Meet Beautiful Singles

by Maria Geraci



As we wind down on our current cycle topic, The corn maze of novel writing, I have to laugh. Mostly at myself, because its what I seem to to be doing a lot of lately. Talk about irony. You see, I'm one of those pantsers who has desperately been trying to reinvent herself into a plotter. For those of you who don't know author speak, I'm trying to become someone who outlines her novel. Someone who actually knows what's going to happen next. Yes, one of those lovely people.

You see, I have a dream. That dream includes writing a novel in sequential order with every little thing perfectly and neatly tied up the first time around.

Sorry to say, my bubble or rather my dream has been busted. As they say in north Florida, it ain't gonna happen. Not for me anyway. And believe me I've tried.

But the writing process isn't the same for everyone. Nor should it be. I know that and I now accept that. At the same time, I have to learn to write smarter. Not harder. I have to minimize the amount of revisions I do because I simply have to produce faster.

After years of trying to figure it out, I think I have. At least, for now. Because if I know anything, it's that with each novel I write I learn something different, which ultimately alters my process. Hopefully for the better each time.

What's my current process? It's a stripped down version of the barest bones character grid. Not a bio. Not really. Bios take too much time and frankly, they kind of bore of me. I like to discover my characters as I write them, but I also know there are certain things I need to know before I type out Chapter One. Otherwise, I'm in for a world of long and painful rewrites. And what I have to know is what my characters want. What they really want. And why they think they want it. And what it is that they really long for, but are too afraid to go after. If I know that, then I know them. Or at least as much as I need to know to start out my novel. And if know what my protagonist is really afraid of, then I know what my dark moment will look like. And guess what? I'm half-way there. Which is a lot better than where I was before.

How about you? What do you need to know before you begin writing that first sentence?



Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction, Her fourth novel, A GIRL LIKE YOU was a 2013 RITA ® Finalist . She is currently working on a contemporary romance trilogy scheduled for release in spring of 2015. You can connect with her by visiting www.mariageraci.com

by Maria Geraci



Movies have always inspired my writing. Good movies, that is. And this summer's inspiration comes in the form of a quirky little film called CHEF. If you haven't seen it yet, then you're in for a treat. If you have seen it, then you probably know what I'm talking about.

The premise is simple: Chef Carl (played by the film's star, writer, and director Jon Favreau) is one of LA's most famous chefs. He works in a fancy restaurant (owned by Dustin Hoffman) and has control of his kitchen and his band of rowdy kitchen staff.  When a famous LA food critic comes to review the restaurant, Chef Carl is ready to wow him with a new and eclectic menu he's been chopping up. But the restaurant's owner demands he stick to the true and tried (and tired) menu he's been doing for years. Chef Carl caves in and the result is a scathing review that Chef Carl takes personally.

Way too personally.

The two of them (Chef Carl and the restaurant critic) begin to attack each other on Twitter (okay, these scenes were just hysterically funny) and Chef Carl ends up losing his job, along with his self-esteem. With nothing left to lose, he ends up back in Miami (the city where he first became famous as a chef) and buys a run down food truck. Along with his young son and his best friend, they begin a road trip across the country, selling food wherever they stop, and of course, learning life lessons that make him not just a better chef, but a better father, friend and potential love interest.

In case you think I'm spoiling the movie for you, everything I've told you is found in the movie's trailer. What makes Chef so special isn't the story, it's the way its told. It's the movie's voice (yes, directors, like authors have a distinct voice). It's warm, funny, and makes you feel good. I left the movie theater dancing (because the sound track is just so good!) and despite the fact I'd eaten before the movie, I left hungry (for both food and for more of the movie!).

You don't have to be a foodie to enjoy Chef. You just have to like a good story.



Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. You can connect with her by visiting her website.

by Maria Geraci


There's three rules in real estate and we all know what they are. Location, location, location. Where your house or real estate is located will not only determine the asking price, but it will also influence how quickly it sells. Everyone wants prime real estate, and fiction is no exception. Your story setting is almost (and in some cases) just as important as your characters, their goals, and motivation. In fact, your setting is most likely intertwined with your story in such a way that you couldn't separate it out. Think of Stephanie Plum outside of New Jersey. Nope. Can't do it. And I wouldn't want to either.

World building is the backdrop to any good story. Your characters have to be believable and so does the world they inhabit.

Now, when I say real, what I mean is, it has to feel real to the reader. When the reader flips through the pages of your story, she has to be able to "see" the world you've built. It must feel familiar in a way that she can understand, even if it's exotic and faraway.

Think of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I've never been to Scotland (and neither had Gabaldon when she began writing Outlander), but her descriptions feel real to me, probably because she's a fantastic writer, but also because she researched the hell out of it.

I don't write rich lush historical novels. I write contemporary romance and women's fiction. All my stories are different, but they all have one thing in common. Location. They're all set in Florida. Partly because the stories lend themselves to the beach setting, but mostly because that's where I'm from. It's where I was raised and it's what I know. I know the people, the weather, the inside jokes, the uniqueness of living here. I love being a Floridian, and I think it shows in my writing.

In my third novel, THE BOYFRIEND OF THE MONTH CLUB, the majority of the story takes place in a small Daytona Beach tourist trap called Florida Charlies (totally fictional). Florida Charlies was a homage to the dozens of tacky tourist shops I used to visit as a kid on family vacations to old Florida standards like Weeki Wachi and Silver Springs (pre-Disney Florida amusement parks). There was a huge neon flamingo on top of the shop that could be seen from miles away. I had a lot of fun creating that shop. It was as as real to me as the characters in the book and the novel's main story line intersects with the events happening in the shop. If I took the shop out, my story would have suffered.

How do you go about choosing the setting for your novels? Are all your settings similar (like mine) or have they all been different? Do you write what "you know" or do you research heavily?


Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. You can visit her website at www.mariageraci.com.

by Maria Geraci


As a writer, I sometimes get requests from book clubs or writing associations for speaking engagements. These occasions are always met first with a "You want me?" to a "Of course I'll come!" to "Oh My God. What am I going to say to these people?"

Recently, I was contacted by a lovely person who started off by telling me she had just purchased my latest book A Girl Like You. She said she was loving it and that she was a professor of English at one of the local colleges. She went on to say that she had a masters degree in Creative Writing and a PhD in English and was teaching a continuing education class for the over 50 crowd about the significance of the romance novel and would I like to come speak to her class? And perhaps do a reading?

"You want me?" (I only thought this aloud in my head).

"Of course. I'd love to come speak to your class!" (or something like that).

We exchanged a few emails and she said she would like to take me to dinner before the class so that we could get to know one another a bit. She allowed me to select the restaurant, where we met on a Friday evening. Meeting a complete stranger for dinner can always be a bit daunting (sort of like a first date) but within minutes, I was completely at ease. The conversation flowed. I found out that one of her favorite romance authors was Madeline Hunter (mine too!) and that she wrote poetry and was fiddling with the idea of writing a romance novel. Yes, we were kindred spirits.

Then I asked her to tell me a bit more about the class. That's when I learned that it was a dissection of the romance novel and feminist theory and that...well, a lot of the students were not fans of romance. Gulp.

"Oh my God. What am I going to say to these people?" (yes, I wisely kept that thought to myself).

She went on to explain that I would be speaking at the last class and that their discussion would be centered around Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.  For some reason, this relaxed me a bit. Yes, it's been  years since I read Jane Eyre, but as a writer, there's nothing I love better than to discuss good books, so I was in.

The day came and I packed up a bunch of my books to give away as freebies and drove over to the continuing education center. I was a bit early, which gave me an opportunity to meet a few of the students before the class began. They all seemed genuinely glad to see me. These were people who enjoyed reading. And read a lot. But in my scattered discussions, it didn't seem that they were big fans of popular romance. In preparation for the class, I had thought about what I would read. I've written 2 contemporary romances and 2 romantic women's fiction books, but I'd decided to read an excerpt from my latest work-in-progress which I'd recently completed--a contemporary romance (after all, this was a class discussing the romance novel, so I thought, why not?) They could be my guinea pigs.

I have to admit to squirming in my seat as the class began and the discussion of Jane Eyre ensued. I'm surprised the ghost of Rochester didn't spin in his grave. Yes, I do remember him as a bit of a creep, but modern film has tended to romanticize him a bit and I think my rose colored glasses needed a firm cleaning. They discussed the modern stereotypical romance hero and heroine and how romance was a fantasy. Yes, this might be a tough crowd.

Soon, it was my turn. Then someone came out of the blue and put a mic on me (I've never been "mic-ed" before) and the few times I've spoken into a microphone I've hated how my voice came out. But I tried to ignore the awkwardness of it as I faced my crowd. A lovely, warm, smiling crowd, but nevertheless, these were people who seemed to be eager to hear what I had to say only I wasn't sure that anything I could say would impress them.

I thought I'd start off with the reading, but instead I decided to tell them how I began to write romance. My love of romance novels. How I thought the genre was special. How the character growth in a romance novel was superior to other genres. And before I knew it, almost an hour and half had gone by and no one had fallen asleep. On the contrary, they seemed engaged and asked lots of questions. Then came my reading. I prefaced it by saying that the work had not been copy edited. Heck, it hasn't even been edited yet. But it didn't seem to matter. They listened attentively, laughed in all the right places and in the end, a lot of them said they wanted to read the rest of the book. Yes! (mental fist pump!)

After the class was over, many of the members came up to me to thank me. I found myself smiling and thanking them. Yes, I hoped they learned a little something or maybe I inspired them in some way, but afterward, I remembered why I will always yes to a speaking engagement. In the end, I'm the one who's inspired. I'm the one who learns something. And all that only makes me want to be a better writer.



Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. You can visit her website at www.mariageraci.com

by Maria Geraci

I'm sure I'm not the only person who watched Matthew McConaughey's speech at the Oscars last Sunday and thought Wow. And not because Matthew is looking good again (as opposed to how he looked in Dallas Buyer's Club--a very fine film, btw). But because his speech was just so damn inspiring.

In case you missed it, he told us about the 3 things he needs every day.

1. Something to look up to
2. Something to look forward to
3. Someone to Chase

Like a lot of people in the TV audience, I was touched by his first 2 responses. He looks up to God. And he looks forward to his family. Can't argue with that. But it was his answer to his 3rd need that made me sit up and spill the popcorn.

Who does Matthew McConaughey chase? Who's his hero? His hero is him. Ten years from now. 
"My hero's always going to be me 10 years away."

He went to explain that he doesn't expect to ever catch up to what his idea of his own self should be, but that it's a goal he aspires to. It's what he chases.

He then ended his speech with a rousing "Alright, alright, alright." And a room full of laughter and applause.

Despite the ridiculously late hour, my brain immediately went into overtime. Hey, I thought, I want to my own hero too! And I began to think back to the me I was 10 years ago, when I'd just barely finished my first manuscript and was toying with the idea that maybe one day I could really be published.

Fast forward those 10 years. I have 4 published novels and my last one was nominated for a RITA, Romance Writer's of America's highest award. I've achieved things that the pragmatic part of me wouldn't have thought possible.

But am I satisfied with my writing career today?

 No. I'm not. And I shouldn't be.

Because although I've achieved some really good stuff, I should want more. I want to be a better writer. A more successful writer (because there's nothing wrong with that) and yes, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd love to be a New York Times best seller. I want to be able to quit the day job and write full time. I want to give back more to the writing community that has given so much to me.

In the words of Matthew McConaughey, I want to my own hero in 10 years. I want to chase myself. The me I know I can be if I work hard and stay steady.

Who do you want to be in 10 years?






Maria Geraci writes fun, romantic women's fiction. You can visit her website at www.mariageraci.com.