Book Blogger Appreciation Week - New Treasure!

  Today's feature of Book Blogger Appreciation Week is new treasure -- swapping interviews with a fellow blogger.  I was paired with Katie, who administers the blog Mundie Moms, a blog focused on YA fiction and especially on author Cassandra Clare.  I was a bit intimidated at first, because I'm not familiar with the types of books discussed on her blog, but browsing it educated me in this genre and gave me some great ideas on how to spice up my own blog.  Alas, our interview had to be conducted via e-mail and not in person, but Katie was a wonderful subject; aside from our love of books and reading we also found another thing we have in common -- we are both aunties to twins (mine are nieces, hers are nephews).

  Anyways, on to the interview:

1) What inspired you to start your blog?

I had been a lead moderator on another large fan site for another book series. I've always been an a bookworm, so I decided to start the Mundie Moms forum and the blog (though the blog didn't go public until about 6 months after the forum was started). I wanted to have a place where I could support Cassandra Clare and a place I could talk about books and support authors, through sharing my reviews, hosting live author chats, interviews and giveaways.

2) Do you review or post about every book you read?

I read a lot more than just YA and kid books, so no, I don't review everything I read. However, I do review almost every book that is sent to me to review for Mundie Moms and Mundie Kids.

3) Your blog is well-done, with various gadgets like animation, video and countdowns. How much time do you spend working on your blog?

Thank you. I'm not a huge animation person. We have Cassie's countdown and then I add a few select book countdowns, but that's it w/ for the countdown. I don't have an animations or hardly any on Mundie Moms, as I feel it gets to be too much other wise. I spend way more time on my blog than I should. I spend a few hours a week on my blog. I'd be scared to give an actual number. lol

4) Your blog focuses largely on Cassandra Clare, an author I'm not familiar with. What can you tell me about her books?

Cassandra's series (The Mortal Instrument and Infernal Devices) are very steam-punk, Victorian Era, paranormal, books with action, romance and snark. She really opens the reader's mind up with her diverse writing and takes you to a world that is both set in the real world and in imagination. Her series deal with the war on good vs as ShadowHunters are there to destroy the demons and keep other paranormals in line. To add more realism to her series, Cassandra throws in the topics of family, romance and self discovery.

5) MundieMoms looks looks like a collaborative blog-what are the benefits/challenges associated with that?

I don't think there are any challenges. If I had too many people helping me run it, than it would be more of a challenge. Sophie and I talk almost daily and having an open communication about the blog is key. I'm also very organized and my daily and monthly calendar for the blog is usually filled up 2-3 months in advance. Without that, I wouldn't be able to function. We have so much going on with our daily memes, author chats, interviews and giveaways, that I need to be on top of what's going on. I've got a great review team, who also help on the blog.

Thank you, Katie, for taking the time to answer my questions.  I'm going to keep following your blog and might even try out a Cassandra Clare novel!