52 Stories: Just a Broadway Baby

Inspired by One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern, I've decided to ask people some thought provoking questions about themselves, as I feel that everyone has a story to tell. If you're just joining me on this journey today, please check out the previous posts from this series, as well.

I met this storyteller through my book blog, as she is an author and her novels fit into the chick lit category. From what I remember, she's friends with another author I was working with and I saw a picture of her book cover on that author's page and decided to click over and check her out. I'm glad I did, as her novels are fun and quirky and she's incredibly nice! She even interviewed me for her blog recently! She's the author of Rita Hayworth's Shoes and The Girl, The Gold Tooth and Everything. Meet Francine LaSala!

Name you'd like to go by: Francine LaSala (an author but also an “open book”)
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Location: New York

What is an experience that is legendary for you?
I got married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Valentine’s Day. That year, every day for six weeks leading up to the wedding, it was 10 degrees or colder. Then a few days before, it shot to 30, then 40. It was 55 degrees in February on our wedding day! I have pictures of me in a strapless gown OUTSIDE. People thought we were celebrities when we emerged from the church after the ceremony. It was just a magical, legendary experience!

What is your guilty pleasure?
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate with red wine. Yum!

What is something you've never done but you would like to do?
I would love to perform in a Broadway show. Not a play, but a musical. I don’t need to be the lead, but I think it would be amazing to just be up there. I have two left feet, and when I sing, the angels weep (in pain), but there’s just something about the electricity of the stage that sucks me in and keeps me dreaming.

If you could give someone one of your favorite things as a gift, what would it be and why?
I have a weird relationship with material things because I never seem to have them. Immaterially, I think there’s a sense of calm and gratitude I have that it took me to 40 to get for myself. I used to let everything get to me. I used to feel responsible for everything, especially horrible things that were never in my control anyway. My ability to take a deep breath and shrug my shoulders, to not let things I can’t change, “eat” me alive, is one of my favorite “things” I have. It gives me the ability to see the positives in every day. That gets tough when nothing seems to be going right, but even if it’s as small as “My kid went to the bathroom without me nagging her” or “I had enough milk without having to run out,” it’s worth celebrating. That’s where my Joy Jar project comes from. A lot of people think they have to wait until they get a fancy new job or buy a new car or something amazing happens to them before they can post something, but my favorite posts are always the ones that celebrate joy in the smallest things. In any case, I like to gift that “thing” to others--hence the Joy Jar! :-)

What is something you did that changed someone's life?
I have a sort of distant friend who once told me that on a business drinks outing with him, in what may as well be another lifetime, I convinced him to ask his then-girlfriend to marry him. I believe they’ve been married now nearly 20 years. I only found out about this recently, via Facebook of course.

What part of your personality is now extinct?
The girl who craves unrequited love. That was a hard one to squash. At least it came in handy for writing, though!

What is one thing that you find really funny?
I’m kind of a slapstick gal. It would be terrible to admit what I really find funny... But as long as nobody gets hurt, it’s okay that it could be funny. Right??


Tell me one thing you love about yourself (or a gift you'd like to get yourself, where money is not an issue):
I love my generous spirt. It’s unfortunate that sometimes it works against me, but I don’t think I’d trade it in. (It may be my only ticket to Heaven. LOL!)


What TV show, book or movie is most like your life?
I wish I could say 30 Rock, but it would have to be Up All Night. Though I’m pissed Christina Applegate isn’t returning in the fall. How the hell are they going to pull that off without her?

(Side note: The show has been cancelled.)

What is something that not many people know about you?
I scored very poorly on my SATs. I mean, very poorly. Scary bad. Only on the math. I did great on the verbal. Surprised?