snippet saturday WIP Desert Dragons 3

Here's a bit of my current work in progress, the as yet untitled Desert Dragons 3

Somewhere along the line, Oliver had lost control of the situation at his dragon sanctuary deep in the Chihuahuan desert of Mexico. His tiny earthship house was full to the rafters with big, burly men. And Banger. And a clutch of almost ready to hatch dragon eggs that were making his own multitude of dragons nutso crazy.

Babies? Bittybitty babies. Azul and Turquesa, his most loved bonded pair kept babbling in Oliver’s brain. He was going to hit them with a rock.

“Babies. Lots of ‘em.” God, how was he going to feed this many? Love them? Keep them from eating each other?

“Mmm. Dragon deathmatch.” His lover, Arturo came to stand next to him in the kitchen, sliding an arm around his waist. “You’re thinking so loud.”

“I’m sorry?” Was he? He didn’t know. “How is the scary hurt dude?”

“Sleeping. I gave him a shot of morphine from the med kit.” Arturo sighed, kissing the top of his head. “We’re gonna need more space if this keeps up.”

“People are going to start wondering what all the gringos are doing here in the desert.”

“Yeah. We’re also going to have to figure out a new supply chain.” Arturo tugged his braid, which he thought was going to be more gray than red soon.

The little sting was sort of happy making, though. “Yes. How are we going to feed them all? Where are they all coming from?”

“I don’t know.” Arturo paused, clearly thinking hard. “If it makes you feel any better, that was what Keon said. Ice’s guy in the mountains? Then he said he needed more people to bond with his dragons, so maybe it’s a numbers game.”

“Oh. Really?” That meant the dragons weren’t just exploding here, though. That meant there was something else happening. Something bigger than all of them.

“Yep. You just got a new clutch, right? Maybe that’s why. Some of your older babies needed to bond.” Arturo turned him, tilting his face up for a kiss. Tactile man.

He opened right up for it, his body threatening to beat his mind to death if it didn’t shut up and let him have this.

Hugs

XXOO

Julia

C 2015 Julia Talbot

A Bloodrose Primer

For everyone who has been asking for another Bloodrose book, that time is September! I think the 23rd? I'm a dither, and will get a solid date when I can go look.

Yay!

The new book is the sequel to Belling the Cat, and it finishes the arc started there while introducing Yves and Reuben.

I'll give y'all a good rundown on Emerald Eyes closer to release. For now I'll talk about the series.

The first book written was The Werewolf Code. It's a mystery where Deke and KC, or Kasey, the main characters, are already together. They have a genetic mutation to deal with, and someone with a lot of rage. They're detectives here, working a case.

When it came out, everyone wrote and told me they wanted to see Deke and Kasey's beginning, so I wrote book 2, which is chronologically book 1. An Itch to Scratch. It introduces Jonny as the owner of the Bloodrose, and it shows Deke being auctioned off as a meal for vampire Kasey. Voluntarily.

Then comes Lean on Me, which introduces Aiden and new Bloodrose manager Jared, a psychic and a werewolf.

Then Incomparable, which is bar manager Ashe and Nikolas, a performer at the club. This is the one I would redo if I had the time. I focused too much on the sex and not enough on the romance I know is there, and I think it's hard to buy the happy ever after without telling their whole story.

In the collection Bloodrose: A Collection of shorts, former manager Duke gets a lover, and Deke and Kasey and Jonny get some fun.

Then there's Cereus, which is also a Jonny business venture. A paranormal vacation paradise on land owned by a dragon. Building, Opening, Training and Rescue, and they all happen between Belling and Emerald Eyes, which is out next.

Hope that helps prepare everyone for Emerald Eyes! All stores are available at All Romance, Amazon and Torquere Press.

XXOO

Julia

Guide to Julia's dragons

A lot of folks have been asking me the order of the dragon books I have out at Changeling Press.

I'm always happy to natter on about my books, even if I am scatterbrained as hell! I forget I have new books to promo, I forget to email people, and I forget to compile series...

So, the dragon story actually starts in Mixed Breeds: Hunted. Find it here. Now, this is a mmf menage and there are no actual dragons, but it's interesting to note that Damon was a member of Elemental Ops, and he flakes out of them in this book.

Then we start Elemental Ops. Ice, Teamwork, Found and Vanished, which, incidentally was meant to be Lost but the publisher said they had one of those already.

Then Desert Dragons. Turquoise Trail is first, then Coyote Dance. Right now I'm working on Earth and Stars, and there's one more planned before I move to Mik's tribe in the Pueblo area of New Mexico. There are at least 10 more dragon books planned O.O

It's like the dragons are just overrunning my brain. We're just at the tip of the iceberg.

XXOO

Julia

TGIF

Man, it's been a long while since I've been so glad to see a Friday. I see fro-yo and copious craft room time in my weekend.

Maybe I can even con BA into frogging my badly $#@%ed up knitting for me. Cackles.

What are y'all's plans this weekend?

XXOO

Julia

my Ebay obesssion

I might have mentioned a few weeks ago that I was selling stuff on Ebay.

We cleaned out a bunch of stuff in the garage and kitchen overflow. We sold a pasta roller set. A French language set from a famous software seller who hates reselling so will remain nameless. A bunch of books. Jewelry.

It's a fascinating look into human nature, and might be a wee bit obsessed.

You never know what will sell for way more than you think. What you think will sell for lots of money never does. People who buy big stuff pay right away. People who win shit for .99 never want to pay and you have to open unpaid complaints with Ebay. People still snipe each other.

I've also bought some jewelry to resell lately, and I have some advice.

Read descriptions and look at pics. Set a top bid and stay there. Don't get suckered into bidding more than it's worth through excitement and innate competitiveness. IOW don't get all hyped up and hope for more than you're really going to get ;) Easiest way to get burned.

I love old stuff. I love to but it and sell it. Bit soon I might have to put down the Ebay app and back away slowly ;)

XXOO

Julia

rewriting

I am not the queen of rewrites. I will try to make what I have work.

Sometimes though, you have to kill part of a story. Scrap it and start over. I hate it, but it happens. Like a surgeon, you have to cut out the parts that kill the flow. wah. It hurts.

I wish I could ignore the need, but there it is.

Hormonal train? Oh yeah

XXOO

Julia

BA Tortuga and her Cheerios

Some 7-8 years ago now, my wife BA was diagnosed with a severe allergy to wheat and gluten. Not only does it cause internal bleeding and skin issues, it causes terrible nerve pain.

As you can imagine, she immediately went Gluten Free. I did at home, as well, only splurging when we ate out. The other party we lived with at the time, well, no. But that was the story of our time together and that's why that person is gone. (Huge, happy grin)

Now I;m fully gluten free as well, as nerve pain and eczema are not my friends.

This means no Shredded Wheat. No wheat anything. We gave up a lot. One of those things, thanks to possible cross contamination was Cheerios.

I am fond, but mostly indifferent.

BA missed them SO BAD.

6 months ago a gluten free blog told us Cheerios were going the way of Chex and going GF. BA has been bouncing and checking the cereal aisle every week since.

Well, today, guess what.

This is a happy day

XXOO

Julia

A hard day at Black Rock

Okay, y'all, I'm going to whine.

No, not wine. Whine. Really whine.

I love my job. If I don't make that clear enough, let me say it again. I love being home with my wife and writing and plotting and even all the crazy promo we have to do.

Today has been tough, though.

I find it really difficult not to take things personally. I have struggled with it all my life. When I waste weeks writing on a book that will never fit the call I'm writing it for, I get snarly. While this book will no doubt sell to another publisher, I am now 3 weeks behind on all my deadlines, and half through with a book that has no home.

Sigh.

The few other troubles I had got fixed, but they still rankled, and man, I just need some time with my foam roller.

XXOO

Julia

drowning in deadlines

send coffee and chocolate. Here, I'll demonstrate

You can always drop by if you have anything that pretty!

XXOO

Julia

What I'm working on and a new dragon book!

Let's see

Out now! Desert Dragons 2: Coyote Dance

Buy it here!

Banger wants to save the day. Mik wants to save the world. What they really need is to save each other.

When Banger wakes up in an earthship house in the desert, surrounded by dragons, he knows his whole life has changed. Add to that the fact that the man he's been chasing for years has a new lover, and he's pretty sure his day can't get much weirder. Which is when Cereyshe accidentally trips trying to save his friends and shoots someone.

Mik has never been shot on a first date before. When his spirit dragon Piasa tells him to go to the little compound in the Chihuahua desert he's expecting dragons, maybe smugglers, but he figures no one could expect Banger. Even as Mik falls for Banger, his new lover decides he's a danger to the baby dragons he's there to help, and Banger ends up kidnapped by a white slaver in the desert. Can Mik save Banger from danger, and keep him from hurting himself?

Publisher's Note: Coyote Dance is best enjoyed after reading Turquoise Trail (Desert Dragons 1).

It's on sale, too!

what I'm working on now.

Desert Dragons 3. Daniel, a coyote shifter introduced in DD2 and a new dragon keeper

Cereus whatever the new title is...

A new wold shifter novela

A contemporary for Dreamspinner about a former lifestyle sub and a cowbpoy

XXOO

Julia

Wordless Wednesday

XXOO

Julia

Updates and news about my website!

Hey y'all!

I updated the coming soon and new releases pages up here on the blog.

Here's the new releases! and here's the coming soon!

In other news, I'll be getting a new website soon! I know my updates at Juliatalbot.com have been sucking wind. SUCKING

The amazing Kris Norris has designed me a new one and BA is working on getting all my books up. With covers! Blurbs! Stuff that's out of print is gone! Yay! A few weeks and it will be live!

XXOO

Julia

Why defending romance makes me crazy

I read smut. I read chicklit. I read romance, gay and straight and otherwise.

I also happen to write all of these things.

I see a lot of articles defending one or more of these genres at the expense of the others. I see a lot of people validating their romances simply because men read them.

Crackling static.

Why? Why do men have to read your genre for it to be serious and worthy. Why do we have to put down erotica or say "mind candy" is bad and I write serious shit, Jim!

We write what we love to read. I had a professor in college who told me at the beginning of my lit career, "Never be ashamed of what you love to read."

I have echoed that here many times, and I always hear it in that Mainer accent my prof had.

I'm sick of the word defending popping up all over when it comes to what I adore. Fuck that shit. These days I think I'll just start slapping people with my heaviest paperback.

Love, Smut loving angry woman,

Julia