BBAW Interview with Melissa @ I Swim For Oceans

So, today I have another special for you. As you all probably know, this is the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. For this special occasion, I got to interview Melissa from I Swim For Oceans. I didn't know Melissa's blog before this, but I've come to like it a lot, so I suggest you take a look as well!


Tell me a bit about yourself. What do you do when you're not blogging?

When I’m not blogging, I’m usually working. I know…it’s riveting. I have a very demanding job working as a technical writing and proposal coordinator for a consulting company. Basically, that just means I write government and military proposals. It’s deathly dull. When I’m not working though, I’m swimming, running, going to concerts, or rabidly reading.

You started your blog out as a personal blog, talking about your life in general and also a bit about the book you were (are?) writing. What made you change it to a book blog?

Frankly, I’ve always been interested in blogging, but I never knew what I wanted to blog about. I liked the name that I’d picked for my hypothetical blog though, so I decided to go ahead and start something and see where it went. At first, it didn’t go anywhere. I mean, let’s be honest, nobody wants to know what I ate for breakfast, where I went at lunch, and who I met for dinner. I was looking for a book to read one day when I stumbled on a book blog, and I was hooked. It gave me an outlet to babble incessantly about the literary world and not have people judge me! Books are so much a part of all of our lives that it’s nice to “meet” others out there like me.

Speaking of your life as a writer - how is everything going along? What are you writing about?

Let’s just say that I’m a perpetually aspiring author. I doubt I’ll ever be published, but I will always write. I recently shelved my last full manuscript called Fire & Snow. I just couldn’t tie it all together, so I decided to let it go. Right now, I’m working on a dark, YA dystopian called RACE, about genetically engineered human weapons designed to destroy but desperately trying to survive in an omniscient society determined to exterminate them because they can’t control them. Crazy, eh?

You repeatedly mentioned that you escaped Alcatraz when you were 22. What's the story behind that?

Well, I’m addicted to the water, and I’m also addicted to adrenaline-fueled challenges. After I completed swimming in college, I wanted to try open water swimming, and that was the most challenging race I could find. The water was 52 degrees on race day, and there were 800 competitors from around the world. They ferried us out to the island, dropped us off along the side, and then there was a mass start. Now, if you’ve ever seen a race start, it’s violent. People claw over one another to break to the front. It took me 31 minutes to swim the mile and a half to shore, and I placed 22nd overall, 3rd of all the women, and 1st in my age group. It’s an incredible experience and, hey, who doesn’t want to say something cool like they escaped Alcatraz?

You've been a competitive swimmer for most of your life, starting when you were 3. How has it formed your life and why did you stop competing?

Swimming has always been a part of my life. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doing it. While in middle school and high school, kids were having social lives and getting involved in school activities. I practices twice a day an hour away from my home. My friends and family were my teammates, and they understood the massive commitment it takes to be a competitive athlete. Swimming made me who I am today by teaching my discipline, perseverance, and the importance of hard work – something that is invaluable. I stopped competing in pool swimming because I graduated college and finished my NCAA eligibility. Now I compete Open Water races for fun because I want swimming to be a joy, rather than a chore in my life now.

You're a huge Harry Potter fan (so am I, by the way). What is your favorite aspect of the books? What is your least favorite aspect?

I think my favourite aspect of the books is that you can lose yourself in the world of Harry Potter, no matter your age. They appeal to so many age ranges. My least favourite aspect would have to be the epilogue in the seventh book. It’s cute, but I felt it was too abrupt, and it makes me sad…in a weird way!

What are your Top 5 books? (If 5 is too difficult, you can chose up to 10 book - I know how hard it can be to choose the best of the best!)

Oh gosh! This type of question is always evil because there are just so many options. Ok, I’m going to do my best:
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (though I’ll probably list all 7 here)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Last Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi
Redwall by Brian Jacques
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
I’m just going to have to stop there, or I will keep going, but the list goes on. Those are just a few of my constants.

If you had to pick one genre or category of books to read for the rest of your life - no ways out, no changing your mind, ONE genre or category. Which would you choose?

While I know I’m 24, and I’m technically out of the genre, I think I would choose anything YA. Don’t get me wrong, I love plenty of other genres, but sometimes I feel adult books lose their soul in order to write “pretty” or “profound.” YA may not always be the deepest, but it’s always the best to connect with.

If you could take only 3 books on a month-long vacation, which books would you choose?

See, now you’re just evil! Ok…just three books for one month? Hmmmm…I would probably pick one really long and difficult one, one fun and simple read, and one long, but heartfelt read. So, I guess I would pick:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (I really want to read it, but ahhh it’s hard!)
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (fun and simple)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (long but heartfelt)

Imagine a new reader stumbles upon your blog. Which 3 posts would you want her or him to read? And why did you choose those three?

That’s a good question. I would probably want them to know a little about who I am, how I do a review, so I would say they should read the Friday Fix #7 featuring yours truly and one of my review of Mockingjay because I’m proud I did it sans spoilers! The third post would probably be any Teaser Tuesday because I feature some of my writing, and I love to hear what people think…good or bad.

What do you like best about blogging, especially blogging about books?

I went through phases. Blogging was fun, but without a purpose. Then it became a chore. Now, I’ve finally settled into a routine where I love blogging, and the best part is meeting others who love books, love to write, and love to discuss literature 24/7. Without blogging, I wouldn’t be able to connect with my blogging buddies from New Zealand to Japan, to Europe, Asia, and Africa. It’s an incredible network.