2 Year Blogging Appreciation

I’ve been blogging for 2 years now and I cannot believe it has been 2 years. I started my blog during my summer holiday between college and university all because I wanted to write down my thoughts on the books I was reading. I had no idea that 2 years down the line I would have done so many new things thanks to blogging. I wanted to make a post that I could look back on another 2 years down the line to see where I was 2 years into blogging!

One of the first ever things I got to do as a blogger was meet Angie Thomas the author of The Hate U Give. I went to the event with my Mum because of how anxious I was and spoke to hardly anyone. I was so shy meeting Angie Thomas but managed to mention my blog to her.

I then went on to meet E. Lockhart at an event she was doing in Manchester. That is where I first got talking to Kimi.

Kimi then invited me to interview Simon James Green, Beth Garrod and Stephanie Kate Strohm for my blog. These were the first ever interviews I did for my blog so I was incredibly nervous. They all made me feel calm though and I loved interviewing them. I never thought I would get to interview authors. Yet 2 years on these authors now recognise me and I love having a catch up with them all.

Not long after I interviews Simon, Beth and Steph. Kimi and Fiona invited me to be a part of their A Tale of Two Booksellers podcast. No only was I a guest on this podcast but so was the author Lauren James! I love Lauren James book The Loneliest Girl in the Universe so I was incredibly excited not only to meet her but to be on a podcast with her too. I fangirled a lot whilst recording this podcast episode as you can imagine. I came out of recording this episode making 2 amazing friends and meeting one of my favourite authors.

I have also got to meet a lot of other authors since I have been a blogger. I have been able to meet the likes of Holly Bourne, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Tom Fletcher, Giovanna Fletcher, Patrick Ness and many more. I have slowly gained confidence when meeting authors and now don’t mind talking to them as much as I used to.

I have been to many publishers events over the past two years. One of which was the Headline publishers new voices event. This is where I properly got to meet Kimi, Fiona and Katie. These three are now some of my best bookish friends and I am so glad for the Headline event for bringing us together.

I have also had the opportunity to interview Akemi Dawn Bowman, Alice Oseman, Sophie Anderson and Alwyn Hamilton. All of these authors are incredible and I cannot believe I have had the opportunity to interview them all. I cannot wait to see what other authors I get to interview in the future.

Over the 2 years I have been to 6 TEENSgate blogger events where I have made many friends. At these blogger events I got to meet my amazing and lovely friends Sarah and Sophie. These girls are amazing and I love them both so much! I never would have thought I would make bookish friends thanks to my blog!

Recently I got to go to my first ever YALC! I spent the weekend with Sarah and Sophie, as well as Charlotte. We had an amazing weekend full of books and spending time together. We are now planning YALC for next year! YALC was incredible and an event I would never have gone to unless I had started blogging. It was so amazing to be in a room full of other bloggers and book lovers when two years ago I felt like the only person I knew who liked books.

After coming home from YALC I had one day to rest before I went out to dinner with Kimi, Fiona, Katie, some publishers and the incredible best selling author Tomi Adeyemi! I cannot believe I can say I have had dinner with Tomi Adeyemi. We all had a lovely meal, getting to ask Tomi some questions, speak to her about the North of England and so much more. After leaving this meal I got home and sat in disbelief that because I wanted to write my thoughts down on a book I was reading, two years down the line I would be eating food with Tomi Adeyemi! I didn’t even think I would get one person reading my posts let alone what I have actually done in the two years.

So, two years down the line I cannot believe where this little blog and its blogger have come. I have made so many amazing friends. Special shoutout to Kimi, Sarah, Sophie, Fiona and Katie for being amazing and there for me when I need it. I have made friends for life thanks to this blog. Thank you all so much for the support you have given me over the past two years. I really appreciate everyone that follows this blog, comments, likes and reads any of the posts I put up on here. I am looking forward to the next two years and cannot wait to see where I get to in that time!