INKED | Samantha from I Heart YA Fiction

 

Today we have Samantha from I Heart YA Fiction joining us!  Be sure to leave her a comment and let her know what you think of her INK!

 

Name: Samantha Randolph

 

Website: I Heart YA Fiction

 

Tell us a little about yourself:

Hello! I'm Samantha. Between being an English major, a blogger, a reviewer, and an intern at a literary agency and publishing company, about 75% of my time is spend reading, which I love. :) The other 25% is made up of Netflix binging, sleeping, social media-ing (particularly pinning tattoos on my Pinterest board), more sleeping, and hanging out with my best friend and roommate (without whom I probably wouldn't have a social life at all).

 

When did you get your first tattoo? 

 

December 2014, age 20. My best friend got two before I did, and I went with her both times and got to know the tattoo artist. He (the artist) is such an awesome mixture of professional and laid back that I immediately felt comfortable.

 

When did you get your last tattoo?

 

I only have one right now, but hopefully that will change soon. :)

 

Do you have a favorite?

 

Though I plan on getting several more, I have a feeling this first one will stay the favorite. Growing up, I've always been intrigued by wings, and I told myself if I ever got a tattoo that it would be of wings. As weird as it might be, I also felt I kind of learned something new about myself when I got this one. I always considered myself kind of weak (very baby like) when it comes to pain, but I didn't even say ow when I got it. It's nice knowing I'm just a little stronger than what I thought I was. :)

 

Is there a special meaning behind any of your tattoos?

 

As I said before, wings have always intrigued me. I remember reading a book called Growing Wings by Laurel Winter when I was really young (a middle grade about a girl with wings), and I loved it. I recently read The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (another girl with wings story) and also loved it. I've even been sporting the winged eyeliner style for 5 years. To me, wings represent all the qualities I want to have: strength, fierceness, grace, and power. Having them on my back is a reminder of the person I want to be. These particular wings are also special to me because I designed them. I spent weeks sketching pairs out on notebook paper during classes (guilty), and finally drew this pair that I love.

 

Are you planning on getting anymore?

 

Absolutely! In addition to wings, I love roses. My honors thesis that I'm currently writing is actually on YA Beauty and the Beast retellings, so I really want to get something like the red rose picture. Bows and arrows ridiculously intrigue me as well, so I'm thinking of a small one of them somewhere too.

 

 

Tell us a little about your blog:

When I first started reviewing seriously, I was fortunate enough to be able to join the wonderful Fresh Fiction site (of which I'm still a part of). There, however, I just review books (as opposed to general blogging and reviewing), and the tone is slightly more formal (no GIFs). As much as I loved it, I also wanted a place where I could express myself a little more, and I found Sabrina at I Heart YA Fiction who was taking applications for a co-blogger. I hadn't wanted to start my own blog because I knew I didn't have time to do it justice on my own, and co-blogging was the perfect solution. I applied, Sabrina and I talked, and we found we are a great match for blogging. Since then, we've been working hard to further the blog (Sabrina had started it roughly a year beforehand) and make it a fun, bookish place. We mostly review YA, but we've started reaching a point now where we review all sorts of things whether it's YA, MG, adult, or even something we're reading for class since we're both in school. Our main goal is just to have fun with it and enjoy/spread all the bookish love.

 

Is there anything that you would like to add? 

Thank you so much for having me! I love, love, loveee this feature, and this blog totally rocks. Books+tattoos= happiness forever. :)

 

 

 

Thank you so much for joining us, Samantha!  I love your wings, and it's so awesome that you drew them yourself!  And that Rose and Arrow are amazing, we would love to see them once you get them done!

 

If you are an author or blogger with a tattoo and are interested in being our guest on INKED, you can find all of the information HERE.

 

Be sure to drop by next week for another INKED post :)