Meredith Schorr is here today to
reveal the cover for her 3rd novel, Blogger Girl!
Read on for:
THE COVER
THE BLURB
THE EXCERPT
What
happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe
you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out.
A
chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim,
with her blog, "Pastel is the New Black," has worked tirelessly by
night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that "chick lit
is dead" once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a
meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a
Manhattan law firm.
While
Kim's day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged)
associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah
Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the
chick-lit scene with a hot new book that's turning heads--and pages--across the
land. It's also popped into Kim's inbox--for review. With their ten-year
high school reunion drawing near, Kim's coming close to combustion
over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems
to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl”
makes the grade in her off-line life.
Excerpt:
I hated this part of telling people from work about my blog. I
never knew if the attorneys would raise their noses in the air and judge my
taste in “literature.” Here goes nothing.
“Chick lit,” I admitted.
Nicholas tilted his head to the side. “Like the gum?”
Nicholas
inched closer to me. Speaking in almost a whisper, he said, “Having fun yet?”
“The
condensed version or the truth?”
“What blog?”
I felt a flush creep across my cheeks as I turned around to face
the source of the question. I wasn’t surprised, since I blushed whenever I
talked to Nicholas, even when the phone rang at work and I saw his name on my
caller ID.
“You didn’t know about Kim’s blog?” Rob asked, his blue eyes
reflecting amusement.
Nicholas shook his head, not removing his eyes from mine.
All I could think about was running my fingers along the dark
stubble on his jawline. Never completely clean shaven, he currently looked like
he hadn’t touched a razor in several days. I held his gaze willing my voice not
to give away my crush, but the heat on my face suggested a crimson complexion
that probably already had. “I have a blog where I write book reviews.” I
figured Nicholas didn’t know about my blog since our opportunities to socialize
outside of work had been few and far between in the four months we’d worked
together. It was that unfamiliarity which I blamed for my chronic bashfulness
in his presence. Well, that and his
overwhelming sex appeal. Unable to maintain eye contact a second longer, I
glanced back at Rob hoping he’d pick up the dialogue.
“It’s incredibly popular. Publishers actually beg my secretary
to read and review their client’s novels on a daily basis.” Rob beamed at me
like a proud uncle as if he was somehow responsible for my blog’s immense
popularity.
I turned back to Nicholas and smiled shyly. “Every other day basis is probably more accurate but yes, it’s a widely read blog. I have several thousand followers and get requests from authors, publicists and agents pretty often.”
I turned back to Nicholas and smiled shyly. “Every other day basis is probably more accurate but yes, it’s a widely read blog. I have several thousand followers and get requests from authors, publicists and agents pretty often.”
Nicholas looked at me with admiration. “Awesome. What types of
books do you review?”
Nicholas tilted his head to the side. “Like the gum?”
I giggled as if I’d never heard that one before. “Yes, it’s
called chick lit, like the gum. But it’s also a book genre. Like Bridget
Jones’s Diary, The Devil Wears Prada. You know?”
Nicholas looked thoughtful as he rubbed his thumb along his
chin. “My ex-girlfriend had a bunch of books with pink covers. Were those chick
lit?”
Forcing myself to stay focused instead of wondering what his
ex-girlfriend was like, how long ago they broke up and why, I smiled and said,
“Probably.” Although chick lit had certainly evolved beyond stereotypical pink
covers, it wasn’t the time to go into defense-mode.
Nicholas smiled wide. “Very cool, Kim!” Glancing at his empty
glass, he said, “Time for a refill. Be right back” and walked towards the bar.
I tore my eyes away from the back of Nicholas’ light blue business shirt and back to Rob. But Rob was now talking to Lucy about some guy she had deposed the previous day. Boring work talk. I downed the rest of my prosecco and walked over to the bar. After quickly getting the bartender’s attention, I ordered another glass, on Rob’s tab of course, and observed Nicholas finish sending a text. As he smiled into his phone, I felt my Hanky Panky thong practically melting off. At only about 5”7’, his stature might have kept him off of some women’s top five lists but since I was vertically challenged too, he was currently number one on mine. I couldn’t even think of who would follow him in second and third place.
I tore my eyes away from the back of Nicholas’ light blue business shirt and back to Rob. But Rob was now talking to Lucy about some guy she had deposed the previous day. Boring work talk. I downed the rest of my prosecco and walked over to the bar. After quickly getting the bartender’s attention, I ordered another glass, on Rob’s tab of course, and observed Nicholas finish sending a text. As he smiled into his phone, I felt my Hanky Panky thong practically melting off. At only about 5”7’, his stature might have kept him off of some women’s top five lists but since I was vertically challenged too, he was currently number one on mine. I couldn’t even think of who would follow him in second and third place.
“Penny
for your thoughts, Blogger Girl.”
I
snapped out of my list making and faced Nicholas, silently praying he was not a
mind reader.
He
looked at me expectantly.
I
swung my free hand in dismissal and lifted my drink towards him. “Nothing
important. Cheers!”
Nicholas
clinked his glass against mine, said, “Cheers” and took a sip of his drink.
Following
his lead, I took a sip of mine.
Very
aware that we’d never stood this close to each other and that these were
practically the most words we’d ever exchanged one on one, I replied with faux
nonchalance, “Can’t really complain about free drinks. You?” The cuffs of his
shirt sleeves had been pushed up to his elbows and I pondered whether the dark
hair on his arms was coarse or soft. I wondered what it would feel like to run
my fingers up and down his arm. I also wondered if he could hear my heart
beating through my chest.
“Definitely
can’t complain about that,” Nicholas agreed. “And a break from work is always
welcome, especially these days.” He smiled. “Doing anything good this weekend?”
I
had practically forgotten it was Thursday night, which was odd for me since I
lived for the weekends when my secretarial duties did not get in the way of my
reading. “Not sure yet. Probably drinks with friends. And I need to catch up on
some reading. For the blog. What about you?” Please don’t mention a girlfriend.
“Oh,
this and that.” His eyes glowed, almost like he was holding back a secret.
I
bit down on my lip and without thinking, blurted out, “Do This and That have
last names?”
Nicholas
gave me a once over before shaking his head laughing. “I’ll probably spend most
of it at work actually. So, tell me more about this blog.”
I
tipped my head to the side. “What do you want to know?”
“I
don’t know. Like, what made you start it?”
Nicholas
cocked an eyebrow. “How long of a story is the truth?”
“Why?
Do you have a date to rush off to?” I swallowed hard. Nice, Kim.
Laughing,
he said, “It’s just that your answer was rather mysterious, you know?”
I
shuffled my feet. “Well, I usually tell people I started the blog because I’ve
always loved to read, blah, blah, blah.”
“Blah
blah blah. Gotcha.”
After
he said that, he winked at me and when my knees wobbled in response, I grabbed
the bar with my free hand. “The truth is that one day I was bored at home
surfing the internet and I found all of these blogs dedicated to romance books,
like Harlequin stuff, and then I found some more devoted to science fiction,
thrillers and so on. But I could barely find anything dedicated to chick lit
and it pissed me off because I love it. I figured if I love it, there must be
other girls who love it too and maybe if I started this blog, I’d find them and
we’d bond.” I paused. “Aren’t you glad you asked?”
As
his phone rang, Nicholas distractedly responded, “Yeah, that’s cool,” before
bringing it to his ear. He whispered, “Sorry” before answering it.
I
wondered if it was from “This” or “That.”
A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered
her passion for
writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related emails way more than she
was probably supposed to, and was famous among her friends for writing witty
birthday cards. After trying her hand writing children’s stories and blogging
her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing “real” chick lit
for real women. When Meredith is not hard at work on her current work in
progress, she spends her days as a trademark paralegal. Meredith is a
loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. Blogger Girl is her third novel.