Highs and Lows

On a high note, I had a fantastic 4th of July! Went to my hubby's boss's house, who has a huge party every year. He does a better firework show than the city of Tallahassee. It was awesome and patriotic. Very inspiring!

Then yesterday, I found out the Baltimore Sun ran a piece in their Sunday A&E section titled, "Lose yourself in a summer romance." Here's what they had to say about Bunco Babes Tell All:

Geraci's sexy, funny debut is an emotionally satisfying story of love, friendship, family and community.

Yay!

Here's the link to the article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-ae.bk.reviewshorts05jul05,0,5954932.story

Now, on to the low part. I'm ashamed to admit it, but once again, I have been sucked into The Bachelor. Or rather, The Bachelorette. After the whole Jason debacle I vowed I would never watch the show again. That lasted 30 minutes. When the new season premiered May 18, I held out for the first part of the show, then, when I couldn't stand it anymore, grabbed the remote and tuned in. Yep, I'm a glutton for punishment.

What can I say? In my defense, I have to say I've always liked The Bachelorette more than The Bachelor. I love seeing a woman in charge. But Jillian (whom I really liked on Jason's season) is making some dumb mistakes. Hopefully, tonight, she'll get rid of Wes, the country-western-loser-singer-who-secretly-has-a-girlfriend. It seems the rest of the guys, and everyone in America who watches the show knows what a loser Wes is. I know it's probably the editing, but really. I cannot wait till he gets the boot. Texas style.

The way the show is going, she'll probably pick Ed, who seems like a nice guy and I have nothing against him. But I have to say, if I were Jillian I would sooooo pick Reid. There's something about his neurotic Woody Allen sort of humor that I totally love. And of course, there's that killer smile of his. My only consolation is that I'm pretty sure he makes tonight's cut, so I'll get to see him next week too.

Eat, Drink and Roll!

There's a new Bunco group in town and they're the DrunkoBabes of Midlothian, Virginia.

The fabulous Jacksonville Divas with Dice are now on my links section, because of course, in my world, Bunco groups never go away, they simply get their own page.

The Drunkobabes have this fabulous traveling pig. Yes, you heard me, a traveling pig. Really, it's one of the best Bunco tips ever. But you don't have to believe me. Go see for yourself. Right here.

And while you're there check out their chocolate martini recipe.

Other updates to my website include some new reviews for Bunco Babes Tell All. Here's a great one from Fallen Angels Reviews.

Fallen Angels Reviews
Recommended Read

Kitty Burke, Pilar Diaz-Rothman, and Shea Masterson are best friends and also founding members of The Bunco Babes of Whispering Bay. Every Thursday these friends along with nine other women meet up at each other's houses to eat, drink frozen margaritas, have fun and play Bunco.

Kitty is just thirty-five. She and her friends think it is about time that she found Mr. Right. When Kitty's toilet breaks down, she gets a delicious surprise in the form of Steve, the plumber. Steve happens to be her ex-boyfriend's cousin. He is in town for a few weeks. Kitty would like to start something up with Steve, but Pilar and Shea don't think Steve is the right choice as he has been married three times. Will Steve turn out to be Mr. Right or will he be Mr. Wrong?

I loved Kitty. She is my absolute favorite. First there is her encounter with Steve. Making first impressions is the most important thing when meeting a guy. Kitty definitely knows how to make one on Steve. It is no wonder he didn't run after her first performance. Then there is Kitty's phobia. She has what is called stripperphobia. This is the fear of having a stripper remove his clothing and wave his thing in your face, while being handcuffed to a chair. Now after reading all about stripperphonbia, if this doesn't make you want to read Bunco Babes Tell All then I don't know what will. Maria Geraci has become my new favorite author of 2009! I can't wait to read her next piece of work.

I see Lawn Boys...

Mel called me this morning to tell me she had a dream that Berkley had changed the title of my book to Bunco Babes Go Mowing.

All I could do was laugh. Especially because Naughty Kate emailed me last night to tell me that RT had reviewed my book. I got 3 stars! It's not the awesome 5 cups of coffee I received from Coffee Time Romance or the 4.75 I got from Night Owl Romance (2 obviously very smart reviewers there...) But I'm very happy with it. Heck, they gave one of my favorite books Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin 3 stars too, so I think that puts me in some pretty illustrious company. But what cracked me up the most about Mel's dream was how it coincided with this tidbit from the RT review:

The first novel in Geraci's Bunco Babes series really enforces the importance of friendship between women, despite a somewhat fatuous title. Kitty, the heroine, is not the most complex character, but she shows heart and sensitivity.

I admit I had to look up the word "fatuous." I had a rough idea of what it meant, but I needed a (cough) reminder. Here's what Dictionary.com said:

FATUOUS /ˈfætʃuəs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [fach-oo-uhs] Show IPA
–adjective
1.
foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly.
2.
unreal; illusory.

Louisa wondered what RT would have made of the book's original title, The Church of Bunco.And I can only imagine what they would have made of Bunco Babes Go Mowing.

I have to admit that title is growing on me.

I'm seeing lawn boys. Lots of bare-chested, well-muscled, sweaty lawn boys. Now I just need a plot...

"My roommate's mother loved it!"

Can I just say I really really love that quote and wish I could use it for a book blurb?

It came from the lovely Jennifer, the youngish twenty-something reporter who interviewed me for the upcoming May/June issue of Tallahassee Magazine. I gave her an ARC (advanced reader copy) and she emailed me back to say that while, she hadn't read it yet (insert Maria smirk here) she'd loaned it to her roommate's mother who is a Bunco player and that said mother loved it and read it in one day. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Go Jennifer's roommate's mother!

It's just so weird for me to think that people beyond my critique partners, agent, editor and mother are actually reading my book.

Here's a link to another review. This one is from Night Owl Romance. I got a 4.75 out of 5! And I I DO intend to put the following quote somewhere. "This book was awesome." Yep. She's talking about me. Or rather, my book.

This is almost better than Bunco Cupcakes!