Affiliate Spotlight: Between the Covers Interview
When I got together with Christin and Louise for our chatterview about their blog, Between the Covers (and MVF’s affiliate spotlight for October), we had a blast. Our chat often drifted in the direction of our favorite warrior vampires from the Black Dagger Brotherhood but that didn’t stop me from asking the tough questions. What did my investigative ways uncover about Between the Covers and their founders? Check out all the juicy details below!
—After 30 minutes of Black Dagger Brotherhood banter, I asked my first question—
Jules: Real question number 1: What brought the two of you together? How did you “find” each other?
Lou: We met on TwilightMOMS. We both moderate for the site. So, I was a moderator on TMs and started chatting with Christin, then she became a moderator, too..and thus, Baby Sis was born!
Jules: That’s awesome. I met my blog co-owners online, too. So Twilight brought the two of you together. How did Between The Covers come about?
Lou: I opened my mouth…Christin jumped on my words. LOL. We have several friends through TMs, which has amongst its mods some of the biggest book pushers in the known universe, who have book blogs.
Christin: I’d wanted to be part of a book blog for a while, and Lou said she’d been thinking about starting one. And the rest is history!
Lou: I was interested in being involved in a book blog, but am an EXTREME type-A personality, and was worried I wouldn’t be able to work on someone else’s blog. So, we started our own…hatched the idea out while I was home recovering from surgery.
—-We talked a bit here about how we have met some of our best friends through the fandom and lamented about how it’s so difficult that we all live so far away from said friends—-
Jules: So other than Twilight, what other series/books do you BOTH enjoy? Are there books you disagree on?
Lou: Black Dagger Brotherhood, Dark Hunter, Beautiful Creatures…
Christin: I think I read a lot more historical fiction than Lou does.
Lou: We both have I guess kind of eclectic tastes in books, but Christin likes gagging History books! I can handle historical fiction…don’t give me the real stuff, though!
Christin: (Disclaimer – Lou thinks I read real history books because of the week I read a 1000 page book on music history. I’m in school still – I have to read history books!)
Jules: Very cute.
Lou: disclaimer means jack…word history was in title
Jules: Have either of you read the Fever series?
Lou: Yes! And the Highlander series by Moning…love them both!
Christin: No, but it’s on my list!
Jules: I’m dying waiting for the last book!
Lou: Me too!
Jules: How do the two of you feel about fan fiction?
Christin: I like well-written fanfics – I’ve read some really good ones! And I’ve written a few (never completed) before. But I usually only read it if someone recommends a story; it’s not something I go searching for.
Lou: Some is very good, even if it doesn’t remain true to the original character…is that called canon? Some is truly horrible stuff that I don’t want to read. But I respect that someone took the time and effort to write it, and had the guts to put it out there. I don’t have the guts to put my writing out there, so they’ve got me beat from the start. The hardest part of the blog for me is knowing that people are reading what I write. It’s not fiction, it’s just my opinion on things, but still…
Jules: It is nerve wracking!
—-More Black Dagger Brotherhood conversation ensues—-
Jules: Legitimate question: What can a first time visitor expect when they arrive at your blog?
Lou: Hmmmm…our honest opinion of books from several different genres. Our honest opinion on things we think matter. We recently did a few posts on the Speak Loudly issue, as part of Banned Books Month as well as just our desire to talk about something we thought was important. We try to be very clear in how we label books, as we review both YA and adult books. That was the Mom in me, wanting to make sure we clearly defined the two. LOL.
Christin: We try and do our research on genres and label the books accordingly. We also participate in several memes that spotlight books that we want to read or plan to read so that others can add books to their to-read list.
Jules: I personally think it’s a fabulous resource for exactly that. That’s why I must get to the Hunger Games…Are your reviews spoiler free?
Christin: Almost all reviews are spoiler-free. As of right now the only one with spoilers is my review of Mockingjay, but it is labeled that it contains spoilers. To me, reviews are to give me a better idea of if I want to spend my time reading a book. I don’t want to read a review that basically renders the book itself unnecessary, so I try not to write reviews like that.
Lou: And I am the anti-christ to spoilers! I’ll answer questions if you want to ask directly, but I don’t want to give away too much info about a book. I agree with Christin, I want to interest you, tell you enough so you can decide if you want to read, but not ruin the book for you.
Jules: As it should be, reviews should pique interest. So what are each of you currently in the midst of reading?
Lou: I’m bouncing back and forth between Crave, Bitten & Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Christin: I just finished The Sevenfold Spell (really more of a novella) and will be starting Erekos.
—-Some discussion and squeeing over the upcoming release of Shadowfever and Jericho Barrons happened here—–
Lou: Erekos is actually a really exciting read for us….We got an email from the publisher, which is a small press publisher called Candlemark & Gleam.
Christin: The owner of C&G had heard about our blog on Twitter, and, after looking at it, thought that we might be interested in reviewing their first title!
Jules: That is verrrrry exciting!
Lou: Yes, it is. They are a new company in speculative fiction publishing and were looking for reviewers willing to take publications from indie pubs. They’re only in e format for now, cuz they’re new, but…
Jules: Do either of you have a favorite book of all time? (and or series)
Lou: A Separate Peace
Christin: Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Lou: All time fave series would be much harder. Paranormal romance would be BDB. Just normal fiction would be the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. The Twilight series would be 2nd for me.
Christin: Favorite book – Phantom by Susan Kay
And now for the tough questions…
Jules: If you were stranded on a desert Island and could bring three books, one friend and A DVD what would your choices be (children would be included free of charge).
Lou: snort
Christin: oh gosh
Lou: children free of charge
Lou: Books – Hard Eight, Lover Awakened, New Moon.
DVD – There’s Something About Mary
Jules: Um Christin? You still haven’t answered my cutting question (laughs)
Christin: That’s because I’m incredibly indecisive!
Jules: Hahahahahaha! You must decide!
Christin: Ok ok
Books – Phantom, Faith of the Fallen, Jane Eyre
DVD – Stage Beauty
Hey, Lou didn’t pick a person!
Lou: blinks innocently What?
Jules: Pick a person
Lou: Okay, Christin knows I love her like mad, but if I have to pick only one person, then I’m left with no choice but to pick Bets. I need both halves of the brain to survive on the island with 3 kiddos!
Christin: I am torn! I love Lou too, but I would have to pick Laura (aka @vampmom2boyz) – the pod needs both peas!
Lou: Picturing Jules sitting in her lair laughing maniacally!
Jules: Good job ladies. In my lair? LMAO
Lou: Evil = lair!
Jules: I’d rather be in the Pit, just sayin’ (yes, this was another reference to the BDB)
Lou: Nods in agreement
Jules: Speaking of characters in your head (and Between the Covers) – If you could bring ONE fictional character to life for 24 hours, who would you choose and what would you do?
Dun dun dun
Christin: That’s a very dangerous question!
Lou: Give us a rating! We require boundaries
Jules: PG-13
Lou: Hmmmm…Sherlock Holmes. I want to solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes. He has always fascinated me, since I first read the collection when I was about 8 or 9. Firmly PG 13 or better! Christin Can you pull your dirty lil mind out of the glitter to answer, babe?
Jules: Nothing wrong with dirty
Christin: I’m having to make wayyy too many decisions!
Lou: Nope! Firm fan of the dirt!
Christin: You all realize I’ve been up almost 12 hours now?
Jules: Oh nooooo!
Lou: Suck it up buttercup!
Christin: Ok, I’m going to reveal my extreme dorkiness here
—Totally random Lord of the Rings convo here—
Christin: Ok fine. I’ll go with meeting and being inspired by the phantom of the opera.
Jules: And what would you do with the Phantom?
Christin: I’d sing
Jules: Beautiful. Okay, last question.
As avid readers how do you feel about books that are adapted to film? Are you generally disappointed or do you like to see the characters brought to life from your favorite stories, despite the outcome/quality? And what book and/or series would you like to see brought to the big screen?
Lou: A) I’m always very hesitant to see books I love made into films. Perfect example is Twilight. I read the books before I knew there was going to be a movie. Or at least the 1st 2…can’t remember if Eclipse was out when movie news came out. Anyhow…I was very disappointed in Twilight the movie. I love the book, still to this day re-read it frequently. The movie almost seemed like a Bruce Campbell spoof to me. I watch it still, but with the mindset that it’s a comedy. B) Books I want to see in film: the Stephanie Plum series; Hunger Games series; The Mortal Instruments series; Night Huntress series; and the BIG OBVIOUS…BDB.
Jules: I don’t know if I could handle BDB on the big screen!
Lou: But think of the fun we’d have with the DVD when it came out.
Christin: I think there are some book-to-movie adaptations that are great – The Devil Wears Prada, for example. But in almost all cases I think the book is better than the movie. When I’m reading the book, I see/hear/experience the characters in a certain way, and it’s very hard to recreate that experience when watching a movie that had been subjected to so many changes and differing opinions. I’m excited that Hunger Games is being made into a movie! And of course I’d love to see BDB on the big screen! Oh, and Beautiful Creatures.
Jules: OH MY…I don’t know if their are hot enough guys in actual existence.
Lou: That would be a challenge. We should volunteer to help choose!
Jules: Oh, girl, I like the way you think.
Lou: LOL
Jules: Anything either of you would like to add about the blog?
Lou: Only that though it’s new, and we’re DEFINITELY still learning…like how the hell do you get the frickin’ header up and centered??? …we’re committed to having what we do put up be interesting and our personal best effort.
Jules: It most definitely shows.
Lou: Thanks! Christin’s done most of the work…no lie!
Christin: Thanks! And I think that many people can find something they’d be interested in on our blog – like we’ve said we read pretty much anything and everything (I personally get bored if I read the same genre constantly).
Lou: And we have book ADD. LOL
Jules: It’s been so much fun extracting information from the two of you.
Lou: It was fun to chat with you!
Jules: And we are very happy to have you as an affiliate for MVF.
Lou: We’re glad to be part of MVF, too!
Christin: I second what Lou said!
I had a great time chatting up the BtC girls. Thank you for your time! Be sure to check out their blog and leave your comments below!
What an awesome interview! BtC has become one of my favorite book blogs already and this interview just makes me love Christin and Lou so much more!
Thanks for being our Affiliate of the Month for October! You ladies are great!
GREAT interview! I’m always so interested to know who’s behind the reviews I love to read, and this got so much more in-depth than most interviews. Although now I want to know what that LotR conversation was about…!