Book blogger spotlight: Tea in the Treetops

Thursday, 15 June 2017 Books+Publishing

Brisbane-based bloggers Anni and Philippa met through blogging about World of Warcraft, and now blog together at Tea in the Treetops, which focuses on YA, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal and historical books. The pair also host a podcast where they review books, interview guests and discuss book news. Anni spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘Book blogger spotlight’ series.

Describe your blog in under 50 words.

At Tea in the Treetops you’ll find reviews of fantasy and sci-fi books for all ages. It’s also the home of the Tea in the Treetops podcast, where Philippa and I chat about what we’re reading and watching, focusing mainly on young adult books, among other topics.

What makes your blog unique?

We’ve been publishing our podcast for several years now, and there are very few like it around! We aim for a relaxed chat about the books we love, and occasionally invite guests along to share the fun.

When and how did you get started?

Both Philippa and I ran gaming blogs before we met, and around the time our oldest children were born, we discovered that we also love the same types of books. We both started blogging about books in 2012 and joined forces soon afterwards to create Tea in the Treetops.

How do you find out about new books?

I usually hear about new books well in advance of their publication, either from social media such as Twitter or Goodreads, or from authors and publishers themselves. We have been approached by publishers to review books, but more often we will request books that we’re particularly interested in.

What audience do you reach?

Our intended audience is much like us: young-at-heart adults. We average about 15 unique visits a day, which isn’t huge, but we have both been studying over the past year, so the blog has been fairly quiet. We average about 90 listens per episode with our podcast. We have a large percentage of Australian readers and listeners, followed by the US and the UK.

What other book blogs do you regularly follow?

These days I mostly take book recommendations from my friends on Goodreads, but I think it’s important to support fellow Aussie bloggers. I follow Happy Indulgence, Paper Fury, Read at Midnight, Nice Girls Read Books, as well as other Aussie book podcasts such as Bookish Friends.

What has been your most popular post?

My review of Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas has the honour of most-visited post. Our most popular podcast episode so far was one where we interviewed Isobelle Carmody just after the publication of The Red Queen in 2015.

What’s your favourite social media platform, and what recent trends in social media have you noticed in book blogging?

My current favourite has to be Instagram (@anni.treetops). I love taking and looking at pictures of books, and I have certainly made purchases based on books I’ve seen on Instagram! People like pretty covers, and there are some very talented photographers out there.

What are you reading now?

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas. And loving it!

Category: Features