Guest Post

Guest Book Blogger: Dru Ann Love

Ever wonder about the story behind some of your favorite book bloggers’ websites? Well, wonder no more because each month we’re featuring an interview with a well-known blogger. For March, we have Raven Award winner Dru Ann Love of the Anthony Award-nominated blog, dru’s book musings.

Dru Ann Love 2018

Hi Dru! Let’s get started. Please tell us about your blog. Why did you decide to write it? What are some of the challenges and/or successes you’ve experienced along the way? 

The original intent of dru’s book musings was to keep a journal of books I’ve read, but it evolved into what it is today when I realized that during a vacation, there would be no new content. I had learned that to keep your audience, you must have fresh content at least during the week, so one day after finishing a book, my mind wandered and I was thinking about the character and what they do after the story was told. So, I came up with the “day in the life” feature where we get a glimpse into a character’s day. These features are written by the author and appear on the blog Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, you’ll find cover reveals, my musings, releases, and other topics to interest my readers. The goal of my blog is to bring readers and authors together.

The main challenge I have is trying to contact authors that are a good fit for my audience. Some don’t have an email address on their website; some have a contact form but don’t reply back and then my only recourse is to use their Facebook page to contact them, and then again, no reply. Authors make sure you have an email address on your website and if you are using a form and have a Facebook page, please respond when someone sends you a message. You are missing out on an opportunity to reach a new audience.

The two successes that I’ve experienced BIG time is having my blog nominated for an Anthony Award in 2015 and being the recipient of the MWA Raven Award in 2017.

Do you also post your reviews elsewhere (Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.)? Why or why not? 

I read too many books to write a review for them all and if I did, I would lose the desire to read. Sometimes you just want to read a book and then move on to the next and I can’t if I have to write a review. Any reviews I write will be on my blog. I may give a shout-out on Facebook (and, yes, saying I love, love, love this book) is a review. I may also post a one or two sentence review on Amazon. And if I get e-ARCs, I will post a review on the appropriate platform.  I never post a negative review anywhere.

What are some of the best or most surprising experiences you’ve had related to your blog? 

As I mentioned earlier, being nominated for an Anthony Award and being the recipient of the Raven Award. Also, being respected by my peers and being recognized for the work that I do. This started out as a hobby and has fully developed into something that I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. You know on Cheers when Norm walks in and they shout “Norm.” That’s how I feel when I attend a reader/fan convention and people want to see and/or talk to me. The best is talking to authors who I’ve read and or chat with on social media.

What advice would you give to new bloggers and/or to authors who would like to connect with book bloggers? 

For authors: Do your homework. Make sure the blog that you are interested in caters to your book audience. Be respectful of the blogger’s time. They are there to help you.

For those who want to start a blog: Find a niche that hasn’t been tapped. You want your blog to stand out among a sea of blogs. Be respectful of the author’s time. Check out other “like” blogs to see what they are doing – what you like and dislike. This will help you when you set up your blog.

You do an amazing job balancing your “daytime situation” as you call your job and daily posts on your blog. How do you do it and when do you find time to read? 

I have a two-hour commute during the week, which is prime for reading. I also have no daily commitments to keep me from reading when I get home. I generally schedule an hour after I get home for blog housekeeping during the week and on the weekend, I usually allocate 2 more hours for catching up.

Thanks to Dru for stopping by! You can read more about Dru below and say hello in the comments!

Dru’s Bio:

The reclusive figure of Dru Ann Love reportedly spends her working hours at the mysterious daytime situation doing “research.” She is probably not a spy. Maybe. Her non-working hours are spent less reclusively on her blog, dru’s book musings. She is an avid reader who writes poetry, creates quilts and is happy to be in “her element” within the mystery community. Dru Ann is a 2017 MWA Raven Award recipient and dru’s book musings is an Anthony Award-nominated blog. Dru is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Visit Dru at https://drusbookmusing.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/DrusBookMusing/

 

56 thoughts on “Guest Book Blogger: Dru Ann Love”

  3. What a lovely interview. You know I love you Dru, so just keep up the great work – the crime fiction community wouldn’t be the same without you.

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  6. Whenever Dru’s Book Blog pops up, I must admit to being a little jealous. The “Day in the life” feature is brilliant. And it lets you highlight more books than at least I can by reviewing books I read. I’m glad to get a glimpse behind the scenes of how it came to be.

    Do you find it is a lot of work to keep it going? Or does it pretty much run itself now?

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  8. I was interested in what you said about keeping a journal of books you’ve read. Do you mean you kept a list or a notebook of reviews?

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  9. Love this interview! Thanks so much for visiting us, Dru. ❤️

    And thanks for all you’ve done and congrats on your recognitions. You deserve them!

    “The goal of my blog is to bring readers and authors together.” > you nailed it!

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  11. Dru, thank you so much for a great interview! It’s wonderful learning more details about you and your fab blog. BTW, as a craftsy person, I also really enjoy the quilting photos you share. That’s one craft I’ve never done and admire very much. Keep the blog posts – and the quilt pix! -coming. xoxoxo

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  13. Hi Dru Ann — I love your A day in the life of … It is one of my favorite features. Reading your reviews have helped me to become a better amateur reviewer!

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  14. Dru!!!! (a la Cheers)…Thanks so much for visiting us. What would we mystery authors and readers do without you? And I have to say, I am always wondering about that “daytime situation,” lol.

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  15. Thanks for visiting with the Chicks today, Dru! I love the Day in the Life feature — and I also love your new interview format for return authors that I’ll get to take a turn with next week!

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  16. I love Dru Ann and the Day in the Life feature! She did an amazing job when she featured one of my characters last year. The Raven Award couldn’t have gone to a better recipient.

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  17. Yay, Dru! Are you attending Left Coast this year? I hope so, so that I can yell “Dru!!!!” when I see you! ❤ Thanks for stopping by. It was fun for us to get to host you, since you've been so kind to host all of us!

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      1. Awww, we’ll miss you at LCC. Unfortunately, I won’t be at Malice this year, but Vancouver is looking good.

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  18. Dru IS the best! I was lucky enough to do a cover reveal post and a day in the life post for my new release. I’m also lucky enough to get to see her and work with her on other projects!

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  22. Dru, you encapsulate all the wonderful qualities of the mystery/crime community. Your friendship means so much to me, and your support of my blog shows just what a generous person you are. “The Day in the Life Of” feature you have is pure genius. xo

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  24. Dru, You do a real service for mystery lovers! Your Anthony nomination and Raven award are well-deserved. Thank you.

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  25. Pingback: March 2018 Interview on Chicks on the Case | dru's book musings

  26. Dru, it’s great to see you here! I enjoyed the interview and want to thank you for the wonderful service you offer to authors and readers. Your awards and nominations say it all!

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  27. Can’t imagine authors not answering you, Dru. I was so thrilled when you “found” my books. I truly appreciate everything you do for cozy authors and readers.

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  28. Hi Dru Ann! Great to see you and your blog getting some well-deserved love! Thank you for all you do for readers and writers and the entire mystery community.

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  29. I came late to the Dru Ann love fest. But I’m here now! I really enjoy reading the blog. Thanks for the author tips, and thanks for all you do for the mystery genre. Hope to meet you at Malice.

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