Blog Notes

Hey, everyone! I'm sure you've noticed that I've been spending a considerable amount of time away from my blog lately. There's a few reasons for this that I'd like to tell you about, as well as some changes that's going to be going on around here in the near future.

First thing first. You see that little blob to the left of this? That's my baby! I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and seriously over the moon. BUT, with this pregnancy comes with something I wasn't prepared for - crazy fatigue and nausea. I've literally been in my bed and on the couch more these past few weeks then all my life combined. It's to the point where simple things like household chores and just getting online is a challenge because it zaps what little energy I have in a matter of moments. Add to this the fact that Blogger hates me and has decided to start randomly deciding to not post a majority of my scheduled posts and... well, I think you see my dilemma. Up until now, there's really nothing I could do about it. But with the homestretch of the end of my first trimester in the midst and my health slowly (but surely) returning back to normal, I can happily say that this is about to change - very soon.

So, here are the changes I'm looking into....

More reviews. I have a ton of books that I have read and never reviewed on this blog. We're talking hundreds. Add to this my book-buying obsession has not waned much at all, and the result is a ton of books that could be reviewed for this blog. I'd like to post at least two or more reviews a day to try to catch up. Not only is this more exposure for the books (past, present and future), but this is a lot more substance for my blog - which is something I've wanted for a while.

Less requests. This one hurts my heart but, for right now, it's something that has to be done while I play a very extensive game of catch-up. I've decided the best way to deal with this is to cut out all requests except for published authors (this includes the publicists and publishers that work with said authors), authors I have already established a relationship with and, of course, Young Adult Books Central. I am too in love and believe in this site entirely too much to give it up. Everything else - the printed publications, the writing and self-published works - has been cut out. I don't like doing this, but my time is too limited to do as much as I was doing before.

To meme or not to meme? I still haven't decided on this, but I think the memes will more than likely be cut out on the blog. Right now, I'm playing around with the idea of highlighting the best part of the memes on my Facebook page instead - it's simpler and adds more content there.

Keeping the blog tours. I will still continue to set up a few blog tours and participate in tours as well, but it will be more selective and limited than before.

This list seriously gives me a headache and makes me want to scream, but it's something that has to be done. With these decisions, I'll be able to concentrate more on what I started this blog for - the book reviews - and less on outside distractions. This may change in the future but, for now, this is all I can figure out to keep me sane.

I've drafted many posts already that I'm going to manually post starting next week. By giving myself this week-long window, I am much more confident that I will be able to keep up with this ideal pace on the blog.

I thank you all for still following. As a matter of fact, I'm planning something special very soon to show you exactly how much I appreciate the loyalty.

XOXO