Book ♥ Soulmates: Blog Soulmate: Fiktshun

Every week, we'll announce a new recipient for our BLOG SOULMATE AWARD! This is our way of helping spread the word about these awesome bloggers we love!

Our BLOG SOULMATE Award for this week goes to:

Rachel from . . .

and

What made you decide to start blogging?
It was a who, actually, not a what. Amanda Hocking. I wanted a chance to beta read her book Torn and you had to be a blogger to be considered. And you had to write and post a review. So I started up a blog that I owned that I'd given up on, and have been blogging every day since. Beta reading was such a super cool experience it made me want to see what being a book blogger was like.
Favorite and least favorite things about blogging
Do I have to pick just one? I love being able to talk about books. They are my passion. I also like getting the opportunity (on occasion) to read them early. I love Tweeting with authors. And I love spreading the word about my favorite reads.

My least favorite things would have to be the drama and the stress. I hate the drama. I've tried to steer clear of as much of it as possible but it still manages to find me. So I've been trying to lay low so that it won't. It doesn't completely work. Even when I MYOB. But that's life, I suppose. And the stress of meeting deadlines, finding words to properly convey what I'm thinking is...Ugh. It's hard!
If you could hang out with ONE author, who would it be and why?
Okay, I am so going to cheat this question and pick two. My non-YA author would be Stephen King. That man is a creative genius. I would love, love, love to talk with him about writing - especially his writing - and just how he comes up with all that he does.
What is the ONE book you tell everyone they 'have to' read?
Ha! That's an awful question. I tell everyone they have to read at least two of the books I read each month! Granted, different books for different people.

But seriously, um.... I've forced Shatter Me on everyone. And of course All Things Rachel Vincent. Now, I'm currently begging everyone to pre-order Everneath by Brodi Ashton.

To those who share my passion for a darker, more violent type of book, I'd say the Touch series by Leah Clifford, Wildefire by Karsten Knight, Hushed by Kelley York.

And to those who like something a little bit sexy, I've been pimping Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

And a book that's not even out that I'm telling everyone to buy is Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. I mean, c'mon, SWEET EVIL. Talk about an awesomesaucetastic title!
Do you have any bookish guilty pleasures?
Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampires series. I feel guilty when I read them. And it's definitely pleasurable to read about Eric the Northman. Yum.

I'd like to have a few more guilty pleasure reads. But I can't find the time and read those AND blog.

Now tell us 5 random, non-bookish things about yourself:
Oh I'm quirky alright. So... um...

I love to dabble. I am not particularly good at anything, but I've tried painting, sewing, crafting, playing the electric guitar, writing, skateboarding. Not really good at any of those.
I never sleep. I am a bit of an insomniac, perhaps with a touch of OCD. Which is why I have so many blogs. And why I'm sure I have just as many typographical errors.
I have no real collections - except signed books now... I used to love to collect things - ticket stubs, matchbook covers, guitar picks, you name it - but I decided to go minimalist a few years back. But books have started to take over my once empty space.
I always like to change up the streaks in my hair. Right now I'm bright red. Before it was green. Before that teal, blue, pink, purple. Who says hair has to be boring?
I love skeletons - not like the medical research kind or those hiding in closets - but the ones on T-shirts or tattoos. If my T-shirt doesn't sport a skeleton I feel a great sense of loss when I go out for the day.

And in case you guys have been hiding under a rock, Fiktshun is also hosting the very cool SOUL SCREAMERS Reading Challenge which will be wrapping up right before the release of BEFORE I WAKE (book 6) *Squee* And rumor has it that Rachel Vincent, the genius behind this series, will be contributing as well...because these ladies rock like that :)