Lisa Guidarini

A freelance writer/reviewer more than a dozen years, I’ve been published in the Chicago Tribune, New York Journal of Books, Chicago Review of Books and Booklist, among others. I love interviewing writers, rubbing elbows at literary events, and spending every free minute in libraries, bookstores and coffee shops in and around the Chicago metro area and wherever I find myself.

Twice I’ve temporarily relocated to the UK, specifically Scotland, where I thought I’d stay forever with a friend I loved dearly. Spoiler: both times failed spectacularly.

Because writers are paid dismally, I have a day job. Though I have the degree, I’m not currently working in the library field. I’m hoping that will change, and soon. I’m taking my search for a full time library job nationwide. I literally have no idea where I’ll wind up; frankly, that suits my love of adventure perfectly.

Since 2009, Bluestalking has been my platform for all things literary. Begun before sites like Goodreads existed, when I had no thoughts of going on to review professionally, this was a place to keep track of what I read and what I thought about what I read, my audience made up of fellow readers and bloggers. As I became more serious about reviewing and getting paid byline assignments, Bluestalking remained an extension of that. Through so many ups and downs, the blog has remained essentially unchanged at heart.

Finding myself single at midlife, divorced with grown children after 25 years of marriage, my own personal story increasingly demands an outlet. Though still partly a literary blog, Bluestalking is shifting to accommodate who I’m becoming as a writer. Currently at work on personal essay journalism for freelance publication, I’m simultaneously writing fiction, at work on a novel.

Bluestalking will tell my life narrative, going forward. This will always rely heavily on books and writing, though I have a lot to share. Looking forward to the evolution, moving ahead.

Native to Faulkner’s Mississippi, I’ve lived in the Chicago metro area more than half my life. I hold a B.A. in English literature from Dominican University in River Forest, IL, and an MLIS (Masters in Library and Information Studies) through the University of Wisconsin, Madison.