Tuesday, May 13, 2014

BookBuzz 2014: A Fangirl’s Dream


I can barely contain my excitement to attend BookBuzz 2014 in New York City!!! The opportunity to mix and mingle with a group of very talented authors and fabulous readers is such a treat. Though I am certainly not a stranger to being a fangirl when it comes to authors of women’s fiction, the role of author is brand spanking new to me. I have been a published author for less than a year and feel like I haven’t a clue what I’m doing yet. I have been most fortunate to have met an incredible group of chick lit authors and it all began just three short months ago with my first Twitter friend, Samantha Stroh Bailey. I had no idea when our conversation string started of the many ways that she would change my life.

Samantha immediately offered a great deal of sage advice and invited me to join a chick lit Facebook group where I met a number of other welcoming authors. I was overwhelmed by the camaraderie of the group and by how quickly I was assimilated. Navigating the new role of author is rather daunting and knowing that you are not alone makes a world of difference. When you find yourself overwhelmed by the blank computer screen in front of you, by the ridiculously large number of advertising options available to you or even by the breadth of social media, you have a support group to turn to.

Within my first month of hard core social media participation, I had “cyber” met hundreds of authors, but I was always drawn back to my chick lit Facebook groups. Every day I found myself fascinated by the community that they had formed and by the myriad of things that I learned from them. I slowly found the courage to participate in the discussions and found my confidence growing by the day.

And the best part? Not only have I discovered an abundance of really talented chick lit and women’s fiction authors, but also I have made some good friends. Just the other day, I had the pleasure of meeting THE Meredith Schorr! I kept reminding myself to be cool as I chatted with the very talented author of Just Friends With Benefits, A State of Jane and Blogger Girl. It may surprise you to hear this, but I can be a total dork. If you don’t believe me, please feel free to read my books. My heroine, Sydney Bennett, is most definitely my alter ego.

Due to my adventures in social media over the last few months, I have been lucky enough to have read an abundance of engrossing books and I couldn’t be happier. I feel both inspired and humbled by the fabulous books that these amazing women have written. I may be an author now, but the fangirl is very much alive and well. The arrival of BookBuzz 2014 means that I get to meet many of these outstanding authors in person!!! Francine LaSala, Cat Lavoie, Lydia Laceby, oh my! And I will FINALLY meet Samantha Stroh Bailey, the woman who started it all for this rather, um, eccentric author.

Are you jealous? No need to be! Simply visit this link, RSVP and prepare to have an awesome time!  Hope to see you there!

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