A few weeks ago, Sand Dancer and I took part in our very first blog tour! I want to thank everyone who took part, including the amazing book bloggers, and bookstagrammers over on Instagram. This tour wouldn’t have been possible without your support and enthusiasm, nor thanks to Storytellers On Tour!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your reviews, taking part in interviews, and gasping at the amazing aesthetics appearing on Instagram. I hope you don’t mind if I show off a few of them here whilst talking about my first book blog tour experience!
So to begin with, I booked a mini book tour with Storytellers On Tour which is a 7-day tour with various book bloggers who looked at Sand Dancer and gave it a chance! Those who agreed to review Sand Dancer gave an honest review and also prompted some interesting conversations which I’ll share below. Let’s go over each day.
If anything, I hope you’ll find some cool new book bloggers to follow!
March 14th
Day one of the book tour began with an interview on the amazing Whispers & Wonder blog. I’ll admit that this is one of my favourite book blogs on the entire internet and part of the reason I was eager to do this tour! Please check out their blog because it is absolutely gorgeous. And of course, have a look at the interview!
March 15th
Day two included a lovely review from the Beneath A Thousand Skies blog, which is obviously the perfect blog for someone with my name ???? Check out their blog as well, as I am in complete awe of just how many books they read!
Much thanks to @bookish_lovers_bylc on Instagram for their review and a beautiful aesthetic image surrounded by lots of flowers! Take a look for this great quote alone:
Such an amazing story, filled with bravery, power, learning, woman fight, equality, and self-discovering.
March 16th
Day three included two great spotlights from Jorie Loves A Story and Pop Read’s Reviews! Take a look at their blogs.
This spotlight brought up a great conversation on Twitter about content warnings for books. I will admit that Sand Dancer does verge on the darker side of fantasy – an unnamed character dies on chapter one, for example, and it’s a tale of oppression, deadly fire magic, and sword fighting. And I’ll be honest; the series only gets darker as it progresses. Not everyone feels comfortable reading dark fantasy, especially in this day and age when human suffering and oppression are rife. Not every book will be for you, and I think it takes a great deal of honesty to pick up a book and then realise it may not be for you, or the themes are just too dark for your tastes, or you’re just not in the mood for it right now. That’s fine. You don’t have to read books you’re not comfortable with! You can mark them as “DNF” and find something you DO want to read.
This also part of why I list content warnings on my website for Sand Dancer and will do so for all my books to come. It is entirely up to you to decide what you want to read, and to know what you’re comfortable with! Content warnings are a great medium for helping you make that decision.
Day three also included a great interview by Jea Reads and I had a lot of fun with this one! They also loved Fez the fennec fox, which is entirely understandable. Check out their blog and also the aesthetic they posted on Instagram!
March 17th
Day four featured some great spotlights over on Instagram! The first was from Sadie’s Spotlight and their Instagram features a book next to a unique mug of tea! Look at the cool owl mug next to Sand Dancer!
The second was from @hillsofbooks which is a lovely name for a bookstagram! Thank you for the review!
A strong female character setting out for revenge! Forbidden magic she never wanted! Hidden secrets! Necessary lies to get into an all male sword training academy!
Who could ask for more!?
March 18th
Day five was a busy day including an interview, plus a review and spotlight on Instagram!
First, thanks go to Lucy A. McLaren for the fantastic interview! Please do check out Lucy’s blog for more interviews as Lucy often features authors on her blog.
Thanks also to @alazyeggreviews for their review! I am sorry I made you worry for Fez for the entire book, I can’t say the fears get easier in the sequels! ????
And thanks to @beatrizfayereads for their spotlight and colourful Bookstagram aesthetic! I really love the colours!
March 19th
Day six included a great review by The Book & Nature Professor, which breaks down the story and also some of the characters which appear in Sand Dancer. I liked that this review also touches on content warnings and menstruation, which is a topic I will explore in all Sand Dancer books where relevant, including the sequel Fire Walker. I often find that menstruation isn’t broached much in fantasy stories, even with female protagonists, especially when it’s such a big part of our lives – especially for younger teens!
Do visit their blog, as they also have a wonderful art gallery expressing their love for nature and animals as well. You can find them on Instagram too!
Thank you also to @theenchantedshelf for creating an aesthetic that captures the sand dancing of Sand Dancer! ????
March 20th
And the final day wrapped up the book tour quite nicely over on the Queen’s Book Asylum! Which is again one of my favourite new book blogs out there, so go pay them a visit.
I have a great time taking part in my book blog tour, so again, a massive THANK YOU to all the bloggers out there that read and love our books! We authors couldn’t exist without you.
And if you’re an author thinking about doing a blog tour, I recommend checking out Storytellers on Tour! They were fantastic to work with every step of the way.
