BOOKISH INTERVIEW WITH CAMILLIA OF “TWENTY THREE PAGES”

Oscar Wilde
Today we have Camillia of Twenty three pages, a lifestyle blog. She is an amazing person and you should all go check her blog.
Before we start with the interview I want to tell you a few things. I met Camillia almost by accident. I was bored and browsing all the book blogs and suddenly I came across this beautiful blog. It had everything. The most intresting part was books – for me ;D. Her posts were so good and I totally fell in love with her pretty little blog. Then, I emailed her about this interview and she immediately replied me. I am so thankful to her.
This is my first blogger interview and I wish this goes well. :).
Me: When did you feel like you need to start a blog & why?
Camillia: Well I wouldn’t say that I ever felt like I needed to start a blog. More like I always knew that a blog was something I didn’t mind doing.
So one day, a couple of friends and I were sitting together and we happened to be talking about how we each had always wanted to start a blog but had never done it. So while sitting there, we all randomly created blogs.
At that point, I had no idea what my blog would be about and I certainly had no direction for it. I posted one book review and then a couple of personal pieces. Then one day, an indie author, Dameon Gibbs contacted me asking me to read his book and review it. So I did and that opened up this whole world of book blogging and I started reading and reviewing more books until one day, i realised that 2.5 years (almost 3) had gone by.
By the way, all the friends that started a blog that day with me abandoned their blogs after a couple of posts.
 
Me: Tell us something about yourself, Camillia.
Camillia: I have known that I wanted to write since I was 10 and at that age, I did a lot of fiction writing till I was about 14 or 15 when I started writing articles for a newspaper. I loved it so much that I decided I wanted to be a journalist when I was older. So I’ve been working on that and I just recently got my dream internship at Singapore’s flagship newspaper, The Straits Times. It’s my ultimate dream so I’m really blessed.
Me:  What do you prefer?
     A. Coffee or Chocolate?
 
Camillia: Chocolate. I don’t drink coffee actually.
 
     B. Late night reading or sitting on a bench watching the sun set?
 
Camillia: I prefer sitting on a beach and watching the sun set. I’ve done it a number of times while on holiday and I’ll just plug in my music and let myself be and it’s so peaceful.
 
     C. Casual shopping with friends or book browsing?
 
Camillia: Book browsing but with friends. My friends actually like going book shopping with me since I know all the good titles.
 
     D. Hardcovers vs Paperbacks. What is your take on each of them? And personally what do you think as best?
 
Camillia: Wow that’s a tough one haha. I’m honestly more of an ebook kind of person so for me, physical books are either just to showcase on my shelves or because I get an ARC copy of a book. I like paperbacks but only when it’s a floppy paperback. It’s lighter of course and much easier to read with. But hardbacks are beautiful for shelves and photos. Honestly I’ve never particularly liked reading from a hardback because I’m always afraid I’ll damage the cover or the jacket.
So floppy paperbacks would be the best.
 
     E. Kindle or Paperback?
 
Kindle!
 
Me: Is there anything that you want to share with young bloggers?
 
Camillia: Well there’s a lot of advice that I can give younger bloggers and I have done that a lot over on my blog but I think the main piece of advice I have that is not overly-cliched is to create a blogging schedule. Decide on posting days so your readers know when to check back. That really helped me to gain readers as well and to manage my blog without going crazy.
Also be yourself no matter what. It can be easy to want to model your blog after someone else or to read and review only popular titles. But be authentic and be you and your readers will come.
And of course, have loads of fun with it. It’s a hobby not a job.
 
Me: How was it like when you first started your blog?
 
Camillia: Well when I first started, I never intended for my blog to become a professional space. I only expected a handful of readers and because of that, it was very chill. I had no niche at that point so I basically posted about whatever whenever I wanted. I would get very personal in some posts because I knew no one was reading and so it became my safe space and a space where I could do whatever. There was even one month where I even did a blogging challenge and posted every single day. 
It was just a lot of fun to me and that experimentation with different types of posts really helped me when I settled on my niche and decided to become a proper book blog.
 
Me:  Name 3 books which made you Cry, Laugh and feel complete.
 
Camillia: Three books for each category? Okay.
Cry: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens
Laugh: The Martian by Andy Weir, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, All the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella
Feel Complete: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Fish in A Tree by Lynda Hunt
 
Me: Who is favorite author & why?
 
Camillia: Jodi Picoult hands down! I love Jodi. I’ve read every single one of her books and I just love her take on such complex issues. I particularly love how well she researches each of her books. So I finish each of her books having learnt so much as well as having a new perspective on something. 
 
Me: If you get a chance to meet your favorite author in person what would be your first question to him/her?
 
Camillia: I feel like I would be too overwhelmed to ask a proper question haha. I remember when I met Sarah J. Maas I was so nervous that all we talked about was how long I had been waiting and how long it took me to get to the venue.
But with Jodi I believe I might ask her about her research process for some of her books about jail and euthanasia. That really interests me.
e Book Signing
 
Me: Did you ever encounter a sexist comment? What is your take on it?
 
Camillia: I’ve been lucky enough to have the most lovely readers and I’ve only got a small amount of hate in my time as a blogger. But if I were to get a sexist comment, I would either do two things. I might delete the comment, or I might respond very politely. Don’t stoop to their level or respond emotionally because that’s honestly what these trolls want. Just be calm and they will feel very low for trying to insult you.
 
Me: Do you prefer being alone or spending lots of time with friends?
 
Camillia: I am an introvert through and through so I love being alone. Even when it comes to friends, I really prefer spending time with people one on one because that’s how I function best.
Happy weekend fellas!
Sritha Bandla.

1 Comment

  1. camilliadass

    Loved this! Thank you so much for interviewing me and having me on your blog ❤️ You’re so lovely 💕

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