VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

When I started this blog in 2010, it was a way for me to get myself back into writing after having my daughter and closing Stories for Children Magazine after a successful run. I did a lot of different type of blog posts and then I got busy with other things and didn't keep up with blogging the way I had when I first started out. Fast forward to six years later and I'm coming back to the basics of what this blog is about with a few new twists.  Frist, I'm a mom. I love being a mom and I love doing things (even crazy things) with my kids. My two girls are starting to get into YouTube and are making videos, which I produce for them. So you may catch one of their videos on my blog from time to time. Second, I'm an author. I love to write books for kids and teens. I may one day try my hand at adult novels, but for now, I'm writing what makes me happy. I'm working on a few different stories and it is tough to find the time to write, but I'm making that ti

The Stories for Children show is on the last Monday of every month. Each month we try and bring you some of the new, best-selling and award-winning authors of the children's and young adult writing world not only to share their work, but some of their favorite books in the genre as well. This month hosts Virginis S Grenier, mom's choice and award-winning author, and Author, screenwriter,Marsha Casper Cook will be joined by book reviewers and bloggers to share their insight on what makes a good book, how to start your own summber book club and their favorite summer reading choices. Their guests will be: Margaret Fieland , an avivid reader and also author of poems and books from YA to Children's Lit. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com ; Brenda Priddy , book reviewer and blogger of Daily Mayo ; and Barbara Bockman , book reviewer, blogger of Stories a la Mode and author. Learn more about the host and our network at http://worldofinknet

I’ve noticed lately a few of my blogging friends have been taking some time off from posting to their blogs. A few of them have taken months off with no mention of when they plan to return. It started me thinking about something…blogger burnout. The first thing you need to consider are the warning signs you’re experiencing blogger burnout. Some of the signs are hard to recognize due to the nature of blogging. To help you identify if you have blogger burnout or on your way to experiencing it, ask yourself these questions. Count up how many you answered ‘yes’ to and then read on. Are you putting up blog posts the day they are due to show up on your blog? Do you have more reviews than you can finish each day, week and/or month? Are you having a hard time finding things to blog about? Do you forget to announce winners of giveaways only a few days after it ends? Are you staying up late or getting up early to get posts up and feel tired because of it? Do you have more than 5

  There are many reasons why people choose to start blogging. My reason was simple…I wanted contact with liked minded people and those who could say more than a few words. Yes, I started blogging when I still had little ones in diapers at home like many mommy bloggers. However, I found that after a few weeks blogging was a bit more challenging with a baby in the house than writing a book or managing my online magazine for kids. Unlike writing on assignment or even when a new idea pops into your head, blogging requires daily, weekly and even monthly postings. As a writer I thought, It won’t be hard to start a blog. Wrong! Hard it was as I found I didn’t have the weeks or months to fine-tune my blog posts. I had hours or days at most with a baby demanding my time and a preschooler turning my house into an juggle gym. Then there was the constant “what should I write about today or this week” muse nagging at my

Brand Buzz Network part of In Charge Social Media, LLC http://brandbuzznetwork.com Atlanta, GA M E D I A   R E L E A S E CONTACT: Lisa N. Samples Title: CEO Email: Atlanta@InChargeSocialMedia.com Phone: (404)969-5472 For Immediate Release In Charge Social Media and Brand Buzz Network are excited to announce their newest members to the BBN Team   The Brand Buzz Network (BBN) is owned and operated by In Charge Social Media, LLC , a social media start-up and management company with offices in Atlanta, South Florida and New York. Originally founded by Lisa Samples, from Life with Lisa , BBN has been connecting brands and bloggers since 2009. Lisa Samples currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons. With over 15 years working as an executive in "Corporate America" she finally left to pursue working her social media projects full time in January 2012. You can find her writing on  Life with Lisa about travel, Atlanta, food/rec

When you hear the word “Marketing”, I’m sure you automatically think…social networking, but what about the other types of marketing, i.e. media releases, banner ads, blog talk radio, online networking groups to name a few. So let’s look at how you can use these marketing avenues outside of just Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Media Releases I’m sure some of you have at one time or another sent a media release. If you haven’t, it is time to start doing so. You don’t have to pay a PR firm to do this for you. In fact, you can easily do this every time you host a blog hop, guest interview or post, giveaway, and even if you’ve made some changes or updates to your blog such as a new look or addition. Releases are a great way to let local and online media outlets, publishers, companies, PR firms, buzz sites and more know about you.  You can post a media release free or for a small fee if you want to reach a bigger audience. Here are a few of my favorites: https://www.pr.c

Wow, another award. I'm so honored of being given two blogging awards this week I want to thank a wonderful blogger, cyber-friend and World of Ink Tour Host, Susanne Drazic. Her blog PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER ( http://susannedrazic.blogspot.com/ ) not only shares great interviews and review, is loaded with information each week on the writing world. I truly hope you'll stop by her blog and maybe even follow Susanne. Thanks you so much Susanne for awarding my blog with the Stylish Blogger Award . I’ve had the pleasure of being interviewed by Susanne, and it's easy to understand why she received this award for her site, along with another recent award "The Irresistibly Sweet Blog" award. Now it is time to pay-it-forward and share this award with seven others. This is the tough part, so many great bloggers out there I wish I could name you all. But, seven it is; if you're not listed here, note you are in my heart. Oh, one other feature of the award