Vikki Patis | Rosie Amber

Please welcome Vikki Patis to the blog today.

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Vikki Patis: Advice From Authors

Vikki Patis is a writer and blogger at The Bandwagon, where she reviews books, interviews authors, and gives her opinions on a wide variety of topics, from feminism to fibromyalgia. She’s recently published a collection of short stories, Weltanschauung, and is here today to talk about the authors who inspire her.

Over at The Bandwagon, we speak to so many different authors. We interview them, review their books, and do our best to help them promote their work. Because of this, we’re able to ask them about their writing process, and get in on some tricks of the trade.

I admire so many authors, big or small, mostly for their determination. Back when I started The Bandwagon, I was what one might call an aspiring writer. I aspired to write, but I wasn’t writing. So I started writing about other people writing.

Gathering advice from seasoned authors gave me the push I needed to write my own stories, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. There were some false starts, some projects that didn’t pan out, and there were times when I thought I’d never finish anything. Then I decided to actually take the advice I’d been writing about all this time.

Make sure what you’re writing is important to you, advised Mark Lawrence. “Put your butt in the chair and write the book,” said Charlaine Harris, author of the books that inspired True Blood. “Don’t stop until you finish. You’ll never sell a book you haven’t written.” Leigh Bardugo assured me that “there’s no expiration date on your talent. If it doesn’t happen when you’re 20, it doesn’t matter, it can happen when you’re 30, 40, 50. If you have a story to tell, that’s all people are going to care about.” Tiffany McDaniel told me to never give up.

In 2014, I interviewed George RR Martin himself at WorldCon. The experience was amazing, and not one I’m likely to forget any time soon. He told me to write short stories. But I don’t like short stories, I protested. Exactly, he said. Challenge yourself. So I did, because no one ignores George RR Martin.

The result is Weltanschauung, a collection of short stories that traverse genres, but all with the same goal in mind: to make you challenge your worldview. Inside are five short stories: Zombie, Only If, Grave Oversight, Harbinger and Bane. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Weltanschauung is available on Kindle and in paperback now. From 16^th– 18^th December 2016, Weltanschauung will be available for only 99p! For more information, join the Facebook event here. Follow Vikki on Twitter: @VikkiPatis

Today we have a special guest on the blog, please welcome Vikki Patis

1) Where is your home town?

I was born in North London, but we moved around a bit, and so I grew up in Hertfordshire. I moved to Plymouth for university, and fell in love with the West Country, but now I’ve found myself back up country, in Hertford.

2) Why did you start blogging?

I started writing for various organisations during my final year at university; I got involved with The Knowledge, Plymouth University’s paper, then looked for more writing opportunities online. I became a staff writer intern at ReadWave, wrote freelance articles for Lovereading, and then created The Bandwagon, my own blog. At that point, my writing was dedicated to books and authors, and while I loved it (and still do!), I wanted a place where I could write about anything. And so the blog was created.

I love writing about different topics; it keeps me informed and fresh. I also write fiction, though I’m yet unpublished, and so I have used my blog to share my stories.

3) What can readers find on your blog?

The biggest part of my blog involves book reviews and “Ask The Author”, a series of interviews with authors big and small, including George RR Martin, Charlaine Harris, Karen Maitland and Samantha Shannon. I also run a Cornish Reading Challenge every year, and am featuring one woman every month as part of #InspiringWomen, which aims to put everday, creative women into the spotlight, and encourage others to follow their dreams. You can also find articles on feminism, disability, cats, and other topics I have an interest in.

4) Do you have book reviewing guidelines?

I generally accept any book for review, barring a few genres such as erotica, and I’m not overly keen on reviewing children’s books. But The Bandwagon is currently expanding, with several new reviewers joining the team, so that may change very soon! Check back in a while for updates.

5) Which recent pots have been the most popular on your blog?

On Christmas Day, I posted a picture of myself in a “Christmas Cook” hat on Instagram. A stranger decided to post some nasty comments regarding my weight; I got angry, and wrote a response. “So I Got Fat-Shamed” was read over 900 times, shared multiple times on social media, and the Facebook post alone reached over 1200 people. I also received comments on the blog post, had several discussions on Twitter, and some people even found the original photo on Instagram and wrote some lovely things. As much as the exposure and popularity of the post is a good thing for my blog, I only wish the writing of it hadn’t been necessary.

Before ReadWave closed it’s doors last month, I had over 25,000 readers. “Ask The Author: George RR Martin” was read over 1000 times, and is one of the most popular author interviews I’ve ever conducted. Which is no surprise, really!

6) What plans do you have for the blog in the future?

One of the biggest plans for The Bandwagon is to bring new reviewers on board, so we can take more review requests and help more authors promote their work. I’m extremely passionate about reading, and strive to help authors get the recognition they deserve.

#InspiringWomen is also a huge feature for 2016. Our first post has already gathered a lot of interest, and I’m excited to see where it takes us. There’s still a few spaces left, so if you’re a successful woman and want to write about your experiences, get in touch!

7) Where can readers find you on social media?