Blogger Interview: Julianna Helms

This is a series of Blogger Interviews. I'll post a different interview every Monday until April 8th. You'll get to know some of the awesome bloggy peeps and their blogs on the internet. Today we have the fabulous Julianna Helms @ The Reviews News! 

P.S If you don't know ...I really love her reviews. 

P.S.S She has an awesome design website, Dreamless Designs, and she does an incredible job. She even designed this blog! Comic Sans was my idea though. :P

I'll hand it over to you Juli . . . 

1. I think it's time for a back story. How did you find out about book blogging? Why/when did you decide "Hey I want to do this, it seems like fun"?

I found out about book blogging through the RT BookLovers Convention (2011) and the YA-Sisterhood's Crush Tournament (2011). I went to RT that year because 1) I'd just finished the latest book in the Gallagher Girls series and found out that Ally Carter was going to be at RT, and 2) RT happened to be in LA, which is quite close to where I live. So I went, naive in the belief that I was so cool because I knew Ally Carter and some other authors there. Then I got a bunch of free books from the convention, and one day I was bored, so I just read through a bunch of them. I loved practically every single one of them. So that's when I realized: dude, I'm a freaking noob, I don't know anything about anything. I loved reading, sure, but I wasn't reading like, you know, readingreadingreading. So that changed pretty quickly, ha. Then the YA-Sisterhood Crush Tourney came about. I think I saw somewhere that they wanted fellow bloggers to be advocates, and that's when I discovered the beauty of book blogging. So I started a book blog after the tourney's fun fun times, and tada, here I am. :D

              2. Did you expect book blogging to be time-consuming? If not, how do you do it? Because honestly, I want to rip my hair out when I forget to post or just can't type them!

Hahahaha! Oh, Monica knows I'm quite crazy. Let's just say that when you have 3 jobs, school,part of musical theatre, choir, and speech and debate, and also are trying to get an IB diploma, you will probably die. I was dying for four months (and pushing blogging back and back) until I realized that I had no idea what the heck  I was doing with my life. That wasn't the life I wanted. So I quit one of those jobs and forced myself to outline everything, schedule everything, organize everything enough that my mom decided it was time I actually clean my room (for the record, I'm such a lazybutt when it comes to cleaning that my mom gave up on me in that areawhen I was about two feet tall). So yeah. It's definitely time-consuming, and I didn't really think it'd be. If you look at my past posts, you'd see that their numbers overwhelm my current stats. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Balance is important, and harder to find than a four-leaf clover, but the point isn't in finding balance. It's in doing what you want to do so that even as you're struggling to breathe, at least you know you're doing what you love. (Just don't kill yourself. Goodness sakes. That would suck--understatement of humanity.)

             3.  Do you want to be a published author some day? If you do, do you have a WIP? What's it about? 

Yeah! I've won a bunch of contests and awards and was even offered a publishing contract from an independent publisher that was small but had a good reputation. But... I turned them down. I know, I know, a bunch of you are going to clamp my throat and scream at me because I was being nonsensical. But here's the thing: people are going to judge your writing, but they will judge you even more if you're pretty young. So I want my writing to be the best it can be. And that was my first manuscript, so while it wasn't bad, I didn't think it was the best showcase of my abilities. Anyways, I do have a WIP. It's a re-telling of the Chinese legend, THE BUTTERFLY LOVERS, which is like ROMEO AND JULIET, only much less angsty and far more tragic.

                 4. Why do you like/love reading so much?

Because I need something to stop reality for a while. And also because reading isn't just an escape, but also a doorway. It lets you feel all the feels without crumbling to oblivion, and it lets you thrive in a phantom land without having to worry about the judgments and consequences of your actions.

                5. Do you take review copies more seriously than your own reading picks? If yes, why do you this is the case? Trust me, I do it too.

Argh, okay, I am terrible. I used to covet review copies like treasure, but ever since my stupidly insane schedule took over everything, I stopped reviewing much. Which led me to wade in a sea of guilt for all those ARCs I was neglecting. I didn't miss too many reviews, but I missed enough that it was just... not good. So nowadays I read what I want, and I don't accept review copies. Of course, publishers who have my address can send me whatever they feel like sending me--there's just an agreement that I'm not required to review it, since it's unsolicited. I think the main thing is that you do what makes you the most happy--do you read because a good book makes you want to just crown something or punch something or yell something? Or do you read because of the awesome feelings you get when you receive a package of ARCs? I think the answer to this question is just that: it depends on what you prioritize.

               6. If you could meet any author in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why? What would you ask them? Anything you'll think you'll do? I know I would cry if I met Lauren Kate. 

Jodi Lynn Anderson, because I love TIGER LILY so much I want to shrivel up somewhere just so I can escape ALL THE FEELZ. I would ask her whatever popped into my mind, and I think I'll be extremely awkward and probably make her wish that she could just go find a TARDIS and abandon me before I kill something with my nervousness. Also I would ask her if she enjoys my pain.

            7. What fandoms are you apart of? Demigod? Whovian? Tribute? Caster? Liar?

Demigod, tribute, caster, wizard, pretty much all of the bookish ones. I don't really watch TV so I can't say I'm part of any TV fandoms, except I do LOOOOOVE the Avatar series (The Last Airbender is the best TV show ever, I don't care what you say. Also, The Legend of Korra kicks butt as well). I also fangirl over The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on Youtube, and I'm an Honorary Whovian because I'm surrounded by so many Whovians that I know 99% of Dr. Who stuff without having watched the actual show. (But I will start it soon. Soon is a relative term.)

           8. Would you be willing to participate in a book blogger retreat? What would you expect to be there?

Dude, I would LOVE to be part of a book blogger retreat. I'd probably die from happiness. I'd expect books. People. Tea. Coffee. Twitter. Fangirl feels. You know, the usual.

This/That Round!!

1. Sweet or salty?         Salty
2. Vanilla or chocolate?       Vanilla
3. Team Gale or Team Peeta? / Team Edward or Team Jacob? (You have pick both or just one.)        Peeta
4. TV shows or movies? TV SHOWS ALL THE WAY FOR ME. Dude. Pretty Little Liars, Merlin, Bunheads, Revenge, etc.         Movies
5. Hot fictional character or real-life celebrity? Who?  Both. As in: Percy Jackson/Logan Lerman. Charlie/Logan Lerman. 

Quick questions!

1. Favorite book(s)? Tiger Lily, Insignia, Seraphina, Stormdancer, Eona, etc.
2. Favorite color? Sea-set purple. (Sea-set as in sunset by the sea.)
3. The Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, Beautiful Creatures or City of Bones? AHHHH I CAN'T CHOOSE AHHHH 
4. What fictional places or real-life places would you want to go to?       All of them. Except for the deadly ones. The Arena and all that. Although I suppose it'd be cool to visit as amonument rather than a die-die-die fighting marathon.
5. You can be anyone for a day! Who do you choose? I'd personally want to be a guy for a day. What do you they even talk about? lol      I don't know! ^.^ Maybe I'll be a fairy? Ooo or I'll be a firefly or something. Or- OMG WAIT I'LL BE RICK RIORDAN SO I CAN KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS TO ALL THE THINGS!

Follow Juli on her blog, The Reviews News, her Facebook page, Tumblr, and Twitter. Seriously. Just go to check out the designs they are completely awesome!

Check out next week for the next Blogger Interview!