Linda Jones continues our Women who Blog series, shining a light on a site with quite a rude name, but one that has her in hysterics anyway. Perhaps it's the twin thing.
Is your boyfriend a twat? I suppose mine must be some of the time, as am I. But I'd never broadcast this to the world. Hang on. Just did.
Anyway, the My Boyfriend is a Twat blog has a loyal following and has won a clutch of awards.
It also has a book of the same name coming out next month.
Belgium-based blogger Zoe McCarthy made me laugh out loud with some of her answers and then accused me of drinking. Nice. (Shouts: I am joking.)
I'll also gloss over the fact that she told me she was sorry she couldn't answer my questions earlier as she was engrossed in a Sudoku puzzle and missed her tram stop. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt as she doesn't like marzepan or exclamation marks, and well neither do I.
See, even writing that makes me laugh. So here's Zoe's answers. Enjoy. Sorry, I obviously mean Enjoy!!!
How much do you love blogging on a scale of one to ten?
Ten, obviously as it's a hobby, but it really sucks lemons when I get 'Blogger's Block.' I'm going through a bit of a dry spell but that's due to a lot of stress going on at work which is affecting me in more ways than one, as well as stress at home.
How much do your family (and especially Quarsan) love you blogging on a scale of one to ten?
My daughters don't like me blogging and my son is always peering nervously over my shoulder to make sure that I'm blogging something that makes him sound really cool. He isn't, and happens to have the smelliest feet in Europe. So that would be a 0/10 from the girls and 5/10 from Todd.
Quarsan doesn't mind me blogging at all and encourages me. He's been really good in setting up my blog for me as I am basically useless when let anywhere near a computer and he does clever things for me, like podcasts. How on earth do people do them and then link to them ? So that's a 10/10 from Quarsan.
What’s your favourite post ever, and why?
That would probably be a guest-blogger's post! I think that my favourite post wasn't actually put up on my blog, but between another blogger, Quarsan and I, we concocted a story that the reason that I wasn't blogging at the time and had guest bloggers in was because Quarsan was sueing me under the EU Human Right's Act! My friend ended up spending most of the day deleting comments from outraged readers on her blog who were all offering to send me pastries and even money ... They were all contacted via email that It Was A Joke. Obviously, we were having a right laugh about it all and were wondering what on earth had happened to people's sense of humour.
What wouldn’t you blog about, and why?
My intimate life, my daughter's lives (the odd hissy fit doesn't count) and I don't really delve into the details of my son as I think he's gay. Good for him!
Please tell me about your best blogging experience?
This may sound strange, but the thing that moved me the most has to be the love and support that I received when I suffered severe depression about two or so years ago.
I'd been trying to hide it and continue being the tongue-in-cheek me, when what I really wanted to tell the world was how miserable I felt.
Other bloggers blog about their depression, I wanted to but that's not what people come to my blog for so I left a short post saying something along the lines of “I'll be back soon”. I received over 80 comments asking if I was OK, and was bombarded with emails. The blogging community is a great place to be sometimes.
Oh, and being awarded three Bloggies in a row made me happy, although I really didn't deserve the last one.
What impact overall has the blog had on your life?
According to Quarsan, my blog has done wonders for my self-esteem, which I think I can agree upon.
It has really helped me use a more creative side to me that I never used before – only on a few occasions when I was responsible for a Newsletter (for the Belgian 'Mothers of Twins Club'). I don't really know how many people actually read my blog as it is nothing but personal drivel about my personal life and not everybody is into that.
Having said that, my readers are regular and come to my site for just that: Zoe's life. I was once very proud about some geeky things that I had done over a weekend and blogged all about it only to have one regular reader exclaim that he goes to my blog just to get away from geekdom. No pleasing others, eh?
And obviously, I am proud to have been approached to write a book (called 'My Boyfriend is a Twat' and should be out in July), even though I initially said that I wasn't interested in writing one. Clare Christian at The Friday Project really knows how to twist people's arms – I'm still in pain.
How do you think your ‘blogging persona’ differs from you in ‘real life’ (if at all?)
I am Zoe.
Zoe I am.
What feedback do you get, and who from?
Everything and everybody. I also get asked for advice setting up a blog .....
What advice do you have for women considering setting up a blog?
Set a theme for your blog and then follow it. It is vital to remember, though, that you are never, ever anonymous on the internet.
Who are your blogging heroines?
All those who can write well, make me laugh and keep me interested.
Linda Jones dreams of the day a lady from The Friday Project comes knocking. But as she's too busy tw*tting on about Twitter and cooking fishcakes, she's not holding out much hope.
