Ravishing in Red

Still working on the manuscript... Every time I think Boyfriend Club is almost done, there's more to do. But I stand by the conviction that good writing is good re-writing and I want this book to rock like an earthquake. So this weekend, I'm totally going without any distractions. I won't even be answering the phone, unless it's to call Mel, who I have to confer with several times a day. I'm sure she's completely sick of me and my book. Too bad for her (insert evil laugh in here).

When I finally turn in this manuscript, I'm going to treat myself big. One of the things I'm going to do is read Madeline Hunter's new release Ravishing in Red. Isn't that a great title? MH is my favorite historical romance author. The book trailer is so yummy it makes my mouth water.

4 and 1/2 stars!

Andrea at The Romance Dish gave Bunco Babes Gone Wild a very tasty review and 4.5 stars. Yay! You can read about it right here. She's also giving away a copy of the book, so make sure to leave a comment!

The Boyfriend of the Month Club cover!

So I know it's a little premature, since the book doesn't come out till December, but I just can't keep it in any longer. I have a cover! At least I have a preliminary cover. I really hope nothing changes because I really just love this look so much. It captures everything about the book.

Here's a sneak preview of the unofficial back cover copy:

Stud? Dud? Stick in the mud?
Are all the good ones taken?

At thirty, Grace O’Bryan has dated every loser that Daytona Beach has to offer. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to take matters into her own hands and turns her dwindling book club into a Boyfriend of the Month Club, where women can come together to discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real live twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents’ failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who’s great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, just like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers…

Things I have to be thankful for

Thanksgiving is ten months away (or 2 months ago, depending on on how you see things) but I woke up this morning bright and early, thankful for so many things.

1. I am thankful that everyone in my family is alive and well. My 16 year-old daughter totaled her car yesterday morning on the way to the school. About ten minutes after she walked out the door I got a call on my cell phone from her and I just knew she'd been in an accident. It's been raining for a couple of days straight with some severe flooding in town and I've cringed every time she's gotten in the car. The good news is no one in the 3 car accident got hurt. And the accident wasn't her fault;) The bad news is that now we have to get a new car, but I'm not complaining. The alternative scenario is too scary to think about.

2. I'm almost done with The Boyfriend of the Month Club. It's rough and needs polishing, but I think I'm going to make my deadline. Yay! Plus, I got to see an unofficial sneak peak at the cover and all I can tell you is that the Cover Gods have been very very good to me.

3. Today I have my FPHRW meeting. I love these meetings. I always get so revved up. Plus, honestly, I need to leave the house. This hermit/writing thing is not good for me.

4. I have a hair appointment Monday morning, which means my kudzu growing roots will go bye-bye.

5. And lastly, I recently received this very nice review for Bunco Babes Gone Wild from the Chicklit Romance Writers.

So life is good.

Turn in your Hilton Honor points to help Earthquake victims

This morning, after seeing yet another front page of the horrendous devastation done by the earthquake in Haiti, Mike Geraci turned to me in disgust and said, "Why it always the poorest people in the world always get the shaft?"

I wish I had an answer to that.

Because I'm writing like a fiend right now, I'm pretty much ignoring my email. But I had to open this one. It's brilliant. For every 10,000 points you turn in, Hilton will donate $25 to the Red Cross Haitian relief effort. I don't know if other companies are offering similar deals, but it's a fantastic idea. I turned in all my points (which I rarely even remember to ever use anyway). If you're a member of the Hilton Honors program, all you'll need to provide is your name, your HH act number and how many points you'd like to donate (in increments of 10,000).

Dear Hilton HHonors Members: Help the Earthquake Victims in Haiti.

Hilton HHonors® has partnered with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help victims affected by the January 12th earthquake in Haiti. If you would like to support the effort we have arranged for HHonors members to be able to donate points to support relief efforts. For every 10,000 points you donate, we'll send US$25 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. If you would like to join us in supporting the victims of the earthquake in Haiti by donating points please visit us here.

Mold-A-Rama!

Ah, there's nothing like the feel of a freshly made warm plastic toy in your hand. Put one up to your nostrils, and it even smells like summer vacation. And fighting with your sister in the back seat of the family car (no seat belts required) and drinking icy cold RC cola out of a glass bottle.

One of the best parts about writing my new book has been the research. If you're old enough to remember Mold-A-Rama machines, then you might get a kick out of knowing that one of these ancient puppies is featured in my new book, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, a romantic comedy due out December, 2010.

A lot of the action in the story takes place at Florida Charlies, an old fashioned Florida tourist trap. Although Florida Charlies is a figment of my imagination, it's modeled after the dozens of roadside stops and attractions that were so popular in Florida during the 1960's when I was but a wee thing. And the best part of a lot of these places were the Mold-A-Rama machines. For about a quarter, or maybe 50 cents, you could watch this strange space-age looking machine make a wax figurine just for you. My favorite was a bird figurine from Busch Gardens (Tampa) which I understand now has some of these almost antique machines still in production. MOSI (Museum of Space and Industry in Tampa), and the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo as well as the Miami zoo are also just a few of the other places that still have working Mold-A-Rama machines.

Once I get my book done and my website revamped I'm going to dedicate a section to some of the research I did. I know, nerdy, of me, isn't it? But I just can't help it. These things were just so much damn fun. Almost as much fun as writing about one of them.

The Help

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but being that I'm in the middle of a book deadline, I'm lucky to be brushing my teeth right now (okay, I do brush my teeth several times a day, it's washing my hair that's taken a sideline). I know there are writers who don't read while they're in deep writing mode, but I'm not one of them. It would be like asking me to stop breathing. I simply can't. I mean, there has to be some kind of break in the day, and I always, always, always, read before going to sleep at night.

A few weeks ago I read The Help (a book that has intrigued me from the moment I first heard of it). I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I cried, I laughed and I mostly marveled at what a fantastic writer Kathryn Stockett is (which means I desperately hate her, of course) Seriously, Kathryn, if you're listening, you make me want to be a better writer.

THE HELP

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Contest Winner!

Just to dispel any crazy notions out there, I'm still alive. With a January 25th deadline for my next book, I've been hibernating in my writing cave aka closet every spare second I can get. The new book is coming along well (hopefully that's not a delusion), although I always despair that it's never good enough and that my editor will hate it. I'll let you know next month how that goes;)

So last month I ran a review contest. Congratulations to Terri D of Lexington Park, Maryland! She won a $50 gift card to Borders, a book bag from Books-A-Million (cuz I like to share the love) and all the books you see pictured above (some of my very favorite reads!)

Thank you to all of you who entered and to all of you who have taken the time to write a review of my books, especially during the busy holiday season. It really means a lot!

Dishing up some Romance

Today I'm over at The Romance Dish, talking about... reading during the holidays again. And I'm giving away another book, so if you don't have a copy of Bunco Babes Gone Wild, head on over here. You might be a lucky winner.

Like I say in my post, I'm trying hard not to stress over all the holiday stuff still left to do. But it's hard. I'm a woman. Stress is my middle name.

Blogging at Night Owl Romance

Today, I'm over at Night Owl Romance, where Bunco Babes Gone Wild was selected as a top reviewer pick! I'm blogging about reading during the holidays and will be giving away a signed copy of Bunco Babes Gone Wild. Don't miss out! It's all right here.

No disappointment here

I pretty much wrote Bunco Babes Tell All while listening to Colbie Caillat's debut album Coco. I really didn't think she could surpass the quality of that album. Most sophomoric attempts are disappointing. I was so glad to discover I was wrong. Breakthrough, her newest album is just as good as Coco. Maybe even be better. I just know that as I'm writing on my wip Boyfriend of the Month Club, the songs are helping stir up my artistic juices. Especially now where I'm at an impasse and wondering if I should stick to the synopsis I sent my editor or go in another direction?

Something is telling me the other direction might be better. But yet... Argh. Not sure. Maybe listening to Fearless a few more dozen times might jiggle something.

Meanwhile, I have my Florida Panhandle meeting today at noon. It's our Christmas party. It's raining catfish and doggie treats outside and I hate going out in the rain but the party should be fun. Plus I've been cooped up writing for too long!

Contest!

Want to have lots of reading ahead in the New Year?

You could be the winner of a $50 gift certificate to Borders PLUS a bag full of some of my favorite books. If you've read Bunco Babes Tell All or Bunco Babes Gone Wild, write a review and post it online. It doesn't have to be long or overly flattering- (I want your honest opinion!) Post your review on a website like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc. You'll get 1 contest entry for each review. For example, if you write a review for Bunco Babes Tell All on Amazon.com, that's 1 entry. If you write a review for Bunco Babes Tell All on Amazon and Goodreads, and a review for Bunco Babes Gone Wild at Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble, that's 5 entries! And a better chance of winning.

If you've already written a review for one of my books, perfect. Just let me know where it is and that you're interested in entering the contest.

To enter, send me an email at mariageraci1@gmail.com with the word "Contest Entry" in the subject line. Tell me where the reviews are, and it's that simple. Contest ends December 20.

Good Luck!

It's On

It's December 1 and you know what that means. Only 24 days left till Christmas and only 54 days left until I turn in my next manuscript. Mama's got some work to do.

Thanksgiving in Orlando was wonderful especially since my sister did 95% of all the cooking, cleaning and decorating. I helped, I really did, but she had almost everything ready when we got there. I did bring this delicious flan cake (half-flan half-cake, all delicious) but I can't take the credit for making it. Mike Geraci bought it from a co-worker's wife who's selling them. It was absolutely fabulous!

Don't laugh... oh, and a great review!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Truffles, the sweetest (dumbest) dog in the world will turn 1 next month and she is still not house broken. Maybe it's me. I don't know. I've had dogs before, but I've never met one so stubborn. All I know, is that she's going to be left with a pet sitter for the holidays and we can't have all that peein' going on. It's just not acceptable. So she's now in doggie diapers. Yes, laugh. Poke fun all you will. Believe or not, I think she actually likes them. Sigh...

Here's a picture I snapped seconds after the first one. Where did the weird little white ball come from? I went to the Ghost Alpha Team workshop here in Tallahassee last year and we discussed these white balls. Most of them are flukes, but some of them... well, I won't talk about what some of them are. I just know there are no ghosts in the Geraci household. Unless, it's a dog ghost. Maybe it's the ghost of an ancestor of Truffles who is here to shame her into being housebroken. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

I'm spending the day cleaning and packing for our Thanksgiving trip to visit family. I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed and healthy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

On a happy and thankful note, I will leave you with this awesome review I rec'd from Night Owl Romance. Bunco Babes Gone Wild was a top reviewer pick! You can read the entire review right here.

"I found this story to be as funny and charming as the first in this series, Bunco Babes Tell All. You don’t have to read both to enjoy either, you just have to sit back and start reading." Terri, Night Owl Romance. 5 out 5

Book signing!

Saturday I did a book signing event at The Bookshelf in nearby Thomasville, Georgia. Located on Broad St in the downtown area, it's everything you'd want a bookstore to be- personable and quaint with great service.

Saturday was cool and overcast, a perfect day to walk around the shops, browse, and buy (books, of course!)

I got a kick out of this sign. Apparently, The Bookshelf was originally a bowling alley. Fun, huh?

I have to say, of all the book signings I've done so far, sitting in this chair was my absolute favorite. Comfy leather with a pillow for my back!

Book signing in Thomasville

Tomorrow I'll be in nearby Thomasville, Georgia (nearby to me, that is!) signing copies of my latest release Bunco Babes Gone Wild. The Book Shelf is an independent book store located in the middle of historic downtown. If you're in the area, stop by!

Book Club Fun

Tuesday night I attended my friend Debbie's book club meeting. Debbie's the blonde standing next to me wearing the glasses. She's also the friend who took the author photo that's in the back of my books.

Her group read my debut novel Bunco Babes Tell All. What a nice group of ladies! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them, drinking wine, eating good food, and talking up my favorite subject- books! Besides my own book, we discussed books they'd read and books my own book club had tackled (like The Time Traveler's Wife). The Help has been on my TBR pile for a while now and after hearing how much this group loved it, is going to the top (after I turn in the manuscript due in January, that is.)

At the end of the evening, I surprised them by giving them all copies of Bunco Babes Gone Wild and Debbie's hubby took this very nice pic of us.

Author chat and book giveaway

Today, I'm over at Author Exposure answering questions and just plain shooting the breeze. Come on over and chat or leave a question. Plus, I'll be giving away an autographed copy of Bunco Babes Gone Wild. You can also read Libby's lovely review of the book here too!

Ever get got in your granny knickers?

I crack up every time I say that phrase "granny knickers." Normally, I say, granny panties, but after reading an excerpt from Bunco Babes Gone Wild someone at Fresh Fiction used the term and I've adopted it. From now on, it's granny knickers for sure.

Here's the excerpt in question. Reprinted with permission by the author (that would be me). Warning: 1 mild expletive. No Raunch.

Bunco Babes Gone Wild
Set up: Georgia and Dave have just finished tearing down a wall at the Senior Center. The air conditioner in the building is off and they want to cool off...


Dave pulled off his jeans. Underneath he had on a pair of board shorts. Georgia crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s a bathing suit.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“Well, I’m not.”

He gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her. “Your turn.”

“I’m not stripping down to my underwear.”

“Suit yourself.”

He walked out the sliding glass doors and onto the beach. Georgia watched, blatantly jealous as he dove into the cool blue water. He made her feel prudish. But she wasn’t a prude. There was just something… unnerving about him. Like she was betraying Spencer. Which was ridiculous. Dave had absolutely nothing over Spencer. Spencer was classically handsome, smooth, successful, smart, urbane, thoughtful (well, most of the time). Dave on the other hand, was just sort of good looking. Sure, he had a nice butt and every once in a while he could be funny, but he was like beer. It was tasty, but who wanted beer if you could have champagne? And she was definitely a champagne kind of girl.

If Dave could strip down to almost nothing, then so could she. Besides, he’d already seen her boobs. And it wasn’t like she was naked. She was wearing a bra and underwear.
Her bikini was a lot more revealing than—

Her fingers froze on the jeans zipper. Shit. She’d forgotten she was wearing granny panties.

But that was good, wasn’t it? It was in no way revealing. Or sexy. Or anything remotely connected to sexy.

She bit her bottom lip. What if Dave thought this was the sort of underwear she wore all the time? She craned her neck to see him floating on top of the calm water. It looked absolutely blissful. A river of sweat ran down her back, pooling into her already damp jeans.
The hell with it. What did she care what Dave Hernandez thought of her underwear?

She peeled off the jeans and dumped them onto the floor. Just stripping down felt good. She could only imagine how the cool ocean water would feel next to her overheated skin. She’d keep the sweaty T-shirt on till the last second. Just in case someone should come by.
She waded over the shore and dipped her toe into the ocean. Dave was still floating, oblivious to her.

“Go ahead, it feels great,” he called out.

What? Did he have eyelids on the side of his head?

“Don’t look!” she yelled, hastily working her way out of the T-shirt. She dumped it onto the sand then ran into the water and dove in. It felt as delicious as she had imagined, the salty water all cold and tingly against her skin. She surfaced and planted her feet on the sandy bottom. The water was chest deep.

“What wasn’t I supposed to look at?” Dave asked, coming out of his floating position. He ran his hand through his wet hair, slicking it back. It emphasized his strong cheekbones and square jaw. Her gaze drifted lower, to his mouth. She remembered how slowly he’d kissed her—

“Nothing,” she said, relieved that he’d obviously not caught sight of her granny panties. She’d worry later about him seeing them when they got out of the water.

Book give away and review

Today, I'm over at Fresh Fiction and yes, I'm giving away another autographed book. See post below (I'd like to give the world a book...) Honestly, I wish everyone was reading Bunco abes Gone Wild right now!

On another happy note, I got this very nice review from Dew on the Kudzu. I will say in advance that I think it's funny that the reviewer used the "raunchy" (in a totally positive sense, that is) to describe the book. My own editor at Berkley said she drawn to my "raunchy sense of humor", so I guess it's official. I'm a little bit raunchy. Go figure! I'm beginning to really warm up to that adjective.

Bunco Babes Go Wild
Author: Maria Geraci
Publisher: Berkley Trade Paperback Original Publication
Date: November, 2009
ISBN: 978-425-2296-5

At first I was a little nervous about a book that had Bunko Babes in the title... I'm not a game player and don't understand groups of people that get together on a regular basis to do so. I thought.... "boring chicklit".

Well, I am happy to say I was very wrong! This book is funny, sarcastic, raunchy and has a hot scene in it that will wake you right up! Georgia and her sister Frida are two ex-hippie children who's mother believed in free love and they've never known who their fathers are. This experience molded them into two completely different people. Frida is a "by the seat of her pants, floats in the breeze" kinda gal, whereas Georgia has planned her life down to the last minute detail. So she is shocked when her boyfriend of 5 years gives her a calculator for their anniversary instead of an engagement ring.

The funny starts here as Georgia escapes to her sister's art studio/muffin shop and the next thing she knows she drunk in the middle of a bunko club game flashing her boobs. Then a really hunky guy walks into the middle of it. Now we have the funny, the sarcasm, the raunchy talk and the hot stuff! A fun book to read and part of a series. Not only are they amusing tales to read, there's a slew of Bunko appetizer and drink recipes in the back.