Saturday Spotlight: Blogger Interview: Lyndsey From Heaven, Hell & Purgatory

Welcome Lyndsey and thanks for letting me interrogate *cough* interview you.

Just for the record please tell us a little about yourself.

Hey everyone! I’m Lyndsey, 24 and soon to be an English student at Nottingham Trent University. I have been putting off going to University since I was 18 because I didn’t want to waste loans on doing something that I wouldn’t love forever or that wouldn’t be useful. Now I know what I want to do and have a passion for books, I decided on English with Linguistics. Even though I’m terrified of starting classes, I’m also really excited to learn so many new things.

Asamum: I am sure you will be fantastic.

How did you start blogging?

I started off writing reviews for consumer sites (I still do) and made some great friends on there who have their own blogs (Rhiana Reads… and Chick Lit Reviews). After constantly finding books that I loved on their blogs and reading their reviews, I talked myself into making one of my own. Rhiana, Leah and Chloe all helped me a lot in starting my blog and gave me some great advice to get me started. I am so glad that I took the chance to give my voice its own site and now I wouldn’t be without it.

How did you pick the name for your blog?

My blog name actually came from my rating system. I had the idea of putting book reviews into the categories of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory before designing my blog so I thought it was only natural that it be named the same. I was planning on only reviewing YA paranormal and fantasy books at the time and I thought the name was fitting considering they are full of angels, demons, vampires and faeries etc. I realise now that it is a bit edgier than some blog names I have come across but I like that it stands out.

How do you feel about the blogging community as a whole?

Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful since I started blogging three months ago and I can’t say thank you enough for that. I have made some amazing friends from looking at other blogs and chatting on Twitter and have been amazed by how friendly everyone is. Not only are other bloggers so friendly but also authors and publishers. I’m still a little shocked sometimes when I have conversations with some of my favourite authors but they make my experience of blogging so much more enjoyable.

Have you always been interested in reading? What got you seriously started?

God no! When I was a teenager I could think of nothing worse that sitting alone with a book. I had a lot of free time when living in Canada and my friend Zoya lent me some of her historical romance books to keep me occupied and I ended up reading at least 3 a week for a long time. I brought my new found love of reading back home with me which really surprised my family, knowing how much I hated reading before. They still make little jokes about it now but I don’t mind that so much.

My love of reading has gone on and off over the years but this time I think it is here to stay.

How would you encourage others to read if you were in my position within a school library?

Pick up a book that you like the look of and read the first chapter. If you don’t like it then try something else. There are so many books out there and everyone will like different things so the main thing is to find a style that you like. Reading the first chapter or even the first couple of pages of a book should be enough to let you know if it is for you or not. Yes, it could take a while to find what you are interested in but there really is something for everyone out there.

Favourite Genre?

A year ago, I would have been a die hard romance fan but I have discovered a new love.

My best friend, Ryan, who lives in Scotland bought me Knife by R. J. Anderson for my birthday last year and I was amazed by this whole other world in books that I didn’t know existed. Apart from the Twilight Saga, this was the first YA book I had ever read and after finishing it, I was determined to see what else was available. I have been hooked ever since.

For someone so young you have done quite a lot with your life. Tell us a little of your travels and living in another country? How did you decide on Canada?

I first went to Canada for a month (the whole of July) when I quit a job I hated and broke up with a boyfriend I had been with for nearly 5 years. A friend I met online and had known for years offered for me to stay at his place for free to save me some money and I couldn’t turn that down. I was going to see him in September anyway so I thought why not. We had been great friends over the years and it didn’t take long for us to realise that we liked each other.

I went back for a week in the September and when I came back home, I realised that there was so much of Canada I had yet to see and wanted to go back as soon as possible. In November I got a young persons working holiday visa and booked flights for the next March. John was thrilled that I wanted to come back for so long and was adamant that I was coming to live with him, although that wasn’t my original plan. I didn’t want to put him out and was going to find my own place but he wasn’t having any of it.

Running away to Canada the first time was one of the best things I ever did because it opened up my eyes to what else there was to experience in the world. My year working in Toronto and living with John was amazing and I wouldn’t change a day of it. I met so many different people and life long friends that I will never forget. If I could, I would go back there in a heartbeat because I miss it a lot some days.

But not the cold though????

Does the library system differ much from ours, etc?

The library in Toronto that I joined was one of the best I have ever been to. This library was huge and seemed to have rows and rows of every kind of book possible. I really used to love my weekly trips to the library because I spend hours there. I was allowed to take out 10 books at a time so you can imagine how long it took me to pick which ones I wanted. Thankfully, they had a massive romance section so I was always spoiled for choice. The library where I live now is terrible and hardly ever has anything that I want so I gave up going.

The images are actually of the Toronto Public Library, kinda puts our little libraries to shame dont you think???

You are very organised – do you have any organisational tips?

Buy an organiser and make to do lists. I would get absolutely no where without both of these things and would probably end up sitting in the middle of my room crying in a heap! For the past year I have had two jobs with very few days off so I had to make the most of the time I had. To do lists gave me clear goals for each day that I felt were manageable and this way, I wasn’t stressing out about everything I had to get done.

Hmmm I have an organiser and make to do lists, yet I feel like sitting in a heap most days, lol 


Is there someone you really admire and why?

I wouldn’t say that there is one person but probably authors in general. I would love to be able to write stories but I am useless at it. I had to write a short story for my last course at college and my attempt was pathetic. I’m really not all that creative when it comes to creating my own ideas so I think all authors are amazing for being able to do that.

What would you ask yourself in an interview?

God that’s a hard one!! Probably Which literary character do you think you are most like and why?

And the answer would be......

I would have to say that out of all the books I have read, I’m most like Claire Danvers from The Morganville Vampires series. Even though I’m no way near as intelligent as she is, I am very focused on my studies and I get annoyed when things get in the way of that. Good thing I don’t live in a town full of vampires!


Claire is also really brave and not afraid to say how she feels. I think this is where I am most like Claire because I have done some crazy things in the past and I never listen to what other people think when I do them. I don’t take any rubbish from guys, especially if they try to tell what I can and can’t do. Claire really came out of her shell over the space of the series so far and I can relate to her because of this. I used to be really shy when I was a teenager but not anymore!

Do you have any tips or advice you would like to share?

If you are new to blogging or thinking about starting one, don’t be afraid to voice your own opinions. Your personal opinion and input is what will make your blog unique and you should never be afraid to do exactly what you want.

Is there anything else you would like to add......

Thanks Emma for having me on your blog! I really enjoyed this interview (my first) and the great questions. : D

Thanks Lyndsey it has been a pleasure.

Lyndsey has also been kind enough to put  together some guest posts for me so keep a look out for them.