Missed Snippet sunday

I'm a bad dog. I feel a little disjointed today, a little out of whack. Yesterday was a great day, though. Went to the UU church (my girl asked me to try, for her. Church and I are not mutually exclusive, exactly, but we're not buds) Good service. Then it was off to the garden show, then Chinese for lunch. We got some neat garden ideas. I'll be making my girl a table type bird feeder for the front yard for the quail and doves. We walked the dogs, too, which is always a gamble once it gets hot. Sonny, the boy basset, had a bad vet visit his last time out. Chunky, if you will. After walking daily for 3 weeks, he's back in fighting trim. Boom.

And now, in lieu of content, have a hot guy

Also, Teamwork is out at ARE, Amazon and B&N

More dragons, more Elemental Ops action, more Keon and Ice

Check it out here on ARE

Better day tomorrow

XXOO

Julia

I'm not a joiner- or author promo for introverts

Does this surprise anyone?

When I was in high school I knew to get into the college I wanted, I had to have extra-curricular activities. So I joined the library club. No meetings, just solitary book shelving. When I was in college, I was more likely to be found at midnight with a chosen friend and a bottle of Mad Dog on a playground, talking deep shit or playing Dead Poet's Society.

Lest you think I am woe-is-meing, I love my life. I don't mind being an introvert.

Until it comes time to promote my books.

Ahhhh. Conventions rock, but they're exhausting. I see all these people blog touring and I think wow, go them. How do they have the energy? How do they meet all these people? Grins. Book promo can feel like you're walking uphill both ways to school in the snow. Wahhh.

Okay, that was a little woe-is-me. So how does an introvert learn to market? I try hard to Tweet or like or comment on at least one person I don't really know every day. I try to learn from authors I admire, authors who have this whole promo thing in the bag. I get my Gary Busey on and talk to things, some of which might be people. But mostly I try to write good books.

A good book will get other folks talking for you.

XXOO

Julia

snippet sunday

from my Dawg Days story, upcoming at Torquere

July James aimed his powerful lens at the wolf cavorting in the water. Wolf reintroduction on Grand Mesa was going well, from what he could see. This guy was a huge, healthy male with a glossy gray and black coat. The wet tail waved furiously, the wolf jumping and playing in the cold creek, bouncing as if he was hunting in the snow.

God, that was adorable. July had come to the big flattop mountain in Western Colorado to photograph moose, which were also a successful reintroduction, but this wolf had caught his attention three days ago, and he’d been stalking the silly beast since then.

The only worrisome thing about the big gray was how solitary he seemed. Wolves ran in packs, so why was this one so alone? He didn’t seem to have any rabies symptoms, and God knew he looked healthy. Then again, he wasn’t wearing any kind of radio tag, so maybe he was a wandering male.

Still, the pictures were totally worth the extra time he’d have to spend camping so he could get his moose shots, too. There was something about this animal, something that drew him, made him want to fill a dozen memory cards with images.

He brought the camera around to another angle, his eye at the view instead of watching the digital screen. July froze then, because the wolf stopped its play and turned its head to stare at him, right at him, it seemed. Those golden eyes met his, steady and unafraid, and July felt a lot less like a professional photographer and more like a yummy chew toy for those few moments.

Backing off slowly, he packed his camera away, careful to keep one eye on the wolf. Then he moved carefully toward the main trail, which would have enough foot traffic during these summer months to deter the wolf from following him. His heart slammed against his ribcage. Damn, he was lucky this particular wolf wasn’t running with a pack and had only himself to protect and feed.

That had been entirely too close.

sleeping bassets

sleeping bassets make everything better

So do library books

hummingbirds

potatoes

a good writing day

XXOO

Julia

Three Musketeers and Julia

The BBC is putting out a new Musketeers show.

Oh, y'all. I have been in love with the Musketeers since I was a kid. D'Artangan can go hang himself, really. He's the least of them, to me. I love Athos with his angsty past, and Aramis with his Lord give me piety but not yet and Porthos with his utter lust for life. I love the literature, but I love the movies even more.

I love Oliver Reed as Athos and Richard Chamblerin as Aramis. My favorite Porthos is Gerard Depardieu, from the 1998 Man in the Iron Mask. I just found out about the 2011 version with Matthew Mcfayden as Athos. Trust me, I have a date with it. The worst D'Artangan is undoubtedly Gene Kelly, dancing his way through France.

I love buckling swashes. I love the clothes and the hair and the heaving boobies. I love that Richelieu has been played by actors as varied as Charlton Heston and Tim Curry. I love sword battles of epic proportions.

If you read any of my historicals, no matter the era, there's probably something of the Three in there. The story stands the test of time, after all.

What are some of y'all's favorite period pieces.

Anyhoo, go look at my website for some fun new stuff. And enter your email address at the bottom to join my newsletter. This month's giveaway is a 25.00 amazon gift card

XXOO

Julia

not so snippet sunday

I should be posting a snippet

It's raining. Cold. I want a nap

Have a puppy

Eeeeeeeeeeeee

Drive Your Truck has sold to Dreamspinner! It's slated for January-ish.

Woo

Julia

Once upon a BDSM

Hey y'all!

I have some exciting stuff coming up! I know a lot of y'all think cowboys, smoke jumpers and shifters when you think Julia. A lot more of you have asked me to give you a little more warning when a Julia book is going to have BDSM in it. I love the genre, but have limited myself to mostly spanking and bondage because much more and it's not a julia book anymore, you know?

So I decided to give myself a new pseudonym to work with. I'll be promoting the books here and on my Julia twitter etc, but when you see Minerva Howe (Minerva was my gran's middle name, Howe is my father-in-law's mom's maiden name, which I love). I think both are appropriate, because both my grnadma and Ms. Howe were way ahead of their time, and in control of their sexuality. I admire that in a woman of any era.

So, with that in mind, I have my first contract as Minerva! Resplendence has accepted my book Chosen Wolf, a story about vampire Paul, who has a pact with a pack of werewolves. Each generation, Paul gets a new Guardian from the pack. In return, he gives some of his blood to the pack to make them stronger. Modern werewolves, though, aren't sure Paul even exists, and Brantley is certainly not going to give up his comfy life to be someone's wolfy bottom boy. Right?

Check out RSP here. My books is slated for release in July!

Yay!

XXOO

Julia

Can't be in NOLA at the big RT booksigning?

Yeah, me either

Here, have a NOLA moment anyway

XXOO

Julia

TBT

Dream Dice is out tomorrow

Torquere has my Dream Dice coming out tomorrow!

Don't forget to go get it! I'll remind you and put up a buy link asap( Edited: click here to buy!)

What's your favorite roleplaying/board/dice/card game. Heck, what's your favorite drinking game? Name one in the comments and win a chance at a free copy of my earlier gaming title, Under the Moon!

XXOO

Julia

New releases!

hey y'all

Elemental Ops 2: Teamwork is out at Changeling Press. Did you know?|

Ice and Keon are working to protect their dragon charges, while Ice's elemental ops team shows up to help. Problems is, the guys keep bonding with the dragons!

Find it here!

Right now it's only available at Changeling, but they have all the formats and it's so easy to email stuff to your Kindle!

Coming this Wednesday from Torquere I have Dream Dice.

Thayer buys a set of gaming dice at comicon. He doesn't count on them being magical, or on them leading him to his very own barbarian, Erlich.

check it out on Wednesday at www.torquerepress.com. I'll put the cover up on Wednesday!

XXOO

Julia

From the Dreamspinner meet

Me, Amy Lane, BA Tortuga

KC Wells and me

Me and BA and Andrew Grey

Portland's Chinatown

Our yarn stash from Knit and Purl in Portland

XXOO

Julia

My new tagline

Hey y'all! After talking around with a bunch of writers and readers, I changed my tagline. I know, it seems like a tiny thing, but I finally feel like I found one that really means something to me.

Love the skin you're in.

Partly I chose this because I write shifters. Lots of them. When I'm not writing shifters, I write a lot of people who wear a unifrom or a costume for a living, whether it's a cowboy or a cop or a military man or a BDSM club worker. All of these things translate to the skin you wear.

But I also chose this line because for the first time in years, I'm free to be happy in my own skin. I'm out to all my friends and family. I'm free to marry my girl and she can marry me. We're not beholdin' to anyone else but our dogs. I love my life.

So I couldn't think of better tagline for me.

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

Here's a bit from my upcoming release from Changeling Press, due out Friday.

"Did you call your team?" Keon asked Ice, who sat next to him on the floor.

"Uh-huh. They're coming. You look like shit, baby." Those icy blue eyes moved over him, Ice obviously worried.

"I'm a little drained." He patted Ice's leg, listening to Damien rumble. His dragon was furious -- both because of the small army of soldiers waiting in the town at the base of the mountains for Sergei to return, which you know, tough to do after being reduced to a grease spot, and because someone had been in the keep, had tried to hurt the babies.

No one hurt his clutch. No one.

Ice tugged him up and stood, lifting him. "Come on, baby. Jeez, I don't even know where you sleep, really."

"No? What kind of boyfriend are you?" He had to tease. They were more like... dragon-bonded fuckbuddies. Right?

"Uh, well, up 'til now I've always been a sucky one. We'll see how it works with you." Ice's pale eyebrows gyrated. He pointed to the huge doorway that marked his rooms. The bed was huge and soft, the fireplace always blazing.

"Wow. Way nicer than Chi's little sleeping area." Ice put him down on the bed.

"I live here. You were an uninvited guest. Now we'll make sure you're comfortable, too."

"Gonna keep me?" Ice stripped off, reminding Keon that he'd faced the bad guy naked. That had to be macho on his part, right?

"Uh-huh."

"Good deal." Ice grimaced. "My team might be pissed. We just lost one team member a few weeks ago. Now me, as well?"

"How many are coming and are they going to shoot me? I don't like that." It had happened a few times in his tenure as dragon guardian and it wasn't fun.

"No shooting allowed. There should be five. No, four. Spider is the one who left. Jacques, who we call One-Eyed Jack. He's a Cajun. Gig is the tech guy. Shannon is the big Irishman, and there's our surveillance guy, Chino."

"Is Ice your real name?" Had he slept with a man whose name he didn't know? No. No, they hadn't slept at all. They'd fucked.

"No." Ice shrugged. "We all have call signs. Mine is as much my name now as any, I guess."

That explained why little Chi had used that when he and Ice had bonded then. Whatever name Ice used for himself was the name baby dragon Chi would understand.

"My name is really just Keon, just like my father and my grandfather."

"No shit? I'm not named after anyone. I was three months old when someone dropped me off at a local Catholic church." Ice sounded so matter-of-fact.

"I was taken to learn how to take care of the babies at five, but life was different then." The middle of the nineteenth century had seen many children pressed into labor and he'd been lucky, blessed.

"I guess so. How have you lived so long, man? Not to be nosy, but, well, I am nosy."

"It's the dragons. They can't live without their bonded, so we live as long as they do. You'll live until Chi dies and he has hundreds of years left to him."

"Wow." Ice seemed to mull that over, chewing his lower lip. "What about Damien?"

"He's in his prime. We have at least six hundred good years before we start to get tired." And then they'd settle in, spend a near eternity quiet and lazy. Maybe he'd get fat.

"Holy shit." Ice blinked, vibrating a little, his skin going two shades paler. "That's... Seriously?"

"As far as I know, yes. I mean, accidents happen, but when the couple I replaced went to ground, they'd been active for nearly a millennium." Was that bad?

Ice grunted like he'd been hit. Huh. Maybe it was a lot to take in.

The boys are dragon guardians and elementals, and they have a ball protecting their charges.

Find them here!

Coming soon!

I have two books coming out in May. Dream Dice is out May 15 (cover is still pending approval) and it's a wee novella about a gaming geek who buys a set of magical dice at a comicon and ends up with his very own barbarian.

Then I also have Elemental Ops: Teamwork, which I think might come out a week from today O.O -- Just saw it on the coming soon. I knew it was May but didn't know it was this next week.

Here's the cover for it.

You can find it here!

Don't forget to go buy it next Friday. I'll remind you then! Teamwork is the sequel to Elemental Ops: Ice, which has elementals, dragons, and some hot lovin'. That one is here.

You can also find it on Amazon and ARE!

XXOO

Julia

Recap of the Dreamspinner meetup in Portland, or the Why are you here trip

Spent Friday through Monday in Portland, Oregon, for the DSP author meetup.

First off, I have to say that while Portland is lovely, it's wet. Really wet. I think my girl and I might the only folks on earth who got to the Pacific Northwest and went ahhhh, too green. Too many trees!

Still, we managed to get out and tourist a bit, which I'll revisit in a bit.

Anyhoodles, Friday morning we went to the opening talk with the owner and head editor of DSP. I'd never met either of them, and they're a hoot. Everyone knew who BA was, thanks to Terms of Release coming out a month or so ago. Me, though, no one could quite place. I have a short out with DSP, and a long novella in with their submissions, so I wanted to see what was what with their authors and staff. It was kinda funny, how people would look at my badge and frown, trying to place me.

Despite that, everyone was dear. Truly kind. The opening talks saw us sitting with Andrew Grey and Amy Lane, who I love to see, and who I missed meeting up with at Coastal Magic in Florida thanks to the big ice storm in Dallas. We got to hear about the ins and outs of the business side, which was fascinating, and then disaster struck in the form of a migraine for BA. It was off to the room for sleep and meds, so we missed the YA talk and such, but you can't predict a migraine, right?

The cocktail party was a total blast that night, though. Everyone but us dressed to the nines, though comfort was paramount it seemed. None of the corsets popped up that you see at big cons. Therefore, no boobs popped up. Ha!

The next day, Ariel Tachna and JP Barnaby talked social media and marketing. I got some great tips on how not to be a jerk, which I know I sometimes can be when I'm grumpy. Grins. Not kidding. The do not engage rule is a good one. I also learned a lot about blog hops.

That afternoon we skipped out and went on walking tour. Found chocolate and coffee and Mama Mia's trattoria. Yum. BA tried cioppino for the first time. I had scampi.

Spent a good bit of Sunday chatting with Devon Rhodes and Charley Descoteaux, which was fun! They went on to the Gay NW group meeting, while BA and I went back to Karam, a Lebanese place that had GF falafel and pita. Uhn.

Monday was spent at Powells. Y'all. A city block long bookstore. We bought so much we had to ship it home.

All in all, while I'm not sure it helped utz my book up any farther in the submissions queue (grins) I am pretty happy I got to hang with KC Wells, Andrew, Amy, Devon, Ariel, Charley, the awesome Serena Yates and many others. It was a good time, and I will definitely be thinking of Orlando in February!

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

started a new story for an anthology I'm super excited about. More on it later, but here's a teaser.

“Aleksy, I need you over at table four.”

Aleks glanced at his boss, who looked cool as a cucumber even though the damned air conditioning had gone out the day before and no one had been around to fix it. He supposed the heat made them all gleam a little more, made them look oiled and sexy.

He just hoped to hell he didn’t stink.

“Why’s that?” he asked. He had a gaggle of ladies at table six who wanted him to hang around for bottle service and musical grinding. They looked to be a huge tip, so he hated to abandon them.

“Special request.” Katia curled her lip at him, a hint of happy revenge in her expression. He had turned her down after she hired him, and while she’d taken it gracefully, she liked to put him in the most uncomfortable situations she could.

Hence taking him away from a great guaranteed tip and giving him to a private table that could only seat two, at best.

Sergy sighed, but nodded. He liked his job at Faster Bobcat, and he had no to lose it by being petulant. The place was classy and the ladies rarely got grabby hands. He made some of the best money in Vegas off the strip. His boss wasn’t bitchy, but she could be a little grumpy once in a while.

He dropped off the bottle and introduced Carlo, who would take his place at the table. “Sorry, ladies,” he replied to the good-natured chorus of negatives. “Duty calls. Carlo will take good care of you.”

Then he squared his shoulders, made sure his tiny shorts covered his junk, and headed for table four.

The shadowy form sitting in the deeply recessed booth resolved itself into a strikingly handsome man with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes. Dressed in an impeccable silk shirt and gabardine trousers, the long, well-made body made Aleksy’s belly tighten. Pretty.

His boss thought he’d turned her down because she wasn’t pretty enough or something, so she was punishing him with a male client. Thing was, Aleksy had turned her down because he was queer, so this wasn’t punishment at all.

XXOO

Julia

copyright 2014 Julia Talbot

Long week

Sorry for the radio silence. Been a long, if amazing, week. So excited to be at the DSP meet in Portland

XXOO

Julia

Happy Easter!

XXOO

Julia

TGIF

The Bloodrose World

Hey, y'all,

I'm very excited to have a bunch of my Bloodrose shorts re-release. They came out Wednesday last at Torquere, and I'm tickled pink to have them all in one neat volume.

When club Bloodrose first came to me, it was only a secondary character. Y'all who know me know I love to start a story in the middle. Whomp. Welcome to Oz, we left Kansas a whole tornado ago. I did that with the Werewolf Code. (Dude, y'all need to suggest a new cover for that one). I put in a little bit during TWC about how Deke and Kasey met at the Bloodrose, and about how it was during an auction.

Then Elisa Rolle told me I had to write the auction. So I did. That was An Itch to Scratch.

Now Jonny has a story and a spinoff that Sean Michael and BA Tortuga help with called Cereus.

I love this world, y'all.

The reprint book has all new content, too, an encounter between Jonah and Cady, who have been at the Rose for years.

Woo.

Buy it here!

XXOO

Julia

snippet sunday

Just a wee bit from a short I'm writing for a call that shall remain nameless as of yet:

(copyright 2014 Julia Talbot)

“Your Highness, Mistress Serena is here to measure you for your robes of state.” Martha bustled over to her, fluttering slightly.

“Most excellent.” She had not seen Serena since the lady had moved into the palace, and while she loved her one new gown, the softness of the cloth left her even more unwilling to assume regular attire. She spent all of her time alone in the nude, waiting for Serena to make her another dress.

“Are you certain she isn’t a charlatan?” Martha fussed with this pleat and that ruffle of Althea’s gown, her face creased in a frown.

Althea slapped her hands away as gently as she could. “You see the quality of her cloth. See her in and leave us.”

“Yes, Highness.” Martha gave her a mutinous glare, but left her, leaving the door open just enough for Serena to slip through, a tailor’s bag in her hands.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness.” Serena dipped into a low curtsey.

Althea all but growled at her. “You know, up until a few moons ago, no one called me that. I was Princess Althea, which at least meant I knew someone knew my name.”

Serena stared at her for a long moment. “If her Highness gave permission, then in private, I might call her by name.”

“Yes.” Althea lit up with happiness at the idea. “My name is Althea.”

“Althea. Take your dress off, Althea, so I can measure you.”

“I—“ She faltered. “Latch the door first?”

Serena raised a brow. “Surely any number of courtiers have seen you in your shift. I did, the first time I came here.”

Her cheeks heated, the flush traveling all the way to her breasts, heat prickling under Serena’s fabric. “I am not wearing one. They feel rough and awful after the touch of your cloth.”

“Ah.” Serena’s lashes lowered, but her lips curved into a smile she could not hide. “I often feel the same.” Moving quickly, Serena went to latch the door. “Your guards will not try to break in, I hope.”

“Not unless I call for them.”

“Then I will give you no reason to. Here, let me help you.” Swift, sure hands lifted the dress away from Althea’s body, and she shivered, her bare nipples drawing up from the cold draft in the room.

Althea fought crossing her arms over her body. She had no reason to feel shame; she was well-made, with womanly breasts and hips, her thighs round and strong.

Serena stepped back to stare at her, lips pursed, arms crossed under her breasts. “Mmm. Lovely. I have a new weaving almost completed, and I cannot wait to tailor it to you.”

“Will it appear purple, like the robes of state?”

“It will.” From her bag Serena pulled a roll of twine with markings placed in ink along its length. “Raise your arms.”

Spreading her feet a touch for balance, Althea lifted her arms over her head, feeling brazen.

“You have a wonderful form, lady. Far fairer than my last patron, God rest her soul.”

“She died?”

“Oh, she was nearly eighty. Now, let me just—“ Serena leaned close to wrap the twine around her back, cheek brushing hers a moment.

Breath caught her chest, Althea froze in place, like a small animal caught by a predator’s gaze. Their breasts pressed together, and the tips of hers grew harder, pushing out, the skin puckering up.

“Your pardon, Althea.” Serena sounded breathless, as if she were exerting herself.

XXOO

Julia

Authors After Dark is coming QUICKLY and OMG this year is going to be INSANE!

As always AAD is about the readers, and the amount of awesome we have put together for you this year, you would be INSANE not to attend….

First, our amazing Master of Ceremonies is none other than Alexandra Ivy! She will be doing a cool little event to celebrate your favorite gargoyle, Levet on Friday! Wanna know more? Check out the FB group where Alex will be talking about the awesome that she has going on!

Torquere authors BA Tortuga and Julia Talbot and Kiernan Kelly will be Sponsoring our Welcome event, the Midnight Rodeo… And it looks like We will have some VERY COOL goodies and… Riding… happening… *SNICKER*

How about Parties? This year we have a special event called the Leather and Lace Ball! Curious? We thought so! Take a ride on the wild side and let your inhibitions fly with five New York Times Bestselling Authors of erotic romance. Cuffs and corsets encouraged.

With:

J. Kenner, Liliana Hart, Carly Phillips, Janelle Denison, Jasinda Wilder and Lorelei James

The ladies will be talking more about this on the FB group starting soon!

New for 2014 is the Paranormal Party! Join over 20 Paranormal authors who will be giving away goodies, some books and hanging out with you to snack and chat! Wanna know what authors are involved? You will have to join the FB group to see!

And of course, we have the amazing Masquerade Ball! This year it’s the SINS AND VIRTUES BALL! Are you a sin or a virtue? Join us for a wild costumed event! Prizes for the best costumes, including a 200$ gift certificate to Lori Ann Costumes!

Your Sins and Virtues Sponsors:

Sin Lust
Boone Brux
Opal Carew

Sin Pride
BA Tortuga
Andrew Grey

Sin Envy
Stella Price
TJ Michaels

Sin Gluttony
Desiree Holt
Saranna DeWylde

Sin Greed
Ann Mayburn
Heather Long

Sin Sloth
Lizzie T. Leaf
Julie Morgan

Sin Wrath
Stacey Kennedy
Marianne Morea

Virtue Charity
Kerry Adrienne
Trista Ann

Virtue Chastity
Jenn LeBlanc
Annabel Jospeh

Virtue Humility
Milly Taiden
Donna McDonald

Virtue Kindness
CJ Ellisson
Alexandra Ivy

Virtue Temprance
J. Kenner
Sidney

Virtue Diligence
Denise Grover Swank
Jenna McCormick

Virtue Patience
Lousia Bacio
Kallypso masters

And if THAT isn’t enough awesome that will be going on… This year we have an amazing off site costumed event… the Ladies on the Green event sponsored by the AAD Anachronistic Society! This will be an hour and a Half on the famous GREEN in Charlotte (a half block from the hotel). It will be a Costumed event (though Costumes are not required they are encouraged!) to celebrate Gothic, Victorian, steampunk dark historical literature! Your hosts will be: Sahara Kelly, Amanda McIntyre, Leanna Renee Hieber, A.L. Davroe and S.A. Price. Prizes and readings will happen, as well as photo ops!

And NEVER forget the Amazing Open bar with Mel Schroeder and friends! They have SO MUCH awesome set up for you just before the Bookies… you do NOT wanna miss that!

Getting excited yet? How about some info on the AWESOME mini events we have going on? Ready?

On Wed. Night,  Join Sasha White and Joey W. Hill for a wild party and Q&A, Also, the Blind Date Book Party will be open to start your con right! (If you have never done a BDBP, you are MISSING out! You need to attend, Get your blind date book, find the author that wrote it, and hang out with them!)

Thursday?  Panels up the wazoo, and the Bookie Awards----- goodies and books to be given out! The hangout with The GNO girls lead by CJ Ellisson and Boone Brux for some crazy fun! And if that wasn’t enough?  Readings and a Blogger Sleepover party as well!

Friday? More panels, a games carnival with Nina Gooden and Pals, Name that Author with Cat Johnson, and some other fun surprises!

Saturday? A few panels, the Big ass booksigning with 100 authors,  the Cowboy Stampede party, the Readers Mad Tea Party with Hildie McQueen, An after the bookies event with a special publisher sponsor, And Jess Michaels’ Birthday extravaganza!

SEE? SO MUCH AWESOME! All the authors that are involved with parties will be talking about their involvement on the FB group, so join up and get ready to rock.

Oh? You say you’re not registered for AAD yet? You need to be! All registrants get put in the hat for the welcome party prizes, and these prizes are AMAZING! Breakfast with authors, Booze and Books, side trips to Carrowwinds…. We have a minimum of 90 special prizes…. So…

You need to rock this con! And as if this wasn’t enough…. AAD will be giving away something really awesome to registrants…. Wanna know what?

How about 5 VIP registrations for THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE 2015 in LAS VEGAS? YES… 5!

And…

How about this… If we hit 100 more registrations from TODAY April 10^th to June 10^th, we will give away 2 AAD registrations for 2015…  2!!!!! So get registered, get your room and get ready for one HELL of an amazing year with us!

 JOIN US! WE CANT WAIT TO HANGOUT WITH YOU!

AAD REGISTRATION

Crafting a sex scene, Julia Style

I have a confession to make.

I like to write sex. Sometimes editors tell me I didn't need a sex scene here or there because it doesn't move the story along. Sometimes reviewers say my book was all sex, no plot. The biggest blow recently was for an erotica editor to tell me that the sex was pleasant but not erotic. O.O

Ouch

So I've been doing a lot of looking lately at how I craft a sex scene. I'm actually very organic about it. I put the characters in question together, and they tell me if they're talking or fucking. Sometimes talking is fucking. I write a lot of men. Men communicate better physically. In a menage, my boys are often together and talking about their girl, which makes them horny enough to just go for it.

I do take into account how sex moves the story more in my sweeter romances. In my erotic ones, I know people are looking for sex, so I put a scene in when the characters are together and horny. I try hard to vary what happens, but characters have their own kinks, just as we do, right?

The time for craft in a sex scene, for me, is during re-writes. When the editors get involved, I start to tailor them to house style or to their reading audience's taste. This is where I get to see repetition, or if this scene allows them to learn about each other.

So what about you? Do you like lots or little? Do you want sex to be organic and fun or just move the plot forward?

I want to know! Tell me and win a copy of Literary Lover, my self-pubbed short.

XXOO

Julia

Sunday snippet

I needed to write this for the Changeling Flash Fiction challenge. Needed to. The prompt was your roommate is a werewolf, vamp or ghost.

“Damn it, who chewed up the newspaper?” The full moon brought out the worst in Elan, who chewed, scratched, and made a mess. At least he was house-trained.

“That was Tom.” Elan grinned from where he lay naked on the couch, a study in muscle and rough hair. He looked like something off a bear board at Pinterest. He made Sean’s fangs ache. “Got frustrated with only being able to watch these days.”

“Very funny.” Tom appeared through the wall, making them both start. “I’m figuring out this manifesting thing. The paper was an experiment. Though watching has always been my thing.”

“Yes, well, it’s not as if I can go get another while it’s sunny. Whatever will I do to pass the time? I hate to be bored.”

Both ghost and werewolf advanced on him. “We can think of something,” Elan said.

Sean grinned. Oh, he certainly hoped so.

M, the publisher at CP, now says I have to write her the whole story

XXOO

Julia

I messed up my schedule

I was supposed to do April Fool's day on Tuesday. Today the pictoral. Well, I don't like April Fool's day, so no wonder I blocked it out

This morning it snowed. O.O

If that's not an April joke, I don't know what is.

XXOO

Julia

How I react to reviews, a pictoral

I see a new review. If it's 3 or more stars, I'm all:

If it's less than that, I'm more:

Inevitably, even in a good review, someone says my obviously HEA was HFN, or that the book had too much sex, or not enough, or that it had too much plot or not enough or the sex wasn't erotic, and that leaves me

I start to feel like I'm the only one, even if I know better

In the end, my reaction always leaves me feeling like this

So, thia is why I try not to read even my good reviews too much ;)

XXOO

Julia

All images purchased from Shutterstock

Snippet Sunday

From the MS I'm sending to Dreamspinner tomorrow! Called Drive Your Truck.

Woo

Panting, Walt rested, letting his head fall back against Garrison’s shoulder. “Christ, I needed that.”

“Oh, yeah.” Garrison kissed the place where Walt’s neck and shoulder joined. “That rocked. Thanks.”

“Yeah. No problem.” He chuckled, his muscles shaking when he pushed up, letting Garrison’s cock slide free of his hole. “We, uh, ought to get back to the wake, huh?”

“I guess we should.” Garrison sighed. “We ought to hang that chandelier for your sister.”

“We should.” Walt crawled off the bed, not wanting to look Garrison in the eye. This was the awkward part, the after hook-up, not knowing where to look part.

“Hey,” Garrison said, standing and grabbing his shoulder, spinning him around as neatly as one of those dancers from that TV show. Garrison pulled him close, hugging him tight for a long, long moment. “Thank you.”

The move eased something in Walt’s chest, and he hugged back, letting Garrison know he was okay. “You’re welcome, man. Any time.”

The strange thing was it wasn’t just a platitude.

Walt meant it.

Copyright 2014 Julia Talbot

My craziest ideas

werecrocodiles

were bassets

a vampire who trains guide dogs

ghost rider cowboys

BDSM-loving cowboy

A het story with a human woman and an alien

a fire elemental and a hit man

m/m/m with native American shifters. Coyote, raven, turtle

a menswear designer and a vampire male supermodel

Which one of these have I actually written?

Tell me and get a chance at a 10.00 Torquere GC

XXOO

Julia

Throwback Tuesday

Today I want to spread the love for Tomb of the God King. Click here to link!

This one is an odd one for me, but it's the one book all the authors I know have read. You know, when you're sitting around at cons introducing yourself and they say, hey, I know you. You did that Tomb book. I love that it has a custom, hand drawn cover, that it's first person, and that it's my homage to Lovecraft and H Rider Haggard (King Solomon's Mines). I love penny dreadfuls and Weird Tales. And first person? That shit is tough, y'all. Only knowing what one character knows writing the whole novel! And Christian isn't the most reliable witness, I'm telling you.

Here's the blurb

When Christian arrives in Egypt as the man Friday to an eccentric American, he's hoping to get his chance to make history and establish his name in archaeology. What he doesn't count on is meeting brash hired gun, Eric Lawless, and falling into an uneasy partnership and ultimately love.

He's not ready for what their digging exposes either, leading him, and Eric, into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where old spirits and older gods lead them on a dance of deception and terror deep in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

Here's that amazing lurid cover

And here's a wee bit to get you going!

“I think it may be a copy.” Wavering, to be sure, but there was something about the map that made me think it had been real at one time.

“So, where is it?”

“Somewhere in the West Valley?”

His brow furrowed even more deeply. “I thought only a few folks was buried in the West Valley.”

“Well, it’s true that most tombs lay in the East Valley, certainly. But this is Egypt. I never rule anything out.”

“Never?”

Something in his tone alerted me, and I looked up just in time to see his face blot out the light in the room when he bent and put his lips to mine.

Startled, I jumped back, my hand going to my mouth. “What are you about?”

“I thought that was obvious,” he replied, advancing.

“But this is, I mean, we have the map to decipher, and really, it’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? I promise, you can leave right after and pretend to be virtuous and all.”

“You self-righteous bastard, I left last night because I knew it was unwise, what we did. I have never claimed false virtue.” Leaving the map on the small bedside table I stalked to him and put a hand to the middle of his chest, shoving him hard.

“No? You sure acted like you had the moral high ground this morning, with my boss.” His gray eyes went dark, storms rolling in them. “He reamed me but good.”

“Well, you deserved it. You were a churl this morning.” I poked him in the chest again. “That was why I was so upset.”

“Well, then,” he said, putting his hands on my arms to pull me closer. “Let me apologize.”

His kiss bruised me, pressing my lips back against my teeth. The sting had me gasping, had me pressing forward to get more, my arms going up about his neck. I am not good at self-denial, no, indeed.

We kissed harder and harder, his tongue invading my mouth to taste me, rubbing against my tongue in the most suggestive manner. It had my prick hardening, my hips moving in a rhythm as old as time, already too aroused to last long.

“Oh, Chrissy, you’re something else.”

“Stop calling me that ridiculous name.”

He grinned wildly, kissing me again, backing me toward the bedstead. The sense of unreality was huge; so was the sense of déjà vu. He had herded me about last night like a sheepdog with a lamb.

Determined to take a more active role, I pushed him about and shoved him down on the bed. The studs on his shirt gave way easily, one of them dropping to the floor and rolling off under the bed. The tiny ping distracted me just enough that he could grab my bottom and pull me up against him, his teeth sharp and hard at my throat.

“Stop. I want to get these off.” Tugging at his shirt, I managed to get the thin linen off his shoulders, baring his not-inconsiderable charms. The planes of his chest fascinated me, and I traced them with my fingers, the difference between rough hair and soft skin utterly lovely. His nipples stood in hard little points, stiff and hot.

I touched those little bits of flesh, rubbing my thumbs over them and smiling when he gasped for me. “Yes. Oh, that’s lovely.”

“Decided to invest fully tonight, did you?”

“I invested full last night as long as we still…well.”

“Uh-huh.”

If he did not shut it quickly, he would make me angry, so I kissed him again, closing my eyes and sinking into him. The silence broke with the beating of my heart, and with his moan, shockingly deep in the sudden quiet.

I touched him wherever I could, and he struggled with my clothing. I fear I was no help, twisting and turning to taste more of him, all of him.

Finally he pinned me down with one hand, using the other to strip me nude, until I lay there exposed to him, a little shocked at the feel of it. I had not his breadth of chest, or length of leg, but I represented well, with muscles built through years of digging.

Thanks for reading! Look for it on ARE and Amazon, too!

XXOO

Julia

Music and the Muse- A Guest Post from BA Tortuga

Hey y’all!

My Girl was willing to let me take over her blog today to talk about my book coming out from Dreamspinner Press. It’s called Terms of Release, and I’m so proud of it I could bust.

I know a lot of y’all know I make playlists. Terms of Release was actually inspired by a Brantley Gilbert song called Modern Day Prodigal Son. Mouse over the title for link to lyrics.

The song was Sage to me, my poor boy who got in over his head and paid for it dearly. It’s not him now, but it was then. He left home, wild and crazy and young and so in love, and it did him dirty. The song works. That and Tim McGraw’s Number 37405.

I would be writing away, listening to those songs and sobbing, and Julia would look at me and roll her eyes. Not kidding.

It took a long time for me to find a song for Sage’s new lover Win. I finally settled on Bruises by Pat Monahan and Ashley Monroe. If there’s anyone who can relate to living in a small town that’s keeping him down, to meeting someone he barely remembers from high school and not wanting to let them go again, it’s Win.

Music is a huge part of writing for me. Hell, if I couldn’t be a romance writer, I’d go to Nashville and write songs. Two different skills, which is why it’s tough to do both at the same time. I’m not real well-suited to Nashville anyway, and God knows I’ve done Austin, which is my other music option. I reckon I’ll stick to romances in New Mexico, and listening to songs I swear people tailor-wrote for my boys.

Here's the blurb:

They say a man can always come home. So after doing hard time, Sage Redding heads to his family’s northeast Texas ranch to help his ailing daddy with the cutting horses.

Adam (Win) Winchester is a county deputy and the cousin of one of the men killed in the incident that sent Sage to prison for almost a decade. While Win's uncles, Jim and Teddy, are determined to make Sage and the entire Redding family pay for their loss, Win just figures Sage has paid his dues and maybe needs a friend. Maybe he needs more than a friend. In fact, Win’s counting on it.

No one’s denying Sage is an ex-con who went to prison for manslaughter. Regardless of the love he has for his father, he’s returned knowing things will likely go badly for him. Maybe a man can always come home, but he may not be able to stay.

Terms of Release is available for pre-order here.

The link won’t change when it’s for sale for sale tomorrow, so go forth and get it!

I hope y’all love this book as much as I do, and I welcome reader comments at batortuga at gmail.com

Much love, y’all

BA Tortuga www.batortuga.com

TGIF

Get a grip folks. It's almost the weekend.

XXOO

Julia

Image from Shutterstock

weird things about Julia

I thought you guys might occasionally like to know weird facts about me

Today I will tell you deep, dark secrets.

I love a lot of the new country music out there, but I miss the fiddle. I love country fiddle, and no one has a fiddle it their band anymore. Sad Julia.

I almost always make a typo on "he's" and make it "He'd". I have to edit myself every time.

I can't walk in a straight line when I'm sober. When I'm drunk, I am solid as a rock.

I dislike spiders. A lot. I killed one last night and felt very very brave

I always wanted to be an equestrian. I know how to ride, but I wanted to be a graceful show jumper. I, uh, am not graceful.

My favorite romance writer was supposed to be at RT last year and she was a no show. I have not re-read one of her books since.

I want someone to make a gluten free pizza that tastes like Pizza Hut

I love to get emails and comments and stuff. I do! I'm socially inept but eager!

I need to go take a nap. Now

More later!

XXOO

Jullia

Snippet sunday for Sean Michael

crimson jumping spatula Kenji is briefly in my upcoming release from TQ called Dream Dice

Crimson drops of dye and water were jumping on the drum while Kenji beat it with the spatula. He had lost his drumsticks somewhere in the move, and he couldn't afford new ones right now. Too bad he'd spent all his money on moving to a new apartment since his roomie Thayer had disappeared. A missing persons, a police investigation and a near arrest later, he had decided to move on. To the beach. Now he had a patio with a drum kit and a sheet he was painting with the dye so he could hang it as a curtain.

If he ever saw Thayer again, he was gonna punch the man in the face harder than any taiko drum he'd ever struck.

XXOO

Julia

My process blog hop

Super thanks to Kiernan Kelly for getting me involved in this blog hop! She always inspires me. http://caferisque.blogspot.com She’s funny and fun to talk to and always has the best ideas.

What am I working on?

Right now I’m working on a geek boy who buys magic dice at a convention and ends up with a barbarian, a menage mmf with a magic book releasing a trapped demon, and a weretiger and wereleopard for Full Moon Dating, a series I write for Torquere Press. I love my Full Moon Dating boys, but the best part for me of that series is the folks who own the business. Harve and Stone are hot for each other, and Adelia wants to watch. Nothing seems to go right for them, though.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’ve been told a lot that I write everyday dudes, even when they’re paranormals. That my guys are guys and my girls are just everyday girls, and that I like people. It shows, I think. I eavesdrop a lot, and try to have my characters facing what all people face in the great scheme of things. Even an all-powerful vampire can be less than confident when they’re in love.

Why do I write what I do?

I have always been a romance fan. I started reading in my teens, when authors like Nora Roberts were still writing for Silhouette and Harlequin. I loved the whole idea of the genre, of giving romance readers a safe place to fantasize. Then I discovered erotic romance, and m/m, and all bets were off. I was off and running and loving every minute of it. The last ten years or so my mission is to prove that love is love, no matter the genders or sexuality involved.

How does your writing process work?

Oh, I would love to say I’m a planner. I am more so than I used to be, but in general I still say, hey, what if this guy did X and this one did Y and this girl said oooh and this one said no way and—

Pantser. I admit it. I have gotten far better at re-writes, though. Sometimes an editor will say, you need to deepen the emotion and I go, huh? But that just proves I have the emotional depth of a teaspoon. Thankfully, I have friends and family who can read editor comments and say, she means you need more oomph. The big problem with re-writes is how long it takes to get an edit after I finish a story. Trust me, six months later, I have forgotten.

What was the question?

So. Hugs to Kiernan for letting me ramble. I tag JS Wayne, who needs to get me a blog link!

XXOO

Julia www.juliatalbot.com

Throwback Thursday- NSFW

Hey y'all

I wanted to feature an older story today, one I love from start to finish.

The chronological first tale in the Bloodrose series, An Itch to Scratch is about Deke, a werewolf with a real jones for feeding vampires. He decides to offer himself for auction at an exclusive club called the Bloodrose to pay for a membership there. A vamp named Kasey thinks Deke might be just what he needs, and sexy hotness ensues.

Here's a wee excerpt!

“Hey,” the man rumbled, his voice like coffin lids banging in a deep, deep tomb. “I’m Jonas. I’m here to explain the process while Cady goes to town on your hairy ass.”

“No waxing,” Deke protested automatically, wanting that to be very clear.

Cady laughed, the sound as light and airy as Jonas’ voice was dense and heavy. “No waxing. No manscaping, even, since you don’t have a unibrow.”

That had his cheeks flushing. “I plucked it.”

“Go you. Jonas?”

“Right. Go for it, Cady.”

The kid started pulling at his clothes, but Deke could hardly pay attention to that when Jonas started rattling off instructions. “You’ll be taken to the auction chamber in a robe. The room is soundproof and the areas beyond it are dark to protect the bidders’ privacy. For your protection, they can’t touch you, talk to you, or ask you to do anything.”

“Ow!” Deke glared at Cady, who had roughly shoved his legs closed to get his jeans down and off. “A robe.”

“Yes. Once you’re in the chamber, you’re to remove the robe and hand it through to Cady, who will keep it for you until the auction is over.”

“Okay, then what?” He held his arms up when Cady insisted, his shirt going flying.

“Then you make sure you give a good twenty seconds to each panel of the room, which are viewing windows. Count it off in your head. After that, you’re welcome to just stand there, or really ham it up.”

Oink, oink. No way was he going to flex and shake his ass for a bunch of strangers. “Will it disappoint them if I just stand there?”

“Nah,” Cady said, patting his ass in a friendly way. “There’s no way you’ll disappoint with what you’re packing, stud.”

Jesus. The whole thing had started to take on a real sense of unreality. His nipples were tight, though, and his cock was growing, so it was hard to deny how this was turning him on.

Jonas’ nostrils flared, and the man licked his pretty lips, eyes glowing a little in the soft light. “You’ll do fine. The bidding can last anywhere from five minutes to an hour. Depends on who wants you and how bad.”

A wet washcloth slapped against his belly, Cady working it up across his torso. Fuck, that felt clammy.

“And after the auction?” Deke laughed sharply, Cady’s touch under his arms tickling horribly.

“You’ll get to meet your new mentor in a private, but monitored, setting, just to make sure everyone is getting along. Jonny will be watching your meet personally.”

“Too bad,” Cady murmured, running the wet cloth over Deke’s privates. “Jonas and I could do a good job watching you, and enjoy it, too. Should I use any enhancements, Jonas?”

“Enhancements?” That sounded ominous.

Jonas smiled, showing a lot of teeth. “Nipple clamps, plugs, cock rings. Up to you, really, but sometimes it helps raise the price.”

His cock jumped happily at the idea of a plug. “Yeah? Well, clamps and shit aren’t my thing, but I could go for a plug. Might as well reflect my real tastes, huh?”

“Smart man.” Jonas waved a hand, and Cady bounced, getting a new cloth and cleaning Deke’s ass very thoroughly. “Something big enough to keep in, small enough to be comfortable, huh, Cady?”

“You bet. Okay, into the bath.”

Time it was all said and done, Deke felt like a steamed lobster mixed with a groomed poodle. His skin shone with oil, and even his teeth had been brushed for him. Christ. All the time his cock stayed hard, too, so he couldn’t even say he didn’t like it.

“Now for the plug, huh?” Cady was getting breathless, the front of his faded jeans tenting out.

“Yeah.” Deke gave the kid a squeeze. “You like your job, huh?”

“Well, duh. Why else would I be here? Jonas and I get to play once you’re in the box.”

The box. Yeah, this was sounding more and more stupid all the time. Cady pulled a case out of one of the armoires that lined the wall, showing him a black plug that would fit him perfectly. The kid was a natural.

“How much oil do you like?”

“Not too much. I like the friction.” It sounded like he was saying, ‘I like bananas,’ or something. Casual, but for the frogginess of his voice.

“Oh, good.” Cady used a tiny bit of lube on the damned thing before pushing it into Deke’s body with a surprisingly deft touch. “Ta da. All ready, huh?”

A low chime sounded, a red light coming on above the door to the dressing room. “Perfect timing, too,” Jonas said. “The very first thing your new patron will ask is for you to provide a safeword. Think hard about what you want, okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” He cleared his throat, his cock suddenly trying to shrink up a bit.

“Don’t be nervous,” Cady said, wrapping him in the robe and reaching between its edges to stroke Deke’s cock back to full hardness. “They’re gonna love you.”

Shit. Deke sure as hell hoped so. There wasn’t any going back now. His ass muscles clenched around the plug, giving his body a little pulse of pleasure.

Looked like it was time to go play.

You can find kasey and Deke here at Torquere Books XXOO

Julia

How do I choose a shifter?

Hey, y'all, I'm Julia, and I'm addicted to were-creatures.

I have a lot of people ask me how I choose what kind of shifter to write about. I started out with wolves, because that was the norm at the time, and because they have this built-in social structure. All these societal rules. They're rarely solitary, and their territories are well-defined. All of that makes it easier to relate them to being human, and to helping them blend in with the largely urban society we've become.

The more I wrote shifters, though, the more I wanted to stretch my boundaries. I've written foxes and bears, tigers and mountain lions. I have to admit, I rarely write non-predator animals. Deer, horses, etc. I just don't see them surviving long. And I have to find the animal aesthetically pleasing. I mean, I could write a were-komodo dragon, but ew. Drool. Toxic drool.

Tigers are loners, really, so when I write them I feel like I need to make them social awkward. Bears amuse me, even as I marvel at their awesome physical powers. So, like in Bar None, the anthology I did with BA Tortuga, Sean Michael and Kiernan Kelly, my bear bartender Seamus is sexy and silly, powerful and clumsy.

I love to study animal behavior and pick weird and wonderful shifters.

comment with your favorite and I'll pick one reader to give an ebook copy of Bar None from Torquere Press

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

Hey y'all!

Here's a bit from a story I have as a WIP right now!

Evgeny snorted. “You’re adorable.”

“I am. Totally. Flexible, too.”

“Mmmhmm. Sensual. Sexual. Amazing.”

Feng preened. All good words. He appreciated a bit of flattery.

Especially from someone like Ev.

“Making it hard to show you around, barys.”

“We have time.”

“Good.”

He stroked Evgeny’s chest, already feeling extremely possessive, petting the heavy curls covering Ev’s skin.

“I like how you touch me.” Ev hoisted him up like he weighed nothing before rising.

“Well, good. It would suck if you didn’t.”

“True.” They went to the bathroom, where Ev got the water going nice and hot. “But I mean I like you more than anyone I’ve met in a very long time. Very fast.”

“Yeah. It’s weird, huh? You think that those computer guys have something?”

“I think maybe they have more than computers.”

“More than computers?” He tugged Ev into the shower.

“Yes.” Ev shrugged. “We’re cats, hmm? Who knows what else is out there?”

“That’s an unnerving thought.”

“Is it?” Grabbing a bottle of liquid body wash, Ev began soaping him up.

“A little.” He wiggled under the touch, flirting a bit.

Evgeny chuckled, the sound a little raw. They had been busy, so maybe Ev needed a drink. Those lips were a little bruised, just like his, Yum.

Evgeny and Feng will be the next Full Moon Dating. Find Aiden and Ben and Coy and Denver at www.torquerebooks.com

XXOO

J

Shout out to my girl

BA Tortuga has a presale at Dreamspinner. http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4776 Terms of Release is her best book yet, y'all. Small town Texas at its best.

What rejection does to a writer

I get asked a lot to talk about rejection. Do I still get rejections, how do they affect what I do, etc.

I guess if Stephen King can bare all about his rejection letters in On Writing, I can do it, too. (If you haven't read that one you should, it's awesome.)

Hi, my name is Julia, and loathe rejection letters.

I used to get a lot of them when I first started out. Well, in the great scheme of things, I had what, a 75% acceptance rate, which is pretty good, but it seemed like I got hundreds. I was writing a lot of erotica back then, not romance, and the market was tough to break into pre-ebook.

Nowadays, I mostly write to deadline on pre-contracted stories. So my rejections have become a tiny percent of what I do. I think that's why, when I get one, it jars me way harder than it used to. The latest one was harsh because it was for an erotica shorts anthology, and I got an immediate (literally five minutes after I sent it) rejection saying, nice, well-written story but the sex wasn't erotic and there was no plot.

Blinks. Now, this is where the paranoia rushes in. Have I fallen out of step with what the market wants? Is it me, or is it that damned Fifty Shades of Bad BDSM syndrome? Do I rail at fate, or bash myself in the head for not working hard to make a plotty tale with lots of dripping body parts. Wait, since when did erotica, especially the kind of literary fun I was going for, require a plot? Arrrrrgh. I can go in agonized circles for hours.

See, this is where I prove that all of us writers have a little special snowflake in us, even though I WORK in publishing and know that not all stories fit all anthologies. I've had to be the editor who took a perfectly good story and turned it down because it wasn't what the overall book demanded. But this is MY story, and someone didn't want it. *sob*

Now, how does it affect what I do? In this case it means I slap a nice hot cover on it and self-pub it as a short on Amazon (sometime next week). In other cases, I re-write as the editor suggests and resubmit. And sometimes it means that story will never see the light of day again, because honestly, it just wasn't up to snuff.

In the end, though, I'm still Julia, and I still hate rejection letters.

So, now you know ;)

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

For Donna, using Suction is on high, Captain

"Suction is on high, Captain."

Thayer stared at Kenji. "That's gross, man."

Kenji shrugged. "It's a Star Wars roleplaying game, man. What else am I supposed to say?"

"Nothing about suction. You're my roommate, man, not my--"

"Sexbot? Android of pleasure?"

"Kenji! Act like that and you'll never get to touch my special dice."

Kenji just snorted. "I never get to do that, anyway. I might as well annoy you."

Kenji and Thayer are not a couple, but they do feature in my WIP (and upcoming release from Torquere) Dream Dice.

XXOO

Julia

Weirdest things I have written off on taxes

On Twitter, reviewer Joyfully Jay and author Amy Lane were talking about whether or not costumes for cons were tax deductible.

Oh, yes, they are if they were for business. I have written off a ton of bizarre things on my taxes as a writer.

Music lessons.

Consultant fees for a trapeze artist

fused glass-making classes

software for keeping track of word count

corsets, hats, and a very sound of music costume that was meant to be steampunk and ended up more yodeling clothing

mini corn dogs, chip and dip, and redneck wineglases (That was a disaster)

which reminds me, FedEx never got back to us on our claim. Hmm.

Dog training

and that doesn't even begin to cover the things I've bought for gift baskets and giveaways

That's a whole 'nother post

XXOO

Julia

I really need to blog

what about?

Can't sleep. Clowns will eat me

Hi, I'm Julia, and I suffer from hormonal insomnia

I would love to say that I get a lot done when I can't sleep. 2-3 days before the start of my new cycle, I get swollen, crampy, painful, toss and turn insomnia. So I get up. I read Facebook. I watch Sherlock. I try not to wake BA.

I don't get a lot done. I did write a story once about an insomniac who could only sleep on trains. This was not written after a bout of insomnia. It was written after my friends and I all fell asleep on the London tube, missed our stop, ended up at the last stop after the tube stopped running, and had to walk back to a friend's house at like, 2 am

Stratford is a scary place at 2am

not as scary as my hair when I have insomnia nights

Pray for me to sleep, y'all

XXOO

Julia

elemental ops: ice

It's out!

Elemental Ops: Ice has ice elementals, dragons, guardians, and hot sex.

Find it here!

XXOO

Julia

Sunday Snippet - Ice and Keon

Elemental Ops Ice is coming out Friday at Changeling Press

"Ice? Ice, have you seen the hatchling?"

Keon wandered into the bathing room, on;t to stop dead when he got there, a smile spreading over his face. Tatiana, the almost grown dragon girl, lay asleep, her head on the side of the pool, her body floating in the hot water. Ice lay on her back, snoring, while his little blue dragon, Chi, wrapped around his neck. The tiny hatchling slept in the crook of Ice's arm, tail dangling in the water.

His family. God, he was a lucky Guardian. So fucking lucky to have Ice to share his life, after all these years alone.

He stripped off his pants, wading into the water. A bath-nap sounded pretty damned good.

***

I promise to use more prompts from y'all next week!

XXOO

Julia

Valentine's Day is for lovers, not writers

I have to admit, I'm a lucky gal. My girl, BA Tortuga, is perfectly happy on V Day to get a card. Maybe a dark chocolate pavlova, which is dessert tonight.

Fortunate for me, because as a romance writer, Valentine's Day is one of those days we have to start thinking about back in the fall. Are we doing a story for an anthology, are we doing promo, is everyone over V Day? Add to that the fact that Valentine's Day sucked for me for years and years, and I don't love it.

So we make it pretty much another day, and I think a lot of romance authors do the same. Which maybe people don't want to hear, because fantasy is nice.

Grins

I do amuse myself by pondering what my characters would get each other.

Lovers of her Dreams boys and girl, for instance. Tim would get Ry a bone. Ry would get Savannah a scratching post and Ry and Savvy would get together and get Tim a new tattoo.

In my book that's about to come out from Changeling Press, Elemental Ops, Ice would get Keon movies and a player. Keon would make Ice a greasy pizza.

And my Thatcher boys, Jed and Eli, would get dog treats for the pack of mutts they have now.

Happy V Day!

XXOO

Julia

Lady Luck

Hey y'all

Dipping my toes in the self-pub waters. I'm embarrassed because I put up an unedited file first, and had to fix it, but up at Amazon now it Lady Luck.

Check it out here!

F/F, old west, a lady gambler, a lady deputy, and some hot humping

Woo

J

sunday snippet

Nora Gale gave me hot sun and melting Popsicles

"Why are the Popsicles melting out on the deck?" Savannah came in from her jog with Tim, looking like the hot sun hadn't even touched her. She was sweaty, but on her it looked like a glow. Tim looked like a wrung-out dishcloth. A sexy one, but still...

Ryder stretched ad grinned at their lady. "I wanted the crushed ice effect. Better to rub on Tim's skin.

Her smile would light up the whole room. "I like it. He is looking a little hot."

"And bothered," Ry agreed, rolling to his feet and stalking Tim, who had no idea they were about to attack. Poor baby.

"I'll flank him," Savvy murmured. Such a good hunter.

They pounced only moments later, both of them grabbing Tim in personal areas.

The melting Popsicles might just have to wait.

***

Ryder Tim and Savannah can be found in Lovers of her Dreams, here!

Releasing Tomorrow!

My new menage at Ellora's Cave! See it here!

Look at this hottie hot cover

Savannah isn't a fan of magic, so why are a werewolf and a dreamwalker tattooing her in her dreams...

Snippet Sunday

Kiernan Kelly gave me flyswatter, M&Ms and a beaker

"I swear to God, Harve, if you don't stop stinking up the place I will hit you with this flyswatter." Adelia glared at him over her cat-eye glasses, her victory roll hairdo sliding down one cheek thanks to the heat.

Harve chuckled. "I was just seeing if I could melt M&Ms. They appear to be mostly plastic."

"Who gave you a chemistry set?" She sent a mean look at the beaker and bunsen burner set-up he had bubbling merrily away on his desk. "And why would you start a fire when our air conditioner is out?"

"Because he's an asshole." Stone came in, looking edible in the workout shorts and tank top he'd changed into. "If you're going to melt something, make it cheese on a pizza."

"I'll order," Ades murmured. "That way I can have a salad." She stalked off, heels clicking, leaving him with Stone the hottie. Harve grinned. "Like you don't want M&Ms."

Stone grabbed a handful of unmelted chocolate and nodded. "There are lots of things I want."

Oh. He licked his lips, the as yet untapped sexual tension springing up between them like it always did. "Awful hot for that, Boss."

"Mmmhmm. Just think of all the things we can melt."

The phone on Harve's desk rang, which it never did. Damn it all.

"Next time," Stone said, and left him to answer.

Harve turned off the burner just before the beaker cracked. Maybe he needed to just go buy a new air conditioner.

Harve and Stone appear in the Full Moon Dating series at www.torquerebooks.com

XXOO

Julia

developing a character

I struggle with character development.

There, I said it. People never believe me. I hear a lot that people love my characters most, that my plots sometime wander off but my people are rockin' cool.

To that I say, "Woo!" because I love to hear that readers appreciate what I do. (juliatalbot at gmail.com Seriously.) But I also have to tell you a secret. Putting all that character on a page is what I have trouble with.

See, most of my characters spring into my head fully formed, like Athena from Jove. There's rarely a surprise. I know what they'll do in any given situation, so often I have to make myself stop and explain, even though it kills me to have to spend the time. Because it's so damned clear to me, right? Everyone else should just know what's in my brain. My editors at Torquere are all critique partners, so they do know what I'm thinking, which is a double-edges sword.

Only working with new editors the last couple of years have made me understand that sometimes I can be a bit spare in the characterization. No one likes a stark, white room, so I have to force myself to be more descriptive, more overt. This is where the fact that I've learned to like rewrites comes in. I'll read a book back and say, "Oh, man. He comes off as a jerk because we don't know about his mom dying from cancer last week."

What kinds of things do y'all like to know about characters when you read? Is it different for m/m than it is for m/f?

XXOO

Julia

What I'm working on right now

I have five or six works in progress at any time. Right now I have a short story open that has no deadline and no intended publisher ;)

Here's a bit:

“Are all British novels so dreary?” I asked. Being an Anglophile and a lit grad student, I had sought out the only queer British professor in the Research Triangle, hunting him with the dogged determination of a safari guide in Kenya. No one could complain; he was at Duke and I worked at UNC.

“You have to live where the sun shines to be chipper.” He smiled at me, all the angles of his face rearranging themselves into something handsome. There were two kinds of good-looking British men, John would tell me. Mushy ones and sharp ones. He fell on the side of sharp, a little like a young Ralph Fiennes.

I stroked his belly, the skin pale, the muscles defined but not bulky. “I remember the sun going down at like, three in the afternoon when I went to London. Everything closed at sundown.”

John just nodded, smiling a little, his gray eyes flashing an evil mirth. “It’s a government conspiracy. That’s how all the museums stay free.”

He covered my hand with his and pushed it down past the black curls that bloomed below his navel, thickening to a heavy bush around the base of John’s cock. Nothing pale about that bit, rising hard and hot where I wrapped my fingers about it.

“It’s like in Dr. Who,” I murmured. “They make out like all English mothers are bitches.”

“Bah.” His hips rolled in a lazy arc, his dick pushing against my palm. “Stephen King has mommy issues, too.”

“He’s not an entire nation, lover.” I called him lover because I wished for it, for me to mean something to him that I didn’t. I wanted to be literary lovers; not star-crossed, just intensely set on one another.

John seemed more interested in the fucking.

Snippet sunday

Got a lot of great word prompts this week which will give me some good posts in the next few weeks.

Thanks to all who played. Feel free to comment here with a word or two and I promise to mention you here! This week I'm taking snarly from Kathy B.

"Don't you get snarly with me, buster." Geno poked Arthur right in the chest, his dark eyes flashing. "I can't help what your mother named you."

Arthur growled some more. "Neither can I. The least you can do is quit laughing hysterically every time you see it in writing."

Geno stared. "You asked me to get the mail. Your fault. Her delusions of grandeur."

His mate drove him crazy. Bugnuts. Insane. Arthur shook his head, glancing down at the mail, which was labeled, King, Arthur. Geno was right. His mom had a real sense of humor.

Geno and Arthur have no story as yet. They just came to me. Dedicated to the real King, Arthur. I miss you often ;)

XXOO

Julia

Decade author at Changeling Press

Wow, y'all. Changeling Press has been around since 2004. I've been with them almost that long, and they honored me with a re-release of my first title with them, The Magic Touch. I loved writing that one, as it was my first het book, and Trinity, the heroine, is a character from my old gaming days.

It's also one of my favorite covers at Changeling.

I was pretty naive as author back then, thinking I would have this whole batch of covers that had that look, book by book. Yeah, not so much, but I liked the idea. (g)

Anyway, I love Trinity as a heroine. I think she's kick ass, and she's a witch, albeit a reluctant one, something I'm fixing to write on again soon!

Check it out here!

XXOO

Julia

Switching gears

So, for the longest time I've been working on an angsty contemporary for Dreamspinner. Since it has no deadline, I work on it when I can and it gets pushed to the side when I have to turn in something to EC or TQ or CP. (I love initials, can you tell?)

My New Year's resolutions were pretty simple this year, and one was to get 500 words a day on the novel, just to keep it going.

No problem. I can do that with my eyes closed, right? Indeed, it's been easy. Until today.

See, I've gotten to the big conflict, and it's making me sad. It's already a gray, cloudy day threatening snow, and I don't want to deal with angst, even though I love Walt and Garrison with all my heart.

So I will get my word count, but then I will switch gears. I have a new novelette to work on. It's silly, it's goofy, it's fantasy fluff with lots of yummy sex.

Sometimes you just have to back off the angsty story and cheer yourself up so you stop crying!

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

for Katherine Halle who gave me beer and hot dogs

"Why the hell are you making hot dogs?" Kasey asked, poking Deke in the butt.

"Because Luc gave me really good beer."

"You know I hate the smell of beer."

Deke glanced over his shoulder. "Yes. But you like the way I taste when I drink it."

Kasey pondered that. "Well, as long as it's really good beer."

Deke shook his hienie. "You're so easy."

Kasey snorted. "And you eat meat in a tube."

"All the time, lover. All the time."

Deke and Kasey can be found in the Bloodrose books at www.torquerepress.com

XXOO

Julia

I need words! Comment for upcoming weeks!

Character development for Shandra

Shandra from the street team gave me a blog subject! (My Boys Touch is a yahoo group and facebook group. Ask me how!)

she says: I like to read about character development, where someone's characters come from, if they ever surprised them while they were writing, what they enjoy about them, or if they ever have those people in their head that won't go away.

Characters come from all over. People I see on the street, people I know, PBS documentaries about JFK. BA Tortuga and I spend a lot of time going, "What If?" In fact, that's spelled out on our office wall in rainbow wood letters. What if there was this guy who was a bear shifter who worked in a bar...

Characters always surprise me. I would never have said I would break up a popular couple and write the one part of the pair a whole new guy. Ever. In retrospect, it almost ruined my career before I started good. (Read the Thatchers series from Torquere. Really) But I had to do it. Ross Thatcher insisted I tell his story honestly. I got a four page email from someone who still trolls me online for that one, telling me I ruined her for life on my stories and she hated me and...

Ahem. At least I can blame it on a character.

What I really enjoy is how every character is different, how every one is looking for the same thing (love) and how who they are influences their persona onscreen. Bear shifter? I like them big and a little goofy and yet fierce. Wolf? Instincts, baby. Cowboys? Pride, and toughness and a tender inside.

Do I have people in my head who won't go away? God, yes. Deke and Kasey from the Bloodrose books, for instance. I haven't written them in maybe three years. They're still just as loud as they were when I write an Itch to Scratch, wanting to keep putting on a show.

What about y'all? And if you have a blog suggestion, put it here or email me at juliatalbot@gmail.com

XXOO

Julia

Snippet Sunday

BA Tortuga gave me the words red wine and pizza, since that's what we're having for supper. Post a word or two in the comments and I'll try to use it next Sunday

Ice would kill for a glass of red wine and a gigantic pepperoni pie from Mangia's. He loved a deep dish pizza. Too bad living halfway up a volcanic rock in the great Northwest precluded that.

"You're pacing," his lover Keon murmured.

"I need a pizza."

Keon snorted. "I have yeast and flour and a dragon-fired wood oven. I can make a pizza."

Ice grinned a little. "Seriously?"

"Heck, yeah. Get the pepperoni, buddy. We'll have a party."

Damn, his dragon Guardian was talented in so many ways. Even without the wine, Ice was a lucky man. Time to get chopping.

Ice and Keon are coming up in February from Changeling Press

XXOO

Julia

New Full Moon Dating! Coy and Denver

Hey y'all

I have a new full moon dating book out. The first was Aiden and Ben, who were two werewolves meeting in Wyoming for a bit of a vacation.

The second, and new one, is Coy and Denver. Coy is a city wolf from Dallas. Denver is a reclusive vamp in the Colorado mountains. When Full Moon Dating gets them together, they both know they're mates, but they have a few problems to work through. Like that whole biting thing.

Here's the cover.

And here's a wee bit to get you tingling

"Stop fretting, Boss. These two are gonna turn each other down, anyway." Adelia sniffed, the sound perfectly encapsulating her feelings on Harve's techno-matches as opposed to her finding potential matches by gut feeling.

"Harve says they're dead on, honey."

"I didn't say shit, the program did, and I'm right." Harve wandered through, glasses perched on his head, a sheaf of print outs in his hand.

"Bullshit." Adelia pouted, which was adorable with that lipstick she wore. "That little wolf is going to fight back. He's not subby."

"Who's to say the other one isn't? We're not supposed to be oogling the files. The computer does it."

Stone looked at Harve. "Did you just say 'oogling'?"

"I did." Harve leered at him, one eyebrow gyrating madly.

"Wow. That's..." He didn't have the words. Harve was a nut.

"Well, I think there's more to matching people up than algorithms," Adelia said, shrugging one bare shoulder. She really needed more appropriate work clothes. Today it was an off the shoulder pinup girl sweater and a poodle skirt.

"Uh-huh. That's why you work for a computer dating service?"

"Nah, I work here for the pretty geek bosses and hot psychology computer dorks." Now it was Adelia's turn to leer. "If I could just get them to hook up..."

Stone frowned at her, trying to repress her overtalking tendency. The expression had no effect on her.

Harve muttered, heading out without responding to her.

Stone wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He was just gonna let it go for now, though. He had to get that paperwork on file.

"Call the vamp, Ades. Make sure he knows he faxes the papers or he doesn't get a bite."

"You got it. What time do they normally wake up?"

"Hell if I know." He had no idea about vampire sleeping habits. He'd never slept with one.

"Huh. Okay. I'll call and leave a message."

"Thanks, Ades." He grinned at her before wandering to Harve's office, just to see what the man was up to. Well, that and he liked to look at Harve's ass.

Harve was pacing, looking at goddess knew what, muttering under his breath.

"What's up, man?" He watched. Back and forth. Uhn. That ass.

"Hmm? Oh, a weird ghost in the code." Harve smelled good. Edible.

Stone licked his lips, wanting a piece of that so bad.

Harve's body tightened, cock filling as he stared. Oh, fuck. Surely it wasn't code making the man get a happy, right?

Harve went to sit, hide behind his desk, cheeks pink.

"You, uh, need any help with that... problem, you holler. Okay?" He needed to go back to his office. Now.

Harve's eyes were the hottest thing he'd ever seen. Stone thought he might just burst into flames.

"Boss? Vamp on line two."

Shit. Adelia's timing sucked.

"I'll be right there, Ades."

Damn it.

He and Harve exchanged a look, then a tiny smile curved Harve's lips. "Later, Bossman."

"Later."

Much later. And more naked.

where do writers get their ideas?

I hear that question a lot, and I sat down to ponder what it really means.

Really, when someone asks that, I'm not sure they mean what they actually say. I mean, anyone can get an idea for a book from wandering around at the mall and stalking the lady who's having a screaming fight with her boyfriend on her cellphone eavesdropping.

So, I think what this question is all about is, how do you transform that hey, that's a neat story idea into, hey, that's a short or a novella or a novel. How do you know it's worthy, and why did it beat out the other fifty ideas you had today to become a real boy? Or girl. Or mutant yeti ski patrol shifter guy. <.< >.>

For me, what it takes it two-fold. I need a character attached immediately. At least one. Not always two, since I often co-write with my partner BA, so I can pitch her a single and come back with a double or a triple. I need a character, though, who wants the story. Who won't shut up, sure, but who also wants it now. Who is willing to slam in and push the wolves and kitties and cowboys and firemen around like bowling pins to get his or her place.

After that, I need the story to be enough. If I can tell it all to myself in a minute flat, it won't ever make it on the page. I have to know there will be more, that the inspiration I saw in that moment in the mall will only be the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes that bites me on the butt, as I end up with too much story for the deadline I'm fighting. Then I get the reviews. You know the ones. I loved this, but...

Still, I think that's what it means to get an idea. It's not just the a ha moment. It's the happy little brain thunderstorm that happens afterward, and I think that's something you have to be able to experience in order to be a writer. If you stop at, "hey, that would be a neat story," then it's never going to become anything but a neat idea. Which is totally okay, too. That's just my take on an age-old question.

Feel free to tell me yours!

XXOO

Julia

Happy New Year

BA tells me I have to pick a focus word for the year

This year I will choose "Freedom"

What's yours?

XXOO

J

such a good time this holiday

love this time of year

I really do

I manage goodwill toward men and I love presents and ho ho ho

I also love BA Tortuga's advent calendar

Check it out, y'all :D

In other news, I need hand warmers. So cold

Also, I need a cup of tea, and I'm not a tea drinker

Aaaaah

Hugs all

xxoo

Julia