Welcome contemporary romance author, Geralyn Corcillo...

Hi Rachel – thanks so much for hosting me today on your delightful blog! I know you write to bring good feelings and hope to your readers, and as a writer, I'm totally down with that. Let's rock this interview.

1.) What is your favourite thing about yourself? My laugh. It is loud and … uh … distinctive, let's say. Once I went to my friend Amanda's stand-up comedy show but I got there a little late. At one joke, a burst out laughing in such a noticeable manner that she interrupted herself on stage and said, “Hey, Geralyn, glad you could make it!” But here's the thing about my laugh – I love that I'm feeling so happy and joyful when I'm laughing – I love just indulging in the feeling.

2.) What do you wish you’d known before you started writing? Since I write romantic comedy, you think I would have known this one simple rule: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) But alas, I did not know it. But I learned it, you better believe it. When I started out, I tried to be too convoluted with my book titles and even with my name, and none of it worked. For instance, my full name is Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo. So when I started, I used the name GVR Corcillo, thinking initials would be easier than my first name “Geralyn.” Nope. Three initials just did not work. Believe it or not, people misspelled my name all the time! Seriously! In reviews, on placards at book signings – I so often got called CRV Corcillo! Since I changed to just straight up first and last name, no one has ever gotten my name wrong.

3.) Share a romantic moment in your life. I love thick, cushy socks. I have for as long as I can remember. As far as I'm concerned, happiness is a cozy pair of socks. The very first Christmas my husband I spent together, back when we had only been dating a few weeks, he got me the BEST GIFT EVER. It was just so me: thick ski socks with batteries that made them warm up. I opened them up and shouted with utter glee, “You got me socks!!!” Sigh. And at that moment, I knew …

(Please put the picture of me and Ron here.) Caption: Here I am with Ron at a friend's Bat Mitzvah – an occasion WAY fancier than our wedding.

4.) Is there one subject you’d never write about as an author? What is it? I would never write a book about planning a wedding. The very thought of planning a wedding stresses me out – I will leave wedding books to those who revel in all the celebratory choreography. I even avoided planning a wedding in my own life. My husband and I drove to Vegas one weekend (we live in Los Angeles) and got married in a two-minute ceremony under a tree at a white clapboard chapel. I cannot imagine a more perfect wedding – just me and Ron and pastor Jamie and no fuss. There are weddings in my romantic comedies, but let's just say they are … unconventional.

5.) Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they? I will share the most brilliant piece of writing advice I ever heard – from the queen of romantic comedy herself, Susan Elizabeth Phillips: “Leave out the boring stuff.”

6.) If you could be the original author for any book, what would it be? Why? When I was in college, I got this idea to rewrite Jane Eyre, but from the perspective of the first Mrs. Rochester, the madwoman in the attic. I wanted to call it The First Mrs. Rochester. I was telling my friend Lola about my brilliant idea one day and she said, “It's already been written. It's called Wide Sargasso Sea and it's by Jean Rhys.” Man, I wish I had written Wide Sargasso Sea!

7.) What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? Good lord – the same thing that got me in trouble in college and still gets me in trouble today – I open my big mouth. When I was a kid, I would not hesitate to tell off a teacher or a coach … or my parents. So I'd get detention, or benched, or banned from watching TV.

8.) If I came to your house for dinner what would you prepare for me? Why? Turkey, of course! Because if I'm cooking for company, it must be Thanksgiving or Christmas, and my husband and I must be making the turkey dinner, as we do every Thanksgiving and Christmas, inviting all our friends. He does the turkey and green bean casserole and I do the stuffing and gravy and yams. And you know what? When I was a kid, I would fantasize at holidays about one day finding an awesome guy and we would make holiday dinners together. So you are so right, Rachel - dreams can come true!

And speaking of dreams coming true, check out my romantic comedies – fast-paced, heartfelt, funny stories with happy endings. One such book is Queen of the Universe, and readers so far have been adoring the ending. This is Queen's last week in KindleUnlimited, so download it today if you read through KU. Right now Queen is available on Amazon, where it will be FREE thru January 1. Queen will be available at other ebook retailers as well by mid-January. Thank you so much for hosting me today, Rachel. Have fun in all of your writing and blogging in the shiny new year!

Queen of the Universe Book Tour

By author Geralyn Corcillo

Tour Dates: December 28th – January 4th, 2017

Blurb:

Can a charismatic TV writer convince a reclusive handyman to become her show’s leading man in time to save her career?

Savvy Hollywood writer Lola Scott is about to get fired from the TV show she created because she still hasn’t cast the role of the dark, brooding bounty hunter. But then HE walks in … Arlen Black. And he’s perfect for the part. But he’s not an actor there to audition. Nope. He’s the handyman Lola hired to renovate her historic Hollywood house. No problem—Lola gleefully offers him the dream job of a lifetime. But the stoic recluse-in-a-tool-belt wants nothing to do with Lola and her show. What?! Really?

So Lola goes after him with everything she’s got. But as she draws Arlen into her chaotic world of TV production, Hollywood gossip sinks its claws into him. And when one paparazzi photo threatens to destroy everything he holds dear, Lola’s got to move heaven and Earth not to save the show … but to save Arlen.

This novel reads as a stand-alone story within the In Love in the Limelight universe: Los Angeles, where the stars and paths of different characters might cross, and where the paparazzi is always ready to sink in its glittery talons.

Buy the Book:

AmazonUS

AmazonUK

About the Author:

Geralyn Corcillo

Bio:

When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to rescue animals and constantly pick up litter. At home, she loves to kick back by watching black & white movies, British mysteries, and the New York Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband TV writer Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.

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