Blogger Spotlight #9: Vix the "pads-brat"

Give us an idea of who you are: 

Hmm, i never really know what to say with these things but i’ll try giving it in a nutshell... My name is Viktoria. In the real world i go by ‘Vix’, online it’s either TToria or Vix. 

I’m a twenty-four year old ‘pads-brat’ (army kid) I come from a long line of soldiers and so i’ve moved around a lot! The country closest to my heart is Scotland. I left home at sixteen, travelled around a bit etc then i bumped into my high-school sweetheart. He went to the same armed forces school as me in Germany. We got married and seven years later we’re travelling around (he’s in the army now too) and raising our five year old son :) I’m extremely close to my two sisters, though we all live in separate countries: England, Scotland an Germany. Moving around is a bit of a nightmare when it comes to working and studying. Thank goodness for the internet and the opportunities it brings! Right now my husband, son and I are in England but the two-year posting is finished in June and so we’ll be moving back up to Scotland. 

As most of us book bloggers would say “I’m an avid reader”, and i’ll say the same. It’s an addiction! I tend to steer clear of horrors though, eek. I hope to write my own novel one day, but i think i still have a lot to learn. It’s something that shouldn’t be rushed. 

Describe a typical day:

 My days are pretty unpredictable at the moment. With us moving soon i’m trying to get the house organised and packed while my son is at school. And obviously reading and blogging fits in with that boring stuff too. 

What's on your bedside table and on your bookshelf?

  On my bedside table, other than my lamp, is a snow globe i got for mother’s day and my iPod dock. Other than reading, music relaxes me :) On my bookshelf, jeez, a big heap of chaos! I really need another bookshelf, it’s overflowing, but mostly the shelves are full with paranormal romance, contemporary romances, a few classics, etc. Oh and Stephen King- my hubby’s, not mine! 

What's your take on an e-reader? 

  I actually haven’t taken the plunge and bought one yet. My husband keeps saying it would be great for me to get one but i just love my paperbacks. I’m worried that one day all this technology will take over and paperbacks will disappear! I do have the kindle app on my computer though... When do you use it? Mostly to read books that i review for tours. It’s easier for authors to send it through via that. I got greedy the other day and downloaded so many classics from Amazon too-they’re all free! I occasionally buy random books; the prices are all so brilliant. But i’m buying the majority of them in paperback format when they become available, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James has recently come through the door, i can’t wait for the other two! I’m not really keen on reading off the computer too much; especially carrying my laptop around the house-it’s a nightmare. So i usually read two books at once, one on there, the other- a paperback. I don’t know, maybe one day i’ll get the Kindle...

What's your ONE favorite series, or book, that you find yourself reading over and over again? 

  I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R Ward. It was the first paranormal romance series i just adored. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks will always take pride of place on my top shelf-it’s incredible. I have a poetry book by Rainer Rilke that i always keep at hand too. It’s all battered and a little torn but i love it. I love old-looking books, i think it gives them more character.

Finally, to bloggers out there - any words of advice to grow your follower list? Network, network, network. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, BookBlogs.ning, etc. You aren’t going to have hundreds of followers overnight. When i started my blog in October, 2011, i was so confused on how other people had followers and i had like one! But i kept at posting and browsed around online to find other book bloggers. Goodreads and BookBlog.ning are a great way to meet people. 

But remember it’s not all about how many followers you have. I don’t think so any way :) Would you rather have thousands who follow your blog but are not interested in what you post? Or a handful, who not only read your posts, but enjoy them, participate in discussions and leave comments? Be consistent with your posts and know your audience and what they’d want to read about. I think i could add more personal posts to my blog, allowing people to get to know me a little better. It’s something i intend to do :) 

Blog hops/ Meme’s are a great way to bring new eyes to your site, but they’re very time consuming and not everyone will follow. Still, take part anyway. You’ll find so many great blogs you’ll want to keep visiting...and you can learn from them. Commenting is a great way to build friendships with like-minded people with the same book obsession. :) 

If someone drops by TToria, i always visit their blog back and have a look around. It’s an unwritten rule of blogging!

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Meet Vix @ http://ttoria.blogspot.in/ 

Twitter @TToria_Rose  

Thanks to Vix for being here!

Interested in being featured here next? Email me!