It's my pleasure to introduce Vanessa Stock, the book blogger and “bookstagrammer” otherwise known as Florals N Dragons. If you don't immediately recognize her from this picture, don't worry you're not alone – it's more likely that you know her from the fun photos she posts of herself sitting in bed, where you only see her legs and feet, wearing a different pair of socks in each photo, and surrounded by a ton of books, her laptop/record player/typewriter, several fun objects, desserts, coffee or tea, and, more often than not, her cat Dennison makes an appearance. I'm drawn to anyone who has a love for the book-coffee-cat trifecta, and as our half hour phone call transitioned into a 3 hour conversation, we quickly learned that we have a lot in common, which makes it even more exciting for me to share more about her with you.
Vanessa started Florals N Dragons a little over a year ago. At the time, she was working as a PR/marketing coordinator for a cosmetics company, specializing in social media. She took some time off work to have her wisdom teeth removed and it was during this time at home recovering that she started posting her now-signature book photos to Instagram. In the 'bookstagram' world, there's a popular hashtag known as #socksunday, a day when book lovers put on a cozy pair of socks, pour a mug of coffee or tea, and curl up with a good book; it's meant to be a cozy day and it couldn't have been more perfect for someone who owns more than 400 pairs of socks to get in on the hashtag action. You read that correctly, Vanessa has over 400 pairs of socks, so she challenged herself to creating 30 days of photos wearing different socks, and that's how her signature style was born. Her quick rise on instagram gave her the encouragement she needed to start a book review blog, and the rest is history.
Ever since childhood, Vanessa loved writing stories as much as she loved reading them. She loves a variety of genres, ranging from coming of age novels to romance, chick-lit, fantasy & sci-fi, and it's this blend of interests that led to her dichotomous blog name, Florals N Dragons. 'Florals' represents her feminine side, and 'Dragons' is inspired by one of her favourite book series, Game of Thrones, and the Khaleesi's affection for dragons. Vanessa's always had a desire to write, so once her Instagram took off, she used that as the catalyst to start a blog writing book reviews. But that's not all! She's written novels and is currently participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), an annual event where aspiring writers commit to writing every day throughout the month of November with the end goal of producing a novel totalling 50,000 words. Vanessa's personal goal is 80,000 words! (Spoiler alert: she's well on her way to finishing!)
Vanessa loves writing, reading and storytelling, but she also loves the physical presence of books. A girl after my own heart! I'm fascinated by how others style their bookshelves because I'm often changing my own – Vanessa favours a cluttered, messy look, with books crammed together and stacked high, mixed with lots of objects (including tons of Funkos!). I adore this look, because it makes you feel like you're in a curio shop where there's so much to look at that it's like you're on an endless treasure hunt. Vanessa was inspired by an old bookshop in Scotland that made her think of that scene from Harry Potter when Harry is choosing his wand, and that's the feeling she wants for her own library. I'm sure my fellow bibliophiles will relate to this comforting feeling of being surrounded by books.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Vanessa, and I can see why so many people are drawn to her – she's relatable, honest, respects the opinions of others and wants to make an impact on people's lives. She has a positive attitude and is adamant about keeping negativity away. I'm so grateful that we met, and if you weren't already familiar with her then I hope you'll take the time to acquaint yourself – you can follow her blog on Wantfolio and follow her profile to see want she wants, what inspires her.
Want more? Here's what We Want To Know about Vanessa:
I can't start my morning without...A great meal. I usually wake up and take a couple of moments to have a healthy breakfast with a coffee to and then start my list for the day. I try to make myself as organized as possible (if it is) and make sure I follow what I need to get done.
I have a weakness for...Cookies and Cream anything and sappy movies. It's bad. I mean, I cry at the drop of a dime when it comes to those type of films. I know, so cliché! And yet the key to my heart is these two things and I will fall.
Most people don't know that...My dream when I was young was that I wish I was Indiana Jones.
Currently reading... Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey.
I want...to never give up.
Vanessa, thank you so much for participating in #WeWantToKnow!