Pump Up Your Book Promotion Announces Cafe of Dreams Blog Host of the Month!

Pump Up Your Book Promotion is proud to announce April Blog Host of the Month goes to…drumroll please…

Each month, Pump Up Your Book Promotion chooses one blog host who has hosted our clients during their virtual book tours to win our Blog Host of the Month Award. This month’s Blog Host of the Month Award goes to April Pohren of Cafe of Dreams!

April wins $25 and a goody bag from Pump Up Your Book Promotion! Congratulations, April!

Because we know you’d all like to get to know April better, we’ve interviewed her to find out more about this wonderful lady who gives up her blog month after month for our clients!

Thank you for this interview, April, and congratulations for winning Pump Up Your Book Promotion’s Blog Host of the Month Award!

Thank you sooo very very much, Dorothy! This truly means the world to me. I love Pump Up Your Book Promotion and have met so many wonderful people, authors and have been introduced to such wonderful books. You have been such a delight to work with and I just can’t wait to see how far Pump Up Your Book Promotion goes in the future!

How long have you been blogging at Café of Dreams?

Well, looking back, I created the blog in 2005, but didn’t do anything with it until 2007 (why such a lag, I have no idea, lol). In any case, in 2007, I had 93 posts, in 2008, 285 posts and this year I am up to 113 so far. I say this because I am so proud of being able to accomplish the growth of Cafe of Dreams. It’s a bit like my baby, if you will, lol.

Why did you decide to set up your blog and how did you come up with the name?

Originally, the idea of setting up a blog was to keep track of books that I read throughout the year. This is going to sound horrible, but my collection of books has reached the proportions that I sometimes forget if I have read a certain one already or not. So creating a blog sounded like a good idea. I also enjoy writing, so thought I could add some personal writing, maybe throw in some recipes, parenting ideas, etc. Well, after a time, things started to focus mainly on books and my reviews and just basically took off from there.

Being a SAHM, I miss some of the coordinating/organizing/idea implementing that a job offers (don’t get me wrong, being a SAHM requires those things and tons more, just on a different level with different results). Having my blog allows me to do this and be creative and have fun. Blogging is a HUGE outlet for me.

As far as where I came up with the name “Cafe of Dreams”, I have always been a big believer in dreams. Without dreams, our lives and souls would be so empty. I love coffee and the atmosphere of cafes, they are so cozy and briming with life. As stated in my subtitle, Cafe of Dreams “is a place where all your dreams are on the menu and within reach”. In reality, the title doesn’t sound very book related, but I think that it describes me, personally, very well and I just love the sound of it, lol!

What kind of content do you post at Café of Dreams?

Cafe of Dreams centers mainly on books, book reviews, author guest posts, my discovering and focusing on new authors and books, as well as some personal sounding off. I throw in quotes here and there that pop in my head. I also love to have fun with YouTubes, interesting tidbits that I come across, etc. I have done several author interviews in the past and would love to do that once again. I always love this aspect and have so much fun personalizing the people behind the words. I just need to carve out more hours in the day, lol!

What’s your most memorable post?

Honestly, I don’t know. They are all memorable to me in some way. I think that recently, I had the most fun with my review for Drood. There was so much background info that I could include with my review and that always makes a post special to me. If I can add YouTubes, pictures, info, tidbits, etc, that just thrills me!

You review books and have authors guest post at Café of Dreams. Can you tell us what your submission guidelines are?

I really don’t have any set guidelines. I have started to make a point to let those who request a book review to know that I may not get to that certain book right away – though I may dearly want to. I put my tour books first and then go from there. There are so many wonderful books out there and I want to do the very best that I can to help promote in any way that I can, it just may take a bit of time on my end. So I hope that does not deter anyone, just me being completely honest.

Also, it is easiest for me to have an actual copy of a book to read, rather than in PDF or eBook format – though I am slowly starting to be able to enjoy books in this format, so this avenue may become more open for me in the future. As far as genres, I am pretty open. I simply just love books.

Which blogs do you visit frequently and why do you enjoy them?

Oh, wow, there are sooo many great blogs out there – just check my overflowing blogroll, lol! There are a few that stand out, simply because I have known the people behind the blogs for such a while and they have truly helped me in so many ways. (Ok, if I don’t mention you on here, just know that I still love you, just have a baaaaad memory, lol)

Musings of a Bookish Kitty, J.Kaye’s Book Blog, Peeking Between the Pages, Maggie Reads, Bookfoolery and Babble, Booking Mama, My Friend Amy, A Novel Menagerie, The Writer’s Life. Ok, I am going to stop there, but I could honestly go on and on and on. I love these blogs, as well as so many others, simply because the people who write them are awesome, fun and there are so many great things that they include on their blogs. Without the other bloggers, my blog would be pretty sad and boring, lol!

When April isn’t blogging, what is she doing?

Oh my – chasing my 2 year old son and cleaning up after his “curious” mess making!!! I swear that little man is a full time job, and then some, lol! My daughter, who is 6, was a piece of cake compared to him, lol. I wouldn’t change him for the world though. When not playing with my kids, I love to relax with word/puzzle games. I love my DS and pogo.com they are a fun way to just “do nothing”. Of course reading is a HUGE thing for me, as well as listening to audiobooks. When I have some “me” time and hubby is home to watch the kids for a bit, I love to take a drive, walk around Barnes and Noble, have a coffee, chat with a good friend and just have some unwinding time. Oh yes, I must mention that I have a bit of an addiction with browsing and shopping on Amazon, as well as just being on the computer.

And, last but not least, what’s the best thing about blogging from your own perspective?

The ability to be creative and have your own little spot in the world. It’s so wonderful to be able to touch so many people and get to know so many amazing individuals. I can honestly say that blogging has made an excellent change/impact in my life and I never would have dreamt, in a million years, that I would actually be chatting with and getting to know real live authors!! As juvenile as that sounds, reading and books have always always been an integural part of my life – ever since I can remember. For people to bring stories to life on paper and enable me to be transported to a different time and a different place has just been irreplaceable to me. So through blogging, I am able to share that love with anyone who cares to listen, lol.

Thank you so much for this interview, April! Everyone, please check out April’s blog, Café of Dreams at www.cafeofdreams.blogspot.com!