A full two years has eclipsed past me since I initially found the inspiration to create Jorie Loves A Story! If I were to be honest, I am not even sure how ‘two years’ have come past, but they have, and I’m proud of the work I’ve put into my blog inasmuch as the beautiful moments which have renewed my joy along the way. The ability to connect to my readers through the ruminative thoughts I leave behind on behalf of the stories I read, is a blessing I am full of thanksgiving to share with everyone who finds my bookish blog. Yet, it is the unexpected grace and bliss, to be able to connect directly to writers who pen the stories which alight inside my heart and imagination which has enriched my life with an infinite measure of gratitude. Today I am celebrating where I started, where I have transitioned forward, and everything still yet to come.
The hardest blog posts to compose are the ones where you want to celebrate all the lovely memories of the past year, and to do so without leaving anyone out of your notice. The trouble is I have a bad habit of forgetting to take notes along the way, and although my heart is full of gratitude and a multitude of memories are washing over me as I compose this note, I realise it is quite difficult to summerise a year as a book blogger because most of the time I am finding the ‘best moments’ are quite spontaneous and take me unawares during the hours in which I am both reading and blogging the stories you’ve come to appreciate reading about on Jorie Loves A Story.
I oft-times hop onto Twitter as I read and blog, as it helps me set a pace where I can breakaway from the book and/or my blog, for a quick pause whilst still being within frame to continue where I had left off. I like to take breaks as I’m blogging about a story because sometimes you need a little extra time to soak through the heart of the novel itself and to allow the characters to speak to you a bit after you’ve read their tale. Especially true if the story in question is a hard-hitting historical fiction and/or contemporary drama or realistic fiction.
If I had known about the admin and ‘background work’ behind running a bookish blog, I might have faltered in my confidence to launch one, as one of the more taxing bits to being a book blogger isn’t the reading part nor even the blogging either — it’s the unexpected angst of tech issues, woes of coding issues, and other little bits of anguish like sorting out domains, routers, and themes. When you get the bare bones knocked out, you find yourself curating a list as hefty as my recent Bloggiesta in order to maintain what you built! Yet, all of this, is part of what I love about being a book blogger. It might be a bit bittersweet at times, or downright frustrating if your ISP goes dark (oh, dear February, I do not miss you!), but it’s what you have within this expanse of time you take to share your thoughts with fellow readers, book bloggers, and the writers who give us the chance to explore their stories which makes all of it worthwhile in the end.
I do admit, I need to work on finding balance — balance between my conscience of falling behind with a backlog of stories still needing to be reviewed and the joy of blogging in general. I’ve started to take a step back on getting into a pickle of a fix where I am overloaded on blog tours and/or individual reviews, as I do admit, last year I was a bit overly excited about everything, that when I ran into a personal obstacle, my time was taken away from my blog. We all struggle to find the balance between our personal lives and our online worlds; to juggle everything and achieve what we’ve set out to do.
Starting in April, I’m going to be focusing on getting myself a bit more current with books I’ve started to read and are in-progress of sharing with all of you. There is a particular collection of Contemporary Fiction, where in the past I had attempted to host a spotlight run of Indie Writers which in February would have worked out quite well if the foresaid technical errors hadn’t blighted out the hours! Therefore, I’m re-working how I want to celebrate these stories, including sorting out a new hashtag to promote reading and blogging about them, whilst finding April and May to be the best months to showcase them as a whole. Stay tuned for an announcement about “Contemporary Indies”!
As June takes hold, Summer will begin with a decrease in my contribution to blog tours, as I’m angling to take-on a maximum of three blog tours rather than my regular average where I might feature two to three a week. I will never say never though, as I might be inspired by a story I have yet to find out about. As it stands right now, I’m booking June through December on the lighter side for blog tours, as I’ve come to realise I’d be more keen to read books independent of a blog tour where I can set my own pace and pursue my own deadline. In part to give myself flexibility to renew my balance between blogging, tweeting, and Riffling whilst I get back into knitting, letter-writing, mixed media collage, and exploring the cookery arts.
It will also allow me to blog in-between blog tours with a bit more frequency whilst giving me the joy of bringing back to my blog the books I am reading through my local library. I am attempting to get ‘ahead’ of my deadlines in other words, rather than slamming into them head-first and feeling as though the hours are draining me as I attempt to keep everything together. One thing I have learnt as a newly 2nd Year Book Blogger is the pace I maintained for the last two years is not one I can continue to have as it sets me up for a bit of a downfall. I want to have enough time to read the stories without fear of the day I’m reading the book itself is the same day I’m on deadline to finish it.
I must confess, I also miss being able to visit the book bloggers and writers I had come to know prior to being a book blogger myself — I’ve yearned to re-visit their blogs, but again, time is a factor that is constant and not as forgiving as you’d hope it would be at times. I even miss ducking inside the chats on Twitter, and as I did outline in my Bloggiesta, I am still working on the route I can visit in the book blogosphere as well as a more realistic chat schedule I can handle during the weeks/months.
Book blogging is a bit like life itself — the journey is far more important than understanding everything as you go along. You have to learn and grow, adapting as you move forward and stay keen on understanding your strengths as much as your weaknesses. I personally have learnt a harder lesson in what gives me a bit of extra stress and anxiety, as those were two surprises that came along as I never thought I’d stress myself out as a book blogger. I’m referring to the fact I used to get a higher frequency of migraines, especially between late 2013 and late 2014. I curbed this from late October 2014 to early February, when I was blindsided with a horrid migraine, but even then, I adjusted and started to set a course for how I can balance what I love without giving myself added stress which could circumvent the joy.
I’m baking a chocolate cake tonight to celebrate being a 2nd Year Book Blogger, whilst snuggling inside a ChocLit novel I’ve been itching to read: Dance Until Dawn by Berni Stevens. It’s my first foray into a vampire romance novel, and one that I believe will be the best bang-on brilliant way to celebrate being a book blogger who constantly is open about reading outside her comfort zones! I love pushing the limits of what I feel I can handle inasmuch as what I think I would dig inside with a felicity of passion. I still have a few personal limits on some genres, but for me, as a ChocLit’er who loves the releases by this lovely British Indie Pub, I couldn’t think of a better story to soak inside on this special day of mine!
It’s quite kismet too I’m able to bake a ‘chocolate cake’ on the night I’m reading a ‘ChocLit’ novel! I cannot even express how many times I’ve wanted to bake a chocolate ‘something’ to coincide with my ‘ChocLit’ readings, but today, everything is falling into place quite wickedly. I am not sure where the title is winking me to realise the story will take me, but I personally will very much be ‘dancing until dawn’ as I read Ms Stevens debut and conclude my celebrations on behalf of creating Jorie Loves A Story
A girl with a book in hand whilst re-defining her path as a book blogger is the best way to spend a blogoversary! Except to say, for participating in the debut chat on behalf of an author I’ve felt blessed to get to know in the months between her debut release, her first historical fiction chat (#IShall), and tonight!
And, what has me wicked happy for tonight:
I happily had the absolute best time attending the #IShall Twitter Chat hosted by Erin Lindsay McCabe, as I had previously known the author via her debut novel I Shall Be Near To You, a very guttingly honest novel about the Civil War. We never lost our connection to each other, picking up a conversation here or there along the way, where we’d get to know each other a bit better, whilst finding that we truly appreciate reading the same type of historically enriched stories.
I did technically nudge Ms McCabe to host a chat on Twitter with a regularity she felt comfortable with in order to help unite those of us who love reading historical fiction! I had noticed that until the #IShall chat erupted into the twitterverse, most genres are covered and/or there are chats for the writerly lifestyle, but as far as giving writers and readers a place to interact with it is quite rare; this is one reason I created the chat I host for Romance lovers. (you can read a bit more about it at the bottom of my showcase for ‘The Wild One’ by Janet Gover)
Creating a few pieces of promo art in Canva was happily done if it would spark someone on Twitter to join the lively conversation that will no doubt ensue! The #IShall chat was so expansive and so hoppin’ it was hard to keep track of all the tweets flying about at once! This is one reason I recommended using @Nurph as Nurph allows the hosts to enjoy hosting the chats without having to worry constantly about the tech behind the chats themselves. The RSVP feature and the Replay option for latecomers puts Nurph at the top of my list for ‘chat interactive platforms’ with TweetDeck a close second; except to say, Nurph wins hands down overall due to the fact they auto-add the hashtag!
I cannot wait to see who shows up tonight, as I still remember fondly who I met during the last chat, and how her historical fiction novel is eagerly awaiting my hands to read. More on this as Spring blooms into view! It also gave me a way to meet an author connected to a mail-artist I’ve followed for several years, as she’s the quintessential ‘go-to’ blogger for all things related to postal mail correspondences & mail-art in general: the Missive Maven. Alex Meyers debut novel still interests me to read, except I did put Revolutionary on a back-burner, as I realised the novel would tip my emotional heart off-balance!
If you love historical fiction, you best make plans to meet-up with us @ 8:30pm NYC & 5:30pm LA!
For more details please visit the author’s site and dedicated page for #HistoricalFix!
{ you can RT my pinned tweet to help spread the word! }
A special note should be mentioned my Mum and Da surprised me a bit early for my 2nd Year as a book blogger by gifting me the surprise of two collections of digital clip art from Etsy. You’ve most likely have already started to see the art populating through my blog posts, as the ‘washi tape’ in rainbow colours is one of the sets and the coffee & tea art clips reflect the second set! (ex. divider I used on this post!)
I am still sorting out how I want to use the coffee and tea clips, as I’ve started to tweak them up a bit in Canva as much as the fact I created the “About Jorie” badge in my upper right sidebar using one of the main graphics from the set itself. One of the clips was used in a very special way but that revelation is upcoming when I reveal my ‘End of the Year Survey for 2014’! I LOVE Etsy!
Reader Interactive Question: I’d love to hear your thoughts on behalf of what originally drew you to visit my blog and what you’ve appreciated since you became a regular reader and/or visitor. Join me as I celebrate my blogoversary and remember all the happy bookish joy we’ve shared together.
{SOURCES: 2nd Blogoversary Badge created by Jorie in Canva. HistoricalFix Promo Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Comment Box Banner made by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2015.
My Twitter Feeds are Happily Reflecting a heap of love:
@JLovesAStory No worries, happy blogoversary friend! :) What time is this new chat? May pop in if time permits :)
— Lianne (@eclectictales) April 1, 2015
@JLovesAStory Congrats on the #blogoversary! I hope you enjoy many more years of book blogging fun!! :D
— Juli Rahel (@universeinwords) April 1, 2015
Very special recognition to @jlovesastory for her tech help, banner design, & cheerleading! And it’s her BLOGOVERSARY today! #HistoricalFix
— Erin Lindsay McCabe (@ErinLindsMcCabe) April 1, 2015
Happy 2nd Blogoversary to one of our biggest fans! @JLovesAStory http://t.co/Ef5tgaFHeU
— Choc Lit (@ChocLituk) April 1, 2015
Wow! Happy Blog-Birthday Jorie xx RT @ChocLituk: Happy 2nd Blogoversary to one of our biggest fans! @JLovesAStory http://t.co/c4aVAWCRor
— Alison May (@MsAlisonMay) April 1, 2015
@JLovesAStory Happy Blogaversary, Jorie! @ChocLituk
— John Jackson (@jjackson42) April 1, 2015
I tried in vain on yur blog to wish you a Happy 2nd Anniversary, Jorie. What an amazing 2 years!! All the best for the next x @JLovesAStory
— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) April 1, 2015
Yay, Jorie!! RT @ChocLituk: Happy 2nd Blogoversary to one of our biggest fans! @JLovesAStory http://t.co/JzqGIMM9Si
— Liz Harris (@lizharrisauthor) April 1, 2015
So thrilled to hear @JLovesAStory is reading Dance Until Dawn :) I hope you like it Jorie! @ChocLituk
— Berni Stevens (@circleoflebanon) April 1, 2015
Jorie celebrates her 2nd #blogovesary whilst embracing a new wicked sweet #histfic chat #Historic… http://t.co/RgCzEGt5Ee via @JLovesAStory
— Sheryl Browne (@SherylBrowne) April 1, 2015
Hope u have 2 candles on 2 cakes Jorie RT @ChocLituk: Happy 2nd Blogoversary to one of our biggest fans @JLovesAStory http://t.co/B6GFNklgrn
— Kathryn Freeman (@KathrynFreeman1) April 1, 2015
@MsAlisonMay @ChocLituk @JLovesAStory happy blog birthday!
— Helen J Rolfe (@HJRolfe) April 2, 2015
@JLovesAStory We’re glad you found us too Jorie :) Thank you! x
— Choc Lit (@ChocLituk) April 2, 2015
Jorie celebrates her 2nd #blogovesary whilst embracing a new wicked sweet #histfic chat #Historic… http://t.co/xCcJkjtwde via @JLovesAStory
— :Donna Marie (@WriterSideUp) April 2, 2015
CELEBRATE! Happy 2nd Blogoversary to lovely Jorie! @JLovesAStory http://t.co/OFvsvjW8Tx #SuperBlogger for fabulous @ChocLituk
— Berni Stevens (@circleoflebanon) April 2, 2015
@JLovesAStory Happy Blogoversary, Jorie!!!
— Brenda S. Anderson (@BrendaSAnders_n) April 2, 2015
Meant to pop in to your post to comment sooner but it’s been a little busy these last few weeks for me *blushes* (guh, how crazy awesome was that Twitter chat a few weeks ago? I think I just about recovered now, lol).
Anyway, happy blogoversary again Jorie! You’ve been pretty busy this past year with blog tours and book chats, I hope you have another fun year of book blogging ahead :)
Hallo, Hallo Lianne,
I reget I wasn’t always able to return a response to the comments as they alighted on my blog – however, this one, I truly should have responded to within the week it arrived because my 2nd Blogoversary was such an important milestone for me! All of them all, really! My seventh one is nearly upon me – as the 31st of March is only next month! Imagine!? I can’t believe it, really. I’ve been coming back to your blog throughout January and now February, trying to read and get caught up with where you are in your reading life and see what you’ve been blogging about – soon I’ll be coming back to add some new comments as I never meant to take such large gaps in communication!
I do admit a large chunk of those absenses were due to my chronic migraines and in the last three years, it was attributed to my father’s recovery from stroke — evenso! I do miss visiting and talking about our readerly and geeky lives! I appreciate the kindness you’ve shared with me over the years in our friendship and also, for being a lovely commenter on my blog! Thanks for celebrating my milestones with me – either here directly or on Twitter. In regards to the Twitter chats.. goodness! I’ve had to scale them back – rather than several a day, I only participate in a few now… strictly #HistFicChat (hosted by Vivian Conroy – which returns this February, ohh dear, did I miss it today?) and I host mine as well – since I revitalised it in September, 2019.
Thanks for being my cheerleader and my friend.
I am also late to offer congrats — I can’t believe it’s been two years — congrats, congrats and here’s to two more! Your blog is such a treat to dive into — I’m also woefully behind on visiting blogs and hope I can do so more in 2015 — but I always enjoy “running into you” on Twitter and glancing here now and then.
Hallo, Hallo dear Audra!
My, have I missed talking to you! :( Regrettably, I am in the same boat as you; the hours tick off the clock at such a fast clip, I haven’t had the pleasure to swing by your lovely bookish blog either! I love visiting your own ruminative thoughts on the books your consuming, because you give a hearty breadth of insight to ponder about afterwards. I never knew how to pick up from where we left off, because I kept coming back at different intervals and then, of course, I missed the birth of your first child! :(
I completely aspire to do the same as you — to get back into visiting the blogs I love to read, communicating with you a bit more frequently than I have the last half of the year, and staying in touch rather than falling out of sight! Yes, I love bumping into you on Twitter! :) I am full of a lot of thankfulness tonight — I am wicked happy you dropped by and celebrated with me!
Here’s to two more years of talking about stories and seeing how the stories affect us both!
I’m late to the party! Happy Blogoversary, Jorie! Thank you for all you’re doing for authors & great reading!
Hallo, Hallo Ms Anderson! :)
You’re not late at all! In fact, I’m always delighted to see notes left for me on my blog; irregardless of when I originally posted the content! Besides blogoversaries do not expire or go out of fashion to have a bit of extra cheer kicked up in their wakes! :) I was so very happy to see that you stopped by and left me a tweet too! How very kind!
I love being able to blog my thoughts about the stories meeting me as I journey through literature; it’s a true honour and joy to work with writers like yourself to help spotlight the stories that might become overlooked or haven’t yet found the readers who are seeking them outright. It is a true joy of my heart to blog about my reading life. Thanks for coming to celebrate with me!
Happy Blogoversary, Jorie!!! Wow! So glad I got to know you :)
Hallo Hallo Ms Donna Marie!
:) I’m thankful you’ve found my blogoversary post! You’ve been cheering me on for such a long time now, I’ve come to appreciate seeing where you pop up on my blog and/or which s/o’s you’ve blessed me with on Twitter! I know you are as much of a discernible reader as I am, which makes your visits keenly appreciated. It’s hard to fathom how two years have come and gone since I started inking out the bones of this blog! I am blessed for meeting you along the way and getting to converse with you not only on the stories being shared but on our bookish lives as well. Top cheers to you in return for undertaking carving out your own niche in the book blogosphere! :)
Thanks, Jorie :) I’m only doing blogging sporadically, and am still trying to get a handle on all the time following takes. It’ll work eventually! Meanwhile, you have much to be proud of :D
Hallo Ms Donna Marie,
I do drop over on your blog every chance I get and I had noticed that your spacing your posts out a bit easier than I had originally. I think if you set the pace you want to have overall early-on it’s a bit easier to maintain. I’m working towards a pace that is better for me right now, and I’m definitely proud of the work I’ve done thus far along. It’s such an incredible experience to be a part of and I could nearly pinch myself thinking back over all the beautiful memories! :)
Jorie, I’m glad you get a chance to stop by. I haven’t been able to as much as I used to ’cause my time is shorter than it was : / I still don’t have a blogging schedule. Things have just been “coming up” and I end up blogging. None of it has yet to fill my many pages just waiting for the posts I intend lol I’m hoping that will happen. I’m shooting for one post per week on each blog. We’ll see! You have definitely set the bar high for reviewers, so I’m glad I’m NOT one! lol
Oh, how we empathise with your angst of tech issues, Jorie. A lovely post and a reminder that reading really should be for pleasure, rather than done under pressure. As a writer, grateful for those precious reviews, I’ve become very aware of how hard bloggers work: extremely. I think there are a fair few authors who would join me in saying thank you! Happy blogeversary! Don’t eat too much chocolate cake! Oh, go on then. ;) xx
Hallo, Hallo Ms Browne,
Bless you for mentioning the shared empathy for tech woes; I am so very thankful April has arrived, as March had fast become the ‘month after the tech disasters’ where everything felt ‘rushed, hurried, and out of focus’ to how I originally felt February & March were going to go. :( It happens to all of us who carve out a niche in the (book) blogosphere, but it’s such a vexation, your simply relieved when it’s over! :)
I decided to be a bit more open and honest about where I am right now as I transition from my 1st Year to my 2nd Year as a book blogger; I wanted to let the dear hearts who follow me and enjoy taking this journey with me know I’m grateful for being here, but I need to adapt how I’m here at the same time. Book blogging for me is a true labour of love; I was a book cheerleader all the way back to the girl I used to be walking through the stacks of her local Indie bookshoppe in full amazement of the breadth of stories and authors within tangible reach. I’ve always found a way to cheer for stories and authors, but by having a blog I have a place to house my ruminative thoughts and seek out other like-minded spirits who are as attached to reading as I am.
Yes, we do work extremely hard which is why you do have to be dedicated to the whole of what book blogging is and what is required to pull it off. I keep re-falling in love with my blog — for instance, when I finally survived February, I could take stock of the newly re-built layout because I overhauled this space within 24 hours before February ended. I never thought I could let go of the last layout I had, but whilst I ‘tweaked’ around with Tweak Me 2 — I kept thinking to myself, “is it possible to LOVE your blog EVEN more than you previously did?”
Even as I step forward into my 2nd Year, I wanted to make a definitive break from Year 1, and by openly writing my heart out in this post about my transition, I feel as though it’s fused to my intention. I cannot wait to see which stories come into my life and I cannot wait to see where my journey takes me next, but I know I do need to be more honest with myself on ‘how’ to schedule my blog, to give me the most freedom to continue doing what I love.
Thank you for reading this post and understanding *exactly!* why I felt it necessary to share! :)
And, thank you in return for being a writer who was inspired to write the stories all of us readers are so eager to discover! Writers and readers each take a piece of the circle which enlarges in scope and depth each time our paths cross through the stories left behind to be read.
* I definitely ate cake! :) lol (see comment below!)
One of my great joys on my short twitter-life was finding you who have come to share both my love of reading and some of struggles with doing just that. Happy blogoversary my friend!
Hallo Andrea!
:) I still remember when you were on Twitter — what wicked awesome fun to find someone who loved the same variety of stories and genres of literature as I do myself! :) You’ll see me start to blog more about where my reading joy takes me as I let go of hosting multiple blog tours, I will have more chances to blog about other topics and subjects inter-related to my reading habits! I also look forward to sharing a bit about my knitting and other hobbies which I’ve only touched on very briefly in the past. The joy is surely doubled when we can find like-minded spirits who love the journey reading can give us! I felt the same way you did when I found *you!* :) Here’s to sharing more bookish memories!
I’m so thrilled you’re reading Dance Until Dawn, Jorie. I only hope you really love it, after looking forward to reading it so much. (Otherwise I am definitely hiding!) So . . . snuggle down with the vampires and eat LOTS of cake! xxx :)
Hallo, Hallo Ms Stevens!
You do not need to hide — I curled inside “Dance Until Dawn” until my own eyes could not quite greet the new dawn myself — I only noticed it’s been awhile since I’ve taken up residence inside the world of vampires (as mentioned on Twitter) so I felt a bit silly for forgetting a few things; as I was surprised by a few gestures/scenes, until my memory kicked in and I thought “ohh, yes! *vampires!*” It was good folly to get into this vampire Rom as like you said, I’ve waited so long to dig inside it!
Did I ever! (eat lots of cake!) I turnt the cake into cupcakes to give me the added pleasure of being able to eat a bit more whilst enjoying the homemade frosting being re-applied at will! lol I had two of these sinful little cakes last night and one today with lunch! lol I don’t over indulge in chocolate that often, so this was a true treat for me! :) I’m going to write-up a bit about what I ate on my review as it coincides quite well and a way to capstone my blogoversary as the book is very much a part of it! :)
Til soon!
Happy second blogoversary, Jorie! The cake and book combination sounds lovely! :-)
Thank you, Ms Chase!
I’m going to post an update about what I ate in combination with my review on “Dance Until Dawn” because it’s so very fitting what I ended up eating! :) I even had a bit of extra chocolate today whilst digging back into the story, so my heart and tummy are full of chocolaty cheer!
Bless you for stopping by to send me a bit of blogoversary cheer! :)