Julia Barrett's World

I’m throwing my hat in the ring and trying my hand at menage. My philosophy is this - there can be no slut factor and no positions that necessitate unrealistic contortions. There will be a reason for one woman and her three men…a damn good one. This is so scary and I wouldn’t do it if I hadn’t A. dreamed a menage and B. hubby hadn’t given me an out of this world idea for a second book - m/f/m. Is that how you describe it? I actually don’t know the difference between m/m/f and m/f/m. Anybody?

Oh yeah - I’m off to work today, but Susi over at The Geeky Bookworm is hosting me today - guest blog - how Barry White influenced my romance-suspense, My Everything!

http://thegeekybookworm.blogspot.com/

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All I can say is…wow!

“One minute Mari is gathering eggs for her sister and the next minute she wakes up on a cold floor in a metal cage surrounded by other cages, all filled with unconscious women. Mari manages to get to her feet; she is nude, cold and terrified. But when she spies two humanoid type beings down the corridor and one approaches, she gathers her dignity like a cloak and tells him what she thinks of him.

It turns out that males from the planet Attun-Ru have been making trips to Earth for over 25 years to capture females. The people of Attun-Ru are vegetarians, but beings on some of the other planets consider human flesh a delicacy. Bad enough that the women are sold for sex or slavery but food? Apparently other planets don’t consider the Earthers to be sentient, more like cattle, at best like pets.

Mari was a linguist back on Earth and slowly she’s learning some of the language of her Attun captors. One in particular, Ekkat Vom Baerkah Elae has taken an interest in her and can’t believe that she is sentient enough to learn some of their words and their ways.

Over time, Ekkat grudgingly acknowledges, at least to himself, that Mari and therefore her people are sentient. Can he with a clear conscience allow her to be herded with the other women to the sheds and then to auction? For her to become a slave, a pet, or a meal once she is sold off? For an Attun to have a relationship, especially sex with a human is a death sentence on his planet. Whatever happens next will change everything for Ekkat and Mari. Once the decision is made there is no going back.

Incredibly unique, Captured skillfully blends a sensuous romance with a dark sci-fi story. Captured is painfully brutal at times, but also mixes passion with heart pounding action. Mari and Ekkat are fascinating main characters with pain and angst in their pasts, yet never willing to give up or give in. Not only is the overall story compelling, there are little twists and turns throughout the plot which makes it really hard to put down. Eroticism, drama, action, heart, and soul – Captured has it all!”

Thank you, Lisa!

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*Enjoy Seven Days of Valentines with Siren-Bookstrand Authors*

Get all your romance over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SirenBookstrand/

You can win ebooks and Strandbucks by reading the following post and answering one simple question…send your answer to: sandys36@yahoo.com

I’m offering a copy of Captured, my sci fi romance with Siren.

So…follow along here…Have your read or seen The Princess Bride? The heroine and hero, Buttercup and Wesley are star-crossed lovers. They dislike each other, fight a growing attraction, and when they finally admit their true feelings, Wesley goes off to earn his fortune so he’ll be worthy of his true love. Unfortunately, he vanishes and Buttercup believes him to be dead, killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Apathetic, knowing she will never again experience true love, she agrees to marry the evil Prince Humerdinck. And then Wesley returns and the passion between Wesley and Buttercup reignite.

My husband and I lived through a similar story. We fell in love at a young age, were separated by time and distance, and had no contact whatsoever for six years. In the meantime, I married the evil Prince Humperdinck. The man who is my husband, the new Dread Pirate Roberts, returned and saved me. Our true story is every bit as romantic and harrowing as The Princess Bride. I’ll post it sometime!

For a chance to win a copy of Captured and Strandbucks, answer this question correctly - In what romance does a character say the following: “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The first is never get involved in a land war in Asia. The second, only slightly less well known, is this: never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha -” Email your answer to Sandy, sandys36@yahoo.com

Captured: Blurb

Mari never expects to find herself caged in a cargo hold on a spaceship. She quickly learns from her captors she’s headed to the meat market. When they try to return her to hypersleep, she resists. After allowing her to stay awake, Mari realizes her survival depends on connecting with the male in charge, Ekkatt. She must make him see her as a sentient being or she will end up as dinner.

Ekkatt has never spoken to any human. They are valued for one thing, the money they bring at auction. The Attun race are vegetarians, but other species prize human flesh and bring in good money. Then the female with red hair speaks to him and forces him to admit she has a name. Mari throws Ekkatt’s entire life into question, the biggest question…can he watch her sold to the highest bidder?

Happy Valentine’s Week!

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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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Katiebabs over at Babbling About Books gave me a nice review for Captured. Thanks, Katiebabs! Here’s a partial quote:

Julia Rachel Barrett really takes some chances with Captured, her science fiction romance. Mainly, because Mari is thought of as food. Her eventual love interest, Ekkatt even thinks of her like that at first, as well as the belief she’s a mindless animal. This is a major hurdle, but because Mari is a strong, smart and quick thinking, she’s able to save her life and change Ekkatt’s opinion, who comes to many new conclusions because of the way Mari is able to stand up for herself.

It took me a while for Ekkatt to grow on me because he is the type who goes along with the status quo. As soon as Mari gets under his skin, that’s when he really makes an impression. He is a bit innocent in his thinking as he tries to understand Mari. He has always assumed things were one way. It takes the redheaded Mari to open his eyes. Ekkatt then must grapple with breaking the rules he lives by, as well as his growing feelings for a creature that goes against everything he’s been taught. Once he’s willing to embrace these feelings, his love for Mari is wonderful. Mari introduces him to new ways of loving such as mouth kissing and using her mouth to pleasure other body parts Ekkatt was never aware of before. These scenes smolder in their intensity.

Ekkatt and Mari’s quest for a Utopian society becomes a very important part of Captured and one that you hope they both find before a certain enemy comes upon them and destroys their new found happiness.

Captured has an almost erotic feel to it, and Ekkatt and Mari’s love for one another is very believable and emotional. Julia has written a nice sold romance.

Check it out for yourself - she also gives a nice review to Stephanie Julian and Kiss of Midnight.

http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-reviews-kiss-of-moonlight-and.html

I’m also interviewed today over at Love, Romances and More:

http://loveromancesandmore.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-to-julia-rachel-barretts-guest.html

Check it out - I love your comments!

Announcement: Just received a call that Captured is a finalist in the Gotcha ! Contest. Wow. Check it out!

http://www.svrwa.com/gotcha

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A Guest Blog

http://www.loveromancepassion.com/

Come check my final stop on my virtual tour! You can win a copy of my romance/suspense - full length - Cara!

In other news, we have horizontal rain, wind, darkness…waiting for hail and locusts, possibly rivers running red with blood - and I had to walk my dog because he refuses to set foot in the backyard. Despite my layers, I was soaked to the skin within fifty yards. Oh well…fresh air.

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Definitely saving the world

one book at a time!

I got a sweet review from Teagan over at Bookwenches. She gave me 4.5 stars. I’ll quote part of the review:

Captured is such a pleasant surprise, that I find myself rethinking my previous feelings about romantic science fiction. I love science fiction, and I love romance but have never sought out the two together due to previous reading in this category that did nothing for me. Ms. Barrett has completely changed my mind. Captured is well-written, well thought out, and will have the reader in its grip throughout. When I started the book, it was a bit alarming since the writing pulled me in and made me think how I would feel if I was in Mari’s place. Her terror came across the pages but her level-headed thinking quickly made her survival instincts kick in. I love a strong female character.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone that is looking for an entertaining and heartfelt romantic science fiction. I am already a fan of Ms. Barrett, and she has just solidified that. I look forward to reading more of her work.

http://www.bookwenches.com/

I had this really bad dream that a reviewer put Captured on her do-not-buy list because she said my heroine, Mari, was TSTL. I woke up this morning and I couldn’t remember if I’d actually read that or if I dreamed it and it’s bugged me all day long. I am not especially fond of heroines who are TSTL and to my knowledge I’ve never written one. Of course, I also dreamed my husband said he wanted a separation for God only knows what reason, so I took off my wedding ring and threw it at him and I would have punched him in the side of his head, but the phone rang in real life…so I didn’t. Lucky him.

Watched Inglorious Bastards tonight - violent, irreverent, classic Quentin Tarantino. A for acting, B- for plot.

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With Romance Junkies!

http://www.romancejunkies.com/rjblog

A guest blog, a contest, and a promo for Captured!

Drop by and check it out. I love reading your comments.

On the heavier side, just finished watching Gran Torino, with Clint Eastwood. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. One daughter didn’t like it. She claimed the acting was amateurish. The other daughter thought the movie was okay.

Baby girls, it was way more than okay. The acting wasn’t amateurish, it was real. Once again, just as occurred when I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, my eyes were riveted on the screen. Clint Eastwood, is, of course, riveting all by himself, but the Hmong actors were outstanding as well, the story heartrending. For me, the themes were personal. I work in neighborhoods like this. I have patients who are the spitting image of Walt Kowalski and I love them, while I have other patients who are part of a community just like the Hmong community of Thao Vang Lor. And I have to watch out for the gang bangers when I make my home visits.

Gran Torino, five stars out of five. Thanks, Mr. Eastwood.

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Susie, over at her site, The Geeky Bookworm,

which is a great name for a site, by the way, posted the cutest review of Captured. Maybe she was disappointed in the ending, but I did leave the door open for a sequel…

Check out her site on my sidebar.

Her site really is worth bookmarking - she’s got an awful lot of fun stuff going on.

Here’s a little of what she says:

The book starts a bit alarmingly. We wake up together with Mari in a room full of naked woman in cages, not only human ones but many different species, and two hunky men watching over them. First thing I thought was: OMG not the Stockholm syndrome again! But after that I thought: isn’t it greedy to have a whole ship of sex-slaves? But as it shows it’s not the way my dirty mind pictured it. The women aren’t kidnapped to being raped, their even worse future is being sold on the meat market. Yep, you read that right! There are species enjoying nothing more than a human steak. So ick!!!! But okay, we need a bad party in this book. Even worse for me was the attitude of the “smugglers”(who are vegetarians by the way- love that part). They think humans are nothing more than animals without any feelings and higher cognitive functions. You feel charmed already?

The Geeky Bookworm is a charming site! Thanks, Susie.

And many thanks to Erotic Romantic Crush Junkies for hosting my guest blog and contest yesterday. It’s not too late to leave a comment!

Announcements: Go check out my friend, Tina. http://www.tinadonahue.com/blog/

Read all about her new book, Deep, Dark and Delicious! Yum!

*A word about Haiti - relief supplies are arriving. The problem, as always in poor nations, is distribution. Don’t be fooled by fake charities asking for donations. Give to a well-established charity like the Red Cross that knows how to reach the people who need help. Thanks. Julia

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My virtual tour continues at Erotic Crush Junkies - January 15th.

http://erjunkiesreviews.blogspot.com

Leave a comment and have a chance to win a book. I’d love to hear from you!

New Release!!!

My friend, Tina, has a new release. Enjoy!

Buy Link:

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8080-deep-dark-delicious.aspx

A wickedly sensual feast… Eden DeCarlo may have narrowly lost Miami’s best chef competition and the prize money she desperately needs, but she has caught the eye of dangerously virile Rafael Zayas, one of the judges and a wealthy restaurateur. Despite her vow not to let any man derail her life, Eden’s captivated by Rafe’s imposing masculinity, then challenged by the business deal he offers. He’ll invest in her new venture if, for one month, she can satisfy his culinary expectations and the sexual attraction they both feel.

Dominant and unashamed, Rafe knows what he wants when it comes to carnal pleasure and will spare no seduction to have Eden in all the ways he demands—naked, wanting, submissive.

Within thirty days, he will teach her the delights of yielding to passion, relinquishing all control to him and fulfilling her deepest, darkest and most delicious desires.

Sounds yummy! Head over to the site to read an amazing, generous excerpt! Good luck, Tina!

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Hubby read my new book

and he said something very interesting about Captured. He came to bed and woke me up…and ya’ll know what we do when he wakes me up…anywho - he told me that reading Captured was a weird experience because the heroine is me.

He said, “You know, there are pieces of you in every one of your heroines and I’m accustomed to that, but Mari is you. She’s just plain you. And it’s really weird to read about you having a relationship with this guy from another planet. It makes me feel real weird.”

I asked if he felt like I was cheating on him and he shook his head, no. He said it just felt weird, and then we went on to hm-hm.

The next day, I re-read the book and I realized he’s right. Mari is me. She’s just plain old me, potty mouth and all. Wow. I had no idea. Wonder what Freud would have to say about this?

If you want a picture of an author, I guess, read Captured.

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and I’ll quote it in its entirety

from Fran Lee over at her romance blog: http://franleesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

The premise of this hot and sexy sci-fi romance at first leaves the reader with a dry throat and a palpitating heart…how would you feel if you realized that you had been “harvested” as part of an alien search for table delicacies? That you were not even considered to be a thinking, higher creation, but rather a food source or an animal fit only for mindless work? I shared Mari’s fear and shock, and her horror and indignation.

Ms. Barrett’s style carries the reader through a hard-hitting, witty, and wisecracking story at top speed, and this reader, in particular, couldn’t put the book aside long enough to even go get a snack. I read the entire 148 pages in four hours. I think that was a record, even for me. I was spellbound and laughing or tense and angry every moment of the read, and when I was finished, I wondered where the missing four hours had gone.

Ms. Barrett’s well defined and thoroughly engaging characters and her sense of timing were impeccably intertwined to keep me virtually enthralled through the entire book…no lags, no drags, and no yawning here! Her ability to mesh past horrors most of us “earthers” recall from history, and an entirely new world gave me a flashback or two as she led me into a world that is so beautifully drawn that it feels like home.

A romance grown from the ashes of misunderstandings, guilt, and pain. A healthy does of wise cracking humor and a few belly laughs. And the sex…OMG! Hot and wonderful and totally enthralling!

Julia Rachel Barrett is an author I hope to see a lot more of…and she is definitely on my auto-buy list.

I love the four missing hours comment! Thanks Ms. Lee!

In the meantime, a wonderful friend has a release coming out -

Laid Bare, by Cerise Deland

Isn’t the cover yummy???

Blurb:

Tate Ryder had spent his life savoring many women in his bed at once before luscious Anna Stevens came along and didn’t seem to know he was alive. He cursed his lot until one night Anna was attacked outside his condo. Frantic, he whisks her away on his yacht. He vows to keep her in his arms and enchant her sleek body with hot pleasures she’s only imagined.

She answers his intimate kisses with scorching caresses—and wild revelations. She’s been on the run from thugs for years. She’s not who she claims. But one thing is true—she craves Tate now deep inside her body, the way he’s always been deep inside her heart.

Enthralled, Tate lays bare her naked body the way he’s determined to lay bare her nameless enemy—and persuade her to stay with him and the erotic delights that bind them forever.

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8088-50-laid-bare.aspx

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From a fellow author -

It means a great deal when a peer says they love your book. Stacy Espino, an author of Paranormal Romance, says over at her site: http://staceyespino.blogspot.com/

*One of the best books I’ve read in awhile! I lost sleep. Read it in under 24 hours. Enough said.
This was a unique, beautiful sci-fi romance. Great character development. Loved Mari and ‘loved’ Ekkatt (if you know what I mean). Suspence, humor, romance, hot action and interesting new world.
Highly recommend my friends to read this newly released e-book. Can’t wait to buy it on paperback for my collection of keepers! 5 out of 5 stars.*

Thanks, Stacey! Can’t wait to sink my teeth into your Immortal Love series, coming soon with Siren-Bookstrand!

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Come visit

over at Alternative Read: http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/ *If this link isn’t working, check my sidebar for Alternative Read and you can get directly to the post!

I’ll post a list of sites I’ll be visiting over the next couple of weeks later today. In the meantime, stop by and give me a holler!

I’ll try not to cause a time paradox…

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I don’t care that everyone is staring,

because I received my first ever fan letter. A reader thought enough of Captured to send me a letter and tell me how much she liked it. She even asked if I might write a sequel. If I do write a sequel, I will dedicate it to her. It means so much to me to learn that after all my hard work and the pieces of my heart that I put into that book, somebody cares!

On to business…my virtual book tour begins tomorrow, Monday, January 11th. Alternative Read is hosting my guest blog - feel free to drop by, read, comment, have a chance to win a copy of one of my other books: http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there! Julia

BTW - got my new internet provider! Thank you, Comcast!

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