It is a real pleasure to introduce you to Rosie Amber, book blogger extraordinaire and the brains behind #TuesdayBookBlog and #RBRT (Rosie’s Book Review Team). If you are searching for the perfect holiday read, do check out the plethora of book reviews listed on her website, in all sorts of genres. Books do make perfect gifts!
Take a moment to learn more about Rosie, her passion for reading, why she started a book blog, and some of her favorite novels.
Spotlight on book blogger Rosie Amber
Please tell us a bit about yourself and background.
I’m a book reviewer, part-time farm secretary, full-time housewife and mum. I’ve always loved reading and decided to start blogging to combine my reading with spying on a need to keep up with my teenagers on social media.
What is your personal go-to genre and who are a few of your favorite authors?
I’ve got two: world war historical fiction and romance. I can always rely on Melissa Foster for my contemporary romance. Virginia Heath for my historical romance. I hop about with historical fiction. But I can recommend Never Say Goodbye by Hilary Green and Back behind Enemy Lines by Chris Bridge.
Why did you decide to create a team of book bloggers?
I began focusing on indie authors and tried to help them spread news about their books. Soon I was being asked to read genres that I didn’t particularly enjoy. I ran a book reviewing challenge in 2014 to encourage more people to post book reviews and from the success of that project I created Rosie’s Book Review Team. Reviewers have come and gone, but several have become firm friends and I’ve met up with quite a few of the UK based ones.
How many books does a typical RBRT reviewer read per month (on average)?
The team have a one month turn around on books and it ebbs and flows with what else is going on in a reviewer’s life. I read around 150 books a year. I read a mix of genres and am always happy to try something new if it appeals to me.
Can anyone join your book review team?
New reviewer’s are welcome to apply. All we ask is that they can post a review on at least two platforms (Goodreads and Amazon are the top places that authors hope to see reviews). A book reviewing blog is a bonus, but not essential. The team work with e-formats, my reason being that because of the high number of indie authors which we work with, e-books avoid printing and postage costs.
What do you enjoy most about book blogging?
I love the needle in the haystack style discovery of a hidden gem of a book.
What are some of your pet peeves?
I have two main ones: Being told by an author in their request submission that I’m going to love their book. And secondly, a copy and paste generic submission request. Both ways are likely to get a refusal.
Where can readers find your reviews?
The best places are my blog and Twitter @rosieamber1 (I’m rarely on Facebook).
How can authors get in touch with you and your review team?
There’s an easy link at the top of my blog page. Your book Reviewed. But please have a good look around the blog before submitting your work to see if we will be a good ‘fit’ with your style and your book.
Because my blog is travel-focused: If you were packing for a long trip, which book would you take and why?
When I travel I always have good intentions about reading, but I often find that I can’t relax as much as when I’m at home. There’s always things to see out of the window or places to explore. So I’d take a travel guide…
Who would you like to sit next to on a long flight (up to two people, living or dead)?
Ooh, nobody famous! I think they deserve a bit of peace when they have to travel. But I would like to meet some of the indie author’s that I’ve got to know during my time reviewing. I think I could chat for ages with Marcia Meara or Reily Garrett.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I would love to return to Canada. We’ve had a couple of family holidays there and I loved the wild nature of the country. I’d like to go back to the icefields parkway in the Rockies and explore more of the glacial landscape.
Before you go, please tell us more about #TuesdayBookBlog?
Most Twittering bloggers know about the benefits of ‘blog share’ days; it all started with Rachel Thompson and her fabulously successful #MondayBlogs. The Hashtag was meant to be about the writing itself ~ in other words, blog posts about anything other than your book!
Because there are so many avid readers, writers and book bloggers who want to help promote books that they love, Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team created a hashtag on Tuesdays, for book posts only: #TuesdayBookBlog . Anyone can use it, all we ask is that it is used for links to BLOG POSTS ONLY.
Guidelines:
DO post:
- Blog posts only!
- Book reviews ~ either for your own books, or other people’s, or book reviews you’ve written on your blog.
- Author Interviews ~ yours or others’.
- Cover reveals ~ yours or others’.
- Upcoming/new releases ~ yours or others.
- Articles or guest posts about books/writers ~ you/yours or others’.
DO NOT post:
- Anything that isn’t a blog post
- Blog posts that aren’t about books/writers
- Direct links to a book on any website ie. Amazon.
- Porn.
- Blatant promotion of an existing publication that isn’t a proper article – in other words, we don’t want to see a blog post that consists of nothing but the cover of your book, Amazon blurb and buy links.
To get the most out of #TuesdayBookBlog:
Retweet others on the hashtag and spread the word. Hashtags work best when you do your bit, too.
The power of Twitter is in the retweet, more than the tweet. Hashtag retweets are never guaranteed, but do remember that the more you do, the more you are likely to get back.
Thanks for stopping by, Rosie!
Be sure and check out Rosie Amber’s book blog the next time you are searching for a new favorite read!
What an interesting post, thank you Jennifer and Rosie. I grew up on a farm in Wiltshire so we have something other than books in common! It was great to learn a bit more about Rosie and the blog and useful to be reminded of the Tuesday hashtag which had slipped my mind. I’ll share on FB and Twitter. Best wishes, Harriet
Marvelous to see Rosie featured here, Jennifer. I have discovered some great authors and books through her reviewing process.
It’s great to read more about Rosie. As a member of her team I’m in awe of her capacity to keep us all on the straight and narrow and to discovery incredible new authors and books to suit all tastes. Congratulations on her great work! And thanks, Jennifer!
Thank you Olga. I couldn’t do any of it without the support of the reviewers like yourself.
Thank you so much for such a great post on Rosie Amber, Jennifer. I learned a lot of good stuff I never knew about her, even though I’ve followed her blog for a long time. Of late, I’ve missed a lot of posts and reviews due to some time constraints and some health issues, but I’m digging myself out from under and hope to catch up soon, Rosie, honest!
And imagine my happy surprise to be one of the folks Rosie would like to sit beside on a long trip! When can we take one? I’ll start packing and making a list of fun things to chat about today! 🙂
Super interview! Sharing far and wide! 😀 <3
You’re most welcome Marcia. I think we had better pick a far off place as I’m sure we’d have so much book talk to fit in.
Rosie (and her team) are all wonderful people. I agree entirely with Rosie on the author submissions, nothing more off putting than a copy, paste, review request with either no name or someone else’s name at the top of the email. I also hate when they add numerous quotes what others thought of their book.
Thank you Stacey. We are often tested aren’t we?
Lovely to put a face and character to a name I keep coming across. Keep up the good work, Rosie! I think Marcia Meara would make a most excellent travelling companion and I hope to meet her one day.
Thanks for posting this, Jennifer. I find social media a baffling maze but I find so many delicious surprises – like this one – when I turn unexpected corners!
Thank you Alex, I’m glad I brought a sparkle to your day.
Rosie is such a lovely and supportive blogger ❤
Thank you Kerry.
Thank you so much Jennifer for this chance to tell others more about what we do and how we support authors.
My pleasure, Rosie! You are such a staunch supporter of authors, and your book blog is a goldmine for readers – you all deserve more attention. Happy reading!