My Dragoncon 2012 fangirl experiences - Plus, a coupon code for Carina Press!

I'm back from DragonCon in Atlanta, and although I am sore, exhausted and a little bummed that it's over, I'm happy to share my experiences. Let me just say that while you can experience DragonCon in a day (which I've done twice now), I think you could go for all four days and still not do everything you wanted. Next year, fingers crossed, I'll go for multiple days.

Before I launch into my fangirl diary, I want to share that several Carina Press authors got together and bought an ad in the DragonCon program. Better yet, there's a DragonCon promo code in the ad that I'm going to share here. Get an extra 15% off at CarinaPress.com! Use promo code DRAGONCON2012 at checkout. Expires Sept 30, 2012, 4:59 p.m. EDT. One-time use only. Not to be used with other offers or coupons. To see our ad, click on the image at right. The titles featured are CRY WOLF by me (contemporary with a hint of paranormal), STEAM AND SORCERY by Cindy Spencer Pape (Steampunk), DEMON'S CROSSING by Eleri Stone (paranormal/fantasy), WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM by Veronica Scott (sci-fi/fantasy), THE FALLEN QUEEN by Jane Kindred (paranormal/fantasy), ROGUE'S PAWN by Jeffe Kennedy (fantasy), THE BLOODGATE WARRIOR by Joely Sue Burkhart (paranormal/fantasy), GAMBIT by Kim Knox (sci-fi/fantasy), MONSTER IN MY CLOSET by RL Naquin (fantasy), and KISS OF DEATH by Seleste Delaney (paranormal).  Not all titles listed are Carina books, but the authors all have books with Carina Press, which is where the coupon is valid. Show some love and give one of these books a try!

First of all, while I had three writing panels on my schedule, I have to confess I didn't make it to a single one. I was having too much fun being a groupie. Yes, I admit it. I love the celebrities that come to DragonCon. It's the one place I can totally fangirl out over lots of people I'd never have the chance to meet otherwise.

Me and Joe Manganiello

I started my day by trying to make Stan Lee's panel, but I was stuck in  registration line hell forever, so I went straight to the Hilton, picked up tickets for a photo opp with Ian Somerhalder (Vampire Diaries, Lost) and then headed over to do a photo with Joe Manganiello (True Blood). I met Joe last year at DragonCon and vowed to get a picture with him simply because he's taller than my own 6'2" and not many celebs are. OK, and because he's hot. Whew, he's hot. And I touched him. And he touched me. Unfortunately, the touching only involved wrapping our arms around each other for a photo, but still. I'll take what I can get. I think my picture with Joe is the only one I've ever taken with a celeb where I didn't feel extraordinarily self conscious because of my colossal size. I actually felt normal with him, which is further proof we should marry. But I digress.

Me and Ian Somerhalder

Then it was back to meet Ian and grab a photo with him. His line was so long, they had us packed in a room like sardines. I met some interesting people in line. A girl dressed like -- I think -- Rainbow Brite chatted with me for the hour we stood waiting. Yes, the worst part about DragonCon are the darn lines. Almost worse than Disney on a holiday. But I finally met Ian, he gave me a big hug, and he said, "What's up Superwoman?" which totally thrilled me until I remembered I was wearing a t-shirt with the Superman logo on it. Yes, his charisma rendered me braindead for a few seconds. I only wish he were taller because I felt like Ginormica hugging him back. But I still love him. LOVE him.

Most of the guys from "The Vampire Diaries" were there. I ran into Joseph Morgan in the hall as he was walking to wherever. I tried to chat him up, but he must have been in a hurry. Klaus, his dad, his brothers, they were all there. Jeremy had to cancel his signing, but I lucked out and met him by accident while I was in Atlanta, and he was extremely nice and funny and didn't seem to mind I had stopped him to chat.

After meeting Ian I rushed over to catch the Gillan Anderson (X-Files) panel because The X-Files is possibly my all-time favorite show. In college, I wrote a paper on Agent Scully and her epic awesomeness that earned me an A in my most difficult class. For that alone, I still want to hug Gillian Anderson. She literally helped me graduate. She told some funny stories about the strangest X-Files fan she's ever met -- a woman who claimed to be an alien who also claimed she could pick up objects with her um, private parts, and fling them across the room -- and confirmed that X-Files creator Chris Carter is writing a script for a third movie (but Fox has to give approval to greenlight it). 

Then it was back to meet up with my two friends who drove in late (slackers), and we went to the Walk of Fame, which is where the celebs sign autographs. I immediately zeroed in on Dean Cain, because when I started college as a journalism student, "Lois and Clark" The New Adventures of Superman," was a favorite and helped reconfirm that I wanted to be a reporter. It's true. Jack and Jennifer from "Days of Our Lives" and Lois and Clark are to blame for my choice of profession. I've always been impressionable like that, and I am the biggest Superman fan ever. So I dragged my friends Daniel and James over to his line so they could take my picture with Dean, but then I saw he was charging $40 to take a picture with him. Darn. I opted not to do a picture, but I got his autograph. When I went up to him, I reverted to being a schoolgirl again and asked for a hug. He happily grabbed me up in one -- Dean is a big guy too -- and squeezed real hard. Or maybe I squeezed real hard. Or does it even matter? We hugged. And then I blubbered that I was a newspaper reporter, in parts thanks to him, and he said, "Get out of here! Really?" And then he asked me a bunch of questions about newspapers today and how much they've changed since he played a reporter. And we talked about how weird it is to imagine Lois and Clark not working for a newspaper and working for an online outlet instead, and then he stood and hugged me again, and thanked me for telling him that! I think he gave me the coolest autograph ever. And I have two witnesses that Dean Cain hugged and chatted with me. No picture though. I kind of regret that now. Oh well.

After that I had planned to get to "The Walking Dead" panel, but I was told Gillian Anderson would soon be signing autographs and she was on a tight schedule. So I popped over to wait, yet again, in another line. When I finally got up to her, she politely thanked me for coming and I blabbered, starstruck, that I thanked her for coming and that she helped me graduate. I'm pretty sure she thought I was whacko, but she was polite.

After that, my friends and I met up again to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, and I fangirled over all the Elvis stuff there. I think someone had flipped my FANGIRL button that morning, so I was fangirling over everything. We separated again, and I went back to the Walk of Fame because my No. 3 target for the day was actress Felicia Day. Who? Oh, you poor dears. Felicia is kind of my role model. She is known for starring on Buffy, Eureka and a hilarious guest appearance on Supernatural, but among many things, she is a Gamer Queen and one of the most famous web personalities alive. She co-founded Geek and Sundry, which is a Youtube channel, and the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout book club, which is both hilarious and awesome. Go watch one and see. They chat about romance fantasy books they read, in a side-splitting fashion. They were all at DragonCon doing a panel, but of course, I missed it.



To my surprise, the entire cast of The Guild was there, and so was Felicia. I got in line, and I was literally the last person in line (and it was a massive, massive line) before they capped it. I chatted with the nicest Felicia Day fangirl in front of me for the longest time about what a great role model she is, and Felicia's personal assistant came over to talk to us and she was super awesome too. I felt bad because I couldn't afford the entire Guild's cast autographs, but I told them I loved them, and Sandeep Parikh said, "You know what's free? High fives!" And the entire cast high-fived me as I made my way to Felicia. So much fun. She was happy to take a picture with me for free, and I think she could fit in my pocket, she's so tiny. And nice. Felicia Day is the nicest gal. Period.

Anyway, I mingled around after that, taking pictures of cosplayers (people in costume), and then headed to check out the premiere of Felicia's new movie, Rock Jocks. Again, a long line in the Atlanta heat, but I made some new friends in that line. I've never been so glad to sit for two hours in my life. The movie was funny. Kind of too much bad language for my taste, but really funny.

I left after the movie, and I'm recovering today. New goal: Save money and go for multiple days next year. Maybe then I can actually make it to a writing workshop or panel. You know, cause I'm a writer and should have done that...

Fun Fridays: Dragoncon!! And why everyone should go at least once

It’s Labor Day weekend in the U.S., and for a lot of fabulous, geeky folks (yes, that’s me), that means one thing: DragonCon!!!!

What is DragonCon, you ask? Oh, you poor things. Let me educate you on the wonders of this fantastic and awesome convention. DragonCon is billed as the Southeast’s — and possibly the universe’s — largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film! But that description doesn’t even do it justice, y’all. I’m serious. It doesn’t.

I heard about DragonCon several years ago, wanted to go, but could never scrounge up the time or money to make it. Last year I buckled down and went to Atlanta on Friday, but for only one day. I’m a poor, struggling writer, after all.

And WOW.

So much fun.

SO MUCH FUN!

First of all, there’s something going on 24 hours a day for the four days of the convention. For us literary bookworms, there are writing workshops with authors such as Sherrilyn Kenyon and Charlaine Harris, writing workshops with top agents and editors, workshops and panels on every topic from paranormal romance to steampunk, screenwriting and fantasy and horror.

For us fandom geeks, there are celebrities from almost every TV show we love — Buffy, The X-Files, Once Upon a Time, Dr. Who, The Walking Dead, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Battlestar Galactica, True Blood, and on and on —and celebrities from the world of comic books — Stan Lee, y’all. Stan Lee!

There’s nothing like sitting in a massive room with hundreds of other fans and the stars from your favorite shows or movies. The camaraderie that flows at DragonCon is wonderful. I felt like I was among my people. At least for a day.

But the best thing, by far, about DragonCon are the attendees.

A lot of people go to DragonCon just to photograph the attendees — thousands of whom show up in costume. I’m talking Hollywood professional costumes.

My fondest memories from last year’s con were of riding on an elevator with two zombies on one side and a stormtrooper on the other, and we all chatted about our love for all things Joss Whedon because actor Nicholas Brendan had just brushed past us and passed through our little crowd in the lobby. I don’t know who those zombies and that stormtrooper were, but for a few minutes, they were my best friends.

That’s the power of DragonCon.

And yes, I’ll be making the trip again this year, and again, only for one day — Sunday. Yes, of course, I’ll report on here afterwards. With pictures!

In the meantime, here are some of my memories from last year’s con to give you an inkling of how much fun it was.

Fun Fridays: Q&A with author Pamela Hearon!

For my Fun Friday Q&A guest today I have a very special guest and fabulous friend to feature  — author Pamela Hearon, whose Harlequin SuperRomance debut Out of the Depths released last week. I can vouch for Pamela's fabulous-ness because she and I have been critique partners for many years and she has never once told me to my face (or in an email) that I am weird, although when I pointed this out to her, she said, "I love weird—that’s why we get each others’ stuff!" which only made me heart her more.


As her CP, I can also vouch for what a great story Out of the Depths is, and I can warn you to be on the lookout for her upcoming books as well because they're all great reads. What is Out of the Depths about, you ask?

Kyndal Rawlings thought she'd learned her lesson when Chance Brennan left her to pursue his Ivy League dreams. Yet here she is, in Kentucky, falling for him all over again. Maybe it's being stranded in a cave with him…the same place they first became lovers.

Or maybe there's still something between them.

Not that anything will change—even after four tense days of depending on each other for their very survival. Chance needs a certain kind of woman to help him with his career. And Kyndal will never be that kind. But something has changed. Something that will force them to decide what they really want.

Maybe growing up in Kentucky didn’t have any impact on Pamela Hearon’s writing, but she has her own theories and believes otherwise. A lifetime of those sultry Southern nights surely infused her blood with a special heat—the kind that transforms simple love stories into tales of romance and desire and gives even the most unlikely couples their Happily Ever After.

She let me pick her brain for a while, and we talked about her new book, what she has planned next and advice for aspiring authors.

Angela: I have to start off by saying I really loved reading Out of the Depths. What inspired this story?

Pamela: Years ago—actually while I was in high school—some friends and I found a cave and went exploring. Memories of that experience have stayed with me ever since. I was trying to come up with a fresh, new setting for a story, and that one popped into my mind. The story evolved out of the setting, which I realize is a very strange way of doing things. Then as I wrote the story, the passageways in the cave became symbolic of the passageways of the heart, and the adventure of falling in love.

Angela: Why did you choose Kentucky as your setting? And inquiring minds want to know — is the cave featured in the book a real location? Cause I kinda wanna go visit it now. :)

Pamela: Kentucky is my home state and will forever be the place of my heart. We’re always told to write what we know, and I know Kentucky intimately. The cave in the book is much larger than the one my friends and I explored—or at least the section we explored. I always imagined many more passageways yet to be discovered if we’d had the time.

Angela: I already know the answer to this question, but I'll ask it anyway. Are you planning any other books featuring characters found in Out of the Depths?

Pamela: Yummy Rick Warren gets his own story next, and Chance, Kyndal, and Sheriff Buck Blaine make cameo appearances in that story as well.

Angela: What advice would you give to aspiring authors who haven’t been published yet?

Pamela: Does it sound too corny to say you have to believe it will happen and keep plugging away at it? As a daily affirmation, I actually cut book covers of other peoples’ books out of magazines, covered their titles and name with my own, glued it on a sheet of paper and taped it to my bathroom mirror. That paper stared me in the face each morning and was one of the last images in my brain before I went to bed. It kept reminding me to not give up—it was going to happen.

Writing is a craft as well as an art, and just like with everything else, the more you practice, the better you get. Keep practicing.

Angela: So tell us, what can readers expect from you next?

Pamela: My second Harlequin SuperRomance The Summer Place, with Rick Warren starring as the hero, will appear on shelves April 2013.

Let’s get to know Pam the person with these questions:

Q: Are you a member of any TV show/film/book fandoms?
Pamela: Officially? No. But I am a rabid fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I devour the books as soon as they’re released. My autographed copy of The Scottish Prisoner has a front-facing, prominent place on my bookshelf. Favorite TV shows—Friends, Damages, Game of Thrones, Homeland, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and The Newsroom.

Q: What’s the last book you read for fun?
Pamela: I just finished Killing Floor by Lee Childs two days ago. I can’t really say it was “fun,” but it was fast paced and quite entertaining.

Q: If you could spend one day as any fictional character, which one and why?
Pamela: I didn’t even have to think about this one. I would choose Claire Frasier from the Outlander series. Why? A day with Jamie Frasier—‘nuff said. :)

Q: Celebrity crush?
Pamela: Augh—busted! Okay, I’ll admit that I’ve Googled images of Chris Hemsworth—maybe more than once (a day)! (say—maybe he’ll play Jamie Frasier in the film version).

Q: Hobbies?
Pamela: I have a huge perennial flower garden where I spend a great deal of time. I love being outdoors. I use the time to think about plots and characters, so I’m writing even when I’m weeding. (weeding and writing)

We also have a motorhome, and I love traveling in it. It’s great to take my “stuff” with me—bedroom, kitchen, computer, and of course, Casey the Cat. 

Angela: I'd like to thank Pam for being my Q&A guest today. Now go buy her book. It's a great read.

Visit Pamela on her website (www.pamelahearon.com), on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pamelahearon), and the second Monday of every month at her group blog—Everybody Needs a Little Romance (http://everybodyneedsalittleromance.com). 

Why writers deserve their own personality disorder

It has been a crazy whoa-where-did-the-time-go couple of weeks, and yes, I suck at blogging. For future reference, if I say I’m going to blog on (fill in the blank), you can probably just add an extra week or two to that estimate. And if I say I’m going to blog about a certain something — yeah, I’ll probably forget about it.

Cut me a break, people. I survive on five hours of sleep most nights to feed this habit called writing.

My latest manuscript has been finished and is now sitting in the inbox (i.e. slushpile) of my editor for consideration. I tweaked it to death, hit SEND, and then suffered a moment of pure mental anguish. OMG, did I just hit send? Nooooooo! Maybe I should have read it one more time! Was it ready? I think it was ready. Buried my head in my hands. God, I hope it was ready.

Add this to the many quirks I have as a writer, and it kind of amazes me I’m not doped up on meds somewhere in a padded cell, babbling about the pretty wallpaper.

For example, I missed my calling in life to be independently wealthy, which means I’m chained to a cubicle in a 10-to-6 job Mondays through Fridays (give or take a little). I also spend part of my time in that position writing and part of that time designing and doing layout on ads, advertorials and magazines. One day this week — which one is a blur (insert maniacal laugh) — I was in the middle of throwing together an ad for a local Chamber of Commerce when I realized I was also talking to myself — yes, out loud — about the characters in my latest book. You know, like, having a conversation with myself and them.

Ha ha ha he.

The great thing about the Internet is that I’ve friended lots of other writers who assure me this behavior is not uncommon, which brings me back to the title of this post. Writers create fictional characters in their heads, spend tons and tons of time developing them, talking to them, talking to themselves…and this is okay?

We spend far too many hours thinking about ways to torture the characters we create and love because we need "conflict." Let's be honest — we're also paid to be liars, if we're paid at all. Many of us spend years and years writing away with no paycheck in sight and starving ourselves because we refuse to do anything else. Please explain that to me. I do it myself, and I don't understand! We work by ourselves in front of a glowy-square thing with, if we're lucky, a cat or dog hanging off the chair beside us to bounce feedback off of. Most of us are caffeine addicts because inspiration has a habit of striking when we should be sleeping, which leaves us looking like jacked-up junkies because we've had too many sodas/coffees/espressos in one day to ever sleep again. Plus, we’re not writing so that we can just read back to ourselves and giggle like little schoolgirls. Oh, no ma'am. We want you to read our masterpieces (which, let's face it, are never really masterpieces). Yes, you! And you over there, hiding behind the trees like a scared little girl. We want everyone to read it! The more attention we get, the more successful we feel, which is all kinds of ironic since most of us aren’t comfortable with that attention at all. Which, you guessed it, makes us Fifty Shades of crazy.

Sad thing is, I could go on and on and on adding to that list, but I won't because I'm so darn tired right now. There's no denying there's something wrong with all of us, so I wonder why we don’t have our own personality disorder classified in psychiatry? Or maybe we do. I don’t know. 

Maybe we're stuck in medical dictionaries right there beside Schizoid personality disorder. "Writers." I'm guessing they don't know what the hell to do with us either.



That said, my most favorite people are writers, and the world owes a lot of gratitude to them. Without writers there would have been no "Wizard of Oz," "Lord of the Rings" or even the Bible. 


That's why I don't mind being lumped in with the lot -- not at all. :-)

Fun Fridays: A giveaway and, you know, other fun stuff

I haven't blogged in a while because I have been finishing my latest manuscript so that I can, hopefully, get it submitted and published and be able to afford a new house, an arcade machine and my very own pool cabana boy to eat something nicer than Ramen noodles for a while. I'm finally in the rewrite and polish stage, and I really love this book and its delightfully snarky characters, so I hope others will, too. And I'm kind of in that I've-only-been-averaging-four-hours-of-sleep-a-night-so-I-can-finish-this-book phase that only other writers can probably understand, which means I'm very scatter-brained and loopy right now. I apologize in advance for this blog post, because I'm sure someone will read it, get to the end, and think That poor, poor girl. Someone needs to help her.

As if I weren't already in a celebrating mood because of finishing my new manuscript, I found out that CRY WOLF was a finalist in the contemporary romance category of the RomCon Reader's Crown award. That's very encouraging since that's a reader's choice award and I assume it means someone, or a couple of someones, really liked my book enough to give it high marks. Like, someones I don't even know and didn't bribe to say nice things about it. Which is awesome. Thank you, someones. :-)

I thought I would celebrate by giving away a free copy of the audiobook download of CRY WOLF to one lucky reader. To enter, simply send me an email with the subject AUDIOBOOK CONTEST. (And if you prefer a copy of the ebook instead, I'll be happy to substitute that as your prize.) I'll announce the winner on this blog next Friday, so you have until midnight EST Thursday (July 12) to enter. Simply email me at angelamcampbell@aol.com for your chance to win.

Good luck, and may the force be with you! ... or something like that.

Having fun with Google alerts

Have you ever Googled yourself? Come on. Admit it. You have, right?

I went one step further and set up a Google alert on myself, back when my book was first published. I’m pretty sure a lot of authors do this, or maybe I’m just ridiculously vain — but either way, I like to be alerted whenever someone posts a review of my book. Since I had no experience with Google alerts, I didn’t realize I’d get an email every darn day. Sometimes I get articles that feature Angela Brown from Campbell University because apparently Google thinks that what I wanted. Well, okay stupid Google. Okay.

I also get a lot of alerts about Angela Campbell every darn day because apparently Angela Campbell is one of the most common names in the universe. Who knew? Yeah, I probably should have, considering when I was in high school, I would always get deliveries meant for the other Angela Campbell — the one who was a couple of grades lower and in band and who was apparently in the hospital for a few weeks one time, judging by the number of “Get Well” cards I received from my teachers and classmates — nevermind I had actually been in class the entire time I was supposedly in the hospital. It’s so nice to be noticed. Sigh.

Seriously, there are far too many Angela Campbells running amok in the world.

There’s Angela Campbell, the lawyer crusading for civil rights and kicking butt while doing it (Psst. She’s my favorite).

There’s also Angela Campbell, public librarian.

Angela Campbell, special ed teacher.

Angela Campbell, professor.

Angela Campbell, architect.

Angela Campbell, graphic designer.

Angela Campbell, another writer. It seems I have some competition coming up in the world which could become very confusing for our readers someday.I will say, her poetry is very good too.

Angela Campbell, you name it.

And yes, there’s even Angela Campbell, the crack addict who was arrested for public intoxication and possession. Meh. There’s always a bad apple in the bunch, isn’t there?

I actually enjoy opening my email each day and seeing those alerts, because I like to live vicariously through The Others every now and then (except the crack ho — I got enough problems, thank you very much). I’m sure somewhere in the world there is, as there is in my mind, an Angela Campbell, crusading lawyer who is a special ed teacher by night, architect in her spare time, and possibly a secret vigilante who wears spandex and really cool thigh-high boots when she’s beating up riff-raff on the streets. And she looks AWESOME — like, Mila Kunis awesome, y’all.

But I digress.

If you haven’t ever Googled yourself (bahahaha…er, um, right) then go ahead and give it a try. At the least it’s highly amusing, and the most, it will make you strive to be the best Whatever Your Name Is out there.

Fun Fridays Q&A with The Girl From The Ghetto (aka Nerdy book blogger who loves pop culture, fat cats & comfy pj's)

The Girl from the Ghetto

The great thing about social media for me as a reader/author is that it has allowed me to discover new authors to read, new book review websites to browse and new blogs to steer me toward great books I might otherwise miss. That's how I discovered the blog from The Girl from the Ghetto - the blog of a nerdy book blogger who loves pop culture, fat cats & comfy pj's. Oh, I know a kindred spirit when I see it, folks, so I invited the Girl from the Ghetto to chat with me for today's Fun Friday Q&A. Despite having had a run of bad luck lately, she totally took pity on me and agreed, for which I am sure I owe her many cyber cupcakes (or something). We discuss blogging, books and advice for authors on capturing the attention of book bloggers.

Angela: Welcome to my blog, and thank you for being my Fun Friday guest today! For those who aren’t familiar with your blog, please tell us how you got started blogging as The Girl from the Ghetto? (BTW, you really don’t seem to fit the stereotype of a girl from the ghetto. Just sayin’)

TGFTG: If I had any idea that I'd end up a book blogger, I would have never picked it! I have three reasons why I picked that name, and none are because I like to pretend I’m black or claim to have grown up in the hood. Granted, I grew up close to Detroit, my mother is an undiagnosed bipolar, and my neighborhood was a little rough; but at least I lived in a house north of Eminem's 8 Mile. Sure, mice slept in my bed, I was raised on welfare cheese and wonder bread sandwiches, I had a step-father who was an abusive sociopath and alcoholic, and my brother grew up to be a probable serial killer, but at least I had a social worker to look after me in the suburbs to keep me safe. This is why you'll see a picture of me, the little white girl whose mother desperately wanted her daughter to look like Laura Ingalls, on random pages of my blog, rather than some gangsta logos.

But, I digress. Reason one for the Ghetto Girl name is simply that I wanted to pay homage to my Italian relatives who first settled in the Little Italy ghetto of South Philly many years ago. Even though I am a blond with blue-green eyes, I grew up Italian and as much as I try, I can’t hide or change who I am, or who my family was. The second reason is that I needed something sarcastic yet approachable, because that is who I am in real life. But the main reason behind my choice of The Girl from the Ghetto name is from the night I first met my husband. For reasons unknown, I flashed him a gang sign when he asked me where I grew up, and the joke stuck between us. Hubby has teased me for years during my rare moments of crazy by telling me “you can take the girl out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the girl.”

Angela: Let’s get this clear up front for any authors who are already typing you a “Will you please review my e-book” email — you DON’T review e-books. But you do review books — lots and lots of books. In your opinion, what makes a book a great read?

TGFTG: A book doesn't even have to be "great" for me to enjoy it--it just has to be about something I am interested in, or about a place I want to learn more about, or about a culture or a way of life I can't get enough of. I love to read fiction, and I love to read non-fiction, but what I really look for in a book is good old fashion heart, soul and emotion. I like being able to relate to one of the characters, or, I can read about a character so completely different from me that I end up learning something fascinating. While I love to read a book written by someone with a M.A. in Fine Arts, I'm just as happy to read a book by someone without a high school education, just as long as they know how to write a great story, like Augusten Burroughs. Honestly, as long as I can tell the author worked hard on their book, and made it personable, or full of fun or interesting accurate facts, or they at least make me laugh or cry, I'd call that book a great read.

Angela: For any authors reading this who have books in print, what advice would you give them to catch your attention when they email and ask you to review their book? Shoot — what advice would you give ANY author when querying any book blogger for a review?

TGFTG: I have seen some crazy requests in my four years of blogging. Authors, never send out generic emails, especially when your pitch is just one short paragraph that tells me nothing about your book. Never send me a link to find out what the book is about. I get thousands of pitches a year, so I like to see some effort by the person asking me to devote hours of my time to their book. Is it that hard to cut and paste a good description of it? Personalize the pitch, don't call me by the wrong name, or worse, call me blogger. Tell me why you think I'd be a good match for your book. I can't tell you how many times I've said yes to unknown, first-time authors just because we are from the same state, have the same problems in life, or have multiple random odd things in common, like a love of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE and fat cats. At the very least, all authors should check out the type of books the blogger writes about. Then read one review, to see if the blogger is a decent reviewer. Most of us bloggers have posted review policies, yet I still get hundreds of requests to review book genres I dislike.

Angela: I have and love a plus-sized kitty, too. Does your kitty ever climb onto your keyboard when you’re blogging? Mine does (In fact, she’s doing it now. I just had to delete a bunch of crazy characters she typed).

TGFTG: My Main Coon Beatrice loves my laptop, but she uses it to rub her chin, rather than sit on it. She's rather lay on my bed, or in the laptop bag.

Angela: What are some of the worst mistakes you see writers make when you’re reading a book?

TGFTG: I hate it when authors write about the '70s or '80s and get the pop culture facts wrong. I am a pop culture fanatic, and I remember everything from those 20 years. It is sad to me someone can't be bothered to do 10 minutes of Internet research, just to check their work. I am also sick of fiction books that are based on actual living celebrities, because I already know how that story ends. Just because a writer changes names, sexes and a few details doesn't mean I am willing to hear a story that has already been beaten to death. I am also sick of celebrity writers who write about hobbies, rather than write about themselves. Why would I want to read a book by an actress who likes design, architecture, or cooking? I also hate it when authors write the same exact book over and over again, only changing small details and locations, just because they are famous and anything they write sells. I guess what I am trying to say is that I like it when authors put in effort in their writing, not just time.

Angela: Are you still accepting sponsors to fund your trip to the 2012 Book Expo in New York this summer? (Any rich and generous readers of this blog, please sponsor TGFTG for the 2012 Book Expo). If so, how can people contribute?

TGFTG: No, unless someone can pay for my entire trip, which I don't expect anyone to do. After being out of work for so long, and having horrific health care expenses, my husband told me there was no way we could afford to even charge any part of my trip. I pulled my post for sponsorship just days after I posted it, because I didn't want to accept money from partial sponsors, and not be able to attend.

Angela: I know you’ve been to Book Expos in the past. What’s your favorite author memory from a past expo? Give us the details please. A lot of us are living vicariously through you right now. :-)

TGFTG: Oh, hands down, it was when Simon Van Booy recognised me at BookExpo in 2010, and he told me he was a fan of mine, and how everyone in the office (at his publishing house) loved my blog and my book reviews. I could have died, I was so embarrassed, but pleased and totally flattered. Here is a man with such great talent, and he knew who I was! It was a little surreal.

Angela: Simon Van Booy! How awesome! Okay, now let’s get to know TGFTG the person with these questions. Are you a diehard member of any TV show/film/book fandoms? (If so, which ones and why?)

TGFTG: Not anymore, but I used to be a huge LOST fan, and wrote about the show every single week it aired. I miss those days!

Angela: What’s the last book you read?

TGFTG: This morning, I finished Jennifer Weiner's upcoming novel, THE NEXT BEST THING, which comes out July 3, 2012. I loved the book, read it in one sitting. I am so bummed that I won't get to meet her, since I'm not going to BookExpo or the BEA Bloggers Convention in June.

Angela: If you could spend one day as any fictional character, which one and why?

TGFTG: What a great question. Hmmmm. I wish I could pick someone who has lived a charmed life, but never having lived like that, I'd feel weird being so happy and carefree. I guess I'd pick someone who suffered, but found great love in the end, like Jane Eyre.

Angela: Celebrity crush?

TGFTG: Ewan McGregor. Oh, my gosh, how I love that man, and not just because he was in three STAR WARS movies! He sings, he dances, he is a great actor. He should have been nominated for an Oscar several times, but especially for BEGINNERS. Plus, McGregor has that fantastic Scottish accent.

Angela: Hobbies?

TGFTG: Besides reading, blogging, and slowly writing a book, I love music, movies, and the occasional reality television show. Can't get enough of those Jersey Housewives and the Sister Wives! I also love to cook (I'm Italian, so food is in my blood), and enjoy photography, gardening, walking, volunteering at local nonprofits, going to local art and history museums and the Detroit Zoo, traveling (I've been to 40 states and 10 countries), genealogy research, and self-diagnosing myself with weird diseases (After seeing 20 doctors who missed my rare autoimmune disease, I finally had the guts to tell my eye doctor I thought I had Myasthenia Gravis--and I was right!).

Angela: Wow!Those are some hobbies! I want to thank The Girl from the Ghetto for being my guest today and sharing her insights into books and pop culture and other fun things. Please visit her blog and show her some love, people. Find her at http://thegirlfromtheghetto.wordpress.com/ and on Twitter @NerdGirlBlogger.