V is for Voices #AtoZchallenge via @trincarl @boardingforties

Voices come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most sought after voices come from vloggers on Youtube who intrigue us with their candor online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRy9lKkkboc
Kathleen Valdes is with me today and she is a booktuber who shouts her love for books on her Youtube channel.

And onto the interview...

Kathleen, was it hard getting your booktube channel started? What was some of the planning?

I had been watching You Tube videos for several years before I discovered Book Tube quite accidentally.  As I recall I went looking for an author interview and ended up finding a Book Tube channel.  From there I found many others and I was ADDICTED.

I watched Book Tube for about 6 months before I started thinking to myself that I would like to start a channel.  I had no concept of how to get started (how to film, upload, anything) but one Saturday afternoon I just sat down and started recording.

I found an APP called Capture that was pretty much idiot proof, hence how I was able to use it, and I was off and running.  I really did no planning at all, I just jumped in and kind of figured it out as I went along.  I guess in some ways I am still doing that.  

Which writers inspire you?

There are so many writers who inspire me that it is hard to think of just a few.  I don't want to ignore the question so I would say that as a child I was inspired by writers like E.B White, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Roald Dahl.  They wrote about places and characters that I wanted to know more about.
I remember reading Wilder's, "Little House on the Prairie" collection. That and Pippi Longstocking along with Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  

As I got a little older and started studying for a History degree I went through a phase where I read authors like Danielle Steel, Sidney Sheldon, and Jackie Collins.

Sidney Sheldon is actually a new author to me, I'm embarrassed to admit. Looks like he's sold over 300 million books and won a Tony Award for Broadway's "Redhead" and an Academy Award for The Bachelor. Note*The Bachelor is not the American reality TV show on AbC. This is a 1947 American comedy.

Okay, let's continue...You were talking about reading fiction narratives...

Yes, I think I was looking for a total escape from the non-fiction reading I was doing so much of so I gravitated toward books that were fantasy and fun.

Now I am old and can read whatever I want and am inspired by authors like:

•  Cormac McCarthy, 
• John Steinbeck 
• Toni Morrison and many others

John Steinbeck is one of my favorites too. We read Steinbeck's, "Of Mice and Men" in high school. My brother shared the same English class and I remember him imitating Lennie and the whole killing the mouse scene.

*** A clip from "Of Mice and Men" 

On the Fiction side, I am inspired by any author who succeeds in touching me on an emotional level and makes me root for their characters and become completely engrossed.  When it comes to Non-Fiction I prefer to read things that make me think about the world in a different way.

Where do you get the ideas for your various videos on Youtube?

 I get ideas from other Book Tubers primarily.  I'm actually not that creative with my channel. I tend to do book commentaries, reviews and hauls.  I have a goal to get more creative but not sure when it will happen...maybe when I don't have a full time day job. ;)

For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?  

When I am home I much prefer printed books.  When I travel I rely on eBooks.  It is much easier to load up my iPAD with tons of books than to try and take them all in my suitcase.

Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

I have spent my professional career working in Marketing so for me the cover plays an important part.  I certainly wouldn't buy a book only for the cover but have definitely chosen to pick up a book to consider buying it based on the cover.  I try to buy editions of books that have covers I love.  I don't always succeed but I have that goal when I am procuring books.

What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?

The most obvious advantage of self-publishing is that you can choose to be published and get your work out there for people to enjoy.  Going the traditional publishing route means entering a system where you are chosen or not.  

You also can control and oversee all aspects of putting your book together when you self publish so the cover art, font, type of paper used, etc are all in your control.  I think there used to be a stigma about self-published books. I don't think that exists anymore or it certainly doesn't for me.  There are such a limited number of books that are published in the world in any given year and so much great content being written.  We need self publishing to insure that we are seeing more great work and not counting on publishing houses to curate for us.

Last question, what inspires you to get out of bed each day?

At my age I consider every single day to be a gift.  Anticipating what I might discover or learn or experience on any given day inspires me to get out of bed.
Thanks for joining me today, Kathleen.
It's been a pleasure.
Bio:
Kathleen Ann has been a voracious reader since Kindergarten.  Collecting, reading, and talking about books is an obsession.  Kathleen enjoys traveling new places which inevitably means discovering new book stores and spending time with family and friends.  When Kathleen isn't "playing" she works as a Marketing Manager at a high tech company.

Readers, that's all the time we have today. You can get in touch with Kathleen on Goodreads , Twitter or her Youtube channel.

Readers-Do you watch Youtube videos? Which ones catch your fancy? Let me know in the comments below.