Julia Barrett's World

Yeah, some days it’s like that!

Rebecca at Dirty Sexy Books wrote a genius piece back on February 23 entitled -

The Ten Biggest Mistakes Authors Make On Their Websites.

You can check it out here:  (and I asked her permission to quote her, thanks Rebecca!)

http://www.dirtysexybooks.com/Dirty_Sexy_Books/Home/Entries/2010/2/23_The_Ten_Biggest_Mistakes_Authors_Make_on_Their_Websites.html

The first mistake she mentions is the lack of a website.  I have to agree.  In this internet age I’m shocked when I try to find information about an author and her books and google turns up bupkiss!

The second mistake?  No blog.  She’s right – every single day isn’t necessary but a once a week would be nice.  I do get frustrated when I hope to hear what other authors are up to and they have a site, but the last post was a year ago.  Where are you, my friend?

Uh-oh, the third mistake is to bury our stuff under a nest of links.  Guilty as charged?  I try to keep my links to the side but sometimes I wonder if I have too many – but I love those links!  Each one means something to me.  I’ll try to keep in mind, simplify and minimize!

Fourth – link bait for bloggers – Ladies, we need a hook so bloggers find us interesting, you know, like a freebie, a short story that ties into our upcoming release, a freebie for readers and fans.  Okay – workin’ on it!

Five – ignoring your website – that kind of ties in with Mistake Number Two.

Six?  A picture of myself?  Are you effin’ crazy?  I have deep and abiding personal reasons for NOT having a photo.  I do have an icon.  I know it’s not exactly me, but my icon is a smiling redhead, like me!  If you read Captured, you know what I look like and you know what kind of potty mouth I have.

Seven is very important, IMO.  Mistake Seven – They don’t promote anyone but themselves.    This one is of such significance that I think I’ll quote it in its entirety:

Your website is one of your best marketing tools, and so this statement might seem counterproductive, but don’t always talk about yourself.  That’s right, talk about other books, places, and people too.  It’s uncomfortable to visit a site that sells itself too hard, so to avoid that trap, spend some time promoting your favorite authors.  I love to visit Charlaine Harris’s website because she blogs about what she’s reading every few weeks.  Maybe you’re wondering, what if I read something that stinks like a road-kill skunk?  Then preserve your reputation and don’t mention it (let an asshole like me stomp on it), but be sure to give props to the books that you DO like.

Mistake number Eight – We forget to mention and/or link to the reviewers who review our books.  Rebecca suggests a separate review page that contains links to all our book reviews.  Again – workin’ on it!

Number Nine – Author’s don’t interact with their fans.  Well, I do and most authors I know do.  My fans are precious to me.  If they take the time to comment or email me, I will reply.  I’ve been on the non-receiving end.  I’ve written to authors to tell them how much I enjoyed their books and I never hear, so…their books come to mean less to me.  On the other hand, when an author responds, his/her books come to mean a great deal more.

Last but not least – Number Ten – We don’t offer a high-resolution image of the cover.  Sorry, my website won’t always support a high res cover image and I suck at sizing.  Some authors are really savvy.  They know exactly how to fix these things and they are on my most admired list.

I am terrible when it comes to taking advice – stubborn, headstrong, impulsive, but Rebecca has made some excellent points.  I’m trying to learn how to learn when it comes to this blogging stuff.  Thanks!

In other news – Beauty and the Feast - waiting for your recipes and go visit with the delightfully irreverent Chris and her kitties at Stumbling Over Chaos to see how to win a copy.  http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/

Brynn Paulin is hosting me over at Wednesday Wonder Writers:  http://brynnpaulin.blogspot.com/

Stop by!

Author Donna George Storey has a great little novella in The Cougar Book – Comfort Food.  I have a copy of the book to give away, signed by me cuz I have a story in there too – great minds think alike!  Speaking of websites, here’s hers -

http://www.donnageorgestorey.com/

Okay, done for the day!  Julia

P.S.  Just finished:  Game Change.  Just started:  The Lady in the Tower.

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A quick note and I’ll stop by later!

Captured is up on Amazon and available for download on your Kindle.  Go for it!  My hubby did!

http://www.amazon.com/Captured-Siren-Publishing-Classic-ebook/dp/B00371V7WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267807147&sr=8-1

Remember the contest – I want your sexiest recipes!  Oh…and I received my hard copies of The Cougar Book yesterday.  It’s fabulous!  Anyone want a signed copy?  Leave me a recipe and you could win one of those too!  This book is hot!  My story, of course, is hot and sweet, ‘cuz, you know, it’s kinda like me.

Releases:  Out of the Shadows, by Cammie Eicher, the first in the Shadow Ancient series,  Resplendence Publishing. This vampire romantic suspense creates a new mythology of vampires, and features a dark and sexy vampire hunter forced to protect the Ancients’ child of prophecy — and the woman who eventually must choose between her love for him and her promise to protect the newborn.

Buy Link: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/

Check out Cindy Spencer Pape, she tagged me!  http://cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com/

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Playing with the big cats – so much fun!

The Cougar Book has been officially released over at Logical Lust.  Yay!  I cannot say enough good things about Logical Lust’s professionalism and personal touch.  The pub has been amazing and the book is just as fine.

http://www.logical-lust.com/cougar.html

For a great read, pick up a copy.  My contribution is You Might Just Get It, featuring a forty-something nurse and a twenty-something chef.  The story is yummy!

So…one more hell day at work and then back to the usual schedule.  I do love me some cats!  Just ask Yoshi, Rico and Ichi-ban…and that cougar mama and her cub I run into at the wilderness park.  Shhhhhh – keep it to yourself, somebody will trap her…

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Siren-Bookstrand authors are running an amazing week-long Valentine’s contest.  You can win ebooks and Strandbucks to buy books from Siren.  Sign into the Siren Reader’s Group for links to the blogs and contest give-aways.  My day is tomorrow, so check back here and find out how to win a copy of my science fiction romance, Captured.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SirenBookstrand/

You can find my interview over at the Logical Lust blog.  Leave me a comment and on Valentine’s Day, I’ll draw a name for a signed hard copy of The Cougar Book.  Link:  http://bit.ly/ZWnZq

Stumbling Over Chaos is running a contest for a copy of My Everything – my suspense romance coming out with Cobblestone Press on February 12th.  The contest runs through the 11th.  http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/?p=5864http:// Head over and leave a comment.  The book makes for a fun, sexy afternoon read.

There’s a contest running over at Romance Junkies too!  I just don’t know exactly where it is – but I think there are lots and lots of freebies over there!

In other news, my kitty will recover from his life-threatening illness – it was touch and go all weekend and he finally turned the corner.  The vet called to give me the good news.

The winner of Mia Watt’s F.U.?  Linda!  Here ya go!  Mia will contact you.  Congratulations!

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Today is my interview day on the Logical Lust Blog

http://bit.ly/ZWnZq

Drop by, leave me a comment and you can win a signed hard copy of The Cougar Book!

This is one sizzling read, containing stories from twenty-three amazing authors.

My contribution is – You Might Just Get It.  Here’s an excerpt:

Excerpt from You Might Just Get It, by Julia Barrett, The Cougar Book, Logical Lust

Eric lifted his eyes and studied the woman seated across the small table from him.  Her damp curls surrounded her head like a halo.  The first time he’d seen her, in the window across the courtyard, her hair had been damp, just like this.  Sweet.  Very appealing.  He wondered if she had any idea her kitchen window looked directly into his.  Probably not.  She’d only moved in ten days ago.  Eric assumed she was still busy unpacking.  That was one of the reasons he’d invited her to dinner, one reason among many.  He wondered briefly how old Kate was.  It was hard to tell.  She could be anywhere from twenty-nine to forty-five.  But he wasn’t about to ask her and he didn’t care.  Her age didn’t matter to him.  Her laugh did.  Her big brown eyes did.  Her luscious lips.  Her wide white smile.

When he’d arrived home and found her soaked to the skin and shivering on the stoop, he got to play the hero.  That was twice in two days.  There was no way he’d pass up an opportunity to spend time with her.  He’d hoped she’d accept his offer of dinner and he‘d been pleased when she did.  It was no big deal, one of his easy meals.  Oven toasted rustic bread with melted gruyere, roasted tomatoes, baby arugula and a soft fried egg.  Simple and sensuous.  The sandwich was messy and it required the use of all your fingers.  There was a lot of runny egg yolk and licking involved.  Eric hoped he could segue that licking into something else entirely.

God, there was a lot to like about her.  Not only was Kate easy on the eyes, she was intelligent, articulate, mature, and she appreciated his sense of humor.  Plus she blushed at the drop of a hat.  Eric found that adorable.  She wasn’t jaded or flighty, like so many women he’d met recently.  He’d bet the farm she hadn’t grown up in California.  Probably Iowa or Illinois.  Someplace rural.  An old-fashioned country girl.

“Where’d you come from?  I mean, where are you from originally?” he asked.

“Blair, Nebraska.  It’s a little town near the Missouri River.  I went to school there.  Dana College.  You?”

“Minneapolis.”

“You’re kidding?  You don’t have a Minnesota accent.”

“Yeah, well, I worked hard getting rid of that.  I can do it if you like.”

“You mean like…Minnesooooota, North Dakoooooota, ya think?  Like that?”

It was Eric’s turn to laugh.  “More or less.”  He looked at her plate.  “Finished?”

“Oh, yes, thank you.  The sandwich was great.  I can cook, but I guess it never occurred to me that such simple ingredients could taste so good together.”  Kate reached for his empty plate and set it on top of hers.  “Let me help clean up.  That’s the least I can do.”

He watched as Kate rose from her chair and stretched.  He enjoyed watching.  Her breasts were pert.  Not large, but pert with perky nipples.  Two handfuls.  That’s all he needed.

“You have a long day today?”

“Not too bad.  Really.  It would have been better if I hadn’t locked myself out.  But…what can you do?  I was sort of hoping to curl up in a hot bath with a good book, but I left my book in the car and then the key…well, you know the story.”  Kate carried the plates to the sink.

Eric followed with the empty glasses.  “You can still have a hot bath,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied, rinsing off the plates.

Eric set the glasses down on the counter and ran a hand lightly through the chestnut locks that hugged the back of her neck.  He watched goose bumps rise as he trailed his fingers along her shoulders.  He heard Kate’s sharp intake of breath.  He waited momentarily to see if she’d move away, but she remained still.

“I mean, if you’re interested, you could have a hot bath…with me.”

***Today begins the Siren-Bookstrand Valentine promotion.  Win ebooks and Strandbucks.  Contests will run all week on

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SirenBookstrand/

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It never rains but it pours!

Let me try to pull my thoughts together:

The contest for F.U., by Mia Watts, is still alive!!!  Write the words – Enter me!  Enter me now! – and you’ll be entered in the contest for a free copy of F.U.  I’ll draw the winner at random on Monday and announce right here.

My own contest, hosted by Stumbling Over Chaos, runs through February 11th.  Stop by the site and leave a comment and you could win a copy of my Romance/Suspense, My Everything, from Cobblestone Press.  Damn, that cover is hot!  The book comes out February 12.  The link:  http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/?p=5864http://

You can find My Everything over at Cobblestone:  http://www.cobblestone-press.com/

Other news – The Cougar Book, with Logical Lust comes out on Valentine’s Day.  My short story, You Might Just Get It, is one of twenty-three fun, sexy, hot reads.  The book is available for pre-order in both ebook and print and I think if you order early, you can get a copy of Swing!, another sizzling anthology.  Here’s the link:  http://www.logical-lust.com/cougar.html

Every day in February, a contributing author from The Cougar Book is being interviewed on the Logical Lust blog.  My day is Sunday, February 7th.  Please drop by and leave a comment.  If you do, you’ll be eligible to win a copy of any book from my backlist, including Captured, my new sci fi with Siren.  Link:  http://bit.ly/ZWnZq

Katie Couric is officially a Cougar – dating a man 17 years her junior.  Go Katie!

Last but not least, the authors over at Siren-Bookstrand are running a seven-day event, beginning tomorrow.  You can win Strandbucks by visiting blogs all week.  There will be lots of contests.  Head over to Siren-Bookstrand and join the Siren Readers Group.  It’s a great opportunity to get to know some fabulous authors in all genres and pick up some Strandbucks to buy a few books!  http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/

Paranormal and Sci Fi Day is Tuesday, so stay tuned for my blog and my contest!  You can win a copy of Captured!

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Enough with the nicey nice nice posts.  I’m  a MILF!  It’s official.

Pardon me for a moment while I paraphrase Kohelet, or as he’s known by his more common name, Ecclesiastes:

Vanity…vanity…all is vanity.

I admit it…I am as vain as they come.  A couple weeks ago I headed over to Whole Foods and I got the look…in fact I got several looks…you know the head down, eyes up appraising look, the interested double take…got it from three guys having coffee in front of the store -sitting at three different tables.  I called my daughter and I said, “I am so vain…I tell you, I am so fucking vain.  The day I no longer get those looks is the day I hang it up.  Does that sound awful?”

Like mother like daughter, she replied, “No, mom, I totally get it.  I feel exactly the same way.”  Thank you Jesus!

I’m not vain in the plastic surgery or makeup or short dresses or manicured nails way.  Never had plastic surgery, don’t wear makeup, hardly own a dress and I bite my nails.  But I am vain in the I like the attention of the opposite sex kind of way.

Follow me here…

1.  Two days ago, my husband and I went out to our favorite local dive with a couple friends and I ran into a guy I used to hike with…he’s maybe ten, fifteen years my junior and hot.  And married.  And I like his wife.  A lot.  He gave me a hug and took down my new cell phone number so he could call me about going on a hike.

2.  Yesterday afternoon, I had to go for a mammo because there have been some issues lately that I am not ready to discuss until I have the good word – anyway – the little Hispanic mammo tech, as she’s fitting my small breast into the machine of squish torture asks me if I have kids.  Grimacing, I say, yeah, three.  She replies, three kids!  You are one hot mama!  You are what my sons would call a MILF! I burst out laughing while she giggles and tells me to hold my breath and says – See, now it don’t hurt so much!

3.  Last night, my old friend (see no. 1)  sent me a text and then he called.  He said – I was so happy to see you the other day!  I felt like a teenager again.  You look so good, I wanted to jump your bones. His words rendered me speechless, which doesn’t happen very often, but I finally said…we’re both married buddy.  He said, Yeah, I know, but damn girl!

4.  It’s called the stress-related don’t eat, don’t sleep, exercise excessively, along with a lot of hot, hard middle of the night lovin’ from your sweetie school of MILFing.

5.  I am gloriously happily married to love of my life and the best fuck I ever had so ain’t nuthin’ ever gonna happen, but  damn girl…I’m gonna enjoy my MILFing while I still got it!

In other news, my good MILF bud, Mia Watts, has a new release and if you head over to Resplendence you can pick it up along with any book you like and get a discount in the bargain – so go!  Type in: Mia20 and receive 20% off your book purchase!!!

http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/

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What’s between the covers?

You can’t judge a book by its cover.  So says conventional wisdom.  Hmm.  I’m not entirely certain of that because the way I see it, readers judge a book by it’s cover all the time.  Let’s face it, right or wrong, we judge pretty much everything by its appearance.

It’s best not to make assumptions.  For example, yesterday I took a break from work and headed over to the local Starbucks to catch up on edits.  A guy, who for all intents and purposes, appeared homeless – judging by his dress, the unkempt state of his hair and beard, and his smell, sat at a table next to mine.  He carried with him a black case and a plastic grocery bag.  After setting down the black case, he pulled a bag of potato chips out of the grocery bag, popped them open and began to crunch away.  I assumed he wasn’t there to buy coffee, rather, he just wanted a warm place to hole up out of the rain.  A few minutes later, he turned to me -

“Would you mind plugging this in for me?” he asked as he handed me the cord to his laptop.  I plugged it in.  “Thanks,” he said.

Over the next hour, we chatted.  Who was he?  A former investment banker who had lost his job, that’s who he was.  He was bright, articulate, and beneath the filthy exterior, a nice man.  I bought him a cup of coffee and another patron recognized him and bought him a pastry.

See?

So here’s what I think.  My first impression was right and wrong.  I was right in that the man was indeed homeless, but if I’d had the time to make any further assumptions, I would have been dead wrong about him.  He had a whole lot more going on between his covers than I assumed.

Books are the same.  I recently bought and read a book with a fabulous cover – sucker that I am – and found that I had wasted my money.  But why did I buy the book?  Because the cover caught my eye.  Once again, my  impression that the  book would be great because the cover said so, was wrong.

I’m feeling lucky these days – Resplendence has given me a magnificent cover for Daughters of Persephone and I’m impatient to see the covers for my other books coming with them, not to mention my covers from Siren and Cobblestone.  I hope my readers find that what’s between the covers will be every bit as good as what’s on the cover.

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The Cougar Anthology – Logical Lust

Cougars are all the rage – on the big screen, small screen, in the news, on the internet…and I guess all I can say is…it’s about time!  The older man/younger woman dynamic has existed forever…now it’s our turn.

Of course, historically speaking, in some cultures it was common for younger men to be paired with older, more experienced women so that they could not only learn the social norms of sexual behavior, but so a wiser, more mature woman could manage his household.  Unfortunately, our culture hasn’t placed much value on older women – as the saying goes – men grow distinguished, women just get old…one of the more disgusting sentiments I’ve ever heard – The words devalue women, dismiss our contributions to society and negate our sexuality or sexual identity.

My only personal experience as a Cougar occurred when I was nineteen years old and I dated a sixteen year old.  We became great friends, working together detassling corn and hoeing soybeans one summer.  He was a mature sixteen and I was between boyfriends, so…Not that we did anything other than laugh a lot.  We had fun and we’ve stayed friends.

So when I saw the call from Logical-Lust asking for Cougar Stories for an anthology, I decided – What the heck!  Go ahead and write one!  I submitted it, sent it off, and low and behold, was informed that my story was one of twenty-three stories accepted.  Yee-hah!

So click on my pages and read an excerpt from You Might Just Get It, from The Cougar Anthology, coming Valentine’s Day, 2010!

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