I’m so pleased to have Francine LaSala as part of my Celebration of Bloggers Tour today.  Francine wears many hats, including but certainly not limited to, published author, ghost writer, editor, blogger, copywriter, mother, wife, friend, and she recently added “party planner” to her resume when she co-organized the first annual Author Book Buzz event in New York City, along with me and Samantha Stroh Bailey. Today she is joining the Celebration of Bloggers Tour to talk about her role as a Blogger Girl and her blog Clippings in the Shed. See below for additional information on how to find Francine to discuss her many other talents because, let me tell you, she is one extraordinary chick. Take it away, Francine!

I’m a Blogger Girl!

I’m so delighted to be a part of the lead-up to the launch of BLOGGER GIRL. Am I a blogger girl? You bet!

I started blogging at the urging of publishing pros who told me it would be a great way to get people to get to know about my books–and me. I planned to write about writing and the writing process, and I called my blog Clippings in the Shed. Why?

There’s a pretty powerful scene in A Beautiful Mind in which Jennifer Connolly walks into Russell Crowe’s outdoor shed, where he’s been doing what he believes is very impressive and important work. But what she sees are hundreds of scattered, senseless news clippings, taped up at random, all marked up in a madman’s furious scrawl… Clippings in the shed. Well, this is kind of what happens in writing. You can tap away for hours on your keyboard thinking you are composing a literary symphony with every stroke… And when you return to the “greatness,” what you find is more an insane cacophony of crap.

As I continued blogging, I realized that while sometimes I could be interesting, other times, not so much. I wanted to blog regularly, but I was getting tired of the “me-ness” of it all. That’s when I decided to start doing my “Five for Friday” segment. Each week, I do an interview with a person I find interesting, and not always other writers. I’ve had a great time with it, and as soon as I get over being so lazy about blogging this summer, I plan to bring it back. There are so many people doing so many awesome things. I can’t wait to meet and greet some more. I also really enjoy hosting others for guest posts, cover reveals, you name it. I like my blog better when it’s not a “one-woman show.”

My experience with blogging has definitely been positive (I’m proud of the 7,000+ hits I’ve gotten so far), and it’s gotten me itching to start another. In a few weeks, I’ll be launching a Joy Jar blog. Quickly, for those who don’t know about it, The “Joy Jar” Project is a Facebook group I started at the beginning of 2013 to give people a place to go and post good news. We’re at about 400 members now, and growing all the time. For the blog, I envision essays from people telling their own stories about finding, experiencing, and savoring joy. I think it’s going to be awesome! (I think you should join the group. Come on over!)

So am I a blogger girl? And then some! I’ve also had the pleasure of reading BLOGGER GIRL and had this to say about it:

“Meredith Schorr’s delightfully flawed heroines have never failed to charm me, and Blogger Girl’s Kimberly Long joins Jane (A State of Jane) and Stephanie (Just Friends With Benefits) in a special place in my heart. I really connected with her, especially, I hate to admit, over the frustration of seeing her high school nemesis thrive while she floundered. A great character. So very human and full of dimension. A satisfying and enjoyable read!”

I loved it, you will, too!

Hey, if anyone reading is interested in taking part in either of these blogs, please email me directly: francine@francinelasala.com. It’ll be fun!

Thanks, again, Meri! And best of luck!!

FRANCINE LASALA has written nonfiction on every topic imaginable, from circus freaks to sex, and edited bestselling authors of all genres. She is now actively taking on clients for manuscript evaluations, editing services, copywriting (covers, blurbs, taglines, queries, and more), website and blog creation, and developing kickass social media campaigns. The author of novels Rita Hayworth’s Shoes and The Girl, The Gold Tooth & Everything, and the creator of The “Joy Jar” Project, she lives with her husband and two daughters in New York.

Find Francine online:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/francinelasala

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Francine-LaSala-Author/223109337705912

Blog: http://clippingsintheshed.wordpress.com/

Creative Services website: https://francinelasalaproductions.wordpress.com/

Author website: www.francinelasala.com

The “Joy Jar” Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/318621974904272/

Buy The Girl, the Gold Tooth & Everything: viewBook.at/B009NF9VQ2

Buy Rita Hayworth’s Shoes: viewBook.at/B007ZHVB1I

Coming August 28th: Blogger Girl

What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out.

A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm.

While Kim’s day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads–and pages–across the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox–for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.