Interview with a Dragon Blogger: Lynda Tomkinson

The interview with the writing staff series continues here at dragonblogger.com and for those who didn’t see the previous interviews I decided to come up with an Interview series for some of most frequent contributors and writers who have been with the site more than 6 months, many have been with the site for several years and contribute not only written content for the site, but also YouTube video content and even Twitch live game streaming content.  For those who are new to the site, or may not know, my name is Justin Germino and I am the original Dragon Blogger who started this site in 2008, yes can you believe that I have been running dragonblogger.com for 8 years this August!  I will be personally interviewing the various members of our team and showcasing them here.

Today our Interview is with Lynda Tomkinson

Lynda published her first article with dragonblogger.com on April 28th 2014!

Justin: Introduce yourself to our audience, tell them a little about yourself and where you live

Lynda: My name is Lynda. I live in Canada with my husband and 3 children. I’m turning 40 this year but I am hoping my cake will say 25. I find writing this somewhat difficult as I’m not used to talking about myself, but I’ll try my best to not bore you.

Justin: What do you do on your spare time? What hobbies do you like or games do you play?

Lynda:  I’m addicted to Game of thrones, Harry Potter, Marvel, Dr. Who and pretty much anything geeky. I play a lot of games on Xbox one during the day while my kids are at school. I play Call of Duty mostly. Yes I am a camper and you can see from my videos. We have parties for Game of Thrones premier and finale episodes. We watch a lot of movies and enjoy going to local comic con and Fan Expo in the summer.

 

Justin: What first interested you in becoming a writer or product reviewer for Dragon Blogger?

Lynda: I was drawn to Dragon Blogger because of its honesty. Some blogs are all about keeping sponsors happy even if it means giving a dishonest review. I think if there is an issue with a product it should be added in the review.

Justin: When reviewing products what do you look for and what methodologies do you use to test a product?

Lynda: I will only review a product I can use or that interests me. I like having the freedom to say how I feel even if I didn’t find a product helpful or useful. I think honest feedback is important to consumers. I would hate to see people waste money on something that didn’t work. As for games, I use the same thought. I may not truly like the genre but if the game is good, and well made, it deserves good remarks. I don’t do many of the newer action packed one due to motion sensitivity issues, so I cannot always do the really popular ones, but that is ok, as I am sure there are others like me out there.

Justin: What are some of your favorite brands that you have worked with and/or want to work with in the future?

Lynda: I love working with Etekcity. They always seem to be looking to improve on their products and rely on honest feed back. I would love to work with Oculus. I watch a lot of ASMR videos (autonomous sensory meridian response) and they are now starting to make the videos in 360.

Justin: Do you enjoy doing written content more or video/rich media content when doing reviews and why?

Lynda:  I do enjoy written reviews better. I do not feel comfortable in front of a camera. I also don’t own a camera other than the one on my phone. I feel my words flow easier with written reviews and easier to fix my many errors

Justin: What are some of the challenges you have faced as a writer/reviewer for Dragon Blogger?

Lynda: Some of the challenges I have faced was writing this. Talking about myself is the hardest thing so far I’ve had to write. The only challenge I have had really is making the videos for twitch. There have been a couple videos I have had to scrap. Being a girl gamer is not always easy and some people on Xbox can be very rude and mean just because I am a girl. The language displayed in the trashed videos was not acceptable to be displayed.

Justin: Speaking of Gaming, check out Lynda’s 3 hour Twitch Live Stream of Rainbow Siege Six she did earlier this year!

 

Justin: What is the #1 item that has been on your wish list for a while that you haven’t had a chance to get yet?

Lynda: The item I would most like to review would be the Oculus Rift. It is a virtual reality system. I discovered ASMR videos a few years ago. For me it helps with relaxation and helps me fall asleep and stay asleep. I think this would bring on another dimension to my relaxation.

Justin: Where do you see yourself in 5 years personally (regardless of the site) what do you see yourself doing?

Lynda: In 5 years I see myself pretty much the same. I am happy with everything. I have a great family and we have fun. Maybe by then I will feel comfortable enough to do reviews on camera.

Justin: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about yourself, if you wanted one thing from readers or our fans what would it be?

Lynda: If any readers out there are interested in me writing about anything I have talked about I would love their feedback on articles I could write. I love rambling on about anything geeky. I will be doing a big party next month for Game of thrones. I do themed food if anyone is interested I could write about that.

Justin: You are certainly passionate about Game of Thrones and tabletop RPG games in general, I see all your D&D related games/jokes and memes shared on Facebook.  Have fun at your next GoT party and hope some readers check out your YouTube Playlist and see some of the gaming vids you have done for our channels.

I encourage our readers to check out Lynda’s Dedicated Playlist on our YouTube Channel and leave a comment asking Lynda any questions you have.