Julia Barrett's World

Mia’s right, you know…

She says the term for a woman like me is guyly girl. I’m a jeans and boots-wearing, big dog loving, horseback riding, sharp shootin’ tomboy. I may be married to an alpha hunk, but Mia and I carry on this long-distance love affair, because she’s totally funny and cool and because her words are to die for. Her prose is insanely gorgeous. The only male/male romances I’ve read are hers - reading one of her books is like reading a love poem, a very naughty, erotic love poem, but still a love poem. Damn, I adore her books and her person. Plus she’s got the prettiest set of eyes I’ve ever seen with the unfair kind of long eyelashes that the fates usually reserve for guys. You know…guys get all the lashes. One of these days, mark my words, she will have the time to write a best seller and then I’ll be able to say I knew her when.

She did just get an award on All Romance Ebooks for She’s Got Balls! Go Mia! http://miawatts.blogspot.com/

I miss my Tony! There’s this shoe repair shop in town called Tony’s Shoe Repair. I used to go there all the time…I’d be like, “Um, honey? You have any shoes that need repairing or polishing, or maybe have a loose heel?“ Just so I could go to Tony’s shop. When you entered Tony’s shop, you entered another dimension. There would be Tony, a big bear of a man, with dark hair and an ever-present five o’clock shadow, embracing you with his Brooklyn Italianese and a big, welcoming hug. I’d squeeze into the tiny space, past Tony’s elderly father who sat on a little stool at a little table, shining shoes, maybe playing checkers with a friend, and I’d find any excuse to stand at the counter as long as I could, letting Tony’s voice wash over me like a warm, soothing rain falling direct from heaven. Tony was not of this world. He made shivers…good shivers…run up and down my spine. I swear to God he was from some place else and that some place wasn’t just Brooklyn. I like to think of him as an angel slumming with us humans for a time.

Five years ago, Tony sold the place and took his dad back to New York. It’s still called Tony’s Shoe Repair, but now some other guy owns it. He’s professional and all, I mean, he does a decent job with a repair, but he doesn’t talk to you and he doesn’t do all the extra stuff Tony used to do. Like, when I’d take a pair of boots in to Tony to get new heels or re-soled, I’d get those boots back reconditioned and polished, looking like brand new. The guy who owns the place now just fixes the heels and he’s done. Wouldn’t think to buff out a scuff mark if his life depended upon it. And his voice is just a voice. A human voice. It does nothing for me. The smell of glue is so thick in the closed space that I get in and out as quick as I can. I can feel my brain starting to fry…When Tony owned the place, it smelled like warm, clean, yummy leather, never like glue. Ah well, I think I’ll write a book about him…

And from my friends at Project Bacon http://projectbacon.wordpress.com/ comes this hilarious tidbit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T_obaO46Bo&feature=player_embedded

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“In turns funny, insightful, and always erotic, this novel follows the sexual adventures of beautiful blonde Lydia through a modern Japanese male landscape. Donna Storey’s eye and nose for the redolent detail is a treat for all the senses as she spins her tale into a savory concoction not unlike the “cooked-to-your-liking” pancake of cabbage, egg, and smoky fish sauce called okonomiyaki that serves as the heroine’s comfort food. An Amorous Woman is literary erotica at its best. — Liza Dalby Author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki

“AMOROUS WOMAN is definitely arousing but it is much more than a light-hearted bedroom romp through Japan. It is a believable and moving tale of one woman’s journey of sexual self-discovery. I enjoyed Amorous Woman more than any erotic novel I’ve read in a long while. — Lisabet Sarai The Erotica Readers and Writers Association

“Focusing on sex in Japan is a great departure from the more usual erotic scenes and I certainly enjoyed getting a peek into such a different culture. Storey clearly has a love for and an interest in this land, and that comes through with her writing. A piece of erotica that works equally well story-wise and for an insight into a whole other life makes this a great addition to your erotic bookshelf. I have no doubt I’ll be rereading this in the future. — Field Marshall MacBirdie LoveHoney

“Like her heroine, Donna George Storey has lived and worked in Japan andtheres a freshness to the descriptions and a coming to terms with her needs and desires which lifts her beyond the two-dimensional. A highly enjoyable read. — Elizabeth Coldwell UK Forum

“Amorous Woman by Donna George Storey is a work of elegant eroticism with a very special perspective on elements of Japanese culture that is related with a blend of humor, social critique, and literary skill that is impressive from beginning to end. — Margaret Lane MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

“Written with sparse but passionate prose, Amorous Woman is the kind of book that demands you slow down and savor exactly how good erotica should be written.” — Gwen Masters CLEAN SHEETS.COM

I hung out with the author of the above-mentioned book yesterday. I ordered her book today and can’t wait to read it. Donna and I did a little tasting - picked up some French macaroons from an actual French bakery and some Japanese sweets from this totally cool Japanese import shop that I had walked by a dozen times and never noticed. I bought a few red bean treats - I do like red bean paste.

We traded stories about travel and food and the pitfalls of writing and publishing and we discussed the difference between erotica and porn and we agree that there is a difference!

Here’s a very brief excerpt from the book:

“The day I left Japan, I stared at my reflection in the mirror in the airport ladies’ room and made the following vows: I would never tell another lie, especially to myself. I would never let desire overwhelm common sense. I would never sleep with a man who was married to someone else, mime fellatio with a complete stranger on a stage, or take money for sex again. In fact, to cover all bases, I would never have sex again with anyone, man or woman, for the rest of my life.”

http://www.amazon.com/Amorous-Woman-Donna-George-Storey/dp/1905619170/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270649743&sr=8-1

http://www.donnageorgestorey.com/

It’s always exciting to meet an author you’ve been corresponding with in person!

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