5,000! Wow! Thank you!
Back in June 2013, I won a signed paperback from a blog on Facebook called Talkbooks. When providing my address we realized not only did we live in the same city, I actually knew two of them. We live on an island, so it is pretty easy to run in to people you know when they are from this city. It had now been almost a year at the time since I became book crazy. My bestie lent me her Nook to read 50 Shades of Grey (shocker I know). Well I read that series and 6 months later I had devoured more books than I had in the seven years I put myself through night classes to get my Bachelors Degree. It was around this time I also found a website called Goodreads and it started suggesting books to me. It suggested Unleashed by Cherrie Lynn and BOOM, I was obsessed! I was on book overload. I could not get enough. My "TBR" list was growing by the minute..click..click..click. I started following authors I enjoyed on Facebook and discovered that an author I loved was coming to Boston to sign books. WHAT?!?!?! THey do that? She chats with her fans daily on Facebook, so I wanted to meet her. My bestie jumped at the chance to go with me. Almost 5 hours of standing in the cold in March and I got to meet Katie Ashley, Tara Sivec, Collen Hoover and SC Stephens. I was in over my head and as much as I wanted to "fangirl" I was so shy and still cannot believe I had the balls enough to ask to take pics. At the time I had no clue who SC Stephens even was, but I had her sign my book that I had not even read at the time. That is the beauty of signings, you meet people you might not have heard of, but before you know they can become your favorite author. Can you say Kellan Kyle? Google him if you don't know the name...You're Welcome In Advance!
It was around this time that I saw the Talkbooks girls were planning a signing for April 12, 2014 even closer to my hometown. I made it my mission to read authors from this upcoming signing and post as many reviews on Goodreads as I could so I did not end up in a situation where I did not know an author. I was blown away when the Talkbooks Chics (now know to me as Mindy, Lynne and Angela) asked me if I wanted to join their blog. I had no idea what I was doing, but damn it I was going to try. I was honored they would even want me to be a part of their team. Little by little I figured out how to schedule posts, sign up for blog tours and figured out pretty quickly that I suck at HTML. I had tested the signing waters out a bit by going to a signing in NYC. Only this time I was pimping Talkbooks and trying to get these incredible authors to Boston for our (cannot believe I was saying our and not theirs). It was so fun and I think half of them thought me and my co-blogger, Lynne were crazy (well we are a bit). I also got to meet our sister blog. The girls of All is Read. My book family was growing and I was never happier. These girls wormed their way into my heart and cemented their way into my soul. I feel like I have known them my entire life. Man, who knew I would be so blessed just by reading? Hashtag alert...#clapclap. The 2014 North Shore Author Signing went off without a hitch. It was amazing! I was in a room with NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors. You think it would have sunk in because Authors who I admired, read their words as they shared their talents and poured their hearts and souls into these books that I loved. I was blown away!! I felt like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't get enough and I can honestly say I will never forget the dinner conversation I had with my fellow co-blogger Angela, Carey Heywood, R.K. Lilley and her husband. Perfect time for another gratuitous hashtag. #hadtobethere
Flash forward to North Shore Author Signing 2015. This will now be my second year with the Talkbooks girls and being involved with the signing. It is hard work, but honestly worth every second because I truly respect all of these authors for their talents, their generosity and support they give the blog. Some of them we consider a piece of our extended family. A few more hash tags for ya. #wickedpissah #militarypartycrashers #NSAS15
So what does this all have to do with 5,000? Well we hit 5,000 followers on Facebook today. A goal we have been busting ass to get to for as long as I have been on board. It is so hard to compete with the big name blogs we admire! We will continue to try. We will continue to post freebies, sales, promos, book tours, reviews and we will continue to try and bring new authors to the Boston area! We will continue to share our love of books, their love for their fans and our love for you; the readers. The readers and the fellow bloggers that share the stories, the adventures, the love and yes even the sex we all enjoy loading on to our kindles, Nooks or hell even crack open a paperback once in a while. So 5,000 is way more than just a number. It is a milestone. I never thought that I would own a bookshelf, never mind one that is full of personalized books that are priceless to me. I never thought that I would have a book family, but my heart swells just thinking of Mindy, Lynne, Angela, Lexy, Annie, Jocelyn & Jamie who chit chat with me daily so we can be excited about new books or an author that sent an email, pimping an indie author, stalking a bestseller we all love or just asking how each others day is. These girls will never know how much they mean to me. I never thought a hobby would turn in to a lifestlye. One that I will continue to read for, review for, pimp for and continue to love every second of it. My heart is open for more. More books, more authors, more friends, more love. 5,000 is just the beginning....