Interview of a Very Dear Blogger Friend: Meet Ramona, international blogger!

Hi Dear Friends,

I told you I am drowning in ARCs and mostly reading but I still wanted to share with you this lovely interview that I’ve been lucky enough to get from my very dear friend Ramona from Ramona’s Read With Love Blog!

Ramona is an international blogger from Romania with a taste for sweet and emotional romance. She has many followers from Romania and from all over the world and she is truly a lovely person and the perfect friend to have at your side.

Some back story here…

I met Ramona on Goodreads. I noticed her reviews as we had similar tastes in books. We chatted, became friends and when I set up my blog she asked me if I wanted to work on a collaborative post about favorite heroes with her.

Soon after we created a FB page with other blogger friends but as we became very busy with life we all went our own way still collaborating and helping each other when needed. Because that’s what the blogging community is: a very supportive community.

It’s Ramona who gave me ideas to interview authors!

I discovered her interviews and I was amazed!

What? We can INTERVIEW authors? And they agree?

We even did two collaborative interviews one of Penelope Douglas and one of Archer from Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan.

When I asked her if she was interested to post something in my “All About Love” month she was game once more!

Later on our friend Danielle from Pretty Mess Reading invited us to make a podcast with her and we had a blast!

Now that you know how we met and what she means to me, let’s dive in this interview!

1)Could you tell our readers who Ramona is in max 10 words?

Ramona is a 29 year old girl, with a smile on her face and a lot of dreams which she plans on making them real one day 😉 

 Some background here:

2) Did your dad or mom read you bed time stories?

Aaaaah, not all the time. My mom used to read to me from time to time, but I wasn’t that type of child, mainly because I got bored very quickly and couldn’t stay in one place much 😉 )

3) Favorite books as a kid? As a teen? As a woman?

I am very ashamed to say so, but as I teen I didn’t like to readJ I only read the school materials and I hated them. 5 years ago I received a Kindle for my birthday and that was the trigger to who I am right now and what I doJ

In the now:

4) Why do you read?

I read because it gives me a sense of peace and because I love it. I read because it relaxes me and because I want to experience what other lived in stories of all kind.

5) Why did you decide to review? Link to your first review. To your favorite review.

Good question. At first I didn’t review. I just read and eventually put some stars at the books on GR. I was very shy, I didn’t know if my English was good enough and I was reluctant to share with the world my preferences in books. I began to write short reviews, max 15 lines and people started to like them. The trigger was when Janet Nissenson liked my review of her book “Splendor”. I was very proud of this and I began to wonder if I can expand to more complex reviewing. My first review was also from SplendorJ After that, it all came naturally and now, I can’t see myself doing something different.

https://readwithloveblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/splendor-janet-nissenson/

6) Is it different to review on booknation.ro than on the blog?

YES!! Mainly because on my blog I use English and on Booknation I use Romanian. Also because the books are different. On Booknation I only review the books that are published, in Romania or elsewhere, but on my blog I can review anything and it is not so restraining.

7) How much time do you need to write format and post a review?

It depends. If I have all the conditions necessary, max 1 hour

8) What is the story behind your blog? Why did you begin?

The story is very simple. I had a lot of reviews on GR and I wanted them all in one place. So I chose WP to host my blog and a year and a half ago, Ramona’s Read with Love was live 😀

9) What’s the most satisfying aspect of blogging? The most frustrating?

Satisfaction is 95% of blogging, because you get to express your feelings as you want them to be. This is very important and sincerity will always help you, because this is the key to everything. Be genuine when you reviewJ Frustration may come sometimes, when you want your blog to grow and see that this is not happening as you want it, maybe slower than anticipated. But I learned that I don’t care about how many followers I have, because at the end of the day, when you receive good messages from authors you adore, that is the real benefit of being a blogger.

10) Any advice for beginners?

Write with sincerity and read what you love, no matter what others might say. It is very important to enjoy what you are reading, because if not, it can alter your perception and the review won’t be so great  😀

11) You love interviewing authors do you recall your first interview? How did you dare? How did you contact the author? Nervous?

I love making this interview page and I considered it my trademark, because I love interacting with authors. My first interview was with Lex Martin and I loved everything about it. I wasn’t very confident about my blog, because I recently started it, but she was so kind and answer beautifully. I send her a message on FB and she promptly replied. We had a lot of fun and from there, a lot of similar posts appeared on my blog.

12) What are your dream authors yet to be interviewed?

Good one 😀   I think that most of my dream authors have been interviewed, but if you ask me right now, I would want to interview in the future Sarah J Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Colleen Hoover.  

13) Any advices for bloggers wanting to interview authors?

Don’t be shy, be original and surprise authors with smart questions.

14) What is your next goal in blogging?

I don’t have a goal right now, I blog because I love to, because it is fun and relaxing and I take every day as it is. If things will get better, I will be opened to any opportunities.

Some light and easy ones now

15) Favorite food? Pasta, in any combination.

16) Favorite fictional character? There can’t be only one. From Gabriel Emerson, to Aiden St. Delphi, to Rhys, Jace Herondale and Daemon Black. You name it  😀

17) Favorite authors (plural)

Mia Sheridan tops the chart. Then comes Penelope Ward, Sylvain Reynard, Samantha Young, Penelope Douglas, Jennifer L Armentrout, Sarah J Maas and Marc Levy.

18) Favorite books.

There are a lot… I think it’s impossible to name just one. In terms of series I would go with ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas, The Covenant series and Lux by Jenn Armentrout. I also liked The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices by Cassie ClareJ Romance speaking there are a lot.. The Gabriel Inferno series, On Dublin Street, Becoming Calder and Finding Eden by Mia, Roomhate by Pen Ward. I can go on for centuries 😀

19) If you could write a book it would be about…

Love 😀 about cheesy, romantic and never ending love 😀

Thank you so much Ramona!!!

Sophie