Monthly Archives: November 2011

Passion. It’s not for weenies.

  By Julia Barrett | November 30, 2011 - 9:50 pm | , , , , , , ,
17 Comments

Well, passion might possibly involve weenies, but then again…

This may be a rambling post, but I think I have a point, may…be.

I was considering the various incarnations of passion today; passion for one’s significant other, passion for one’s children and pets and extended family. Passion for political causes and religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs. Passion for nature and wild animals and sporting events. Passion for life.

The truth is, passion contains love and hate, both great motivators, both the stuff of legend. Both at the very heart of story-telling.

I rarely inhabit that in-between space where one might find like or dislike, well, maybe there’s one thing - apple pie. My father is passionate about apple pie. It’s his favorite. I eat it to be polite, but if I never tasted another piece of apple pie for the rest of my life, I’d wouldn’t be sorry. I don’t hate apple pie, but its weight on my passion scale is about the same as a post-it note, maybe less.

As I drove through town today, avoiding tourists who insist upon turning the wrong way onto one-way streets, crossing in front of my car when I have a green light, swerving into my lane of traffic for no apparent reason, I was thinking I hate tourists with a passion, despite the fact that they bring money into our valley.

Then I got to wondering, what else do I hate? I mean besides my generic hatred of evil people.

I hate the mere sight of green peppers with such a grand passion that if I was Queen of the World I would ban the sale of green peppers until they ripen into red peppers. Yet I passionately love chilies of all colors, shapes, sizes and heat levels.

I hate jasmine tea.

I hate every chef who has ever used hibiscus tea as a flavoring in any dish, sweet or savory.

I hate Walmart because the mere act of entering the local store gives me an immediate panic attack.

Hate is a powerful word. Maybe I’m playing fast and loose with it. It’s not a word for weenies, but then, neither is love. Love is hard. People suffer for love or because of it or despite it.

You can hate someone and still be kind to them. You can love someone and be cruel. Interesting… I have no idea if I made any sense at all.

Okay, back to business:

Remember - you can still enter to win Pride and Prejudice. Check down the list of posts and find the book. Leave me a comment.

Coming soon - Holiday Book Bag and Holiday Blog Hop - big giveaways!

Tomorrow begins the saga of evil English Graham vs. good Scottish Graeme and the story of the cement bed and haggis. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

That’s Enough of That.

  By Julia Barrett | November 29, 2011 - 9:36 pm | , , , , , ,
23 Comments

All right, I’m sick of talking about my books. Sick of it, I tells ya. Here’s what I have to say - Give yourself a holiday present - Buy my books. You’ll like ‘em.

On to other things!

I just finished reading George Sansom’s A History of Japan 1334-1615. Great book. Read A History of Japan to 1334 while I was on the East Coast and couldn’t sleep. That’s my big secret. I’m a major history buff. Wrote this paper on Japan in as a freshman in college. My professor got it published somewhere, although I no longer remember where. It was all about adapting Chinese civil administration and the philosophies of Confucianism and Buddhism to Japanese systems and sensibilities.

I had a great trip to Baltimore and D.C. You want to know the really fun thing? Well, there were a bunch of fun things, but maybe the most fun was spending a day in the National Archives. OMG, I could spend a month, I could spend a year in the National Archives. Got to spend an entire day in the National Gallery - loved it! Had lunch in the food court at the Native Indian Museum, and super dirty martinis on the roof of the W overlooking the White House. Watched the sun set.

Did you know Washington D.C. has a fantastic fisherman’s wharf where you can get raw oysters, steamed blue crabs, shrimp cooked with Old Bay Seasoning, and you can eat it all sitting on a cement pier jutting out into the Potomac right around the corner from the Navy Yard and the real NCIS offices??? So effin’ cool!

For those of you who, like me, are NICS fans, think Rock Creek Park. “Gear up. There’s a body in Rock Creek Park.” “C’mon, we got a body in Rock Creek Park.” “Let’s go. A dead marine in Rock Creek Park.” Hey! I spent a whole day in the real Rock Creek Park and the National Zoo. The park is beautiful. The zoo’s baby gorilla is cutest thing ever.

Truly, I love visiting Baltimore and D.C. We’re all depressed out here in what used to be the Golden State. Baltimore and D.C. are upbeat, friendly and affordable in comparison. If you get out to Baltimore, try this restaurant - Pazo. The tapas menu was fantastic. In D.C. I fell in love with The Queen Vic. Go. Eat. Flirt.

Okay, done. My advice: Read books. Eat good food. Study history.

Pushing Her Boundaries. A Real Life Canoe Adventure.

  By Julia Barrett | November 28, 2011 - 8:46 pm | , , , , , , , , ,
4 Comments

Those of you who were with me during the summer of 2010 probably remember my canoe trip from hell. For those of you who are new here, I’ll route you to Penny Romance. Penny was kind enough to catalog all my blog posts regarding our near death experience in the BWCA - Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. Oh…wait, it wasn’t my near death experience, as I recall I nearly killed Mr. Bob and Mrs. Bob.

The upside? A true bonding experience for my husband and myself, and an inspired adventure romance, Pushing Her Boundaries, which contains a seriously long sex scene. My husband told me I had to push the boundaries so to speak, thus…

Maggie is done with men. Flying to Minneapolis, she’s seated beside the type of man she always falls for. A sexy, arrogant alpha jerk. Mace Williams irritates the woman next to him. She’s so damn sexy, he doesn’t care. When their seatmate suffers a cardiac arrest, Maggie and Mace team up to save his life, but it’s too late. In Minneapolis, Maggie heads to a restaurant with her sister, only to find Mace waiting. Worse, she learns he’s the brother of her sister’s fiance. Stuck in her sister’s apartment with Mace, Maggie offers him one night of sex, anything goes. No obligations, no recriminations. Mace agrees…he wants more than Maggie’s body, he wants her heart. Thrown into a disastrous canoe trip, they must work together to survive. Maggie must face her demons and trust Mace with her life. Mace is determined to save her, regardless of what the future brings.

It’s a fun book. Just don’t wear anything flammable while reading. You can buy the book here and here.

Pride interrupts Prejudice.

  By Julia Barrett | November 27, 2011 - 9:20 pm | , , ,
17 Comments

 

I’m interrupting today’s post about my adventure romance, Pushing Her Boundaries to give you another gift.

You like? For my readers who are Jane Austen fans, I have a unique copy of Pride and Prejudice - yours for the holidays.

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment. Since I’m more of a Bronte girl, I’d love to hear what it is you like about Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, and Regency Romances in general.

You can enter all week. A winner will be chosen on Friday and I’ll get the book to you before Christmas. U.S. entries only.

*Oh, by the way, last night’s mid-season finale of The Walking Dead just about did me in. The best television I’ve watched since Firefly. Team Shane for damn sure. He’s right. (I am so proud of Andrea. Daryl has really become a mensch! Dale needs to get off his high horse.)

I only mention zombies because you know…Pride and Prejudice and Zombies…

 

Julia’s Journey to the Dark Side.

  By Julia Barrett | November 26, 2011 - 7:55 pm | , , , , ,
6 Comments

That’s enough of the third person. I actually feel very uncomfortable when people talk about themselves in the third person.

So. How do I explain One Four All, my foray into the world of menage? ‘Cuz I’d kind of like to explain it in third person.

My publisher called me. She said this - “We like the way your write and we’d like to increase your sales. Menage is very popular right now. Would you consider writing a menage?”

Moi? I’m like so one man one woman. Like so one man one woman as in if my husband ever cheated on me I’d destroy him. I’m vindictive that way.

“But it’s a fantasy,” she said. “Just a fantasy. We already know you can write fantasy.”

Hmmm. “Well yes, I can do that.” My brain is sort of fueled by fantasy.

I set myself some ground rules before I began One Four All.

1. Futuristic science fiction setting.

2. Damn good reason for one woman to take on three men.

3. A kick ass heroine who could hold her own with three warriors.

4. Protective men who wouldn’t kill each other over a woman because a. they are friends and colleagues and b. the pay off would be worth it. As in…marrying into the royal family.

Lira Pakan, heir to the Throne of Zhinshu, has vanished. Her zealots gather along the border with the neighboring state of Khubuk, awaiting the outcome of her father’s pleas to the World Court.

Captain Tanner Kepp serves in the elite Special Forces of Khubuk. When the captain is ordered to choose two men to accompany him to Land’s End, an isolated compound on the maritime border between Khubuk and Zinshu, the last thing he expects to find is the missing princess. Captain Kepp, Arms Master Cer Watso and Sergeant Redda Till realize they must rescue her and avert all out war.

The princess, however, has other plans. These men can be more than her rescuers. According to the law of Zhinshu, she must choose three men as consorts. Her people say: “one to guard the right hand, one to guard the left hand, and one to guard the back, always.”

I’m actually working on a sequel involving Lira’s younger sister - One For Me.

You can buy One Four All here and here.