Cheryl D’Cruz (Brand Ambassador) has a professional background in sales, advertising and fundraising and by nature is extremely inquisitive! She is determined to make the experience of a visit to Read2Write as interesting and as diverse as possible for every user. Cheryl believes the opportunity to get to know the authors and to understand the ideas behind their stories is as important as the books themselves. Her goal is to keep the Read2Write site fresh and interesting. With that in mind she is planning to introduce competitions, podcasts, and author readings. Engaging with readers is at the heart of Cheryl’s approach as she believes there should be more to a website than selling books!
What is your reading ritual?
Well, I actually don’t have a ritual as such but I love reading so much I simply read most of the time whether it’s a snippet in the newspaper, a tweet, or a magazine article. I simply take in information whenever I can. If it’s a book I prefer to read in quiet and usually, once I start a book, I can’t put it down!
What’s your favorite book/s?
Gosh that list is never ending so if I had to name one or two that spring to mind today it would be:
1/ The Book of Joy – By Dalai Lama & Desmond TuTu
2/ If It Takes a Village Build One – By Malaak Compton Rock
What are your most read genres?
Biographies and Autobiographies are my most read genres, probably because I am by nature a very inquisitive person and I love to know about people’s back stories and what makes them tick. Some might say I am nosey! Actually, I just think I prefer to know people on a deeper level, or at least that’s my personal view on why I like real life stories.
Who is your favorite author/s and why?
If I am honest, I do not have one as I think to single out one would prevent me from exploring others so I would say I don’t have any. I think reading expands your knowledge and therefore I try to stay open and always look to try something new.
How do you find new authors?
I tend to be open minded which means I don’t zero in on best sellers. I tend to focus on books that aren’t highlighted and authors who are less popular. I am not a follower or trend setter I simply prefer to be drawn to a story or topic. I also sometimes find a book cover may catch my eye first and then I decide if the story is one that makes me want to read more. I’m not the kind of person who the average marketer would go for because as a reader I’m fairly quirky which means there’s no typical genre or author that appeals to me.
If you could meet one fictional character, who would it be and what would you do?
Being quirky there are a few that spring to mind: Peter Pan is a bit of a cliche but having fun, staying young and learning to fly would be a dream come true! Mr. Benn is another one. What’s not to like about a wardrobe with loads of clothes that opens up into a world of different places and opportunities? Everyday would be an amazing adventure.
What’s your favorite part about Read2Write?
Gosh what a leading question! Perhaps the vision that Juliette had to inspire people to read a variety of authors that may not be in the top 10 (Yet). I also think I am the type of person who likes to know more and Read2Write wants people to find out more about the authors, their books and their inspirations to write. I think reading is not just about the book it can be about so much more. The site will give you that depth and that to me is why Read2Write will stand out from the crowd, by highlighting authors and books that other sites might lose sight of.
