Julia Barrett's World

I suppose I could leave the Boundary Waters with parting words  like,

what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, or some such nonsense.

The truth is, the Boundary Waters are beautiful and I’d love to give them another go round under entirely different circumstances.

Instead of words of wisdom, Hubby wants me to leave you with a potty story.  It’s his fave.

So…Mr. and Mrs. Bob’s cabin is lovely.  Really.  And it’s perfect for two people.  As it happens, there were six people sharing the one bathroom, because Mrs. Bob’s daughter and son in law were staying in the guest shack in order to look after the cats while we were gone.  Oh, by the way, the cat kibble is counted out and the cats are super skinny – the female cat gets something like twelve pieces of kibble for breakfast.  I know because I got yelled at our last morning when she was crying and I dumped a handful of food into her dish.  Oh, back to the potty story!

As I was saying, there were a couple potty-related incidents that hubby, in particular, found quite disconcerting.  I simply decided that should a bathroom issue arise, I’d shit in the woods.

When  Mr. and Mrs. Bob added on to the cabin, adding a great room on one side of the A-frame and a bedroom and bathroom on the other, they made a mistake.  At least I consider it a mistake.  Their bedroom is only accessible through the bathroom.  In other words, you enter the bathroom through the living room – and if you are in the bathroom, you can slide a door shut between yourself and the living room.  But there is another doorway opening from the bathroom into the Bob’s bedroom.  The Bob’s insist that that door remain propped open with a brick AT ALL TIMES…whether or not they are in their bedroom.  So you could be, oh I don’t know, peeing or pooping or taking a shower, and who should walk by but Mr. and/or Mrs. Bob.  What do you say?  “Hi!  How ya doin’?  Nice day, eh?” (Canadian speak.)

Before I used the bathroom, I always took a quick head count.  Hubby didn’t understand the drill on the first go-round.  He assumed the Bobs had another entrance to their bedroom.  So he stayed up late reading our first night there, and then went to use the bathroom after the Bobs had gone to bed.  SURPRISE!

On the day of our return, he went to take a shower and Mrs. Bob opened the sliding door from the living room into the bathroom so her cats could get in to use their litter box – in the bathroom.  Poor hubby steps out of shower nekked as the day he was born and wonders who the hell opened that door – I was collapsed on the bed in the loft at the time since we still hadn’t eaten solid food since our return.  He was so delirious he thought he’d lost his marbles and left the door open.  Good times, man…good times.

Thank you all for your supportive, indignant, hilarious comments!  I love you guys!

BACK TO REAL LIFE!

I want to thank Teagan at Book Wenches and Steph at Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust for their lovely reviews of Anytime Darlin’ – my latest release.  This is my all-time best book!  I’m begging you – buy it and enjoy it.  Sigh…

You can read their comments here, plus Penelope over at Penny Romance is reading the book:

http://www.bookwenches.com/august10reviews.htm

http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/

http://www.pennyromance.com/

Tomorrow – I got my new cover for my menage.  Yummolicious!

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stays in Minnesota.

Mostly that means crashing after weeks of extreme sleep-deprivation with a little sumthin’ sumthin’ thrown in!

The weather isn’t bad, the lakes are beautiful, no mosquito bites so far, went boating on the St. Croix today.  Heading north to the Boundary Waters on Monday morning.

Wolfgang Puck is a god.  I swear it.  Wolfgang Puck is a God.  Ate at his restaurant, 20.21 Minneapolis, in the Walker Arts Center last night.  OMFG!  I could live on his udon noodles with yellow curry sauce for the rest of my fucking life.  I want Wolfgang to move in with me and make me those curry noodles every single day.  That and a tray of his very own dim sum creations.  My mouth is watering at the memory.  Talk about a spiritual awakening to food…Wolfgang – your flavors caressed my soul!  Dear Mr. Puck, please read this blog so you’ll know how much I loved 20.21 Minneapolis.

Got some more edits – these for Daughters of Persephone Book Three Reborn and Book Four Red Demon.  I’m going to take advantage of this brief moment of quiet to work.

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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.

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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!

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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

http://www.sophieoak.com

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!

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Or is there no such thing?

Disclaimer – the cover for My Everything is for illustrative purposes only, however, I must add that  I love that cover, and the sex in the story is great,  loving and very tender.

Be honest…how much sex is too much sex for you?  Do you cringe when characters have sex on their first meeting?  Or does it depend upon circumstances?  Is there a reason for the sexual encounter besides just the…well…sex?  Yes, I have indeed read cringe-worthy sex scenes – too many, too often, too icky for my taste – I stay away from books containing those.  I’ve also encountered the occasional book with major boring sex scenes – the prototypical insert tab A into slot B.  I stay away from those books too.

I admit it, I’m a wham, bam, thank you kind of ma’am.  While I make my characters establish a connection and I give them a dang good reason to begin a sexual relation, I don’t like a whole lot of beating about the bush, so to speak.  Nothing drives me more insane than reading what I consider a teaser.

What do I mean by a teaser?  I don’t mean a romance where the characters nearly get it on in a hot and heavy way, but experience sexus interruptus – you know…the bad guy shows up, a tornado hits, the building catches fire.  There’s nothing like good sexus interruptus for holding my interest and keeping my libido uptus.  What I mean by a teaser is when an author somehow manages to keep the characters out of the sack until the end of the book, without giving me any of that sweet and dirty sexus interruptus to ponder while I’m waiting for the big moment.  Good sexus interruptus is kind of like Levitra – when she’s ready, you’re ready…

I guess I prefer a blazing encounter relatively early in the story, followed by, say, a misunderstanding or circumstances that pull the couple apart – and then a smokin’ hot re-encounter and re-encounter and re-encounter…is that wrong of me?

Your thoughts?

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Science fiction and romance…can ever the twain meet?

One of my all-time favorite works of science fiction is Ringworld, by Larry Niven.  He creates a colorful cast of characters who set out on an epic journey to explore an anomaly, a ring-shaped, artificially created, giant planet containing an earth-like atmosphere and ecosphere.  The crew includes the giraffy guy…that’s how I like to remember him, and the lucky guy – because in this story, luck is genetic.  Ringworld is my husband’s very favorite work of science fiction.

So last night, hubby was reading my book, Daughters of Persephone, on his Kindle.  Since I’m stuck downstairs with the new puppy, he came down to discuss his thoughts.

“I really like it,” he said, “but I’m feeling an existential conundrum coming on.”

“Oh?” I asked.  “What sort of existential conundrum?”

“Can science fiction and erotic romance exist in the same book?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “but they coexist in both Captured and Daughters of Persephone .”

“Yes,” he said, “but true science fiction aficionados might go into shock when they come upon an explicit sex scene while fans of erotic romance might not get the science fiction, especially the science fiction references you’ve included.”

“Well, hmmm, but that’s what I’ve written.”

“But is there a market for this?  Is there an audience?”

Good question, hubby!  I don’t have a clue.  I hope so!

Can the two genres meet in the middle?  In Dune, for example, while the romance takes a backseat to the overarching messianic theme, there is love in the book.  In George R.R. Martin’s series, A Game of Thrones, there is sex, not what I would consider erotic sex or romance, but sex nonetheless.

Science fiction romance is not Paranormal, i.e., Vampire Romance, Shifter Romance, Were Romance, Faerie Romance, time travel romance…those fall more in the realm of fantasy and are a sort of pop-culture genre right now. Science fiction is not necessarily post-apocalyptic, although it may contain post-apocalyptic elements, nor is it quite Steam Punk – which does contain elements of science fiction.  I don’t know whether science fiction romance is a separate genre, a sub-genre, a new genre, a finding its way genre…and I have no idea if there is a fan base.  From what I’ve read on the blogs, there isn’t, not really.

Here’s what pops into my head when I imagine a damn good science fiction story containing romance and sex in addition to outstanding science fiction elements – The Terminator.

Any ideas?  Yes?  No?  Regardless, I don’t plan to stop writing ‘em.

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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?

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Damn you sportscasters!  Damn you all to hell!  I saw Andres Torres first!  I picked him out last year as a baseball stud and I became a fangirl – now you all jump on my bandwagon!  Ha – I say – ha ha!  Really, ask my husband…the very first time I saw him play with the San Francisco Giants, I said, Who is that man and why doesn’t he get more playing time? Like, why isn’t he starting every game?  Of course he had some injuries last year, but anybody with half a brain could see what kind of athlete he is!

Thursday’s San Francisco Chronicle – The Sporting Green headline – Torres, as in torrid.

I like it – Torrid Torres!  On Wednesday, against the Marlins, he had a Splash Hit.  He now has two.  My other favorite Giants player, Aubrey Huff, also has two.  So…here are my guys – and they have been since the first time I saw them – Andres Torres, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, Travis Ishikawa, and Jonathan Sanchez.  Yeah, sure, everybody likes The Freak, Matt Cain, and Brian Wilson.  Man, that Bumgarner can throw and Buster Posey is amazing -  why the heck wasn’t he brought up sooner???  Hmmmm???  I like every guy on that team, but I love me some Andres Torres!

Yes, there is no contradiction…you can write science fiction/romance and still love baseball.  My guys have always been baseball players.

So…Thank you very much Steph, at Fangs Wands and Fairy Dust, for letting me take over your blog yesterday and many thanks to those of you who stopped by.

Today, Friday, I’m over at Anna’s place.  She’s posted an interview with The Thousand Year Empress, Aja Bokina, a Daughter of Persephone.  Come see what makes her tick and maybe win an e-copy of this fun, sexy, romantic, kick ass science fiction book.  http://s7anna.blogspot.com/

The ladies at Happily Ever After Reviews informed me today that Beauty and the Feast is up for cover of the month.  I’m going against some great covers.  If you feel like voting, here’s the link:  http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-book-of-month-and-cover-of-month.html

Off to play with my puppy!  He has that sweet puppy breath and he gives me kisseeeees!

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A puppy, Daughters of Persephone and a nice book blogger!

Yes!  We got a puppy, Jake, a long-coated German shepherd puppy, 8 1/2 weeks, suffering from big puppy syndrome – the poor guy is so big for his age that people expect more of him than he’s capable of delivering!  But he’s sweet, smart and gorgeous!  Of course my cats won’t come near him.  They’re like…Crap!  Not another dog!  We thought we had the house and yard all to ourselves!

Daughters of Persephone is now available for Kindle and over at All Romance Ebooks.  I’m happy.

Stephanie at Fangs Wands and Fairy Dust has a feature on Daughters of Persephone today (Thursday) – I’m the guest blogger.  She’s running a contest – you can win an e-copy of Daughters or one of two hard copies of Captured.  Yum!

http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/

That’s all for today – I have  a big puppy sitting on my lap!

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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!

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http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/

Steph is featuring her review of Captured today on her pay it forward blog.  Check it out!

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Comes out tomorrow…today…

My daughter…my sister…my daughter…my sister…

So fingers crossed!  If I owe you a copy, drop me a line at Julia@JuliaRachelBarrett.net

I’m swamped with edits right now and while I have a list of contest winners, I might not have time to check it for a while.  I don’t know exactly when I’ll get my copies, but I’ll try to touch base with you within a few days.

Yes, I’m excited!  Yes, it’s been stressful, to say the least!

Okay babies, back to work.

New blurb:

Blurb – Daughters of Persephone, Book One, Exile

Aja Bokinan, of noble blood, is the Thousand Year Empress who has grown to adulthood in exile. Throughout the Empire, women are banned from public life, have no legal rights, and they  have become little better than property.

In an attempt to kill off the royal line and end all resistance, Aja is kidnapped by a General who intends to inject her with a lethal virus, hoping she will infect her family and Women of the Blood everywhere.

Kyr Aram, is a smuggler and secret Resistance fighter. He must find a way to protect Aja from both the General and a traitor on his own ship who wishes to see her dead.  With the Thousand Year Empress, he gets more than he bargained for.

Blurb – Daughters of Persephone, Book Two, Return

The Lady Ennat, has been sent by her mother to Resistance Commander, Karna Aram.  She is a Blood decoy, her role is to protect her sister Aja, the Thousand Year Empress, and draw the bulk of the Coalition forces away from the Resistance fighters.  Knowing she may not live to see tomorrow, she gives into her growing feelings for Commander Aram.

Karna Aram wanted the woman from the moment she set foot on his supply depot, but nobody touches a Princess of the Blood.  He resists his bone deep desire until Ennat challenges him to pick up a sword and spar with her.  All bets are off.  Karna has a different kind of sword play in mind.

When the Ennat and her sister, Aja, are reunited, they know the Coalition is coming after them.  They must risk all to save their followers, and the men they love.

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

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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!

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Run, do not walk, to Book Lovers Inc. to read my interview with The Geeky Bookworm!  http://book-lovers-inc.blogspot.com/2010/07/interview-author-julia-barrett-giveaway.html

I’ll be giving away a copy of Daughter’s of Persephone – new release date for volume one is July 21, for volume two, the new release date is September 8.  Stop by Book Lovers Inc. and leave a comment!  Please!

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