Legen...wait for it...dary

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: What experience for you has been the most legendary? (Or, what would be legendary if you got the opportunity to experience it?)

(I got this idea from Barney always saying "legendary" on "How I Met Your Mother" and also was inspired by my friend's crazy birthing experience last week.)

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I have talked about some legendary experiences in past blogs, such as waiting in line for "Rent" tickets all day long and meeting celebrities, such as Joey McIntyre. However, the experience I wanted to talk about today is something that is still going strong and has lasted almost a year already. I'm talking about Chick Lit Central, my group and blog for all things chick lit related.

I first started the group in the summer of 2009, but nothing really came of it at the time and I ignored it after a while. Last spring, I decided to start it up again after talking to a few friends about chick lit novels, partaking in status short story contests on Rowan Coleman's Facebook page and entering contests to win books (I won a few within a short period of time). I decided to invite more people to the Facebook group and started a blog to accompany what would be talked about in this group. I originally was just going to do book reviews and talk about authors I liked. Then I decided to open it up to interviews and giveaways. I was inspired by Sarah Pekkanen, who personally e-mailed me to offer her first book, "The Opposite of Me" for review. (I loved it, by the way.) She also hosted a giveaway on my Facebook group. Soon, I was contacting authors and asking to do interviews and giveaways. My first interview was with Allie Larkin, who was also a debut author with an excellent novel called "Stay." We did a giveaway, as well. There was only a small turnout for the giveaway, but the winner was happy when they were picked. I then did one with Allison Winn Scotch to promote her third novel, "The One that I Want." That also received only a small turnout, but it was still a lot of fun to put together.

Around this time, I received feedback from a publicist who thought I was too much in everyone's face. Her advice actually was helpful and allowed me to handle things with my group a different way. I earned more respect from authors as a result. I also started to get more of a following with my group and blog. In the meantime, I was continuing to post interviews and giveaways, as well as book reviews. I was also starting to receive a lot of complimentary book copies for reviews. It was pure Heaven for me...the latest books at my fingertips without having to go to a bookstore. What more could a bookaholic ask for?!?

In July, I went to a Borders in Virginia to hear Jennifer Weiner speak. When we got to have our books signed, I told her who I was and the recognition was immediate! She was even easier to talk to, as a result. A few weeks prior to that, I got to meet Sarah Pekkanen in person and we did a video interview for the blog.

Around this time, I also asked my friend Melissa P. to become partners for the group and blog. She started to help with interviews and we had a great time discussing what was in store for Chick Lit Central. We also vented to each other when that was needed.

Throughout the rest of the year, we continued to host interviews and giveaways. We had at least one a week. Sometimes even more! I also became friends with a few other book bloggers and connected them with authors and publishers if I felt it would be helpful for their blogs. I even got to know some authors really well and formed a friendship with them. I've had publishers contact me to promote new books, as well. At the end of 2010, I was able to do a huge giveaway to celebrate reaching 1000 members on Facebook. Thanks to the authors I knew already, there were tons of books up for grabs. It was really exciting to host such a huge giveaway. Finally, my reviews are being taken into consideration more and authors seem to appreciate them more than they would a random review. Some have even re-posted them on their Facebook pages.

We're only a few months into 2011 and I've been constantly busy with Chick Lit Central related stuff. It's almost like a second job, except I get paid in books (I even listed it as one on LinkedIn). After I had my baby in February, I had comments on my Facebook page from a bunch of the authors I knew. I think this whole experience reached legendary status when my sister called me to ask me if the Kristin Hannah commented on one of my daughter's pictures. The other thing that told me that my blog had "arrived" was when Melissa P. and I got invited to contribute a blog post to International Chick Lit Month. As of today, we have 1,113 members on Facebook, 1,072 followers on Twitter and 367 followers on our blog.

There is more in store for Chick Lit Central this spring and summer, as I have more author interviews and giveaways lined up. I also have some fun ideas for how to celebrate my blogaversary next month. All in all, this group and blog has been legendary for me. I hope it will last for a long time, but I know that no matter how long it does last, I will be talking about it for years to come. I also hope that I'll be able to pass along my love for chick lit to my daughter someday.