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.

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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…

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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!

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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
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Happy Weekend!

This is a Blog Hop! You’re next!

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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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Here’s an update on our boy.  He’s improved slightly with massive doses of steroids.  We don’t know if this will get him over the hump so he can fight what appears to be more of a viral infection or if the slight improvement is just the steroids talking.  Hubby was man enough to stay up all night with Louie.  I hit the wall yesterday evening and when he got home from work, I was huddled in a corner sobbing and incoherent.  I wish I could be stronger, I mean for Christ’s sake, I’m a hospice nurse, I work with dying people, and I’m really really good at what I do.  You’d think I’d be able to handle this situation.  I suck.  I just suck.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll have better news.  Much love, Julia

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News…

The very busy and lovely author Stacey Espino will be a guest on my blog later this month.  Her menage, Saving Grace, will be released over at Siren-Bookstrand on June 16th.  Gorgeous cover!

There are a few new blogs I’ve been following:  Read React Review:  http://www.readreactreview.com/ Jessica is so damn smart, she’s scary and addictive at the same time!  She just introduced her readers to Rosario of Rosario’s Reading Journal:  http://rosario.blogspot.com/ Just reviews – Who woulda thunk it?  Rosario has some great stuff on her site.

Rebecca over at Dirty Sexy Books has a new WordPress site:  http://dirtysexybooks.com/ Go WordPress!  Her site is not quite as downhome as her old site, but she’s working on it.  Rebecca is one of my daily visits.  She is wonderful about reading comments and responding.  There’s a group of very funny and friendly bloggers, Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos, Susi at The Geeky Bookworm, Larissa at Larissa’s Bookish Life,  Mrs. K. Khan and K.C. of Smokin’ Hot Books, Janna at E-Romance Reader and Anna over at her site, Chronic Bookaholic-Strictly Happy Endings – who go out of their way to make you feel welcome when you drop by.

Let me see…sliced two fingers today cutting up chicken for the dog.  The vet told me to give him pizza if I have to, in order to get him to eat.  I’m not allowed to cut with sharp knives – and don’t give me that bologna (baloney) about how sharp knives are safer than not-so-sharp knives.  That’s a crock.  A number of years ago, I sliced the tip of my middle finger off while cutting ginger and lemons – with a very sharp knife.  Damn, that stung!  I dropped my fingertip in a plastic bag filled with ice and headed to the doctor’s office.  When I pulled the baggie out of my purse, he laughed and he could not reattach it.  Right now I have cotton balls taped to my fingers with Scotch Magic Tape.  Couldn’t find any bandaids.  My guy ate the chicken.  So it’s all good.  What’s a little blood between best friends?

I actually managed to work a bit on my paranormal this afternoon.  Tonight I think I’ll spend some time writing Rescued, the sequel to Captured, featuring Ekkatt’s brother Tirrit.  Be patient.  It will happen.  Lots to distract me right now.

I’m slowly reading Cutting for Stone, all 658 pages.  It’s beautiful and brilliant, but probably because I’m so distracted, my brain cells just aren’t embracing the book in the same way they did the amazing Under Heaven.  Under other circumstances…

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Here’s the cover blurb, sorry – no cover yet!  Dang!

Lira Pakan, heir to the Throne of Zhinshu, has vanished.  Convinced that she’s been kidnapped, 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 Zhinshu, 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.“

Gotcha?  I hope so.  This was a blast to write.  The intricacies of choreographing a menage kept my imagination on overheat!

Coming with Siren-Bookstrand.  I’ll post an excerpt soon!  julia

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When we moved here, we had three kids, a dog, two smuggled pet mice (Chocolate was one of them, along with his wife, Skunky), a beat up old couch, my grandmother’s dining room table, bookcases of all shapes, sizes and colors, and books.

Over the years, we’ve accumulated more…books!  Along with the usual assorted kid games, sports gear, clothing, uniforms, cleats, National Geographic Magazines…you shoulda seen me lying on my stomach using a fishing net to haul all the soccer gear and elementary school year books out from under my daughter’s bed.  I don’t even want to mention what else I found.

So, what science needs to figure out is, just like that old Monsanto ride at Disneyland, how did all this stuff shrink to fit in my kids’ rooms?  Because when I pack it up all neat and tidy in brand new packing boxes, the stuff from the smallest room alone covers nearly every square inch of my garage.  Most of the boxes contain books and magazines.

Lest you think we live in a house filled to the rafters with garbage, nope, not the case.  I’m not a pack rat and I recycle.  That’s why I don’t get it.  Where did all this stuff come from?  Who squeezed it in here when I wasn’t looking?

I’m dividing books into categories:  Forever keepers.  For now keepers.  Each kid keepers.  Those that someone will ooh and aah over several generations from now keepers.  Donations – OMG – I’ve already made six trips to the library and I have to return again tomorrow morning – I foresee many more trips in my future, believe me.

So that’s what I’ve been doing – reorganizing one room after another.  Four more rooms to go.  The end game?  A place to call my own.  Yes…fist pump!

Okay so, other news.  Just finished reading So Much for That, by Lionel Shriver.  The last two chapters were beautiful, the rest of the book not so much.  Not a keeper.  I’m starting Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese.  I hear the book is magnificent, but Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay, is a very tough act to follow.

I’m super excited about my new contract for the menage, All Four One – that means I’ll have three books out this summer and possibly another by fall.  In the meantime, when I’m not packing boxes and cleaning rooms, I can focus on my three longer WIPs.  I noticed that My Everything has just gone up on Fictionwise.  Fingers crossed!  Night all!

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To make a long story short…thank you for buying my books and please keep buying them.  Maybe one of these days I’ll be PAN Eligible.  I don’t want to talk dollars and cents so if you are wondering what that is, feel free to look it up.

I think my newsletter will be out today or tomorrow – for those of you who don’t receive the newsletter, I have a new contract with Siren for my very first menage – All Four One.  This is a futuristic work of science fiction – the story takes place maybe 150 years from now in the Pacific Northwest.  I do love sci fi.  My husband says that erotic sci fi is a bit of a contradiction in terms but I find it heavenly to write.

Many thanks to Chris from Stumbling Over Chaos for her sci fi recommendation, Babel-17, by Samuel R. Delany, an unknown-to-me author and work published back in 1966.  I told her the story is like a cross between Ringworld, Albert Einstein and The Left Hand of Darkness.  The premise of the book is that language influences thought and perceived reality – not the meaning, but the words themselves.  Deep stuff!  http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/

Many thanks to Susi over at The Geeky Bookworm who asked me to guest post this past week.  If you want to win one of my books, leave a comment – she’s extended her contest for a couple days due to her school schedule.  http://thegeekybookworm.blogspot.com/

Today is Memorial Day – my dad and all my uncles served in various branches of the Armed Forces so thank you, men and women, who put your lives on the line for us everyday!  You are never forgotten.

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