Tell me about the person behind the blog?
I’m Chrissie, I love reading. I read every day and I get grumpy if I can’t read. I also collect books, and have a whole room full of them; my own mini library. I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie, she’s my favourite author and the mystery/crime genre is one of my favourites. I’m a bit of a history geek too, and I’m a sucker for historic houses, ruinous buildings, ancient sites and museums. I also read and collect history and archaeology books too, and now own almost 300 (that’s on top of the room full of fiction…). I also write books (fiction), hang out on my local canal doing lots of exploring and I love photography.
When did you start blogging and why?
I started blogging a few years ago, at the time it was just random posts about my life, and my journey as an author, but then I decided to start blogging about other people’s books I’d read, which then evolved into interviews with authors.
What are your proudest moments or achievements to date as a blogger?
I think my proudest moment is when I wrote a post about Greece. It was a specific issue relating to an island that I had written a book about, and something I felt needed to be shared. It was read and shared hundred of times and picked up by Athens media. It helped highlight the issue and I feel that just by writing about it I was able to help someone which was great, and something I feel strongly about.
If you had to breakdown the components of your ideal perfect book what would they be?
For me a book has to have interesting and engaging characters, I like a book to keep me guessing, and I hate books being too formulaic. I also like a book with a good fast paced plot that keeps me hooked and makes me want to get to the end, but that also leaves me with the felling of book loss once the story is over. I love a good mystery, suspense or anything with an historical or travel angle.
What is your favourite genre to read?
Probably mystery or suspense. As mentioned I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie and I’ve always loved books that challenge me, books that I can read and try and work out what the end point will be, who did the deed and why. I do read lots of other genres though.
If you had to recommend 3 books, which would they be?
Prismatic (Harmony Run Book 1) by Sarah Elle Emm – a book that’s not only engaging but pertinent to our time, mirroring past events of WW2 in a very clever way, especially considering many recent events. I love Capri by Belinda Jones – one of my all time favourite books that I constantly re-read. It’s a feel good, funny book that just makes you want to jump straight on a plane to explore the Italian coast and Capri itself. Traces of Kara by Melissa Foster – a tense physiological thriller, that’s a fast paced, and emotionally creepy book. I read it one day as I just couldn’t put it down!
Finally, tell me more about your blog and why we should subscribe
The Fossend Blog is now a blog that supports authors, any author. I’ve been lucky to discover some fantastic books that I wouldn’t have read and enjoyed if it hadn’t been for them appearing on the blog. Many authors struggle with their marketing and publicity, so this is my way of paying it forward, allowing them to be interviewed or guest write on the blog for their latest release, to help them get their work out there. I strongly believe in supporting others and even though Fossend Publishing Blog is relatively new (in comparison to some bloggers), it’s a way I can help others, and it’s a place where readers can find something new to read.
Thank you for interviewing me.
You can follow Chrissie and subscribe to her blog by clicking the link: http://fossendpublishing.blogspot.co.uk
