About Me - Gerri Giovanelli Bauer
Hello!
My idea of a perfect day always includes a book, or three, including one with a happy ending. I write Catholic historical romance novels and novellas set in pioneer Florida, and non-romance short stories that explore the importance of community, connection and human dignity.
I was born and raised in New York City, but found a small-town haven in Florida many years ago. I was a homebody even before the pandemic. I love to spend time at home with my husband, spoil my cats, keep tabs on my far-flung extended family and get out into the garden. Although the plants question my dedication.
I share my space-geek husband’s enthusiasm for our final frontier, which helps me remember I don't live in the 19th century Florida setting of my novels. We both also share a love of history and the natural world.
Genealogy fascinates me. All my grandparents were immigrants and I grew up in a trilingual home. I'm of Sicilian and Slovenian descent, with some Iberian, Middle Eastern and African also showing up in my DNA tests. (People from the latter three regions conquered and ruled Sicily in the past.) Miscarriages and infertility long ago ended my dream of biological children, but within my extended family future generations have added Greek, Filipino, Vietnamese, Honduran, German and Irish to the ethnic mix. I love how the table expands to include all.
Now that I'm retired, I again have time to be a sewing nerd. I quilt, sew clothing and other items, and crochet (when arthritis allows) - all at a pace that qualifies me for the slow-life movement. Among my treasures is my grandmother's 1919 Singer treadle sewing machine. I'm working on my treadling skills but still have a long way to go.
Other Stuff
Well into middle age, I earned a B.A. in English from Stetson University. It took eight years of lunchtime and evening classes. Daytime was spent working for the university. Eons ago, I earned an associate's degree in Advertising/Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Decades passed between the degrees.
On the nonfiction side, my projects have included:
- A family tribute book to my late father's avocation for painting, Ed Giovanelli, A Journey Through Art and Life, published under Geraldine Bauer, 2024;
- Four biographies (written for hire), co-authored with Ed Wilks and using (my full first name) Geraldine Bauer;
- The Parce Letters: Voices from the Past, a collection of primary sources on Florida pioneers, 2004;
- Articles for The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature, 2015 and 2018;
- Magazine and newspaper articles from my many years as a reporter, editor and layout artist/paginator in print journalism, and my years in university communications.