On my blog today is Stephanie Territo, creator of Steph The Bookworm Blog.
I was introduced to Stephanie back in 2010 when she participated in the CLP Blog Tour for my debut novel, Just Friends with Benefits. Both Stephanie and her mom really loved the book and so when A State of Jane was released, asking Stephanie to review it was a no-brainer. She loved it even more than JFWB which puts a lot of pressure on Blogger Girl but I think it’s up to the challenge! Although our introduction was based on the fact that she’s a book blogger and I’m an author, it turns out we have more in common – we’re both runners too. I am happy to report that I consider Stephanie a virtual friend separate and apart from our blogger/author relationship. I was really pleased when Stephanie agreed to open up on my blog as part of the Blogger Girl launch. See her touching and inspiring post below and definitely check out her blog http://www.stephthebookworm.com/.
Blogging the Big Moments by Stephanie Territo (stephthebookworm.com)
When the internet first started becoming big when I was in middle school, I was excited but apprehensive. I let my lifelong anxiety cause me a slight bit of paranoia, and I was all about anonymity. I would never use my full name, and I refused to sign up for Facebook, even when all my friends were getting obsessed. I even told them I did not want them posting pictures of me on there. Why? I guess I thought people would find me and try to stalk me or something. Yeah, right. Sometimes, there are no explanations when it comes to anxiety. Anyways, after a few years, they secretly signed me up for an account, and now I fully embrace the Facebook lifestyle. I even post tons of pictures… and no one has come after me yet (haha!). This is all to say, I started out being nervous and anonymous online, but now I let it all hang out. I finally embraced the internet.
Growing up shy and anxious, the internet started becoming an outlet where I could be myself, where I could speak without fear. Then, I started a book blog in September 2009 which is still very much active, but now combines a little personal element too. In fact, the personal posts seem to be the most popular of them all. I share all of the big moments of my life, from the bad to the good. I’ve talked about break-ups, wedding plans, losing 115 pounds, becoming a runner, meeting my fiancé… anything big that happens to me is bound to get written about. Why do I share these big moments of my life on the internet? Why do I bare my heart and soul on my blog, when I know plenty of people I’ve never even met are reading it? Because these are the moments I want to remember. I wanted to capture the way I felt when I crossed the finish line of my first 15K. I wanted to remember the day I met Jerry, the moment I first laid eyes on him at the airport. And I want my friends, these people I have met through blogging from all over the world, to share these moments with me too. My life has changed considerably since I learned to open myself up online. I have made so many friends, some that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in real life, and others who I just chat with online. We initially connect through our love of books via our book blogs, but then our relationships grow into actual friendships, and it’s a beautiful thing. There is nothing quite like having a friend who understands your obsessive love of books and literature, and the towering piles of books all over your house (and probably has them too!).
I even met my fiancé online, on a fitness website, where we have lost over 300 pounds together. This is all the proof I need to know that you really can create true, lasting friendships and relationships online. This is the reason I share it all on my blog – all of the moments of my life, big and small.
Follow Stephanie on Twitter here: @stephbookworm ; Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/StephTheBookworm and Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/stephbookworm/
Coming soon: 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 chicklit 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.
