This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
All this week we’ll be taking you behind the scenes at Novelicious with guest posts from Team Novelicious. Now, we hear from our gorgeous reviewer Kirsty Nicole Pole. The first book I ever reviewed for Novelicious was Christmas At Tiffany’s by Karen Swan and it was posted on Friday 25th November 2011. I will never forget that feeling of excitement as it arrived through my letter box and then the feeling of responsibility as I dived into the pages. It has been 3 years since that first review and I still get that squiggly feeling of excitement in my tummy when I see new books arrive, all shiny and unread; ready for me to discover. I discovered Novelicious after I emailed Kirsty and asked her if I could place an ad on the website – I had recently left my job as a Bookseller and moved into freelance Editing and was aiming to drum up a bit of business. Kirsty couldn’t have been more helpful, she placed an ad on the site for me and we began chatting about books and our mutual love of romantic fiction. It was a few weeks later when Kirsty mentioned that she was looking for new reviewers and would I be interested? Interested?…I nearly bit her hand off! I wrote a practice review and boom, I became an official part of the Novelicious team and the rest, as they say, is history. 
Since then I have felt proud to be part of such a lovely, welcoming team that offers so many great opportunities as a book lover. I have had the chance to go to book events at The Clothes Show Live and write features for ‘Novelicious Natters’ as well as discovering enticing new authors each month. One of the most exciting parts of reviewing for Novelicious has to be the connection with authors, I used to dream about what it would be like to chat to Jill Mansell or Jenny Colgan but now, through the wonders of Twitter, I can ask them any question, any time and hear straight back, it’s amazing! Where do I write my reviews? Well, I have also become an English Teacher since I began writing for Novelicious, and now getting to share my love of books and reading with my students every day is the best feeling in the world. I also have to teach them how to write a review for their GCSE exam so it’s good that I’ve got some practice under my belt. Teaching is a busy job – I had no idea how busy until I began training – therefore most of my reviews are written from my desk, in my classroom after school hours. However, when I do get the chance I sneak off to my parents’ house and write in my tiny, single bedroom away from any distractions and surrounded by all of the books that I love. A much more tranquil writing area, I think! The women at Novelicious are fabulous to work with and even though most of us live miles apart, we are all united by our passion for reading and writing. I am proud every day to be part of such a wonderful website. Follow Kirsty Nicole on Twitter