This is so exciting!
Anytime Darlin’, my cowboy romance, just became available for pre-sale! Oh! I am in love with this book! It’s my firstborn!
http://www.bookstrand.com/anytime-darlin
What a nice present just before I leave for my canoe trip. Thank you Siren!
Oh, also, Daughters of Persephone is on the What’s Hot List all All Romance Ebooks. I have absolutely no idea what this means.
Edits!
Edits!
Edits!
I have to finish these up today. The edits for books three and four of Daughters of Persephone were due on Monday, but my editor’s computer crashed so I’m SOL.
We’re leaving Friday and I will not be able to do much of anything internet related for ten days.
Remember lovely ladies, Anytime Darlin’ will be released on August 26th. I won’t be here until the 30th. Take care of my baby! I’ll miss my puppy too. Jake had his first visit to the vet today. It did not go well. I could hear him screaming from the parking lot when they took him into the back to give him his shots.
Back to edits!
I do not read romance when I’m writing. This is my hard and fast rule.
I was writing, now I’m working frantically on edits because I’m leaving town Friday and I will be sans internet and 
indoor plumbing for a week. (God help me.)
Two days ago, hubby ‘o’ mine issued a challenge, who could finish Katalina Leon’s BDSM masterpiece, Noblesword, first – him on his Kindle or me with my pdf version. Because I was writing, he had a full day’s head start. But taaa daaa! I finished first since I didn’t sleep the entire fucking night. Pardon my French.
Noblesword is my first, ever (and his), erotic read about domination and submission. This is a foreign land. It feels a bit like eating forbidden fruit. If handled improperly, this genre could really really suck or blow or be flat out rotten.
However, Katalina binds together her subject matter and her characters with delicate, bright, lively, silken threads. Her writing style is intelligent, nuanced and elegant – she does not dumb anything down, which I totally appreciate. For crying out loud, she refers to M.C. Escher and the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries (which of course have to do with the cult of Persephone…i.e. Daughters of Persephone…gotcha!). The erotic scenes are, well, they are sensual rather than graphic, and quite frankly because of that, wildly arousing. Um…ask hubby about the first third of the book. Guess who got to be the recipient?
Noblesword is above all, about emotional growth and honesty – both as an individual and within a relationship. And, lucky Katalina, the book has a perfect cover.
From Katalina’s site: http://www.katalinaleon.com/book-shelf.php
Go. Buy. Enjoy.
Remember to drop by Michelle’s Book Blog and give yourself a chance to win a signed print copy of Captured – you can read my interview too and see one of my new head shots! http://michellesramblins.blogspot.com/
She’s posted both an interview with me and a lovely review of Captured, one of my favorite books to write.
This is head shot number one. I climbed a tree for this shot. I look happy and it seems as if I have cleavage. I don’t. It’s the push-up bra and the tree branch I’m leaning on. Jewish people may have cleavage, but they get nervous when they look happy – it attracts the evil eye. And no, I’m not wearing make-up. Make-up makes me look like Bozo the Clown. Or maybe Ronald McDonald.
Anyway – I’ll be posting head shots this week and you all can choose the one you want me to use for my blog. You decide. As I said, this is option number one.
I finished reading Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human – it’s a great fast nonfiction read. The author, Richard Wrangham, kept me enthralled with his very easy to understand theories on the cooking of food and how it influenced the rapid and astounding evolution of the human brain, the human body, and the division of labor between the sexes. My next book? Spice, the History of a Temptation, by Jack Turner. Cannot wait! In my TBR pile? Mukiwa, A White Boy in Africa and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, both by Peter Godwin. On ebooks I’ve got romance author, Katalina Leon‘s entire libraray – yummy! I plan to start with Noblesword.
The puppy, Jake, is out in the backyard running his little feet, oops, his big feet off, after his doggy cousin who is visiting for a few hours. She’s an 18-month old German shepherd-coon hound mix. I used to think she was crazy. Compared to Jake, she’s an angel.
Many thanks to those of you who’ve signed up for my newsletter. I still have three unconfirmed email addresses I cannot access. Check your spam folder and see if the confirmation letter is there.
Oh, one more thing – I got word from Siren yesterday that the release of my full-length cowboy romance, Anytime Darlin’, is scheduled for August 26. I won’t be around – I’ll be canoeing in the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota. I love all my books, but Anytime Darlin’ is very, very special. I encourage you to give it a try!
I asked my fellow Siren author, Sophie Oak, to replay her timely post here:
I got back yesterday afternoon from my first RWA (Romance Writers of America) convention. It was really neat because I got to go in as a published author. I was surprised at the amount of wide-eyed enthusiasm in the air. The majority of the attendees are either people interested in writing or those actively pursuing but not yet published. I got to listen to Nora Roberts. She’s awesomely funny and has a potty mouth. I had lunch with Jayne Anne Krentz. (So did 2,000 other people.) I took a class from Angela Knight. And I got a hug from Linda Howard. I hung out with some really great authors and got some much needed advice. (Thanks, Shayla Black. You’re the best!) And then I got my ass kicked.
I should have stayed a PRO
I went to my first PAN retreat where an industry professional was speaking. To set this up for you, the PRO retreat was next door it filled two ballrooms and had lots of door prizes and games. The PAN retreat was one half a ballroom (given there are fewer of us) and we should have been given an anti-depressant as we walked in. While the PROs hooted and hollered, we were hit with reality. The publishing industry is at a crossroads. Sales are down and the iPad is changing the world. The industry is slow to change, but that’s okay because there are a bunch of people in e-publishing who are happy to make up the ground they lose. The days of big advances are fading. Some formerly surefire sellers are tanking. Everything looks bleak, except…e-book sales are exploding. The market isn’t going away, but it is changing.
A bigger pie, smaller slices?
I can see the future. We are moving from a world where publishers and bookstores told you what to read. This new market is almost entirely consumer driven. You wanna read a vampire D/s book set in the apocalyptic future? There’s a book for you. Want a romance with cowboys who share? There are entire publishers willing to slake your thirst. The pie is bigger than ever before, but the slices maybe not so much. And that might not be a bad thing. It’s a bad time to be a bestseller, but it might be the golden age of the writer and the reader. More is out there than ever before. As the talk ended I realized I was both depressed and invigorated. I’m never going to be Nora Roberts. But I can write what I want and more than likely, I will find a home for it. I can be the writer I want to be, follow my passion, find my bliss. I just have to search and find the readers willing to take that journey with me. Hopefully some of you enjoy my slice of pie. It’s small, but it’s all mine.
Author Bio – Sophie Oak
A lifetime devotee to the written word, Sophie published her first novel this year. Prior to becoming a novelist, she worked in theater and comic books. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and three precocious children. Sophie believes in happy endings for everyone, no matter how extreme the story. Her stories may feature some of the fringe elements of sexuality, but at heart they are always about love. Small Town Siren is available now from Siren Publishing. Siren in the City and Three to Ride are coming this fall from Siren Publishing.
http://www.bookstrand.com/small-town-siren
Note from Julia: Thanks Sophie! Damn, I love Linda Howard!
She is the nicest person, an author, a book blogger and reviewer. She’s in the hospital. I know we’re only friends online, but online friends are great friends. I’m wishing her a speedy recovery. Having spent time as a charge nurse in Coronary Care, I know she’s getting all kinds of TLC!
Chris, at Stumbling Over Chaos, posted this link and I found it very interesting. Most readers said their pet peeve about books is a bad cover. I’ve had more than my share of those – in the past – not now – it wasn’t my fault! I didn’t ask for a sucky cover…I swear! http://lesleywbooknook.blogspot.com/2010/08/book-prejudices.html It’s not as if I said – Gimme the worst POS cover ya got – on my cover request! Whether we like it or not, we are a visual species. A cover is the very first thing a reader sees and a cover can make or break a book. Even though of all people, I should know better, I’ll skip over a book with a silly, stupid or just plain bad cover.
Literary agent, Nathan Bransford, no…he’s not my agent…I have no agent…but he writes a good, informative, participatory blog – oh, that’s what I was going to say…he writes a good, informative, participatory blog – here’s the link: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/ I’m considering attending the writer’s conference – haven’t been to one in a number of years, not since I got hit on by the published author who was supposed to be mentoring me. Blech. He, Nathan, not the lecherous author, has a recent post for all you Lost fans. My sister is Lost-obsessed. She watches the DVDs over and over and over again. I’ve never watched it and I never will.
If you’re reading this, happy Saturday! My puppy is doing well. I’m still too sleep-deprived to do much more than stare at my WIP. My husband promises to sleep with the puppy this weekend so I can spend at least one night in my own heavenly bed. Sigh…
Since my house is a mess and my puppy is a handful, you get eye candy.
This is the new cover for my cowboy erotic romance, Anytime Darlin’. Here’s the teaser:
Devlin Barre lies near death, her family destroyed, her hopes for the future, dashed. Jake McKenna saves her life. Worried she’s becoming dependent on him, Devlin runs off without a word. Years later, Jake and Devlin meet again. Has their deep connection survived? What of the murderer who still hunts her?
This book is very close to my heart. It’s the first romance I wrote. When it was first published, it sat buried on a virtual-world shelf somewhere in Never Never Land. I can’t tell you how happy and grateful I am for the opportunity Siren has given me to re-write and re-release this tender love story.
The release date? Coming soon – mid to late August.
Tomorrow – Science Fiction Erotic Romance….is it a contradiction in terms or just too weird to survive?
http://erotromreader.blogspot.com/?zx=94c63e54148e7932
Janna, at Erotic Romance Reader featured a clip yesterday from Daughters of Persephone, Book One Exile. Yikes! I wrote that, eh? Cool!
Here’s her main link in case you can’t get in the back door – http://erotromreader.blogspot.com/
All next week while Janna’s on vacation, you can read guest posts and win books – I’m giving away a copy of Daughters, Mia Watts and Bronwyn Green are also providing prizes. Make sure to stop by Janna’s place for some goodies!
Wiping the sweat from my brow! Whew! Sixteen hours straight of revising Anytime Darlin’ - my cowboy rancher/farm girl romance with Siren. I had to get it done…we may be getting a new puppy tomorrow. This was a major re-write and it took me days as this honey-bunny is a full-length romance/suspense.
I just this minute got a review for my very popular romance/suspense, My Everything, from Happily Ever After Reviews: http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-my-everything-by-julia-barrett.html Ben and Grace seem to be characters readers love. They are lovers reunited after ten long, heart breaking years apart. Five Tea Cups!
Drop by tomorrow as author, Anny Cook, gives us her take on fantasy. She writes very hot, very fantastic books – we’re talking major world-building!
Our Treasure Trove.
Mia and I spent three hours on Rodeo Beach, picking through tiny pebbles, searching for semi-precious stones. We found, among other things, jade, carnelian, shark teeth, polished beach glass…I don’t know the identity of most of the stones. Some are quartz. She took a bag home with her as souvenirs.
Rodeo Beach is my favorite beach in the area, not because it’s all warm and sunny and you can swim. This is not Los Angeles. The water is icy, the waves rough, the currents, rip tides and undertow make swimming or surfing dangerous at best. Besides, the waters off Rodeo Beach are part of the Great White Triangle. Scary!
Nah, we just had fun, sifting through mounds of pebbles, waiting for that one bright and shining little tiny translucent treasure to pop up out of the blue.
So…why do I enjoy reading Mia’s m/m romances? The reading experience is a little like finding that one round rose-red carnelian. Her stories give me the same little jolt of excitement
I’m not an m/m of reader, yet the men in Mia’s romances appeal to me. They tug at my heart in the same way Ennis Del Mar did in Brokeback Mountain. I want them for myself.
Mia’s men are not the only treasure. Mia, herself, is precious. She’s a joy to be with – read her books! In fact, read more books in general. Books are good for you!
News: Over the next week, I’ll be slaving over edits – because you all want books three and four of Daughters of Persephone to be released on September 8 and believe me, so do I! I’ll post as often as I can.
I’m still over at Book Lovers Inc. – head on over! You can win a copy of Daughters of Persephone!
Such a bad, awful, nasty mood is a rarity for me. Some days this business effin’ sucks. I will be back to posting ASAP! 
Meeting new people.
Have you been watching the World Cup? I have, along with Susi, The Geeky Bookworm, over in Berlin, Germany! We’ve watched together, screamed, hooted and hollered, and cheered over google chat. It’s been great! Well…except for the United States losing, that is. Susi and I agree that the vuvuzelas have to go.
Speaking of Germany, an author contacted me about my post on the true identity of Will Shakespeare entitled, The Dark Lady. Lev Raphael left me this erudite comment regarding the article I quoted:
“It’s a lovely fantasy, but Reform Judaism’s editors should have been more thorough and done some fact checking. Bassano Lanier was not a Jew, first of all. Her mother wasn’t, and there’s no proof whatsoever that her father was. As for the rest of the story, it’s a lovely fantasy constructed out of half-facts and suppositions and starts from a false premise: Shakespeare couldn’t have written the plays. This premise took root in the mid 1800s, more than two hundred years after Shakespeare died. That should give people pause.
Interested readers should check out James Shapiro’s “Contested Will,” Irvin Matus’s “Shakespeare in Fact,” and http://www.bibliobuffet.com/book-brunch-columns-322/1304-anyone-but-shakespeare-062010
Mr. Raphael is the author of My Germany. He’ll be speaking in Berlin this fall.
http://www.levraphael.com
Watch an excerpt of the book at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFhrajH-6AE
Yes, I’d like to think that Shakespeare was a woman – it’s a very romantic notion, ah well…
Thanks to the blog hop, I’ve met some great new book bloggers, like Steph at Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust. We’ve been discussing True Blood. http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/
And today I was thrilled to find a new-to-me site, (it’s a long story), Kelly and Five Agents and a Funeral – a name I find hilarious! http://www.fiveagentsandafuneral.com/
News: Little by little, I’m doing better. I’m no longer crying all the time. I can’t wait to see the puppies, but that won’t be until we get back from ten days in Montana – leaving on Friday. Author Stacey Espino has had a great week with her new release, Saving Grace. I think she’s like, um, numero uno over at Siren. I’m sending many positive thoughts to my friends, authors Regina Carlysle and Paris Brandon who’ve faced some tough personal challenges lately. All right, going to bed, night.
Author Mia Watts is my friend and she’s written a post that felt like a kick in the gut.
Oh…she wrote about both the good and the bad in her post, Mood Swings and Reviews. Everything she said resonated with me as I’m stuck in a big fat down period in my life, both as a writer and in general. I’m quoting her:
“You want a look into the writer’s psyche? Here’s your look. We’re mostly solitary people because we hunker behind a computer and pour our hearts into our work. We believe in our characters. We believe in their struggles. We believe they will end up happy, because our faith in those characters is more real than fiction. We hurt for them when they don’t understand their lovers. We laugh when we’re typing a line that came out of nowhere and surprised us with its humor. You have to understand, we aren’t crazy… we just feel and know those characters so well, they are almost real to us. Yes, we know the difference between actual real people and fictitious people. But we created these guys and we care about their stories.
So, when we hear bad things it’s like a knife.”
Her site is well worth the visit and you can read the post for yourself: http://miawatts.blogspot.com/
In other news…you can still be in the running for the tote! Cats not included! And here’s a shot of my new tattoo – not the greatest view but it was hard to hold the camera and push the button with my left hand (yes, those are my jeans and white tee shirt on the floor – just getting into the shower):
I miss my boy…
This is what I call a tote!
Tote it to the beach – it’s big enough to hold a bathing suit, a beach towel, flip-flops, wallet, car keys, three or four bottles of water, sandwiches…or take it to the local super market and bring home a tote full of groceries. Hey, use it as a carry-on bag - I guarantee this tote will get you some looks!
Hey…I’m right there in the middle, see? The cover for My Everything is right there, along with covers by many authors you know – on both sides! The tote is from cover model, Jimmy Thomas. He gave a few of these priceless gifts away at RT. You know you want one. Even my cat, Yoshi, is hot for this tote!
Here’s all you have to do…comment! Even better, sign up for my newsletter! Tell me about your favorite books, (no, they don’t have to be mine!), what genre you like and why, what authors you visit. Do you like to read a quickie over lunch or do you like a book to cuddle up with at night? I’d love to know. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday so stay tuned because I’m going to need your email addy.
Ooh, Yoshi’s brother, Rico, got into the act! He wants one too!
To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
• Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
• If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
Happy Weekend!
This is a Blog Hop! You’re next!
I asked Stacey to drop by to celebrate her new release. Saving Grace is her first menage and it promises to be a fantastic read! This baby is over at Siren-Bookstrand and it’s rated SEXTREME!!! Fanning myself here…pant…pant…
Blurb:
Grace is thrust deep into cattle country with dozens of sex starved cowboys. Her modest, timid nature soon fizzles away to make room for her raging lust. From one night stands to a ménage a cinq, her body won’t allow her to refuse the muscled ranch hands that seem desperate to pleasure her.
Grace explores her sexuality and pushes her personal boundaries. She discovers the sensual woman that remained dormant during her adult years. It is the love of a good man that forces her to let down her guards. Can she commit after everything she has been through in the past? Will she accept the love she’s craved for a lifetime?plores her sexuality and pushes her personal boundaries. She discovers the sensual woman that remained dormant during her adult years. It is the love of a good man that forces her to let down her guards. Can she commit after everything she has been through in the past? Will she accept the love she’s craved for a lifetime?
Links:
Stacey’s Website: http://www.staceyespino.com
Stacey’s Blog: http://www.staceyespino.blogspot.com
Buy Link: http://www.bookstrand.com/saving-grace
Sex and Love, by Stacey Espino
Throughout history, men have been prided on their sexual prowess. It was acceptable for them to have nameless encounters, with little regret. Men: the heartbreakers, and players. Women, on the other hand, have been respected for their chaste behavior, and any promiscuity has been frowned upon.
Today, times have certainly changed. You just have to look at the climbing popularity of women’s erotic romance, to know that we are more comfortable with our sexuality, and eager to explore it.
But, being the emotional creatures we are, can we love ‘em and leave ‘em, as men seem so easily capable of?
Do women tend to attach feelings, namely love, with sex?
Or is it very possible for them to have their fun, and walk away with no attachment?
I explored this topic in my recent release, Saving Grace.
Grace is forced into a wife swap by her abusive husband. But spending a month on the Wagner Ranch turns out to be the best thing that could ever happen to her. She comes out of her shell, and explores her sexuality. Though she has some affectionate feelings for the men that she fools around with on the ranch, she’s conscious of the fact that she doesn’t love them, and tells them so.
When Mr. Wagner’s own son catches her attention, separating lust and love is much more of a challenge. Read Saving Grace and learn how Grace copes with her unusual situation.
All the best, Stacey!
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