Blogger Behind the Blog {Motherhood: The Real Deal}

Here’s this week’s instalment of Blogger Behind the Blog where I interview a blogger all about their reasons for blogging and what it means to them. This week I’m joined by Talya from Motherhood: The Real Deal.

Here’s Talya with more about her blogging life:

Where did your blog name come from? The name Motherhood: The Real Deal came from the fact that when I started the blog I thought there were a lot of truths people weren’t talking about openly when it comes to motherhood – though since I’ve started blogging so many more people are trying not to honey coat things which I think is a step in the right direction.

When did you start your blog and why? Motherhood came as quite a shock to me – I felt there were so many things I was unprepared for, so many changes, and so many utterly ridiculous moments, challenges and dynamics and I wanted to get them down for the world to see that that they could benefit from hearing about the real experiences (with a little tongue in cheek flavour!) – not the image that all the glossy magazines portray… and also to help me make sense of what was going on too. I think it was also a way of keeping my communication skills alive while I worked my way through the initial stages of motherhood, when I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life thereafter.

What did you do before you blogged? I actually was an Editor in Chief for a leading online lifestyle platform in Singapore (we were there for four years, and had our baby girl out there). I have always worked in communications in some form or another, and have also been a bit of a writer, so I guess it was a bit of a no brainer for me….

What was your first post? It was one about childbirth and how you’re never really prepared for the experience… I think I was still blown away from it at the time of writing.

What inspires you to blog? I have so many thoughts and ideas bouncing around in my head – you should see my iNotes…. it might be something that I have experienced that day, a conversation I had with someone, something I’ve read, a question I have about parenting myself, or something my daughter or another child has done that day.

What post has had the best response, which post are you most proud of and which post did you enjoy writing the most? I wrote a very tongue in cheek post about the fact that hairy muffs were coming back into fashion aka mum bushes after something I read somewhere… it had a lot of people spitting out their tea and was my first post to go viral. I think the post I am most proud of is actually my interview with parenting expert Steven Biddulph and author of How to Raise Girls (and boys). It’s an interview piece, and I knew the minute I read his book I just had to reach out and interview him. His words are absolute gold dust in my mind and he is a truly amazing man. I really loved writing the What kind of bird mum are you post? It was such a silly, tongue in cheek post that made me and everyone else chuckle!

Have any of your posts not had the response that you expected? Yes many – I still have no idea what makes them fly or die… but that’s blogging I guess!

Where do you see your blog in a year’s time? At the moment, I am looking to be able to make my blog sustainable so that I can reduce my freelance writing and run everything through the blog instead. So far so good but fingers crossed – that would really be my dream for a year. Just lots more great content really!

What is your favourite thing about blogging? The fact that you can express yourself freely, open up discussion, and talk about issues that may not be talked about face to face otherwise. The fact you can transform a little seed of an idea into something else altogether which takes on a life of its own. And the fact of the impact it can have on other people’s lives – when someone reaches out to tell you that – it’s mind-blowing.

…and your least favourite? Trolls!… be gone trolls!

What’s the best blog post you have ever read? Anything from Absolutely Prabulous… she is my blogging wifey and an absolute wordsmith. Her posts make you tingle. I don’t have a favourite but read any and you’ll see what I mean.

What blog do you love to read and why? I love reading Dawn from Rhyming With Wine’s blog – her rhymes always tickle me. I love them so much I recently read one over on my You Tube channel. Also Sarah from Mum Muddling Through who is my other blogging bestie because it’s really like you’re having a natter with her when you read them. Do you do anything differently now to when you started blogging? I think I have a lot more confidence. I don’t hesitate to publish something controversial as much. I trust in my judgement a lot more. I also take a lot more blog breaks now and feel ok about disappearing from the bloggersphere for weeks if need be.

Is blogging what you expected it to be? In many ways… yes… but in others…. no…. particularly the all consuming hamster wheel it is! But I have had so many amazing opportunities unfold because of blogging which I never would have expected.

What’s been your favourite blog collaboration to date? My #coolmumclub linky with my other blog wifey Sarah from Mum Muddling Through every Thursday. Although it’s hard work running a linky, doing it with Sarah is absolutely golden, and we love our family of linkers…it really does feel a bit like a party at a club!

Are there any brands you would love to work with, why? Oh my goodness yes! I am dying to work with notonthehighstreet.com because I just LOVE their selection. Also the Body Shop because they have been part of my life since a teenager.

Have you had any blogging fails so far? Erm…. the time I had no security and my entire blog got hacked. Epic fail. But thankfully someone called Donna helped to get me out of that one. 😉

What is your biggest blogging hope, dream or ambition? The editorial side of the blog is already pretty much how I would want it now, but really I would love to be able to work with more brands on a more regular basis.

What do you do when you’re not blogging? Be a mum, write as a freelancer, play the piano, do yoga, laugh, explore and love life.

and lastly, tell us all a random fact about yourself I can bellydance! (just don’t ask me to do it over on my You Tube channel….ok?  

Now that you know all about Talya from Motherhood: The Real Deal, make sure you go and read her blog. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – thanks so much Talya for being involved!