A.K.A Your fearless leader! :-P But who am I really?
In a nutshell - Michelle (also, & most often times better known as “Chelle”) Olson: Book Addict, Paranormal Junkie, Music Fiend, Sports Fanatic, Witch, long time SQA Engineer, & Aficionado of Everything and Anything Creepy. :)
I'm also the Creator, Admin, Researcher & Editor for Literally Addicted to Detail (BETA reading, proof-reading, copy editing, series bible research & creation, book synopsis & cover tagline creation, high-level virtual author assistant services & more!). The Creator & Designer of/for Chelly Belle Designs (custom jewelry, clothing, book thongs, promotional materials & more!). And the Creator, sole Administrator, head Reviewer, amateur Web Designer, Promotion Expert & all around jack-of-all-trades & den mother for LITERAL ADDICTION.
Since February of 2010 when I first envisioned LITERAL ADDICTION as a Paranormal BookClub with my BFF Jen & created it, up to now as I've networked, grew, nurtured, & molded it into what it is today & then did my best to maintain it, there have been countless hours of smiles & joy (and yes, a reasonable number full of swearing & wanting to throw things as well. LOL). I wouldn't trade any of it for anything though! LITERAL ADDICTION is my baby, my pride and joy, & all of the hard work, blood, sweat, & tears have been absolutely worth it; my literary family is often times my sanity!! :)
When I'm not working on anything LITERAL ADDICTION or Literally Addicted to Detail related, you can find me pleasure reading (I've been reading everything I could get my hands on since I could read, starting with Stephen King and Dean Koontz back when I really should never have been reading them. LOL) or watching my fave paranormal TV shows. I'm the world's biggest homebody. If I'm not doing any of the above & actually venture out of the house (which is rare!), I love to attend concerts & live sporting events with my beau of 16 1/2 years. We've actually seen 75 bands live in the last 4 years - mostly 80's bands that I adore - and are huge Packers [me], Cowboys [him] & NC TarHeel [both of us] fans. I also love to cuddle & play with my furbabies - 9 year old Dali (a chocolate lab named after my favorite artist Salvador Dali) & 3 1/2 year old Poe Rayvn (my black cat who was named after my fave classical author Edgar Allan Poe [and who is also very much my familiar. He found me]).
So...Now you know me a little better. Thank you for stopping by. I'm very glad you're embarking on this journey with me, & I hope that I can provide you with countless hours of entertainment & invaluable bookish information!
As always... HAPPY READING!
~Your proud Pack Alpha - Chelle
[From Chelle...
English rose (she's from the UK), family gal, speed reader, ass saver, all around beautiful human being, Marta is my 'go to' for eReviews, and has turned LITERAL ADDICTION round almost single handedly in the last year. I had 3 Publishers about ready to drop us because our readership was dropping, and now I have them knocking down our door because our Review production is second to none (not to mention that Marta's reviews are engaging, and a story in themselves!). :) I don't know what I'd do without her, and I hope she feels the same. She is an incredible asset to the team, a wonderful friend, and I'm so, SO happy we crossed paths on Facebook. Hopefully we'll hear more from her soon!]
~Marta - Vivacious Valkyrie
(Personal bio coming soon...)
[From Chelle...
Kathy is also an incredible asset to the inner LITERAL ADDICTION family! She's my print reviewer, and when I get an influx of print copies and ARCs from the Publishers that need to get done, she's always there for me! She's bailed me of a bind out more than once, and I always feel like I should be sending more in those packages just to say 'thanks'. Hailing from the midwest, Kathy says everything you need to know in 1-3 short paragraphs, and you can always expect a succinct, honest, and telling review when Kathy represents L.A. She's also very funny without trying to be. Not so much in the reviews, but if you follow her on Facebook, I love her posts about "Only in the life of me" and interesting things she's found. Seriously, love it! LOL. I'm absolutely thrilled to know Kathy, and hopefully she'll tell you more about herself real soon! :) ]
~Kathy - Alluring Angel
(Personal bio coming soon...)
The Heavenly Hellspawn has arrived! *wicked laugh*
Seek cover and pray to whatever deity you worship that you will be spared!
Seriously though, I’m Erika, the introverted, redheaded, atheist that swears like a sailor, is the family black-sheep, has a RIDICULOUSLY dirty mind (as noted by my tumblr—The Glitter Gutter), and is in NO way a girlie-girl (I hate pink, chocolate, shopping and especially shoes!). Oh, I also randomly bust out in dance, quote movies, and I still hold onto the childhood dream of living in a treehouse in the Pacific Northwest!
When I was young I liked reading, but was too poor to even be driven to the library to borrow books, let alone buy them, then my love of reading was beaten into submission for the duration of middle and high school where I was forced to read the same books every year (you know, Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, To Kill a Mockingbird—books I could not relate to in ANY way). I didn’t pick up another book (other than scientific literature) until I found myself as a 27 year old single mother, trying to combat depression. That book was Twilight (Don’t judge me!). It introduced me to the paranormal genre—which I quite honestly didn’t think I’d like since I’m a scientist! Since then my personal library has exploded and I now have more romance—from paranormal to suspense and contemporary—books than I do science books, which I would have never thought possible. My favorite genre is military romance (which you can attribute to my being a veteran—Air Force—and my addiction to alpha males!), followed by erotica, paranormal and contemporary romance. About the only romance novels I don’t like are historicals and westerns. Some of my favorite authors are: Maya Banks, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Larissa Ione /Sydney Croft, Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Ashley/Allyson James, & Rebecca Zanetti.
While I sincerely hope to land my own dog-tag wearing hero in the near future, my life presently consists of raising my son & starting my career (I just received my bachelor's degree with a double major in biology and environmental studies). In my ‘spare time’ (all you moms will understand the sarcasm in that term) I refinish furniture, read, make BookBuddys (www.facebook.com/BookBuddys), and work on one of my *3* WIPS. When the bank account allows I love going to concerts, zoos and amusement parks (certified rollercoaster addict!) and traveling.
That’s me in a nutshell. Thanks for being curious and taking the time to read this.
I hope the reviews I do here are helpful and lead you to some new authors and new books!
It is truly a pleasure and honor to be a part of this pack! Happy reading!
~Erika - Heavenly Hellspawn
I am a techie and adjunct professor who is also working on my PhD in information technology with a specialization in information security. I love to read urban fantasy, high fantasy, mystery/thrillers, and sometimes even paranormal romance as long as it is heavy on the urban fantasy side.
Cheryl runs Lady Techie's Book Musings.
~Cheryl...(bio coming soon)
About Me
Ok where to start I guess I can start with the facts, I am 30 years old, I have been married to my highschool sweetheart for 13 years and we have an amazing 13 year old son. I am currently a full time student working on my Bachelors in General Education with a few certificates in Literature along the way. My most important job is and always will be; mom.
A little back story with my love of reading. I didn’t have a very traditional upraising so at 15 I was left in a very dark place in a room that was filled with nothing but my fear and BOOKS!!! I mean wall to wall books, stacked in the most unorganized way. I picked one up one day; it helped me escape the never ending hell I was in. That book was a historical romance by an author named Johanna Lindsey. From there I read every book by this author in that room and then moved onto others. I didn’t know at 15 I was reading something rated R, I didn’t see it that way, I read about women that struggled through hardships, that no matter what the hardships were the feelings were so similar to what I felt that I needed to see them overcome their obstacles and fight for their freedom. The stories gave me strength. After finding my own freedom and my prince charming, my love for the worlds created by authors still continued. After another dark time in my life I was introduced to the world of Paranormal Romance and I fell in love all over again with reading. And the rest is still being written in my book of life.
What I tend to read, mostly series. I like knowing that when the book is over I get to look forward to seeing the characters I just fell in love with in future books. I do tend to break up all the full length novels with novellas. I am drawn to anything that bites, howls or goes bump in the night. I will switch it up and read a mystery or historical romance sometimes.
I have an ever growing collection of author and book swag, and I’m very proud of my growing collection of personally signed books from my favorite authors.
Random things, I LOVE PIZZA!!! No matter what it always makes me feel better, I am not girly in any way and hate shopping. I love driving in my car with Evanescence playing on full blast. I love crime dramas just to list a few I can watch over and over again; Criminal Minds, Law & Order, NCIS and CSI. There are so many more but to list them all would be crazy. I also can’t live without Trueblood or Vampire Diaries or Supernatural. And I could go on forever about my love affair with Game of Thrones. I curse like a pirate and refuse to discuss politics or religion with anyone. I have 4 cats and want more. One thing not a lot of people know about me is that I have an amazing voice and still dream of becoming a singer, but I can’t sing in front of people, I get nervous and then sound like a dying cat. My friends call me their “force of nature” meaning I am that friend that will never tell you what you want to hear and make sure you hear what you need to. I love with everything that I am. My favorite saying that I have above my front door is:
“Dance as though no one is watching, Love as though you have never loved before, Sing as though no one is listening, Live as though there is no tomorrow”
Thanks for taking a moment and allowing me to introduce myself to our followers here at LITERAL ADDICTION and as always Happy Reading :)
~Charity - Bewitching Bella
I'm Shawnie, and reading is a passion of mine that I know will never dim or get old, and one that I can be proud of. I am completely and utterly fascinated by the art and words that are pulled together by different people to create powerful books. You never know what you may learn for a book, no matter the genre and that is what makes reading so fun. This is what I call my "habit", and I think its a pretty good one to have. There is something magical about books. You can live several lives with a set of books or travel the world without leaving the living room. Imagination is everything.
I'm also the creator and administrator of Book Pages and Dripping Ink where I do Reviews, give recommendations, and put out other special things for all who follow the blog.
I'm also an aspiring author, and our Pack Alpha thinks that I have amazing potential. We'll just have to wait and see... :)
~Shawnie - Reckless Reaper
My name is Michelle and I am an avid book reader and lover of all things book related. I have been a reader since as long as I can remember and have always had a book in my hand. I carry a book or my tablet or Kindle everywhere I go. Then one day I stumbled upon Literal Addiction on Facebook and I found that I love participating in the author chats and things that Chelle does. So last year I decided to start a blog and start promoting all the authors that I love.
I am a big home body and don’t do much besides reading unless it is with my 14 year old daughter. We like to watch movies and go to the bookstore together but with her age who knows how long she will enjoy that. LOL. I love to be silly but most of the time I am totally serious. I have 2 dogs and a cat Bailey, Zoey and Sylvie and they are possibly the cutest things ever. I am a midwestern girl through and through but I hate the winter. Snow is pretty but just to look at, not to live with.
More about books on her blog - Bookish Babbles with Michelle.
Thank you so much.
Happy Reading!
My name is Natasha and here at Literal Addiction I am known as the Elusive Pixie because I am very picky about the books I read and review. So you won’t see me much, unless a book is HIGHLY recommended by our Pack Alpha and my sister the Bewitching Bella.
My love of reading began when I was younger and didn’t have anything good in life going for me, so I turned to books to help me escape. I have carried that love with me into my adulthood and have become very selective of what I read.
My favorite Authors are Karen Marie Moning, Laurell K Hamilton, Gena Showalter, and JR Ward, you know the Big Names. I am dedicated to their long running series.
A few fun facts about me, I was in the Air Force and now live a quiet life with my 2 Pudgie Pugs and loving Hubby in Oklahoma. In my spare time I like to do arts and crafts and I am very proud of my new vegetable garden.
I am honored to be a part of Literal Addiction even if it’s in a small way. Till next time I pop my head in, Happy Reading, as we like to say.
~Tasha - Elusive Pixie