Something to Blog About

“SOMETHING TO BLOG ABOUT is sweet, funny, and altogether fabulous.  I loved it!” – Lauren Myracle, New York Times Bestselling Author of TTYL

“How it gets resolved with a happy ending is the stuff of a witty sitcom. The blog format interspersed with chapters will interest Internet-savvy readers.” – KLIATT

“…funny and engaging, a wonderful glimpse into the topsy-turvy
emotions of a teen in love…” – Cana Rensberger, TeensReadToo.com reviewer

Boys, bullies, and blogs come together in a book that brings the popular online diary format to print.

For fans of Lauren Myracle’s ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r, this fun, fast-paced book introduces an unforgettable and relatable heroine and features chapter openers designed to look like the pages of an online blog. An innovative debut, Something to Blog About is filled with the memorable missteps and heartfelt emotions of growing up.

Libby Fawcett decides to start a secret blog so that she can have an outlet to vent her feelings and frustrations. When Seth Jacobs (her crush since eighth grade) witnesses her tragic (and comic) run-in with a Bunsen burner in chemistry class, or when she finds out that her mother is dating the father of her arch-nemesis, Angel Rivera, she’s able to keep a level head and make it through school each day with each blog posting. But when her entries get posted all over for the whole world to see, will Libby be able to walk the halls–or face Seth–ever again?

Find Something to Blog About at an independent bookstore near you!

Or buy online from: Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

Or purchase the digital audiobook version from Audible.com or through iTunes!

I wanted to write a story about a mother and daughter who had only on each other for fifteen years, and what would happen when other people started impacting their lives in major ways. Libby is a character that I created when I was 15 (way back in 1995!). She was always Libby Fawcett, living with her young, single mother in a tiny apartment. She was always a bit clumsy, self-conscious, and socially inept. She always had a best friend named Keisha and a cousin named Roger, but long ago she once had another best friend named Rebecca, who later turned into Molly, who later was cut completely from the story. Seth was once named Lucas–and if you’ve read Troy High then you know that I used that name for one of the characters in it. Libby’s mom always fell in love with Angel’s dad. But it was the other stuff that happens to the characters along the way in their story that kept changing until I figured out exactly where they all fit in.

The events in Something to Blog About were inspired by my own experiences with online journaling in high school and college. I first discovered online journals in 1996. My family had recently moved from North Carolina to Florida at the time and I was having trouble fitting in and making friends, so I spent a lot of time online. I eventually discovered lots of teen girls just like me who had created these journals online that anyone could read.

I created my own online journal too–this was back in the day before all these nice programs like Blogger and Livejournal that let you easily add new entries. No, we had to do all HTML coding for our journals by hand and link up entries ourselves. Bloggers these days have it so easy!–and I’ve kept an online journal/blog of some form ever since. It was great; I had a place where I could let out all of my teenage angst and confess my secret love of Hanson, and sometimes other people would even email me to say that they felt the same way.

But in college, some of my classmates found my online journal. I didn’t mind if faceless people on the other side of the world read my writing, but I was mortified that people I had to see almost every day had read it. So I ended that journal and then became much more careful about what I wrote publicly. Luckily, things didn’t end badly for me–my classmates moved on and forgot about my blog and eventually I was able to turn that little incident into Libby’s story.

I really do enjoy blogging and I think it’s a great way to connect with people who share your interests, but I think everyone should think twice about what they post. You never know when something will come back to bite you!

Click here to see me read a scene from Something to Blog About!

Soundtrack

Below is a list of the songs I listened to while working on Something to Blog About. They helped me get into the feel of the story and remind me of the characters or scenes. I am not affiliated in any way with these artists or their record labels.

• “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” by Nine Days
• “Crazy for This Girl” by Evan and Jaron
• “Best of Me” by Sum 41
• “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
• “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
• “Hanging by a Moment” by Lifehouse
• “Just the Girl” by The Click Five
• “She Is” by The Fray
• “There She Goes” by Sixpence None the Richer
• “Cry Ophelia” by Adam Cohen
• “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer
• “Stay You” by Wood
• “Even Angels Fall” by Jessica Riddle

Interviews

• Interview by Heidi R. Kling
• Author2Author interview by Emily Marshall
• YA Authors Cafe interview by Marlene Perez
• Vision interview by Lazette Gifford
• Interview by Jessica Burkhart
• Portrait Magazine Interview

Reviews

• Armchair Interviews review
• MadChatter’s review
• Oops…Wrong Cookie review
• TeensReadToo.com review
• YA Book Reviews
• Em’s Bookshelf

Buzzworthy

• Something to Blog About was listed as one of M-Teen Magazine’s “Fun Books to Read for 2008” in their January 08 issue!
• Something to Blog About has been chosen as a Book Sense Summer 2008 Children’s Pick!
• The Association of Booksellers for Children has named Shana Norris a New Voices Pick for Spring 2008!

Il Segretissimo Blog di Libby, the Italian version of Something to Blog About, is now available from Giunti!

Click here for more information and to order a copy, or look for it in bookstores in Italy!