Random weekend round up

What I learned this week: Some days are amazing, some days are okay, and some are just not meant for me to be on the internet.

Friday was amazing. The outpouring of love and acceptance, with a few sad exceptions, thrilled me. Thanks to all the rainbow allies out there: gay, straight, and everything in between.

Thursday we went to Rodeo de Santa Fe. The arena is like a tiny Texas town might have, but the quality of contestants was like Denver or Austin. Loved it. However, I25 between Santa Fe and Albuquerque at 11pm? Daaaark.

Saturday was not my day to be on the net. Trust me, if you see something misspelled on an Ebay listing, it's appropriate to message someone and let them know. (Damn you autocorrect and British spellings of china). It is not appropriate to send a 2 page rant with lots of ALL CAPS.

What else?

July is a banner month for me. June 30 my Samhain MMF menage comes out. It's been on presale for ages (am I supposed to say that?) but it's almost out for y'all to read!. Click to go get it.

Bear Wanted, the first in a new series, The Grizzly List, is up for preorder today. MM bear and cat shifters. Find it here!

I also have a story in the Plaid Nights anthology at TQ, out July 15. My single title short will be out the same day as the anth, and it's call Some Like it Scot. The anth is available for presale here now.

Looks a little more like that Vikings show than a Scot, but I promise, my story is a fun contemporary set in Austin! There's something for every reader in this one.

Full Moon Dating: Gage and Hamish comes out July 29. As soon as I have a cover finalized and a presale, I'll holler!

XXOO

Julia

Love Wins

Historic day, y'all

Love Wins 06/26/2015

Have anthologies gone the way of the album?

Anthology order used to mean something.

Hear me out, because it's true, even if it means I'm old. Just like albums when I was a kid, anthologies told a complete story, one that had an ebb and flow, and there were certain places an author wanted to be to know their story was one of the best in the anthology.

Lead off. This is my place in the Hot Off the Press Anthology from Dreamspinner (get it here) and I was surprised and honored to get it. That means the editor thought my story was strong enough to be the very first story readers saw, that it would pull the reader in and make them want more.

Final story. My wife BA got this honor in Horsing Around, edited by Vincent Diamond. This is the spot to anchor the whole anthology, the last glimpse of this book the readers see. The lasting impression.

The middle. Right smack in the middle. Story 5 of 10 for example. This means your story is there to keep readers going. Often this story is longer or shorter than the others, something really different in pacing.

I have to admit, I'm spoiled enough to have seen my stories fill these spots that when they don't, I'm disappointed. Sad. I'm not saying all stories in an anthology can't be stellar. I think I've been charmed to be in some of the best company in the business that way. I'm just saying that to an old broad like me, anthology order is like listening to Abbey Road in order, the way it was meant to be heard. It matters.

Does that matter to a modern reader at all? Thoughts?

XXOO

Julia

Book of Love Pinterest

I have a book coming out at Samhain next week. I'm so excited, as this is my first MMF menage coming out new since my last EC release, and that's been a bit. I love the idea of a magical book that brings together two paranormal experts and a beleaguered bookstore babysitter in a small Colorado town. I hope y'all love it, too.

You can preorder here!

What you might not know I have a Pinterest board for the book. I'm terrible at changing captions on the pics but there's some fun stuff. Linky here!

Please go check it out and feel free to repin things!

When I think Tim McGraw

Our 14th time seeing him

Yum

XXOO

Julia

the best job ever!

That's right. I have the best job ever. Ev-ar.

I love writing. It gives me a happy. It also gives me an excuse to be nosy and observe people, as well as eavesdropping and speculating...

Ahem.

I love my job.

That is all.

XXOO

Julia

Who wouldn't eavesdrop on them?

Weekend warriors

dude, what happened to the day off? We shopped, we dined, we came home and rearranged a lot of furniture and reworked the craft room. Man, my feet hurt. Good day, but tomorrow I am vegging!

when high school never ends or why romance is a small world

so a friend of mine had a pitch session at RT with an editor from a press I really know nothing about.

Apparently, the pitch didn't got quite as planned, with the editor saying the book wasn't really for them before the pitch was over. No harm no foul. An editor needs to know what their house is looking for, and no one wants to waste their time.

That's not the high school moment here.

The high school moment comes from another editor from another house sitting nearby and laughing at the pitching author in a mean girl sort of way because they knew, and don't particularly like, one another. Mind you, my friend has never published with, or spoken poorly of, this editor or her house, so she's a little confused as to why this person seems hell bent on disliking her, but that's the way the world works, right? People sometimes just don't like you.

Okay, so here's where I get grumpy. This isn't high school. This isn't a coffee klatch. This was a professional person representing her publishing house at an industry convention. So where does she get off pointing and laughing so obviously that everyone else in the room was truly uncomfortable?

Back in the early days when there were about four epublishers, we used to sit around and remind each other that romance was really a tiny world. That we couldn't dish on anyone because it was bad business. I got burned badly once by blurring the line between friendship and publishing, in fact, so much so that I never discussed my publishing with an author friend ever again.

I think that as industry professionals we all need to remember that when we're out there representing our work in a public place, we need to worry about our own shit. No responding to reviews in a crazy way. No hating on other authors and feuding to make ourselves look better. And no taking obvious joy in someone's lack of success in such a malicious way. There are enough readers for all of us, but more than one has told me lately they just want to read, not deal with all this industry drama.

I know I would never work with that particular publisher now, no matter how good they might be, which is something else I'll never know, right? People are people, and we all have bad days, but there's not enough room in my world for such unprofessional meanness.

What's y'all's 2 cents?

XXOO

Julia

good things

just a few good things for Monday.

Made my personal word count goal last week

I got apricots at the store

our apple tree has apples growing for fall

Tim McGraw in 11 days

A week until my birthday and our anniversary

Finally catching up on life

Mystic U box set is out at Amazon and All Romance Ebooks!

XXOO

Julia

The power of the New Mexico sun

When BA's Daddy was here at Christmas, he complained about the sun here in New Mexico, about how darned bright it was. How powerful.

The wife just looked at him and grinned and said, "Well, you are a mile closer to it than you are in Texas."

This time of year it's almost like living in that Pitch Black movie before the pitch black part starts. The sun is so powerful we all wear hats and sunscreen just to walk the dogs. The beauty of it is, though, that when you step into the shade, boom. Ten degrees cooler. Sprinkle some water on your skin and let it evaporate. Bam. Ten degrees cooler.

The intense sun also creates this rugged landscape and quality of light that captures the imagination. I've written a lot of books set in Colorado, and many in Texas, but these days New Mexico is what inspires me. My girl is pretty fascinated, too, so expect some tales from both of us set under the hot New Mexico sun.

XXOO

Julia