Book Blogger Interview: The Romanceaholic

This month for  the Book Blogger Interview, I’m featuring Jess from The Romanceaholic.   Be sure to give her a warm Wolf Pack hello!

Welcome to the blog, Jess, I hope you enjoy your brief stay with us.

Where are you from? Were you a big reader as a child?
I’m from southern Virginia, and though I’ve moved around a bit in my life, I somehow keep ending up back in the town where I was born.

I have always been a big reader — when I was younger, my mother would ground me from toys, television, and activities, but nothing was more effective (and horrifying!) than taking away my library card!

What made you decide to start a book blog?
I mainly wanted to have a place to organize my personal library and reviews, and wanted something a little more customizable than sites like Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari.  I also wanted to be able to offer giveaways and announcements about some of my favorite books and authors without spamming up my account on Goodreads.

What’s your biggest challenge as a book blogger?
I’d have to say organization.  I read very quickly, so by the time I’m able to sit down at the computer and actually write a review, I’ve often read six or seven more books. That can make it a bit overwhelming at times to get reviews written and scheduled, maintain a social media presence, correspond with authors, publicists, and other readers, and generally make sure I’m living up to my commitments as a blogger.

Who are some of your favorite authors and why?

Oh gosh, there are so many.. For Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy, that’d be Ilona Andrews, J.C. Daniels (aka Shiloh Walker), and Moira Rogers. All three have an amazing talent for world-building, as well as a way of writing characters that you really find yourself invested in. I will cheerfully and immediately part with my money for any book they ever write, without even having to think about it.

I have also read every single book that Jayne Anne Krentz (aka Jayne Castle aka Amanda Quick), Linda Howard, and Tami Hoag have ever published, (most recent releases notwithstanding), so they definitely have a place of honor on my reading list.  Those three authors were the main books that I read when I first got into reading romance, and I may have been a tad bit obsessed with their writing styles.

For other genres, it’s going to be a somewhat ecclectic mix of authors such as Lori Foster, Victoria Dahl, Josh Lanyon, Courtney Milan, Maisey Yates, Cynthia Eden, Larissa Ione, Loretta Chase, Kresley Cole, Nalini Singh, and about 50 others that I’m going to feel really guilty later about not including in this list.

What’s your biggest book/story related pet peeve?

That’s going to be a tie between infidelity and forced nudity. Cheating in romance always leaves a sour taste in my mouth, even in stories where it is handled masterfully. I also have a strong visceral reaction against forced nudity in romance, unless the person being stripped/seen naked is either aroused or knowledgeable yet unconcerned about it.

If you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?