Title: Queen of the Universe
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.
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Excerpt
The handyman Lola's just hired to renovate her house shows
up for their first meeting, but she thinks he's an actor there to audition for
her TV show … audition for the role of the sexy, brooding bounty hunter.
“Lola Scott? You're the woman in charge?” He's
looking all askance at my faded tee and worn jeans.
I let my smile unfurl. Why not? This guy is a kick.
“I'm the showrunner. Yes.”
“Showrunner.”
“Yes,” I say easily, deciding I can work with his
level of inexperience. “I'm the writer who created the show, and I'm pretty
much in charge of everything. From casting, to shooting, to editing. I run the
show. Showrunner.”
He's nodding but looking at me as if he's thinking
about what he's going to make for dinner tonight. Seriously? He's losing interest
in the details of the show? He really IS already in character for my aloof
bounty hunter. Either that or ...
I tilt my head and scrunch my eyes
à la
Alicia Silverstone. “Is this your
first time working in TV?” I place a reassuring hand on his arm.
He jumps back, making me feel like I just burned him
with a curling iron. He puts his hands in his back pockets and looks at me with
such blatant … examination, like he recognizes me from a WANTED poster in the
post office. “That's a weird way of putting it,” he says. “But yes, this is the
first time I've been to a studio.”
“Mmmm,” I muse. Fresh blood. Makes it easier.
“Look,” he says, taking his hands out of his pockets
and looking around as if to find the nearest exit. “You seem really busy. Can
we just do this?”
“Yes,” I practically chirp, standing to attention.
“We can fill in the details later, but so far, you've really nailed it.”
“Uh … nailed what,
exactly?”
“The image is
perfect,” I practically coo. “Very Aragorn meets Wolverine.” I look him up and down,
then slowly start to circle him. “I like the beard,” I tell him. “More than
five-o'clock shadow, but clipped close enough to see the planes of your face
and the cut of your jaw. Good choice.”
He backs away from me, turning to stay face to face
with me. “Lady ...”
“You've got that roguish, brooding thing going,” I
murmur, getting lost in the intense, bordering-on-angry, look on his face.
“Those dark eyes are killer.”
His lips part but he doesn't say anything. Score.
The guy can really pull off silence.
“Hmmm,” I say, considering.
“What now? Jesus, what the hell is going on?”
I look up into his face. He seems like he seriously
just fell off the truck, making leverage points useless with him. This blade
runner with the soul of Pollyanna just dropped into my lap and I have to handle
him right.
With sincerity.
“It's nothing we can't work around,” I say, brushing
it off with a laugh. “It's just that you're a little older than I had in mind.”
“Old?” he squawks. “I'm only thirty-two!”
“Thirty-two can totally work,” I assure him. “We'll
make it work.”
He steps back with the barest hint of a nod.
“And you're okay with partial nudity?” I ask.
“WHAT?”
“Relax,” I say, trying not to laugh. “I just mean
taking your shirt off. Maybe once in a while. But nothing gratuitous. Only when
necessary.”
“Look, I don't care how hot it is, I don't strip at
work.”
“When you see how much money is in it for you, I
think you'll change your mind. And there's no sex. Not at first, anyway.”
“That's it.” He spins on his heel and heads to the
stairwell.
“Wait!” I call, rushing to get ahead of him,
blocking the door to the exit. “It's okay if you're afraid you won't look
perfect. Colin Firth totally panicked like that on the set of Circle of
Friends. We'll get you on a daily fitness regimen so that when the time
comes, you'll have nothing to be shy about.”
“Listen,” he begins, his voice galvanized with more
authority than I'm used to from auditioning actors. “You need to get out of my
way and let me leave. You've clearly got some guy-in-a-tool-belt fantasy, and
I'm telling you up front, I'm not interested.”
My head snaps back the tiniest fraction before I
stop it. “Tool belt? You mean, like, to carry your gun?”
“MY GUN?”
About the Author
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.
Tour Schedule
December 28th
December 29th
December 30th
Book Lover in Florida - Book Excerpt
December 31st
Authors & Readers Book Corner - Book Excerpt
January 1st
Hello...Chick Lit - Book Review
January 2nd
Jena Books - Book Review
January 3rd
Kristin's Novel Cafe - Book Promo Post
January 4th
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