Julia Barrett's World

For the first time in my entire life, I have a room of my own.  No, not this room, although a few years ago I did rent a flat for a week that had this exact view.  In fact, this picture is taken from a window in my flat!  Yes!

But that’s beside the point.  I went from my father’s house where I shared a room with my sister to college where I shared rooms with dorm mates to my first husband’s house to my father’s house where I shared a room with my infant son to my second husband’s house which we filled with kids and their friends.  Although my husband has an office of sorts, my office had been the kitchen table or the dining room table or the back of the couch or a chair.

After packing up my daughter’s room and injuring my back schlepping boxes and boxes and more boxes, today hubby and I put together my desk and matching desk chair, a totally cool leather armchair with matching ottoman, and a mega-amazing daybed/sofa.  OMG!  We sat up there, each sipping a Kir Royale – yay Mia – enjoying the fruits of our labors!  I have my own room with a glorious view of our backyard and its huge redwood trees and gigantic maple.  Sigh!  I’m an adult at last!  (Not really.)

Now I can slip away to my writer’s retreat and write like a real writer.  You think?

This week – still the major re-write.  Anny Cook will be guest blogging here and I think I’ve been assigned a blog meme. Gotta check it out!

Oh yeah…email me at Julia@JuliaRachelBarrett.net if you want a signed hard copy of Captured.  Just checking to see if you’re paying attention.  No really, a signed copy.  love, julia

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Songs and their movies pop into my head, like -

Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me…

and – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head…

and – Mrs. Robinson…

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Last American Cowboy, Monday Nights, Animal Planet.

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/last-american-cowboy/

You gotta watch this show!  Seriously good TV.  From Animal Planet:

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Homunculus, Latin for “little human”, plural: “homunculi”; from the diminutive of homo) is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully-formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism. Currently, in scientific fields, a homunculus may refer to any scale model of the human body that, in some way, illustrates physiological, psychological, or other abstract human characteristics or functions.

Here is my homunculus!  I met him last night…in my garage!

I could not sleep, so at 2:15 a.m., after tossing and turning for an hour, I rose from my bed and went downstairs to do…oh, anything other than obsess about how much I wanted to be sleeping soundly in my comfy bed.

Two cats slept upstairs.  One cat slept downstairs on his cat tower.  Yet…what was that?  That noise in the garage?  I opened the door from the laundry room, flipped on the light, and there stood a raccoon, standing tall on his hind legs like a little homunculus, staring right at me.  I could see his brain working despite the mask he wore.

His first thought?  “Busted!”

His second thought?  “I ain’t afeared ‘o you, lady!”

I backed up and closed the door, sealing the cat door from the inside just in case he decided that the cat food in the kitchen smelled more appetizing than the cat food in the garage.

No, I don’t plan to shoot him.  There’s a bobcat that patrols our neighborhood, taking at least a raccoon a week.  She dragged one out of our backyard just a couple nights ago.  Hey, it’s California.  We live with nature.  I’ve had coyotes in my yard, bobcats on my roof, hawks in my trees and a mountain lion in my driveway.  My cats are smart enough to stay indoors at night.

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From Everyman, circa 1500.

Well, maybe tyde and tyme won’t wait, but edits will and I have family matters to attend to.  Family comes before all.

I’ll post again tomorrow.  love, julia

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Such a bad, awful, nasty mood is a rarity for me.  Some days this business effin’ sucks.  I will be back to posting ASAP! 

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Ack!  I had a fun, smutty, Scottish-related post planned for today but instead, not…just news.

1.  My Everything, my romance-suspense with Cobblestone, got a five-star review from The Romance Studio:  http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/myeverythingbarrett.htm

2.  Beauty and the Feast, my contemporary with Resplendence, received a five-teacup review from Happily Ever After:  http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-beauty-and-feast-by-julia.html

3.  The release of Daughters of Persephone will probably be delayed…ACK!  DOUBLE ACK!!!  I’ll be working on it all day today…@#$%^&*+=!

4.  Author Mia Watts, my not-so-secret online lover, arrives tomorrow!  Yay!  Pant…pant…pant.

5.  I tried a piece of bacon in Montana.  I liked it.  My daughter told me I can no longer officially call myself a vegetarian.  I’m a lapsed vegetarian.

6.  Siren sent me congrats yesterday on becoming a PAN-Eligible author, thanks to sales from Captured.  I’m in the news over there and if I had time, I’d do a happy dance!   http://www.sirenbookstrand.com/pan/

7.  We get to look at the puppies early next week!!!  The breeder says there may be three long-coated babies, which we want, and one is a really big male.  Give me those really big males any day!  I do love boys and I miss mine!

8.  After reading Read React Review‘s take on Passion, by Lisa Valdez, my husband wants to know – here’s the question of the day – and if you can answer, you might just receive a copy of one of my books…How does one measure a penis?  From root to tip?  Where do you start your measurement?  LOL!  Only hubby-mine could come up with a question like that!

love, a stressed-out julia

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Here’s Josie, all that’s missing is me!

Hi all, I’m back from ten days of heaven…I mean Montana – big sky, rugged mountains, cute cowboys, good food, harsh weather, heavenly horses!  I spent yesterday afternoon stuck in that dang Seattle airport again – but that All Romance E-book award-winning author, Mia Watts, and I spent two hours texting each other – until the battery on my phone died.

We stayed a couple days at my daughter’s boyfriend’s cattle ranch.  Eat more grass-fed beef!  This coming from a vegetarian who has been desensitizing herself to meat in recent weeks after ages of avoiding it, because I’ve witnessed firsthand the kind  way this family cares for their cattle and their responsible stewardship of the land.  I figure if they come to Napa, they drink our wines…if they host me, I’ll taste their beef.   These are real cowboys who cry if they lose a calf or a horse or a working dog.  Seriously.

Then we moved on to the cattle ranch that was our initial introduction into this wild corner of Montana a number of years ago, Sweetgrass Ranch – heaven on a hoof!  For three days, I rode my standby, Trinket, a blue roan.  She’s great, transitions smoothly from the trot to the lope to the gallop, she’s sure-footed on the steep, rocky trails, but she doesn’t like cattle and after three days, she began coughing.  I got to ride Garrett – a brilliant little horse – stole him from Janice, my Scottish friend!  As she says, he explodes, but he’s so kind, he takes you with him!  She’s right.  Have you ever watched a cat rev his hind-quarters up and then spring forward as he’s stalking something?  That’s Garrett.  You can practically feel him revving his little hindquarters up just before he explodes across a meadow.  Riding him is like blasting off on a rocket!  He’s smooth as silk and so dang cute!  But, Janet, damn her…wanted him back, so my daughter, head wrangler that she is, switched me to Josie, saying, you’ll love her, she’s very forward.

OMG!  There are no words to describe the feel of Josie beneath me!  Sigh and double sigh.  Triple sigh.  She’s tall, powerful and fast.  She did everything I asked of her. While her trot is a bit high, when she lopes and gallops, you might as well be floating on a living cloud.  If someone had been able to take a picture of me, you would have seen a big, shit-eating grin on my face – but of course that would have been impossible as I was past everyone in a flash, gone in a cloud of dust!

Josie and Garrett, Janice and I, became partners in crime, getting into trouble, racing across meadows of wildflowers, leaving the rest of the group far behind.

Me to my daughter:  “I haven’t had this much fun on a horse since I was a kid!”

My daughter to me:  “Yeah, I noticed!  You’re acting like a little kid!”

Me to my daughter:  “Aw, c’mon, can’t I lope some more???  Pleeeeeeease?”

My daughter (rolling  eyes) to me:  “I’m regretting my decision to give you Josie.”

Nah, at the end of the day, my daughter whispered in my ear…”I knew you would love her.  She’s perfect for you.  She’s just like the horse you lost.”

Perfect ending to a perfect week.

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I saw this bumper sticker today – well, a nicer version of this bumper sticker – but since this is my first attempt at using my paint program I figure you’ll be pretty forgiving!

The bumper sticker is right on, reading is sexy in the same way that a big, alpha, macho shirtless man is sexy holding a little baby against his bare chest is…

S.E.X.Y.

Of course hubby saw a bumper sticker today that said:

If you’re this close, my balls are in your face!

I like mine better!

Thanks to all of you who voted for Captured on Happily Ever After Reviews – Book of the Month Contest.  If you haven’t voted, there’s still time…hint…hint…  http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/p/best-book-contest_30.html

The contest is open until July 8th.

I haven’t yet decided which books to take on my trip to Montana.  Leaving Friday.  May have to take a couple re-reads since my new books haven’t arrived and I’m unlikely to have internet service.  What would you take for your reading pleasure on a ten day vacation?

Ack!  Beauty and the Feast is up for Book of the Month on Dark Diva Reviews!  Do not pass go…vote!  Congrats to my friend Mia Watts, whose book is also up!

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Last night, my husband and I went to meet a couple of German shepherds -

a dad and a poor mom about to burst.  She gave birth to nine puppies this morning.

We intend to put down a deposit on a puppy, hoping that one will turn out to be a plush coat, like Louie.  Talk about six degrees of separation.  The mom is the spitting image of Louie’s mom, who I first met when she was in the same stage of her pregnancy with Louie’s litter – and come to find out this guy, this owner, bred Louie’s grandmother and sold her to the people who sold us Louie.  Thus, Louie’s mother was his puppy’s daughter.  Small world!  Just like Louie, both these dogs possess an amazing temperament, intelligence and awareness.  They each have a sweet and gentle disposition that belies their intimidating size and strength.  I can’t wait to see the puppies – gotta wait three weeks – I hope there’s a plush coat among the nine because that’s what we really want – yes, I know, we can’t replace our perfect dog, but we still want that great coat.  So I feel guilty and hopeful at the same time.  My husband keeps reminding me that I can’t stay mired in this awful grief and besides, maybe Louie turned around and came right back into this litter!  Think positive!  I do believe in reincarnation.

To celebrate, or to remember, or both, here’s one of my favorite literary passages about love and loss.  Makes me cry every single time I read it.  Count your blessings, you’ll have to suffer through a longer one tomorrow!

‘Many times Blackthorne had looked over his shoulder expecting her there, but she was never there and never would be and this did not disturb him.  She was with him forever, and he knew he would love her in the good times and in the tragic times, even in the winter of his life.  She was always on the edge of his dreams.  And now those dreams were good, very good, and intermixed with her were drawings and plans and the carving of the figurehead and sails and how to set the keel and how to build the ship and then, such joy, the final shape of The Lady under full sail, bellied by a sharp sou’wester, racing up the Channel, the bit between her teeth, halyards shrieking, spars stretched on a larboard tack and then, ‘All sails ho!  Tops’ls, mainsails, royals, and top topgallants!’ easing out the ropes, giving her every inch, the cannonade of the sails reaching on the other tack and ‘Steady as she goes!’ every particle of canvas answering his cry, and then at long last, full-bodied, a lady of inestimable beauty turning hard aport near Beachy Head for London…’

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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…

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Like most days, today…or yesterday…was a mix of good and bad.  I had fun over at author Stacey Espino’s place and I was humbled by Katalina Leon’s praise for Captured – still want to hear that para sailing story again.  A close cousin who lives in the Midwest showed up for one night and we laughed into the wee hours of the morning, just like when we were kids – and I was feeling pretty okay today.  Then the vet’s office called and said they had Louie’s ashes for me to pick up and I lost it all over again.  I’m still not dealing with my grief very well.

Yeah, got the tattoo on my right wrist – LOUIE – in very cool letters and I’ll post a pic up here soon.  Chopped off my long hair today.  Just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.  I planned to go chin length, but Deanna, my stylist, accidentally whacked off a big chunk with the razor so I said, shit…just cut it off.  My hair is now about, oh, I don’t know, maybe an inch and a half long.  It’s okay, no biggie.  I can just style it with my fingers and I’m done.  I canceled a coffee date with my plastic surgery addicted friend because I just couldn’t face her critical eye…you know – wow, you look tired…or you trying to lose weight?…or…you cut your hair???  Or…my doctor could do something with those bags under your eyes…or the old…you need to detox…maybe a colonic.

Never!

So my cousin and I were reminiscing about the time we all, by we all I mean my cousin, her friend, Murray, my two sisters and I rafted down the Colorado River and deliberately jumped into a class III rapids sans raft.  We hiked upriver with our guide and he said, “Okay now, climb out to the edge of this big rock and jump in.   Swim to to middle of the current as fast as you can and point your feet downriver so if you hit an underwater rock or snag, your feet will hit it instead of your head.  When you reach flat water, swim like hell to the right side.  Somebody will pull you out.  Oh, and remember to breathe between waves.”

My loony sister, of course, only heard, “Okay now…” before she leaped off the rock and disappeared into the churning white water.  My other sister and I jumped in together, swam as hard as we could to the middle of the river and then tried to survive for the next four or five harrowing, adrenaline filled, ice water minutes, both terrified and exhilarated.  We reached flat water and managed to make it to a rock near the shore, where we clung, along with Murray, for dear life, exhausted and unable to pull ourselves to safety.  My cousin floated by and in a weak voice, cried…”Help me…”  She vanished around the bend.  My other sister was no where to be seen.  The second rafting guide headed downriver to pick up my cousin.  My loony sister, of course, nearly drowned before they found her.  Those were the days!  Really, sounds bad I know, but it wasn’t.   The experience was great, one of the highlights of my life.  That’s the nice thing about families, shared adventures.  One day my kids will get together and talk about all the crazy insane wonderful things that happened on our camping trips, our backpacking trips, our nutty ski trips.

It’s kind of the way I feel right now…holding on for dear life, exhausted, but eventually I’ll have amazing memories to look back on.

So…stepping forward…I’m entering two of my new paranormal works in a contest.  Wish me luck!

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Happy Weekend!

This is a Blog Hop! You’re next!

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You all know that the movie, Meet Joe Black, was a remake of the 1934 romantic classic, Death Takes a Holiday, right?

The critically acclaimed movie starred Frederick March as Death on holiday.  It was based on an original play by Alberto Casella, and if you view the film, it’s actually staged in such a way that you feel as if you are watching a play.

I saw the original movie version when I was a kid.  It both thrilled me and frightened me.  Death was a pretty scary dude, but at the same time, he seemed so lonely.  In order for Death to be with the woman he loved, he had to kill her.  In the end, he couldn’t do it.  Death returned to his eternal task, leaving behind the woman he loved, yet he became a better being after encountering a loving human heart.  What does this have to do with anything?  Well…

A friend, Katalina Leon, asked me to post about my recent book signing.  Oh, it was pretty much all about death and dying and the event followed right on the heels of my own loss.  I headed up to Oregon to read from my nonfiction book for a fund-raising group that represents four hospice organizations.  This was their first anniversary and they’d made enough money in their first year of operation that they were able to provide eight separate grants to help support the extra services a hospice provides, such as music, specialized training, and a massage therapist for dying patients.

I thought I would spend the entire afternoon crying, but I deliberately picked a funny chapter to read – about a woman who returned from the dead for twenty-four hours and described her experiences in great detail – which was a big hit with the crowd, and then I sat for an hour and signed books.  It was pretty cool.  I gave the fund raising organization half of what I earned – it’s a good cause and I know first hand that most hospices operate in the red.  We depend upon donations to provide the many services patients need in their final days, besides, no one is ever turned away from hospice.  Every hospice accepts charity cases.

While I was up in Oregon, I got to be babied by my parents – who showed up at the reading, beaming with pride – they are such great Jewish parents even though I didn’t become a doctor.  I hung out with my young nephew…I’m such a bad influence…I let him watch Risky Business…bad aunt!  Bad!  Bad!  Bad aunt!  I’m his favorite!  He said his mom only lets him watch G-rated crap.  Hey, he’s old enough!  I’m already in trouble for introducing my other nephew to The Simpsons.  Isn’t that my assigned role in life?  To corrupt the youth?

In other news, Janna over at her site, Erotic Romance Reader, has posted a review of Captured.  http://erotromreader.blogspot.com/

Tomorrow:  Either Janna’s review or a blog about my brain on drugs.

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1.  He was the best pass rusher in history – no quarterback could withstand the onslaught of Louie!

2.  He played basketball on his hindlegs and caught the ball with his front legs.  He was guilty of numerous over-the-back fouls.

3.  He never met a soccer ball he couldn’t pop.

4.  He was the official ball shagger for my daughter’s softball team.  He loved Sissy’s games!

5.  He understood more English words than most people I know.

6.  Having been born into a German speaking household, he could always pick out German speaking tourists.

7.  He knew that hot air balloon tours were good for a snack of salami half-way through our early morning hikes.

8.  He never forgot a friend or a family member.

9.  He defended the yard and his own cats from all intruders.

10.  He believed in rules to live by and he had a code of honor.

11.  He loved playing RPGs with my son and his friends.  He’d wear any costume they put on him or play any role they asked of him.  He was just one of the guys.

12.  He feared nothing but the Santa Anna winds.

13.  He was kind to all babies and animals smaller and weaker than himself.  He even tried to avoid stepping on baby toads when they covered the hiking trail.  He once managed to sneak up on a squirrel and sniff its tail.

14.  He was an awful swimmer until he got his lifejacket and then he became the little tugboat that could.

15.  He liked nothing more than to go for coffee at Peets, where he could bask in the attention of his many admirers.  He got a scone.

16.  I have to stop now, but I’ll say this:  The sad part of life is death.  The sad part of loving an animal (other than a parrot) is that they have a short lifespan.  As heartbreaking as Louie’s death is, I wouldn’t have missed a single minute of his life.

I’ll be better next week.  I’m off now to a book signing up in Oregon.  Kiss your kids and and your significant others and cherish your pets.

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