Hello, Kim! Welcome to Hot Holidays and thank you for agreeing to be my first interviewee! Before we talk holidays and travel, tell us a bit about yourself, please.
“I have run my successful book blog ‘Kim the Bookworm’ for nearly four years, and have read and reviewed thousands of books for publishers and authors and also have been fortunate to interview authors too.
After working in sales and marketing for a number of years, which I thoroughly enjoyed I have finally realised that working with books and helping authors is what I love to do best and using my great admin and fabulous organisational skills, I am now living my dream!
I am now working with publishers and authors helping them to promote their books, raise their profiles, organise blog tours and reviews, assist with social media activity, send out newsletters and arrange events.
I am also keen to continue to review family friendly products, venues and attractions and travel. I’ve been writing for a family friendly travel site for the last four years as well as an online lifestyle magazine and am keen to develop my love for family life.
Being a mom to 7 year old Ollie is the other job in my life and probably the best job I’ve ever had!
Combining these two amazing jobs really is a dream come true for me!”
http://kimthebookworm.blogspot.co.uk www.twitter.com/kimthebookworm https://www.facebook.com/KimTheBookWorm
That’s great, Kim. Now, let’s get to the questions!
ES: Where did you spend your last holiday and why did you choose to go there?
“I was invited by the Resort Development Organisation to go on a press visit and I chose a week Lanzarote at Club Las Calas in Puerto del Carmen. I took Ollie and we invited my friend and her daughter to come with us. The resort comprises both time-share and holiday let. The apartments were fabulous, ours overlooked the pool and we got to experience an amazing sunset every evening. It was an incredibly relaxing holiday, with some fabulous food, we went on some great trips and it was just what I needed as my Dad had not long died which had left a massive hole in our hearts and our lives.”
ES: What’s your favourite type of holiday? And your least favourite?
“My favourite type of holiday is one where I can lie around the pool in the sunshine with a book in one hand and a gin and tonic in the other. I’m a Leo so being born in August I do like to feel the heat on my body and am a bit of a sun worshipper. Since having Ollie, our holidays are not quite as relaxing, however I do love that I get to spend quality time with my boy away from the pressures of home and see him enjoy himself splashing away in a pool having a whale of a time.
The thought of a skiing holiday is probably my least favourite. I hate being cold and wet, and am sure that I would spend most of the time on my backside and would have a permanently soggy bum! The après ski does look good though. Can you go for just that bit?”
ES: Where did you spend your best ever holiday and what made it so memorable?
“I think the most amazing place I’ve ever been to is The Maldives. To land on an island that is literally just an airport that runs from one end to the other where you have to leave by plane or boat was completely new to me. To float up to an island that was so small it only took 20 minutes to walk around and be absolutely in the middle of nowhere was incredible.
I also though loved my first holiday in the Caribbean which was to Barbados. Have since been to the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas, both great.”
ES: Any holiday or travel disasters?
“A group of us went to Naples on the east coast of Florida in 2005. My cousin, bless her, as we embarked at Miami, just happened to mention that she had heard that there may be a hurricane while were we there! We wandered around Naples a day or two later after a morning on the beach when the sky was going a very strange colour, and the locals were asking why in God’s name we were still there! We were advised to leave as the eye of the storm was due to hit Naples before there was a state evacuation. We asked at our hotel and they advised it would be a wise move! In 2005 hurricane Wilma hit the Naples area, the first in over 45 years!
Luckily for us, one of our party had a friend who has a house in Kissimmee, which was vacant, so we packed up and headed for there as quickly as we could. I remember vividly the colour of the sky while my sister was checking us out of the hotel while my nephew and I were sat in the car and we were actually quite scared. It was early afternoon and the sky was charcoal grey!
When we arrived in Kissimmee, we were advised to put all the pool furniture in the pool and stay indoors as it was still going to affect central Florida but there was less of a risk inland! We went to bed that night not knowing what to expect when we woke. Luckily there was not any damage where we were but Naples was hit really hard! We definitely made the right decision.
After a few days when things settled down and we’d rebooked our flights from Tampa as Miami airport was trying to clear a backlog of flights which had been cancelled, we decided to head out to the east coast again and spent some time in St Petersburg which was lovely.
I’ve yet to go back to Naples even though my sister goes every year. Needs to be back on my list as I hardly saw any of it.”
ES: Tell us about a place you long to visit and the reasons why.
“Even since I was little (a very long time ago!) I used to watch Magnum on the TV and I wanted to go to Hawaii. Funny really now that my favourite programme on the TV (of which I watch very little) is Hawaii 5O and I still love the look of these amazing islands. It would be my dream to visit there.
There are however still so many places in the world that I have never visited. I’ve only ever been to Florida in the US and I’d love to see more of the country. I’d particularly love to visit Nantucket and Cape Cod as they are places I’ve read about in books and felt really drawn to. I’d love to see more of Italy as I’m a fan of Italian food. So many places! Perhaps I should make that list and start ticking them off!”
ES: Who’s your favourite travelling companion(s) or do you prefer your own company?
“These days it’s Ollie! He’s nearly 7 and is such great company. An incredibly good-natured child, he’s easy to be a mom too and he’s my best friend in the whole world! I love to spend great quality holiday time with him.”
ES: Ever had a holiday romance? Details, please!
“Yes, but I’m saying nothing more!”
ES: What’s your top holiday tip?
“Enjoy every second. Have an open mind. A holiday, like life, is what you make it. Make it what you want it to be and don’t be cajoled into doing something you don’t want to do. Holidays are precious, sometimes we have to save all year round to get a holiday, so make it special.”
Thanks so much for inviting me to be the first on your blog Elaine. It’s been fun and reminded me of some fabulous holidays! Great idea for a feature, love it x
Thank you, Kim. Your holiday experiences make great reading xx