Julia Barrett's World

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First thing, I’m going to admit that I’m not a big fan of menage. That doesn’t mean I think it shouldn’t be written, it means I don’t usually read it. I’m a flaming one man/one woman fan and for me, a work of menage is generally a big, fat, red stop sign. Why? The ick factor. While the concept of menage on paper is intriguing, not to mention stimulating, the reality can be somewhat less than scintillating. There are only so many things of so many sizes that can fit into so many orifices at one time and still be pleasure inducing. There…said it.

As a result, unless a friend writes a menage, I pass right on by without a second glance and yes, I know how popular menage is right now. That message has been drummed into me by many, many writers…editors…advisers.

However, author Mia Watts sends me sliding down that slippery slope toward M/M and Menage without even trying. Because the sex is so great? Well…yeah, that goes without saying, but more because her writing is so evanescent. She writes about love, whether it’s male-male or multiples, like her new work, F.U. I read it in one afternoon.

As I told her, it’s not your usual menage. Most menages that authors send me are about shifters and I rarely read them, other than Fran Lee’s Hallie’s Cats, which is a spicy little number. I skip most shifter menages because after reading a few, I began to feel like the cougar or were or bear should just pee on the woman’s leg and be done with it. The machismo and territory marking become almost comical. And…here’s where the ick factor comes in for me - sometimes the contortions these characters go through during sex are just god-awful unrealistic and flat out painful and I have to assume they are thrown in for shock value.

Here is why Mia’s F.U. multiple, cuz it ain’t menage, works for me.

The story is damn good. The writing, superb. The style, spare, clean and clear. Despite the fact that four men share one woman, there is a building love story between the guy I consider the alpha dog and the woman, who I consider his mate. When he shares her, he still directs all the action. It’s as if the secondary characters, who are drawn quite vividly, are an extension of the alpha dog’s own personality and soul. F.U. may be a multiple, but it’s overarching theme is that of soul mates - two sets of eyes meet across a room and you know to the depths of your soul he or she is the one and it scares the bejeezus out of you. Because there are four men involved, the story could easily have crossed the line into sleazedom, but thanks to the author’s skill at shaping characters and situations, it never does. The female character is an assertive, confident woman and the male characters not only want to fuck her…they respect, cherish and protect her. It’s actually pretty dang cool.

This is probably the only time I’ll ever post something remotely resembling a review because I believe - to each his own and I respect the time and effort writers put into their creations. In this case, I have to tip my hat to Mia Watts. She’s made a believer out of me.

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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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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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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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Babbling About Books and other blogs

http://kbgbabbles.blogspot.com/

ran a very interesting post about the end of Kirkus. She asks some very significant questions - “So, this brings up an interesting point. Does this mean the book review blogs and websites are gaining power? And if so, who will hold all the power, the go to people that readers, publishers and authors go to for great reviews and publishing industry information?”

To quote the LA Times regarding Kirkus - “It was purportedly read by every Hollywood exec — or more likely their underlings - looking for literary properties,” writes Nick Kaufman at LiveJournal. He adds that its reviewers were “impossible to please. . . . If your book got a good review from Kirkus, that really meant something.” Boris Kachka at New York Magazine calls Kirkus “the Pepsi to Publishers Weekly’s Coke when it comes to prepub press.”

Apparently, the announcement came and went with barely a murmur of protest. Hmm. As an author, how do I feel about this event? A little conflicted. To be honest, I never really paid much attention to Kirkus, however, I do know that reviewers will be out of a job and big publishing houses and their authors will miss a premier review site. Of course, there’s still the NY Times and their best seller list and review section. But I surmise that the NY Times may not exist for all that much longer.

The printed word is sublime. There is nothing that moves me quite as much as the feel of a book in my hands. I would miss the heft of a book, the weight, the smell of new ink. A virgin book whose pages haven’t been spread until I spread them - these are things I will miss if the printed word becomes a rarity.

I’ve never been one to buy what the reviewers tell me to buy, in fact, when I’ve followed their advice, I’ve very often been disappointed. When I buy a book, it’s because I’ve held it, turned it over and over, perused the front blurb, the back blurb, the author’s bio and skimmed a few pages. In other words, I’ve grokked it.

Will I miss Kirkus? Or the NY Times book section? Probably not. Sorry. But would I miss books? Oh. Hell. Yes. So to answer the question: Who will hold the power? I suspect there will continue to be a proliferation of online review sites and the best and the brightest will survive. Bob Dylan is as apropos today as he was forty years ago. The times they are a-changin’.

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