Interview with Barb from Sugarbeat's Books

First I really want to thank Barb for participating in Romance Week. It has been my pleasure to get to know Barb these last few months. I first found out about Sugarbeat's Books during a Secret Santa gift exchange and I have been a follower ever since. It was nice to meet a fellow Canadian book blogger. Without further ado I now leave you with our recent interview about romance...

Your book blog seems to focus mostly on Regency Romance and Contemporary Romance. Which of the two is your absolute favourite and why?

I think if you had asked me this question several months ago, I would have immediately answered Regency. I often say that there is a little part of me that is Cinderella, wanting to wear a fancy dress and go to a ball to meet Prince Charming. The Regency romances often (but not always) have characters that have a lot of money, dress in beautiful gowns and go to fancy parties and balls. I think there is something magical about that. Lately, I've requested several books from NetGalley and have gotten several books from The Romance Reviews that are out of my comfort zone. I was starting to think I was getting a bit stagnant and wanted to see what else was out there. I've read several paranormals, a handful of erotica and even a romantic suspense, all of which would generally fit in the category of Contemporary. All of these books were good - some even had me reading in the wee hours to finish! So, now if I have to answer that question, I would still say Regency because of the fairy-tale nature of many of the books, but Contemporary runs a very close second.

Would you ever try a paranormal or urban fantasy romance?

I don't think that I've read anything that would be considered  urban fantasy yet, but I'm on the hunt.  I recently read A Touch of Greek by Tina Folsom for a blog tour I'm participating in and was completely blown away by how good this book was!  It combined the Greek Gods from mythology and contemporary romance.  I'd never heard of this author before, but I will be searching out more of her work!  I'm kind of afraid of creepy things that might give me nightmares so I'm easing my way gently into paranormal!

Who is your absolute favourite romance author? What book by them would you suggest the we read?

My absolutely favorite author would be Jo Beverley. I can't narrow it down to one book.   I would suggest that people read her Company of Rogues series.  Some are better than others, but she is not afraid to address difficult topics like women's rights in Regency England.  They aren't really "glittery" Regency Romances but Jo Beverley writes outstanding books!

Since we know that you are an avid reader let's look at the other side of who you are - what is your favourite part about having a book blog? What inspired you to start blogging about books?

I started blogging about books because it was a technical challenge for me.  I wanted to see if I could get a blog up and going and do what's necessary to maintain it with not much help. (I have a few geeky friends)  I very quickly discovered a world that I didn't know existed.  Book bloggers are a wonderful group of people.  Everyone is sharing their passion - books.  The genre might differ from blog to blog, but the passion doesn't differ!  I have always had a passion for books and I like sharing that passion.  Equally, I enjoy going from blog to blog reading about other blogger's enthusiasm for their latest read.  I might not ever read that book, but I enjoy reading their thoughts!

I agree whole hearted, I love seeing that there are so many people out there still in love with reading. Speaking of love,  do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?

I absolutely believe in love at first sight!  I was set up with the man who is now my husband by my cousin.  It took almost 8 years of hearing how my cousin had the "perfect man for me" to actually meet him. (we lived 5000 miles apart) but when I finally did, I went home, gave notice at my job and put my house up for sale.  4 months later we lived in the same house, married shortly after that and we have been together ever since.  I think that some people just click when they meet.  It's like two halves of a whole.  Sadly, not everyone meets that other half.

What a beautiful story, I wish we could all be so lucky to find our other halves. Since you met your husband what is your favourite part of Valentine's Day?

I love that Valentine's Day is my wedding anniversary.  We rarely go out on Valentine's day but we will celebrate around that day and usually our daughter comes with us, because she is part of us.  We're really not outgoing people, we just quietly go about our celebrations without any fanfare!  Just a celebration of us being together as a family.

 

Thanks again, Barb! I really appreciated the opportunity to interview you and to have a sneak peak into your thoughts on romance books. Please follow the link about to check out Sugarbeat's Books if you love historical, regency or contemporary romance books - Barb has tons of great reviews posted on many of our favourite authors.