Happy New Year!  With everyone thinking about resolutions and new beginnings, I thought this would be a great time to tell you about some brand new features I hope to share on this blog in the coming year.

I’ve been blogging weekly about Christian fiction here at karencollier.com for a little over a year now.  Yay!  Actually, my first blogoversary fell on November 3, but who’s counting?  Apparently not me, or I would have posted about it at the time.  😉

Up to now, my blog has focused primarily on reviews of Christian fiction books and audiobooks, along with the occasional post about my writing journey.  Don’t worry!  That’s not going away.  I love doing those reviews and other posts.  But I do want to add some more fun and interactive features into the mix for my readers.

So, with the New Year approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about what other kinds of posts I might like to share on a regular basis.  Here are a few ideas that have stuck with me, that I’m planning on trying out in the next few months.

As you read about these new features and continue following my blog, I have a request for you.  If there are any posts or types of features that you particularly love, please let me know and tell your friends about them, so I can be sure to keep producing the kinds of posts you like best!

Featured Reads

As Public Services Librarian for a small rural library, one of my responsibilities (among many) was “Reader’s Advisory” which can include suggesting (not to be confused with recommending) books to patrons.  (Q:  There’s a difference?  A:  Yeah, you recommend books based on your own personal experience having read those books, but you suggest books based on other factors, like their popularity, subject matter, awards, other people’s reviews, etc.)

My plan with “Featured Reads” posts on the blog is to feature three suggested Christian fiction books in each monthly post.  One title that’s “Hot Off the Presses” (newly released), one that’s “Topping the Charts” (on the current best seller lists), and one that has garnered awards and recognition (still working on a clever heading for that one).  Occasionally, I might add a fourth title “Just Because.”

Bookish Interviews

I’ve seen some great author interviews featured on other blogs, and I want to get in on the fun too!  I’m hard at work brainstorming what I hope will be original, thought provoking, and entertaining questions, as well as plotting and planning who to approach when (and how).  On my interviewee wish list: authors of Christian fiction, book bloggers, and publishing industry professionals like agents, editors, cover designers, publicists, etc.  I’m thinking big and we’ll see where it goes….

Book Club Connection

I’ve been sharing links about upcoming online “Book Discussions in Christian Fiction” on a monthly basis for a while now.  Since July, in fact.  But I want to take that a step further, and take a more active role in promoting and encouraging Christian fiction book clubs.

I’m envisioning a monthly post called “Book Club Connection” with one or more parts in each post.  These might include a featured book that I think would be well suited for discussion, links to upcoming discussions, tips and thoughts for book groups, and discussion prompts of interest to current and future book group participants about topics like what makes a book group work well, etc.

Why the interest in book clubs?  That could be a whole post for another day.  But here’s the short answer.  I enjoyed my time leading and participating in a book club.  And I think book discussion groups are a great opportunity to share a love of favorite books and authors with other readers, while discovering additional books you might not have otherwise picked up.  Win-win!

Musical Inspiration

This one is kind of tangential to Christian fiction, but I think it’ll be fun.  In each “Musical Inspiration” post, I plan to feature one of my favorite contemporary Christian songs, with a few words about what I like best about it, along with links for those wanting to listen for themselves.  My theory is that many of the same people who enjoy reading Christian fiction would also tend to be fans of Christian music.  Yes?  Anyway, I find music to be incredibly inspiring both in my life and in my writing.  I can’t wait to share some of my favorites with you, and hopefully hear about some of your favorites too.

Blogside Chat

Want to chat about books, blogging, reading formats, genres, plot & character elements, or really anything related to Christian fiction?  I’m hoping to host some discussions here on the blog in 2015.  To that end I’ll be creating occasional blog posts intended as conversation starters, each featuring a discussion question of some sort, inviting you to weigh in with your opinion.  So… a preliminary question as I begin planning questions… are there any topics you’re especially keen to talk about?

Thanks for reading!  If any of my shiny new post ideas have caught your attention (or you just plain love book and audiobook reviews), I hope you’ll plan on following my blog in the coming year.  I’d love to chat with you!