Feature with Followers [#24]

Random Fact of the Day: One out of 20 people have an extra rib.

Hello! Here we are again with another FWF! However, this one is a little more special because NOW I am starting to showcase more diverse bloggers in our community! In case you didn’t know, I am now accepting requests for YOU to be a Featured Follower in my Feature with Followers posts!! (Yes, YOU, reading this!!) For more details, click HERE. I decided to start posting this way because of a recent awareness of “diverse bloggers” in the media. I am a firm believer in doing what you love, and I know sometimes people don’t get recognized. So, I thought what best way to share the love than to feature more different and unique bloggers!

Anyways, Feature with Followers is a weekly meme created by JBelkBooks (me) in which I will be showcasing one of my AMAZING followers. This gives me an opportunity to really get to know them and give them an opportunity to get their blogs out there in the community. The way I choose my featured follower is Top Secret, so wait for your chance to be featured! [If you think there is someone out there worthy of being showcased that I haven’t shared yet, definitely shoot me something in the comments that provides the blogger’s name and URL, and I will be sure to check them out!!]

A DIVERSE BLOGGER…DO YOU KNOW WHO IT IS???

• This blogger LOVES James Bond.
• She posts all forms of reviews from TV shows to comic books.
• She goes by the name of a well-known Disney character! (Mahalo nui iā!)

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Zina AKA Stitch @ Stitch’s Media Mix!!

ABOUT ZINA: I’m Zina. I’m Black, queer, opinionated as hell, and always looking for my next story idea. I’m currently working as a freelance editor as I attend Florida International University. As a graduate student in the English department, I study and write about the need for representation for marginalized identities in pop culture. I enjoy short walks on the beach, yelling at/about fandom, and waxing poetic about superhero butts.

Q&A TIME!!!

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ME: When did your blogging journey begin and why did you decide to start?

ZINA: The first blog I ever made was on LiveJournal back in 2006 when I was in my last year of high school. I used to use it for regular journaling, but also for talking about fannish things that caught my eye. I felt like I didn’t have a lot of avenues to express myself offline and the blog I started was a way for me to talk about things that affected me and experiences I was having. Looking back, my first foray into blogging was nothing like what I’m doing now on my current site because that was more personal with a hint of the fannish/political and now, even though I still talk about personal stuff, I tend to focus more on diversity (or the lack of it) and fannish blowouts than anything else.

ME: If a close friend murdered someone for a good reason, but you couldn’t go to the police, how would you dispose of the body with your friend? OR would you turn your friend in instead?

ZINA: I’m a ride or die kind of friend. If one of my besties murdered someone for a good reason (or any reason, to be honest), I’d help them out. As long as I don’t have to actually touch the body (like it’s wrapped up in something by the time I get there), I can help toss it. If not? I’m actually excellent at coming up with alibis so I’d have to insist on sticking to alibi creation in that case.

[Hahah, well, I know who to go to when I’ve murdered someone xD]

ME: Besides reading and blogging, what else do you do with your spare time? 

ZINA: First things first, I sleep a lot. So chances are that if you need me but can’t reach me, I’m asleep. When I’m awake though (and not at school), I tend to be writing. I’m working on a billion fiction projects for Patreon (all fantasy stories with a focus on QPOC) and I’m also working on some original romance stuff because I rarely see the stories I want to read in that genre. I also play video games (badly). Right now I’m bumbling my way through Dragon Age Inquisition and Lego Marvel Avengers!

[Yeeees, sleeping is life (literally 😉 ) I think it’s great that you are writing what you want to see, for I’m sure it’ll be amazing!]

ME: In your opinion, what makes a great comic book?

ZINA: I’ve actually thought about this way more than I probably should. I think that if you’re creating a comic for one of the Big Two (an established property like Batman or Wolverine), you need to remember the character’s comic book past without relying on it. New readers should be able to dive in to the start of an arc without needing to pick up a ton of prior material while old readers shouldn’t feel like the book is rehashing old events. 

ME: Since it is the 6th month of the year, list 6 bloggers that you’d recommend people to follow.

ZINA: 

Fleet @Fleet Sparrow

Meyari @ Hearts on Wings: Meyari McFarland

Jill @ Outlines of Shakespeare’s Plays

Kristen and Nicki @ UP ‘TIL MIDNIGHT

Author B R Sanders @ Clatter and Clank

Nephele Tempest @ Nephele Tempest

These are all bloggers that I’m friends with and/or admire for their writing, kindness, and general awesomeness!

[Oooh, I’m only following Kristen & Nicki at the moment, but I sure will go by those other blogs! And YOU, yes YOU, should too!!]

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First off, “Zina” is such a beautiful name, isn’t it?? I rarely see such unique names starting with a “Z”, so it’s really cool to see one that isn’t common. I told Zina this already, but I absolutely love her humour and personality — it is very…”sassy”? and “true” if you will, and I love how you see that through her writing and her blog posts. Her blog’s header is very neat and goes well with the content of her blog. Oh, and if you have yet to visit her blog, make sure you go by her Fiction Round-Ups; this is where you can find all her original fiction!

If you want to follow Zina on other forms of media, feel free to check out her social media listed below! Just simply click on the icon and you’ll be taken straight to her!

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Thank you to Zina for taking the time to chat with me and share yourself with not just me, but also with the blogging community. I appreciate you and what you provide to the blogosphere, and I hope you get all the sleep you can possibly wish for! ❤

 

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time…

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