Librarian Spotlight: Frannie Strober Cassano

Hiya Folks!

I wish I could say I’m writing this post from some exotic location since tomorrow is a holiday and it would’ve been awesome to have a four day weekend, but alas, I’m sitting in my office. *cue the sad trombone* 

It’s okay though. I’ll be on vacation in exactly three weeks. THREE WEEKS AND I WILL BE HUGGING SOME OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE AT RWA NATIONALS! I AM SUPER GEEKED!!!! It’s going to be my first time attending, and I can’t wait! 

Anyway, enough about me being excited over my upcoming vacay. Aside from dreams of being an entertainment reporter, there was a time when I wanted to be a librarian. I figured I spent so much time at the library, and I loved reading books, why not make a living from it? Sounds good, right? Except I wanted to be too many things. #overachiever

The list of career aspirations: Entertainment correspondent, librarian, scientist, social worker, bookstore owner, back up dancer for Madonna, gymnast, pop star (even though I can’t sing a lick), but who needs to sing to be a pop star nowadays? LOL. Okay, that was mean. But true. Not everyone has the chops, but I digress. 

When Frannie joined the RWA NYC chapter, I was thrilled!!! I’d been following her on Twitter for some time and met her in person at RT (we both attended the Smart Bitches Trashy Books live podcast taping) but unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to chat. That was quickly remedied when we had some downtime at our RWA spring brunch. Frannie has been a vocal champion for the romance community, and I couldn’t think of a better person to spotlight this week. HARPER HAS A SUPER SPECIAL PLACE IN HER HEART FOR LIBRARIANS! ♥♥♥

Get to know Frannie. She is the bee’s knees.

I posed this question to authors and bloggers, and my first librarian interviewee should have a shot at it as well. I always find author interviews kind of boring. We only get to see one side of an author, the polite side. I’m sure the same can be said for librarians. If you had an evil doppelganger, what detail would they enjoy revealing about you to the public that people would find surprising and possibly questionable?

Oooh…If I had an evil doppleganger, I bet she’d want to reveal that I have a pretty dirty mind. Like, I might look all innocent or in constant thought…but yeah, my mind could make some people blush.

Aside from being a lover of books, why did you become a librarian?

It’s funny…I became a librarian because in my previous “life” (in film and TV), I always ended up organizing internal departmental “libraries”. No one else wanted to do it and I found it such fun. So, some relatives told me I should look into going for a Masters…and now here I am, happily peddling “The Ends” of a different sort. 

Favorite book of all time?

Such a hard question! My favorite book of all time really is Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I came to it for the dynamic between the sisters, but stayed for Colonel Brandon. To me, Brandon is the most perfect hero ever crafted. And it doesn’t hurt that Alan Rickman plays him in the Ang Lee/Emma Thompson film version.

What’s the most obscure thing you’ve ever found in your library?

Ok, there’s this thing that librarians find strips of bacon and $20 bills in books, both of which are true by the way…But, in my own library, the most obscure thing we’ve found were a pair of brand new panties in the Reference area. The patron/owner actually winked at us when she came back to retrieve them. It could have been total squick, but it ended up being pretty funny.

You’ve attended a few book conventions. Tell me about your favorite one and your most memorable experience.

Oh, wow. All of the conferences I’ve attended so far have been my favorites for different reasons. But my most memorable experience was at RT17. They asked me to be the librarian on a panel for Diverse Read-A-Likes. While I had presented locally, I never presented at a national conference/convention before. The moderator/author is someone super fab. I really couldn’t wait to meet her. The other panelist was great, too. And I had ladies that have become very good friends there, cheering me on. Plus, talking good freakin’ books is something I’ll do anytime, anywhere.

You and your husband recently celebrated an anniversary! Congrats! Tell me about your honeymoon.

Aww! Thank you! And thanks for remembering that :-) We got married at Walt Disney World, in Epcot. So, while we were down there planning the wedding, we also ended up taking a sort of pre-honeymoon Disney Cruise. We love Castaway Cay so much, we will find any excuse to keep going back.

Most favorite meet-cute scenario in a book?

I have SO many favorite meet-cute scenarios. How do I pick just one? LOLOK, let me rec Olivia Dade’s Lovestruck Librarians series. Those meet-cutes are great fun. And of course, a librarian would adore a Librarian Romance series, right ;-) While I’m at it, Victoria Dahl’s Taking the Heat has a great one, too! Also with a librarian. 

Loaded question! Do you have any regrets?

Oh, I have a mountain of regret. A mountain. Life can be so serious. So, I try not to take myself so seriously. We should all enjoy one another in the midst of everything happening all around us. I intend to never let good times, or more importantly, good people, pass me by.

LOL, try not to hate me too much for asking this question. If you had to give up reading books for a year or sex, which would you choose? 

Harper, this is awesome. Sex! C’mon, I could *never* give up reading books for a year! Imagine all the fun I’d miss on *those* pages, LOL.

Favorite breakfast cereal as a kid?

LOL, my favorite breakfast cereal as a kid was Frosted Mini-Wheats and Lucky Charms.

**Bonus Question**

Ever tried BDSM? If not, would you?

Ooooh. I never kiss and tell ;-) But yes. I would try totally it.  

Bio:

Frannie Strober Cassano first stumbled into the romance section of her local drugstore as a teen, and then found herself back there during the Fifty Shades of Grey “phenomenon”. You can find her gleefully discussing book boyfriends, tropes, and Happily Ever Afters over at her Reference Desk or on Twitter.

Social Media:

Twitter: @NBPLRomance

Instagram: nbplromance 

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