Booklover of the Week presents… YA blogger/bookseller Heather M. Riley!

Back to bloggers we go, but this time with a twist! This week, I’m delighted to host our first ever dual YA book blogger/bookseller Booklover feature with the fantabulous…

Heather M. Riley
(aka Want My YA)

Welcome, Heather!

Booklover Basics

Name:   Heather M. Riley

Blog Name:   Want My YA

Blog URL:   www.wantmyya.blogspot.com

Country:   USA

Teen or Adult?   Adult

Your Bookstore:   Borders

Bookstore Location:   Rockford, IL

Short Bio:

I’ve been a booklover for as long as I can remember. The first book I ever read was Little Bear and I haven’t stopped since. I’ve worked as a bookseller for over 6 years and in that time I’ve accumulated quite a library. My love for books extends beyond my work. I love talking about books so much that I got into reviewing online and eventually started my own blog to discuss my favorite YA titles.


Questions About You 2.0

The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Booklovers to share what You 2.0 means to them.

1.   PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Tell us a little about a dream you’ve achieved or are pursuing right now. If you’ve achieved it already, how does it feel to know you’ve made your dream a reality?

I’m still in the pursuing phase right now. I would love to be a published author some day. I’ve only just begun pursuing that dream, I just need to get into the habit of treating writing like a job and doing it every day. My other big dream is to run my own independent bookstore. I’m still going to school in pursuit of that dream.

2.   CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?

Personally I like working with animals in any way I can. I’m a volunteer with my local PAWS Humane Society (http://www.pawshs.org). Once a week I volunteer at our cat adoption center feeding the cats and cleaning the cages; I also talk with anyone who stops by and is interested in adopting one of our cats. Aside from helping in the adoption center I assist with fund raisers when I’m able, like with our 1st Annual Fur Ball this past February.

3.   GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?

I’m grateful for my family, and that includes the four-legged members. I’m just so glad to have them and their support; especially my Mama. She gets so excited about every little accomplishment. It certainly makes a person feel good.

I’m also grateful for my job, despite its occasional frustrations. I love working with books and I love getting my favorite titles and authors into the hands of customers.

4.   PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?

I was on my way home today from my eye appointment and as I approached a rather busy intersection I noticed there were some policemen or firemen (or maybe both) out collecting money for “Jerry’s Kids”. It’s tempting to just keep on driving and pretend you don’t see them, but rather than ignore them I did help them out and make a donation (especially since me having cash on hand is such a rare occurrence anymore). Standing out in the sun in the middle of traffic can’t be fun. Better to make it worth their while and help out a good cause. Hopefully some of the other cars behind me saw that and decided to help out also.


Questions About You, The Bookseller & Blogger

5.   Why did you choose to work in a bookstore?

I LOVE being around books, I love talking about books, and most of all I love finding a great new author and telling my customers all about him or her. Not to mention all of the bonuses like employee discount, the book loan program, and ARCs (advance readers copies). I’ve also discovered that being a bookseller carries a lot of weight with authors. It can instantly make you their favorite person. For someone like me, that is extremely exciting.

6.   Tell us a little bit about what you do at the store.

A little of this, a little of that. It generally depends on what I’m scheduled to do, which can change by the hour. I might be ringing up customers at the registers one hour and helping them on the sales floor the next. I’m also the Romance Expert for the store, so I’m the go-to girl for all things Romance. My co-workers will typically send those customers needing recommendations in the Romance department to me. I maintain an endcap display of my current favorite Romance novels, and I also run the brand new Romance Book Club at our store. I still handle some special order related tasks, however most of that has been made obsolete by our new website.

7.   What do you love most (and least) about your job as a bookseller?

I love being able to connect a customer with the perfect book. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a title they knew they were looking for, or one they weren’t aware of until I made the connection. I just love knowing I’ve made someone’s day by helping them find that one special book.

What I like least? Pretty much the exact opposite of what I love. I can’t stand it when the book someone wants is just out of reach, either we’re out of stock or it’s just plain not available anymore. The most frustrating however is when a customer has zero information on a title, but still thinks I should be able to find it. I can work with some information, even if it’s very little, but I can’t do anything for you if you have nothing for me.

8.   Why did you decide to start blogging about books?

Well, once upon a time I was a reviewer with Romance Junkies and I loved it. However, life kept getting in the way leaving me playing catch-up on a regular basis. So I chose to resign from the site. Then one of my close friends started a Romance blog and asked me to help her out. I had a ton of fun talking about my favorite Romances over at Crave More Romance. After a few months I approached her about starting a YA blog and she said “Go for it.” So I did. And thus Want My YA was born. It started as a companion to CMR, but WMY has really taken off and I’m very excited about that.

9.   What do you love most (and least) about being a YA book blogger?

I love being able to tell everyone all about the fabulous new books I’m reading. I also love it when I find a new or new-to-me author to sing the praises of. Every Monday I post an interview with a different YA author, and coming soon I’ll have interviews with YA readers as well. And of course I would be lying (by omission) if I didn’t at least mention how much I love getting ARCs. Who doesn’t love free books? Plus there’s the bragging rights that I got to read it before the general public.

The only thing I don’t like about blogging is when real life gets in the way and I can’t get to my blog. I hate feeling behind or that I’m letting my readers and my authors down if I can’t get an interview, review, or feature posted on time.

10.   What do you love most about the YA and middle grades genres right now?

I love the way YA titles are pushing the boundaries right now. By their very nature YA books are full of young characters who are still growing and learning. In some ways young people are more accepting of new situations (they’re not set in their ways the same way adults are) which gives YA authors a lot of room to roam and experiment.

11.   What makes you fall in love with a book?

A book where I can connect with the characters is the best. If I finish reading a book and find that I miss the characters, the author has done his or her job. I need to care about the people I’m reading about; if I don’t care about the character then I don’t feel the need to keep on reading.

12.   Which YA/middle grades books have inspired you most?

That’s a tough one. Hmm… I’d say the book that had the greatest effect on me recently was Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It’s not the kind of book that I would normally pick up on my own; I read it for the Yaedge online book club. Once I read it, I was so glad I did. It’s a difficult book to explain; you just have to read it for yourself.

13.   Are you also a writer yourself? If so, what do you like to write?

I would like to be a writer, and I think that some day I will get there. Right now I think my WIP has about 2 or 3 pages. Lol I need to gain the discipline of a real writer. Once I learn to treat writing like the job it is, then I’ll be doing good.

As for what I write, well YA of course! Initially I thought I’d be a Romance author since Romances are my first love when it comes to books. However, once my character finally started talking to me, I realized she’s only 15 years old. There may be some minor romance in store for her, but it’s definitely going to be much tamer than the type of Romances I read.

14.   What advice would you give to other avid readers who want to launch their own book blogs?

Write about what you love. And write often. If you can’t blog everyday then try for every other day. After you post a blog, tell the world about it. Mention it on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or whichever social networking site you use. If you’re featuring a specific book or author make sure you tell the author about it. Authors like to know when people are talking about their work and many authors will announce it on their networking sites when they receive a good review.


Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?

15.   I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?

– I’m a vegetarian.
– I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Jasper.  **UPDATE: Here’s the lie!**
– I own the ARC for Twilight and I still haven’t read it yet.
– I watch Scooby-Doo obsessively and own nearly all of the movies that have been released.

(Readers: Your guess gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry! I’ll update the post tomorrow to spill the big lie, so get guessing and have fun!)

Thanks to Heather for a fabulous interview!

Entry Filed under: Booklover - Booksellers,Booklover - YA Bloggers,Gratitude