Feature and Follow Friday #122

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

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How To Become a Featured Blog?

We pick our featured blogs randomly each week from the blogs who participated the week before.

Please be sure to feature your e-mail address clearly on your blog. Either on the main blog, on a Contact page, or on an About Me page. If I can't find your email easily, I will choose a different blog to feature.

Our Feature -Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

1. When did you start blogging?

I started blogging on April Fools Day 2009!

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

Wow! Great Question. My favorite part of book blogging is meeting other bloggers who share the same passion in reading as I do. I thought I was only the person with overstuffed bookshelves, but I was wrong. There are many dedicated book bloggers/reviewers on the web and I would have never known anything about them if it wasn't for blogging.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

Six-Horse Hitch by Janice Holt Giles and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson are my favorite books, but I also like reading anything by Stephen King, James Patterson, John Saul and R. L. Stine.

4. What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

Getting advanced review copies from major publishing houses is a real plus to book blogging. I had the opportunity to review books from independent authors. Recently I've had the chance to expand my blog by reviewing DVDs, T-shirts, and other products from companies and PR groups.

Q: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?

Simple answer: No, I don't mind. Of course it's more complicated than that. If you really think about it, nothing is original. Everything I've ever read has been consciously or unconsciously influenced by something else (even ancient works like The Epic of Gilgamesh or Beowulf sure were drawn from oral or prior written tradition). It's fun to notice connections between works of literature.

Every really successful book spawns spin-offs. Some are more subtle than others. For example, Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instrument series is profoundly influenced by the Harry Potter series (Clare infamously started out writing Harry Potter fanfic). Clare's writing style as well as many themes in her books closely follow Harry Potter. But the plot is entirely distinct.

On the other hand, no one wants to read a book written strictly by formula - i.e. Take out sparkly vampires and insert sexy werewolves. I've read some paranormal books that are so similar to Twilight, it's ridiculous. In one book, the characters even met in a biology class. It was hard not to gag. Even still, if the story manages to distinguish itself enough, I will still like t.

As for fan-fiction, I love it. I've read a lot of Twilight fan fiction. I've written both Twilight and Harry Potter fan fiction. My taste in fan fiction is very narrow and picky. It has to be well-written (which eliminates most fan-fiction) and it must be strictly canon. I like reading missing moments - opportunities to know the characters' backstories better. I won't read alternative universe or alternative 'shipping.

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Now for the Follow Fun!

With GFC going the way of the dodo bird for many bloggers, there is no better time to start following blogs via RSS feed. If you use a reader, it would be great if you followed my RSS directly.

We have a new button, so update your blogs if you are used to doing this meme!

<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a>

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

CAPTCHA:

If you have CAPTCHA word verification enabled on your blog, please take it off. It makes it much more difficult for readers to comment. Please look at my CAPTCHA Eradication Post to learn how to get rid of it.

Happy Follow Friday! Come back at midnight CST for the Facebook & Twitter hop!!