wolf hats, eyeballs and more

Are you really into hats?

I get asked that a lot, as I have hat links on my website, and used to have a hat theme.

I totally am. I lost a lot of my collection when I moved to Texas, but I went on a hat spree recently.

Here's a teeny hat at Authors After Dark for the Steampunk party, Personally, I think I'm more Sound of Music than Steampunk, but hey...

I know it's hard to see. I lost everything but my thumbnails when I uploaded. Sigh

Then there's today. Here's a sample of what I bought

I intend to wear it to write werewolves

I also got a bleeding eyeball headband/fascinator

So yeah. I love hats...

TRS and fun weekend

Hey y'all! If you've never attended a virtual release party at The Romance Studio, you should! I mean to squeal here that I was in one this past weekend, but I got busy playing and didn't... Anyhoo, you should click around over there at TRS

They have great stuff, and I post to their Rainbow Studio blog about once a month. I always find great books I want to read, too!

We stayed inside most of the weekend, so it was good to have something to do. The heat index was 120, actual temp 112. We were told not to go outside...

Free reads and the story of smokejumpers

A long time ago in a state far removed from Texas, where I am now, I was watching the summer wildfire season with interest because it was coming close to a friend's ranch up in Mesa, Colorado. My friend was telling me all about smokejumpers and hot shots, the guys who parachute into wildfires and build fire breaks.

About that time, my now-partner BA, who was in Texas, sent me a fire-red notebook made of beautiful handmade paper. Jed Thatcher and Eli Marshall of Jumping Into Things appeared the next day in that notebook. The boys were not my first published work by any means, but they were one of the first m/m original romances I ever wrote.

You can find them here!

I also have a free read out with them at All Romance Ebooks here: Those of you who remember Torquere's Turn of the Screw series might have seen this one before, as it ran there as part of an exclusive series, but a lot of folks have never seen it!

Hope y'all have a good day, and thanks for stopping by!

Julia

guest blog!

check out my guest blog on the Rainbow Studio today!

Find it here!

why the circus?

A lot of people have asked about my Cirque Caprice series with Changeling Press, and the most often asked question is why the circus?

I've been a circus kid since my mom took me to see Ringling Brothers when I was 5. I love the sounds and smells, the colors and sounds, which are like a crazy kaleidoscope. I love the fliers and the acrobats the best.

As an adult, I have been to Vegas maybe 8 times, and I always catch a Cirque du Soleil show when I'm there. I've seen Mystere, Zumanity, O and I plan to see Beatles Love and Ka soon.

As a side note, I worked as a clown for a bit. Not at a circus, sadly, but I did face painting and balloons at parties, parades, and events. It was good money, $25-50 an hour, but man was it exhausting. My weirdest party was an adult birthday where they paid me to sit and put my makeup on while they drank wine and ate cake and watched. *Shudders*

Anyhoo, that's why this series exists! Check it out here. http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1658

Winner!

congratulations buttononthetop!

Email me at juliatalbot at gmail.com and I'll send your iTunes card!

Cirque Caprice contest

Hi y'all! In honor of my new Cirque Caprice release "Flying" I'm giving away a $10.00 iTunes gift certificate.

Just comment here with your favorite part of the circus! Love clowns? Like the flying trapeze, or the acrobats? Elephants your fav? Just tell me.

One randomly chosen commenter will receive a $10.00 iTunes gift card. I'll draw for the winner Sunday morning!

Flying is available here:
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1658

new website!

Hey y'all!

I have a new website! www.juliatalbot.com

If you have the old gates.net site bookmarked, be sure to update.

I want to thank Cindy, who's been my webmistress for years for all the hard work she's done for me over the years, and thank my new webmaster, Magic Time Media.

Now go. See. Shoo!

summer in Texas

Hey y'all!

So, summer in Texas is always hot. I knew that when I came down, but hot doesn't bother this girl. I'm from New Mexico originally, and lived in the high Colorado desert for 10 years. I know from hot.

This summer, though, has been a monster. It's been 60 days or more since we saw a day under 100. The asphalt clocked 158 Fahrenheit at the Farmer's Market this week. They cooked an egg on it. Took 40 minutes for the yolk to set.

So, when I'm sitting in front of the fan in my undies, I start to think what the boys (and girls) in my head would do to beat the heat.

There's Christian, from Tomb of the God King, who would merely loosen his collar and dab with a handkerchief, at least until Eric strips him bare.

There's Eli from Jumping Into Things, who would go jump into a wildfire at this time of year. His lover Jed would go swimming at the spring fed creek at 8000 feet and freeze a little.

Leann, from Pictures of You, would make her lovers, Hal and Church, get naked and let her take pictures of them rubbing ice cubes all over each other...

Wow. Not helping with the heat.

What do y'all do to get cooled off?

Gaucho Code out!

Hey y'all!

Gaucho Code is out as a standalone. It was in the Cowboy Up anthology, which is now out of print, and it's a historical cowboy tale about an American horse thief and an Argentinean gaucho. It m/m, and more story than sex, which made me smile when I re-read it, because those were the days, right? (grin)

I love this story, y'all, and hope you will, too.

Torquere: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_93&products_id=3257

ARE: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thegauchocode-592849-144.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Gaucho-Code-ebook/dp/B005H7UWV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313427196&sr=8-1

Back from AAD Philly

met lots of great folks, got to see ZA Maxfield and James Buchanan, got my corset on for steampunk, ate lots of wheat (sorry, BA, I know it hurt to watch), signed books and t-shirts and programs, and totally misunderstood what the mythos ball was all about...

Very fun weekend! Thanks, Stella!

Authors After Dark

Hey y'all

Just a note to say that I will be at Authors After Dark in Philadelphia starting next Thursday Aug 11. I'll be at the booksigning as Julia Talbot, and will be doing double duty as my publishing persona at the Torquere Death by Chocolate party on Saturday at 4 pm

Can't wait to see y'all!

Sometimes I feel so incredibly dumb

almost everyone I know has some web-building skills. I don't. Oh I can change a theme on a blog and figure out how to build a widget if there's a widget-builder, but I don't know much about html and dns servers and domain parking and all that shit. I feel like I'm at a real disadvantage sometimes, because not only does it put me at the mercy of others, it means no instant gratification.

Can you tell the power went out again and I'm really frustrated? I'm hot and tired and feel overwhelmingly stoopid today.

So, on a positive note, today I am grateful for my various webmasters, Sherlock Holmes, men kissing (Torchwood reruns anyone) and checks in the mail!

Grins

Oh, and the pint of amaretto crunch ice cream I ate

good lines from books

I try to have humor in my books. Okay, I don't try; I'm just naturally sarcastic, and that comes out in my boys.

Here's a line from Under the Moon:      Oh. Oh, God. Jamie fought back drool, which was harder than a basset hound looking at bacon.

How do I know this? Well, I have 2 bassets, and at mealtimes they look like Komodo dragons. Did you know that drool is the number one reason people get rid of basset hounds? Dude, research your dog breeds.

Here, have a basset...

Here's a quote from Jumping Into Things, which was one of my very first published novels.

''Yeah, well. Women are nice, but there's nothing better than a man's mouth on your dick, you know?''

Jed says this to Eli, and it always makes me smile.

What are some of your favorite lines from books? Don't have to be mine, but please credit the author

Buy Under the Moon here: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_91&products_id=3228

Buy Jumping Into Things here: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=466

a little writerly whimper

Just a warning. I'm hormonal and a little raw and I intend to rant a bit. Just so you know (grins)

I just read a story I have going to reprint, and I'm mad.

Nope, not mad at myself. It's a good story. Not mad at my editor. They did a good job, really, considering this story came out back in 2005 when we were all very new at this game.

What I'm mad about is that this story is GOOD. Really good, I think. It's a historical gaucho story, and it's full of nuance and emotion and historical detail. It's good enough that it makes me mad that I let a couple of biased reviews convince me that I couldn't write historical fiction that was good enough for publication anymore. I have nothing against a bad review if it's fair, as not everyone will love every book they read.

But to say I had no business writing historicals? What a load of bullshit.

This is what happens when you stop listening to your gut and listen to stuff from folks who don't know you and don't really read you for pleasure. All of us writers tend to be nervy about reviews and such, but I thought I had a tougher skin. I had no idea how much the whole negative experience affected me back in the day. I really didn't.

Now I do, and I have to say, it's making me rethink the historical in a much more positive way.

That all said (and do I feel better? Hmm, I think so.) The Gaucho Code, which was in Cowboy Up, will come out as a Sip this month, August 13th.

Thanks for listening, y'all! Sometimes it just takes a little whining to feel like I'm back on track