Countdown to Turkey Day with The Knight Agency: Maria Geraci

UPDATE: The winner of THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB by Maria Geraci is Sara! Congrats! Please send your physical addy to Contests(AT)KnightAgency.net.

Today Maria Geraci, author of the upcoming release THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB, as well as THE BUNCO BABES TELL ALL and THE BUNCO BABES GONE WILD, helps us continue our countdown to Turkey Day with a fun Q&A post about Thanksgiving traditions at her house. She also graciously agreed to take a Thanksgiving quiz to see if she was smarter than a 5th grader. See her results below. :-)

To win a copy of THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB, leave a comment. The winner will randomly drawn and announced tomorrow morning.

1. Who’s in charge of carving the turkey at your house? That would be my husband, Mike Geraci (I have a strange habit of using his full name when referring to him). I clean the turkey, stuff it, and cook it. He carves it and then takes all the credit!

2. Name one thing you usually only eat at Thanksgiving that you wish you could have every day. Oh my God. Years ago, I found this great vegetable medley recipe. You take a large bag of frozen vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli). Dump it in a casserole dish. Add 1 can of Durkee’s fried onion rings (reserve a small amount of onion rings for topping), 1 small jar of chopped pimentos, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 4 ounces of sour cream, shredded Swiss cheese (about 6 ounces) and mix it all together. Add pepper to taste. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes until bubbling hot. In the last 10-15 minutes of cooking, you can sprinkle the top with the rest of the fried onion rings and some more cheese if you want.

My kids absolutely love this stuff. I only make it on the holidays because I don’t want to know how many calories are in it!

3. What is your fondest or funniest Thanksgiving memory? Probably the Thanksgiving I was still in college and couldn’t go home because I was working a part time job and had to work the Friday morning after the holiday, so I was really bummed. My parents surprised me and drove up to school (a 5 hour trip) with a complete meal. We had Thanksgiving dinner, just the 3 of us, in my little apartment!

4. How would the main character in THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB celebrate the holiday? Funny you should ask, because this scene actually happens in the book! Grace begins Thanksgiving day with her family by keeping their years long tradition of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on television. Her brother Charlie (who’s a main secondary character in the book) misses it because he’s working, which causes some tension between them. Then her mother and her abuela go out power shopping, while Grace decorates their artificial Christmas tree and Grace’s dad (Pop) and Charlie decorate the house Clark Griswald style (think National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie.)

5. Are you smarter than a 5th grader? The following quiz was created for elementary school kids. Take the test, and share your score – and elaborate on why you think you are a Thanksgiving whiz or maybe why social studies was never your strongest subject.

1. What year did the Pilgrim first celebrate Thanksgiving?

a) 1521

b) 1621 (correct answer)

c) 1721

d) 1821

Yay! I got this right. Maybe I am smarter than a 5th grader!

2. How long did the first Thanksgiving celebration last?

a) 1 day

b) 2 days

c) 3 days (correct answer)

d) 4 days

Oops! So the right answer is 3 days and not 4. But… If I was one of those pilgrims, we’d definitely be celebrating as long as we could. I mean, I’d take any chance to break away from milking cows and tending crops and cleaning and the other multitude of chores I’m sure women did back then. Wouldn’t you?

3. Which president established Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November?

a) Abraham Lincoln (correct answer)

b) Andrew Johnson
c) Franklin Roosevelt

d) George Washington

Abraham Lincoln? Are you sure? I’m pretty positive they didn’t teach this back in my 5th grade.

4. Where was the first Thanksgiving celebrated?
a) Mayflower
b) Plymouth (correct answer)

c) Springfield

d) Boston

Yay!

5. Wild turkeys can NOT fly.

a) True

b) False (correct answer)

This is a perfect example of a trick question. Of course, I got this right, but still…

What a fun quiz! I love Thanksgiving! There’s no pressure to buy or give presents. Just good food, surrounded by family and friends and the knowledge that I’ve made it one more year on this planet with the opportunity to give thanks for all the wonderful things I’ve been given. This past year, I’ve had several friends diagnosed with different medical problems. Thankfully, everyone is doing well and fighting their hardest to keep healthy. It makes me doubly thankful that my husband and kids are healthy and safe and that we have a roof over our heads and food on our table. You really can’t ask for more in life than that.

I’m also extremely grateful to have a new book coming out next month. It’s called THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB and it’s a romantic comedy about a woman who turns her dysfunctional book club into a boyfriend club, where women come together to discuss the men they’ve dated, comparing them to classic literary heroes and villains.

It’s getting some great advance reviews. Publishers’s Weekly says, “Geraci (BUNCO BABES TELL ALL) fills the fluffy but enjoyable story with literary references, and her leading lady is endearingly flawed. Romance readers will revel in the Austen-perfect happy ending and the warm friendship among members of the club.”

I’d love to give away a copy of the book to one commenter (will be mailed out the first week of December- perfect for your holiday reading!)

Thanks TKA!

Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women’s fiction. Her third novel, THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB, comes out December 7, 2010, in trade paperback, from Berkley, Penguin, USA. Please visit her website at www.mariageraci.com for more information on her books.

Guest Blog: Maria Geraci Celebrates New Release with a $50 Borders Card Giveaway!

Are you a Kitty? A Shea? Or maybe even a Pilar? Find out which Bunco Babe you most resemble and enter to win a chance for an autographed copy of BUNCO BABES TELL ALL and a $50 gift certificate to Borders.

I’m excited to announce that my second Bunco Babes book, BUNCO BABES GONE WILD, is just a few weeks away from release!

Here's the cover blurb: Georgia Meyer needs some time to think-and what better place to get her head on straight than Whispering Bay, Florida, in the company of her sister Frida and her sister's Bunco-playing friends, aka the Bunco Babes? Georgia's boyfriend-and boss-Spencer Moody made a slight miscalculation in the romance department and gave her a calculator instead of an engagement ring. So she needs some sisterly advice, in between rolling dice and drinking frozen margaritas, as to her next move. While considering subtracting Spencer from her life, Georgia meets the very handsome Dave Hernandez. Unfortunately when a Bunco night gets a little out of hand, Georgia reveals more of herself to Dave than she intended. Now, as she helps the Babes prepare for a Bunco Black Tie fundraiser, she needs to search her heart-and keep her shirt on-long enough to decide if a love affair with Dave might be a dream come true.

“This light escapist fare continues the adventures that began with Bunco Babes Tell All. It's entertaining, amusing, and conveys the idea that whatever else is going on in a woman's life, good or bad, it's wonderful to have a group of friends to share it all with.” 4 stars, Romantic Times Book Club Reviews

“Geraci’s sexy, funny debut is an emotionally satisfying story of love, friendship, family and community.” The Chicago Tribune on BUNCO BABES TELL ALL

In order to celebrate my new release, I’m a running a contest on my website. All you have to do is take the quiz then follow the instructions at the bottom of the page. It’s simple. And fun! Plus, I know you’re dying to find out whether (as Steve, my hero from BUNCO BABES TELL ALL, says) you’re the nice one, the hot one or the sharp one!

Tunnel of Love Week Guest Blogger: Maria Geraci

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Congrats to Estela! Please email your physical address to mariageraci1(at)gmail(dot)com.

Got Bunco?

When I first came up with my idea for a story involving a group of women who played Bunco, I really had no notion where I was going to take it. Romance? Women's fiction? (For those of you who might not know what Bunco is, let me quote one of the characters from my book. As Shea says, "It's a dice game. A REALLY fun dice game.") Writing about a group of women who meet regularly to roll the dice, drink frozen margaritas, and gossip, seemed like a natural recipe for women's fiction. But I knew I wanted a strong romance in the stories. The kind of romance that I enjoyed reading- fun and sexy with a mouth watering hero and a happily-ever-after ending. The kind that left you feeling upbeat and happy. Sort of like the feeling I get when I play Bunco.

Bunco has been a part of my life since I first began playing it back in 1992 when I lived in Austin, Texas. It was a way to socialize with other women, laugh, and let your hair down. And there were also prizes. Think of a guy's poker night, except with the occasional exchange of recipes.

Over the years, I've played in several Bunco groups. None more near and dear to me than my current group, The Bunco Broads of Tallahassee. We've been together now for 10 years. We meet on the first Wednesday of every month and most times there is a "theme." February's theme is usually Valentine's Day or Mardi Gras, depending on who hosts. In years past, February prizes have included "couples" gifts- like gift certificates to restaurants or movies or Victoria's Secret.Last Wednesday, my group met at Cheryl's house. Cheryl is from New Orleans, so whenever we do February Bunco at her house, there is no question of the theme. It's Mardi Gras all the way!

But I digress... Back to that romance. I'm a firm believer that women need other women in their lives. They need to laugh and engage in the kind of mindless socialization that takes them away from the pressures of everyday living- If only for a few hours every month. For me, playing Bunco is like reading a good romance novel. There's nothing like pure escapism to warm the soul. Or the love life.

Finding romance for Kitty Burke, the main character in my first Bunco book BUNCO BABES TELL ALL hasn't been easy. Kitty's convinced that all she needs is her friends to make her happy. It's going to take a little shaking up (and a hot new guy in town) for Kitty to realize that woman cannot live by Bunco alone. To celebrate my new web site I'm running a contest. Go to www.mariageraci.com and take a sneak peak at the excerpt to BUNCO BABES TELL ALL. Tell me who Kitty's idea of the perfect man is and you can win a $25 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret. Leave your answer in the comment section right here. I'll close it off on midnight, Friday and randomly select from the correct answers. Good Luck and Happy Bunco-ing!

Maria Geraci

www.mariageraci.com