Interview with Blodeuedd from ~ The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

Interview with book blogger ~ Blodeuedd from The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.

Today we welcome Linda (aka  Blodeuedd) for an informal interview about her blog and herself. She is a friendly and positive blog owner, editor, and prolific writer at her blog, one that showcases urban fantasy, paranormal romance, historical fantasy and romance. The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell is where I go to find reviews for the genre’s above.

What really interests me about Blodeuedd is that she writes her blog in English but her native language is Swedish. She also speaks a variety of languages, reads a mind blowing 4 to 5 books per week and reviews them too. I also really like her mythical persona – Blodeuedd, which she will tell you a little bit more about. Isn’t she adorable? Let’s welcome Linda!

---

Please, tell us about the mythical Blodeuedd?   Blodeuedd was created from flowers by magicians to marry Lleu, because his mother has cursed him to never marry a human wife. But she had an affair and they conspired to kill Lleu. But things do not work out and her lover was killed and she was transformed into an owl.

Why did you choose her as your avatar? It’s a name from the fantasy series I am writing where I used it for a beautiful woman, just as Blodeuedd was. Back in the days when I found Lord of the Rings forums I wanted a name that stood out and which was a bit Elvish so I used Blodeuedd there since I had been writing about that person in my story. And then I used it on other forums and then I became known as Blodeuedd so I just kept it.

What about the name of your blog - tell us about that?  Mur-y-Castell was the court of Lleu and Blodeuedd so I thought it fitting; of course not many get it. ;)  I guess it gives me a personality and people remember me (hopefully), the girl with the funny name and weird blog name. It’s my little corner in the blog world.

About your reading, how many books per week do you read? And how many posts do you write a week?   I read about 4 books a week. Sometimes I manage 5 if I am ill, or do not work. Sometimes I post more, sometimes less. But never more than 7 posts a week. At the moment I tend to do 6 posts each week, thanks to writing a short story on Saturdays.

Are you a fast reader or a skimmer?  I am a fast reader. I have always been, it’s just the way I read. I only skim if I am bored out of my mind and still want to know how the book ends. But that is not a book I have read then.

What is your favorite genre?  Fantasy all the way! It’s my first love, my one true love and the only genre that manages to get me to re-read books. It’s simply the best genre ever.

Which genre do you read the most of?  Now this is a tricky question because I have ended up with a system of sorts where I try to read different genres every day. Which means that I really can’t say what I read most of, but it must be UF- urban fantasy, PNR – paranormal romance, HR – historical romance and fantasy.

What about book blogging, how long have you been blogging? And why do you blog?  I have been blogging since December 2008. Well that is when I created my blog and wrote one single review. It took me about 3 months to really get started and stay with it. I started it because I found book blogs and thought, hey I can do that! :D I always wanted to talk about the books I read.

Tell us about your rating system? (I noticed that you give a lot of 3 stars on Goodreads.)  I do, I am queen of 3’s and so many times people say that they are sorry I did not like the books more. Which I do not get since a 3 means it was a good book, good means I enjoyed it, good means I would read more. A 3 for me is a book or author I want more of. But in the end it still takes second place. I might buy the next book one day but at the moment I want other books more. Which means most books get a 3 from me. The 4’s are books I want to buy more of at once. And 5’s are a dream no one can achieve, except a few fantasy books that I like to re-read now and then. So in the end the best I give is a 4. While a 2 is a book that was only ok and had flaws and perhaps if I am on a desert island I will read more. While a 1 is something I do not want more of.

I did try a real rating system once but truth be told I hate ratings. People look at it and make up their minds. Which is wrong, it should be the review in itself that is important and that is why I do not rate on my blog. Read the review if you want to know if I liked the book or not.

Advice for would be and new bloggers?  Comment, comment and comment. Do not sit on your blog and expect people to find you. Go out and find people. And continue to comment if you want them to come back and visit. You are not big yet and you need to network. I also say that memes are good to try when you are new; I did find lots of great bloggers through memes. I would also say that find your own style, but that can be hard. I do not know if I really stand out so I am not one to preach.

And do not make those “How can I get ARCs” posts. They are tragic and show that you only want one thing. I would also say that it’s good to read old and new books. Because there are too many blogs with the exact same books being reviewed every week.

How about your writing; what genre do you prefer to write in?  Fantasy. It began with historical romance, then I had a mafia story. I wonder where that one is? It was good when I think about it *groans* it might be on a floppy disc, FAIL. Anyway, then I started writing fantasy when I was 16 and here I still am.

Are you writing a novel?  I am actually, but I have not been working on it for like a year.  :/  It’s a fantasy series, the same I started when I was 16. I guess it could be a trilogy by now and I am working on the last book. Well I am stuck on the last one since things are heating up and I have no idea how to deal with a war when that comes. It’s the epic kind I love to read, girl finds destiny, girl should save the world, girl gets hunky elf. ;)

I would love to get it published one day and I would just have to work a bit on it. Since it’s actually a series by now so I do have a few books sitting in a box. I would just have to write it on my computer, yup they are all in notebooks.

---

Bio:  Blodeuedd, whose real name is Linda, is in her late twenties, and lives on the west coast of Finland. She has a teaching credential in English, a MA in Swedish, and is currently studying library science. She speaks English, Swedish, Finnish and a bit of German. Additionally she can also read in Norwegian, Danish and some German.

When Linda is not reading, blogging or studying she’s watching movies, riding her bike, or loves to go on walks on new paths in the woods, especially to find local swamps.

To access Linda’s blog, link via the badge above. You can also follow her by:

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/blodeuedd83
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookGirlBlodeuedd
• Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1962503-blodeuedd-finland