Peeking Between the Pages

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Guest Post with Maria Geraci, author of A Girl Like You & Giveaway (US only)

Today we have Maria Geraci, author of A Girl Like You, visiting Peeking Between the Pages with a guest post.  A Girl Like You which released on August 7 sounds like a really good summer read – something to pack in your bag to go to the beach or enjoy out on the deck.  I have to admit I like pretty pink covers like this one too – I’m girly like that.  I’ll give you some information on the book and author below as well as a giveaway but for now enjoy Maria’s guest post…

 

First off, thank you to Darlene for inviting me to guest blog here today!

A few months ago I was at my local writers’ meeting where I read aloud the first chapter to my work-in-progress in order to get a critique. Normally, I don’t let anyone read my rough drafts until they’ve been smoothed out a bit but I wanted some feedback on my new story idea. I was more than a little surprised when one of the writers present called me out on my opening. You see, my main character mentions that the first thing she notices about a person is their shoes. And while there’s nothing terribly wrong with that, the thing is, I write chick lit. And let’s face it, chick lit has gotten a bum rap.

Most people associate chick lit with single girls living in the big city obsessed with their Manolo Bahliks. But chick lit is so much more than that, and most times it’s not even that at all. Yes, sometimes our female protagonists live in a big city, such as my main character, Emma, in A Girl Like You. But a lot of the action in the novel occurs in Emma’s small fictional hometown of Catfish Cove, Florida. And while Emma doesn’t mind donning a nice pair of stilettos, that certainly isn’t the focus of her life. She’s a regular girl who works hard at her job, struggles with her self-image, and wouldn’t mind finding a nice guy to settle down with.

My novels are about woman, and the relationships in their lives, and trying to make the world a better place for themselves and others. They’re about family and friendship and love. And yes, occasionally, there might be a mention of shoes. But it’s not even the tiniest bit of importance in my stories. So, needless to say, I cut out most of that shoe bit from my work-in-progress.

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Thanks so much for being here at the blog today Maria and for this guest post!  I agree that chick lit gets a bum rap and I don’t know why.  I enjoy reading it mixed in with all my other reading.  I find it to be a great escape from everyday life and it never fails to cheer me up when I read it.  I look forward to reading your novel soon.

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About A Girl Like You (from Maria’s website)

What if you found out you were the ugly friend?

Emma Frazier is smart, hardworking, and loves her job as a journalist for a Florida lifestyle magazine. Emma knows she’s no great beauty, but she’s pretty certain she has a shot with her handsome new boss, Ben Gallagher—until Emma overhears a mutual acquaintance refer to her as the “ugly friend.” In an effort to reclaim her battered self-esteem, Emma decides to impress Ben at work by promising an exclusive interview with NASCAR legend, Trip Monroe.

Emma and Trip went to high school together and although it’s been fourteen years since they’ve spoken, Emma is certain she can score an interview with the elusive super star.https://peekingbetweenthepages.com/wp-admin/post-new.php But connecting with Trip turns out to be harder than Emma imagined. Her quest for the interview leads her back to her tiny hometown of Catfish Cove, where old secrets and a new romantic interest shake up Emma’s views on life and teach her that maybe the key to finding true love is as simple as accepting yourself for the person you were always meant to be.

Read an excerpt
Buy at: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, B&N and Indiebound

 

About Maria Geraci (from Maria’s website)

Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. The Portland Book Review called her novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, “immensely sexy, immensely satisfying and humorous.” Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, will be released August, 2012 by Berkley, Penguin USA.

Maria’s website
Find Maria on Facebook
Follow Maria on Twitter
Maria on Goodreads

 

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US only)

I have one copy of A Girl Like You by Maria Geraci to share with my US readers.  To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog.  Let me know if you already do as well so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway.

This giveaway is open to US residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, August 25/12.  Good luck!

Comments

  2. I enjoyed the author post today, Dar and Maria! I read A Girl Like You (review scheduled for Sept. 3) last week and enjoyed it so much that I bought Maria Geraci’s backlist! Looking forward to reading them. Don’t enter me in the giveaway.

  4. The cover does pop, doesn’t it? I think Emma’s story sounds great, would love to read it. Thanks!

  11. This sounds like a very interesting story. One that I would love to read.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  13. Sounds like a fun read for the summer. Thanks for the giveaway!
    -email subscriber, GFC follower, Facebook follower
    mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

  14. The ugly friend…ouch! I’d like to read this. Thanks for the chance to win. I’m a follower.

    nanze55 at hotmail dot com

  17. This is on my to read list. I would love to win a copy. Thanks for the chance to win.

  18. Oops! Forgot to mention that I already follow Peeking Between the Pages.
    I’ve also tweeted this giveaway and shared it on facebook.

  29. There is nothing wrong with writing a book about women and for women, and I think labeling every such book as chicklit is not always the right thing to do. So, if the mention of shoes got cut out, I am at least glad that she stuck to her guns and wrote the story that was inside her.

    Please include me in the giveaway, Dar!

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

  35. This book sounds really great. I really like the characters of Emma and Trip and hope they get together in the book. Please enter me. Thanks!

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

  37. I tweeted about the giveaway.
    Twitter Name:@Anita Yancey

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net