income from my blog for multiple months has got to be a favourite of course! Getting to the point where I made more from blogging than I did in my previous job was amazing. Hitting 10k on Twitter is something I thought I’d never reach and working with so many incredible brands. I think blogging is so incredibly rewarding, from the little goals all the way up to the big achievements so it’s something I’d always encourage people to do if they’re thinking about it!

I hope you enjoyed this Q&A and learnt a little bit about me in the process that you might not have known before! I’d love to hear your answers to some of these questions in the comments!