Bloggy Buddy: Meet Kristen

Introducing Bloggy Buddy where we feature the bloggy friends we love so much!

This week's bloggy buddy is Kristen from Metaphors and Moonlight. 

I absolutely love Kristen's style, with her blog and her posts. And I always enjoy reading her posts. 

What name do you like to go by?

Just my regular name, Kristen. Not a very exciting answer, I know :-P

How long have you been blogging?

About three years now.

What inspired you to start blogging?

For a few years, mostly during college, I kind of stopped reading for fun. But then I got back into it and discovered the wonder that is free ebooks! Some of the books/series I found were amazing, but they were relatively unknown because they were self-published. I just really wanted to talk about these books, and I wanted them to get the attention they deserved. I don't remember how I found out book blogging was a thing, but that was my reason for getting into it.

What was your first blog post?

My first post was a review for Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen.

What are some unique features you do on your blog?

The thing I'm most proud of is my "Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books with Disability Masterlist". I have a chronic illness myself, and it's made me realize how difficult it is to find SFF books with disabled and chronically ill characters. I couldn't find a reliable list anywhere, so I made my own in order to promote those books and help others find them. I've also started doing "I Want More Books about..." posts sporadically (ok, I've actually only done one so far, but I do have more planned) in which I discuss a certain topic or idea that I, well, want more books about. I also love doing discussions, recommendation posts for specific topics, and posts about book covers, but those aren't unique to me.

What was your inspiration behind your blog design and name?

I knew I wanted the name to make some sort of reference to nighttime since I am a major night owl and I just really love the night. (Random, I know.) I also wanted it to have a reference to books or words or something like that. Also, I like alliteration :-P So "Metaphors and Moonlight" was what I came up with!

The design has changed multiple times already. There's no real inspiration behind it. I like the minimalist look though, and I love color schemes that are black and white with a pop of color. I also knew I wanted it to be coherent and recognizable, so I chose my fonts at the beginning and stuck with them. I feel like my design pretty much reflects all that. The current colors I'm using are a tealish blue and a beige/gold, and I chose those because they remind me of one of the best nights of my life, which was spent at the beach.

What genres do you like to read and feature?

Fantasy and science fiction! More specifically, my favorite is paranormal/urban fantasy. But I'm willing to give any SFF book a try if it sounds good, and some of my favorites have been post-apoc, high fantasy, and other subgenres. I also feature lots of indie/self-pub books and LGBT+ books.

What were some of your favorite reads from last year?

One amazing series I read last year that doesn't get enough love is Real Vampires Don't Sparkle by Amy Fecteau. A standalone that blew me away was Obscura Burning by Suzanne van Rooyen. A more well-known series that didn't come out last year but that I read for the first time was Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat.

Three blogs you really love?

Lola also reviews lots of indie/self-pub books, as well as lots of sci-fi/fantasy, and I love reading her reviews!

Daniela does so many awesome rec posts for different topics, and her posts are often a lot of fun!

I love how in-depth Olivia's reviews and posts are, and her pictures are always so fun and interesting!

And all three of these bloggers are really sweet people :-)

And lastly, tell us a bit about yourself and your blog.

I'm just your average (or maybe not-so-average) twenty-something book blogger. I'm an outgoing introvert. I used to do gymnastics and circus, so both of those will always have a special place in my heart. I've always loved art and writing and would love to get better at those, although I admit I've been slacking lately.

My blog focuses on sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal books, but I've been told I feature a lot of variety within those genres. I also try to make everyone feel welcome by having discussions and doing other types of posts that anyone can enjoy, regardless of book preference. Most of all, when it comes to my blog, I like to interact with other book lovers and have fun!