Q & A

Check out my interview over at Romance Novel Examiner's Stephanie Giancola's site. Stephanie mentioned my book in her Crazy Catchy Titles column this month and I emailed her to thank her. That resulted in her asking me for an interview which of course I was thrilled to give (don't think I will ever get tired of those!)

My favorite part of the interview? Her title: Q&A with Up and Coming Romantic Comedy author Maria Geraci. I know, I'm showing my dweebness again, but I love being called a romantic comedy author :)

Everyone have a great weekend. I'm off to continue cleaning house for son's graduation party later today...

Endings

I've been so incredibly busy lately I feel like my head is spinning. In my naivete, I thought that once the book was done, you could take a respite. Oh foolish me. I think I've been busier in the past month since my book has been out that I've ever been in my life (checking your Amazon.com stats every hour is exhausting, but someone has to do it).

Today, I'm going to be cleaning house and getting ready for my middle son's graduation tomorrow. Big day. I know. Why did I wait till today to get so many last minute things done? Because procrastination is my middle name. Really. To top that off, I got called into work last night (mandatory call=one of life's little bitches) so I'm going to be functioning on 2 hours sleep. I can do it. I know I can:)

When did he get so big? I swear, just yesterday I was taking him to kindergarten for his first day of school. Endings are so incredibly sad. But also exciting.

Isn't he cute? This was taken at Convocation last week.

Eat, Drink and Roll!

HOW MANY BUNCO BABES ARE THERE?

This past weekend I was invited to play Bunco with the Tallahassee Bunco Babes. Now, before I go any further, let me say that in all likelihood there are probably a lot of groups in Tally that go by the name "Bunco Babes" and I'm determined to hunt them all down. Or at least play with them. (Actually, I'd love to know how many groups across the country go by Bunco Babes, but since Rome wasn't built in a day, I'm starting out small).

I hooked up with the Babes through one of their members, Tammy Jo, during my book signing. Tammy Jo (who is a hoot, by the way) bought 3 books and chatted me up and before I knew it, she'd invited me to play with her group. Naturally, I said yes.

Let me tell you, these women are fantastic and almost as much fun as my Bunco Broads. They do themed Bunco parties and this month was Luau. Tammy Jo's house was covered in all sorts of Hawaiian paraphernalia. I only wish I'd worn my coconut bra. Why I didn't take more pictures, I really can't say, except that I was probably too busy eating/drinking/laughing to think about it until it was almost too late. By the time I took the small group picture below most of the Babes had left. The group you see here were the last stragglers. Now, I won't reveal any of the details on the most awesome conversation on photo shopping that I've ever heard, except to say that I laughed so much I almost peed my pants and I'm thinking that I'll have to work it into a book some day.

I also have to get Tammy Jo's brie appetizer recipe. It was fantastic and definitely deserves a slot in Best Bunco Recipes ever!!!

Eat, Drink and Roll!

In my quest for the perfect margarita and the yummiest snack (calories do not count on Bunco night, or didn't you know that?) I'm going to be posting recipes and rolling tips every Tuesday on my blog. And yep, today's Tuesday, so here goes.

Let's start off with these colorful looking Jello shots. It's the recipe currently being featured on my Let's Play Bunco! page and given to me by Jacksonville's own Divas with Dice. Aren't they pretty?

JELLO SHOTS

6oz Jello (large package)
16oz water (boiling)
6oz water (cold)10oz
Vodka

Mix the jello mix with the boiling water until the powder is fully dissolved and add the cold water and alcohol. Pour the cooling mixture into either shot glasses or paper cups. Let cool in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Please remember to drink responsibly!

BLACK BEAN SALAD (I haven't tried this yet, but doesn't it look yummy?)

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup diced peeled avocado
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
4 cups gourmet salad greens

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add beans, tomato, avocado, onions, and jalapeno; toss well. Cover and chill 2 hours. Serve over salad greens.

The Black Bean Salad recipe comes straight from myrecipes.com. I love that site. They send me recipes a few times a week and I've hardly ever been disappointed. Rebecca Lang, cooking instructor, author and writer of all things yummy, does a "Girls Night In" column for them. Last week she featured Bunko Fiesta. There's lots of great Bunco tips and recipes- including how to make 3 different kinds of sangria. To that I say ole!

If you'd like to contribute a recipe or Bunco tip for my Tuesday Eat, Drink and Roll! blogpost please email me at mariageraci1@gmail.com.

I'm on Author Talk!

My thighs look gargantuan and my acting sucks, but man, what a hoot!!!! Thanks, Jill and Gena!!

Who's your secret movie crush?

Answer that question today over at Book Roast (where I'm being slowly cooked- hopefully to perfection) and you might win an autographed copy of Bunco Babes Tell All!

Writerspace Chat, Book Roast, and Free Books

I'll take a page from my friend Kwana's blog but instead of asking what Jack's been up to I'll tell you what Maria's been up to. Lots! Besides delivering babies and obsessing over my Amazon stats (does every newbie author do this or it just me?) I'm been busy doing author promotion and running around to end-of-the-year-high school kiddie events. Did my book have to debut in May? The only other month I can think that would be worse would be December, and as I'm thinking that, a rush of gratitude sinks in... May isn't so bad after all.

Tonight, I'll be attending my youngest daughter's drama club perfomance, then running home to join fellow Berkley/Jove authors for a chat on Writerspace. 9 p.m. EST sharp. The chat will last for an hour and there will be book give-aways (mine included) so please drop by.

And speaking of book give-aways, I'll be randomly selecting 5 people from my mailing list to receive an autographed copy of Bunco Babes Tell All. I've extended the deadline to tomorrow night so it' not too late to enter. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter.

Oh, and one more thing. Tomorrow I'm going to be served up a la carte over at Book Roast, where I'll be giving away another, yep, another free book. Should be fun!

Sold Out!

This past Saturday, I had my first "official" book signing at my neighborhood Books A Million. When I'd gone in last week to solidify details with Cliff, the store manager, he showed me all the books they'd ordered. There were two near waist high stacks of my books along the aisles. When my eyes widened, Cliff added, "I have more boxes in the back." I have to admit, I gulped. How was I going to sell all those books?

I'll tell you how. By having the best group of friends any girl could dream of. I sold out of books! Plus, took orders for 20 more. Cliff says that my book had been selling well all week (and of course there's all those books that my Bunco Broads bought) but still. I was overwhelmed.

I want to thank all those customers who I didn't know who stopped and bought books. Lucky for me, my signing was the day before Mother's Day. Talk about perfect timing (in case you weren't aware, Bunco Babes Tell All makes the perfect Mothers Day gift!) I also want to thank Brittany, the really cute and bubbly BAM employee who stood in the front of the store handing out coupons and welcoming customers. After she finished her welcome speech, she'd point over to me and pimp my author signing.

I also want to thank the fellow members of my local RWA chapter, Florida Panhandle Romance Writers for coming out. Our chapter was born last September, but we are already growing strong. And of course, I have to give a really special thanks to those people who came from out of town- my parents, my sister and her family and my RWA Online friend, Jamie Farrell, who surprised me by driving 2 hours to come! Jamie got to meet fellow members of FPHRW and she's joining the group. Yay!

The day was topped off with a celebration party across the street at Po Boys. Of which, can you can believe, I have NO pictures. By then I was so tired (all that adrenaline rush coming down) that I didn't think of it. But it was awesome. Just like the entire day was.

Birthday Bunco Book Beach Bash!

Birthday Bunco Book Beach Bash..
I dare you say that fast 3 times in a row.

Yeah, I'm not even going there.

Last night, my Bunco group, the fabulous Bunco Broads of Tallahassee threw me a private book signing! It was our regular Bunco night plus Melissa's birthday, so we celebrated everything up in grand style. Isn't my cake gorgeous? Melissa hosted the soiree and I have to say, it was one of our finest Bunco moments ever. I felt like a rock star!

My title!

Okay, after getting some hits on my title from a couple of reviewers (inane? fatuous? really?) someone out there thinks my title is top crazy catchy!

Stephanie Giancola of Examiner.com picks

Bunco Babes Tell All by Maria Geraci – If the babes had “babbled” this title would have won the alliteration of the month award. As it is there’s intrigue in a “what’s a bunco babe anyway?” kind of way. My murky notion of bunco, a very a-typical romance novel word—and the notion that the babes have some “All” to tell—gives the title a spark of “hmmm” that would make me pick it up.

Here's the complete article:

http://www.examiner.com/x-2533-Romance-Novel-Examiner~y2009m5d5-Top-crazy-catchy-romance-novel-titles-for-May-2009

Oh, And I'm blogging today at Fresh Fiction where I'll be giving away, yes, one more of those autographed books!

Debut Day!

So this day will only ever happen once to me. It's the first day my first book comes out! To celebrate I'm giving away 5 autographed copies to 5 random members who sign up for my newsletter. It's easy to do. Just click on the link on the sidebar here in my blog or go to the contact page on my website. The giveaway will end this Saturday.

Another way you can get a freebie is to comment on my interview at Bookin with Bingo. That give away goes till 5/15.

And if you want to make sure you get a copy of Bunco Babes Tell All, then all you have to do is order it, OR better yet, go to a bookstore today and buy it (I really love that last part). They should have it. And if not, demand to know why not!

Tomorrow!

No, I'm not channeling Annie. Although I do feel like singing. My debut novel, Bunco Babes Tell All debuts tomorrow. And I'm feeling pretty excited about it.

Tomorrow will be the culmination of 7 years of hard work. Although I have to say, writing for me isn't work (although it is hard). Rather it's the fruits of a very joyful labor. I can't even remember now what my life was like before I started writing. Which means, if technically, my life started when I began writing, then I'm only 7 years old. He he...

This is going to be a busy week for me. Look for lots of updates. My website should be getting a mini overhaul. My Louisville Bunco Mommas will be replaced with a group from Jacksonville called Divas with Dice. Great name, huh? (but that's a post for another day). The Divas sent me a recipe for jello shooters which I'm gleefully looking forward to trying. You can try it too. It'll be on my Let's Play Bunco! page. Look for it soon!