Welcome to Julia Talbot's blog!

Welcome, everyone! Here's where I blather about writing, life with my wife BA, and my two basset hounds! I love to hear from readers, so comment here or email me!

Saturday, January 30, 2016

New Release! Midnight Rodeo: Belonging

Woo!

The sequel is finally here!

A few years back, Kiernan Kelly, BA Tortuga and I put out Midnight Rodeo's first book, Homecoming. We recently republished that book on our own, and now we have the sequel, Midnight Rodeo: Belonging.

Look at this cover by the amazing Kris Norris!

Strangely enough, I'm not responsible for the tiger shifter on the cover. That's BA Tortuga. I wrote a cheetah shifter and a spirit guided rodeo rider named Raven Walkingman.

You can buy it here at ARE and here at Amazon!

And here's a bit from my story, Light a Rocket. Special thanks to Jaymi for being our amazing editor.

“Rocket, you cannot keep this up, kid.” Thack, the head of all things in the arena, looked bitchy on the best of days, but the stock contractor was positively livid. The huge black horns curving over his head actually sort of pulsed. Cool. Terrifying, but cool.

“Keep what up?” Rocket went for innocent. It wasn’t his best look, but it was rare enough around these parts that he thought it could work.

“Kid, you weigh, what? Eighty pounds?”

“Stop it. I’m at least a buck and a ten-spot.” Pretty much.

“You can’t bulldog. You can’t do the timed events. Stop being a turd with a death wish. You rile up the stock.”

Rocket tried hard not to let his hurt show. Or his panic. He had to make some money. Had to. “I’m not trying to upset anyone. I’m bulking up, I promise.”

“Bulking… okay. Okay. You get one more chance, but the physics say it can’t work.”

“Physics say the girls can’t ride the barrels and they sure as shit do.”

“Mmm.” Thack was good at the noncommittal noise. “Well, just do me a favor and don’t get hurt.”

“Right. I’m on it. Totally.” Hell, he wasn’t sure his three broken ribs were ever going to recover. They did tend to stick out. Rocket was a cheetah shifter. Ribs were a thing.

“I’m serious. One more catastrophe on the timed events and I’m sending you to Eshelman.”

The shifter doc was… intense. Difficult, at best. Strict. Rocket just nodded, feeling like a bobble head doll.

He slunk passed the bullfighters, the scary as all fuck ghost riders, and then headed to his truck. He thought he was safely out of everyone’s way, which was naturally when he slammed right into a solid, lanky body.

“Whoa, kiddo. Watch where you’re putting those boots down.” Raven Walkingman caught his upper arms when he bounced.

“I. I—”

Oh, God. God. That was— He’d just bumped into…

Right. Breathe. “Sorry.”

That bronze face split into a wide, white smile, the king of the Midnight Rodeo not seeming at all put out. “No problem. Rocket, right?”

“Yeah. Yes, sir. Rocket Ugara.” He held out his hand, the urge to sniff this man overwhelming. He panted a tiny bit, his usual reaction to stress more than a little embarrassing.

Walkingman shook his hand, making shivers run up his arm and down his back. Hello.

His kitty purred inside him, its tail lashing, and he had the urge to do his best sexy dance. Rocket fought that compunction, but he couldn’t cover it completely, obviously. Walkingman’s nose quivered, and he grinned wider.

“You riding tomorrow?” Rocket asked. He had to stop being an idiot. You didn’t come onto the most famous cowboy in their world. It didn’t happen.

“I am. What about you?” Walkingman let him go, the lack of touch such a disappointment.

“Gotta make my pennies, so yeah. Totally.”

“Well, watch those ribs. I was you, I’d sit out the bulldogging this week.”

“Yeah. Thack was pretty clear about that.” Still, he needed to get enough cash for gas to make it to the next event and pay his entry fees.

“Then why are you still doing it?” The man sounded genuinely curious.

“Same reason every broke-dick cowboy does it, I reckon.” And didn’t he feel about two inches tall admitting that?

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

blog planning fail

I am, at best, a lazy blogger. My wife, who is a planner addict and who has led me into the washi tape obsession by the nose, has all these cute printable sheets on how to plan your weekly blogs.

I dutifully fill out what I will pimp, pin and pump during the week. I plan to blog 3 days a week with wordless posts in between. I pick subjects relating to my books but not actually mention them, which all the social media gurus say is important. Content! Original content with a hook! Do it NOOOOOW.

Ahem.

Then I open Blogger and write whatever the hell I feel like anyway. Not kidding.


My latest planner. 

What are the odds I just shove everything in my purse before we leave?

XXOO

Julia



Sunday, January 24, 2016

Geeking out with BA

So, my girl is an X Files fan. Like whoa. I stubbornly resisted watching the show when it was on, and for a very long time I only saw one episode. Monday, it's called, and it's about Mulder getting out of bed and going to the bank the same way over and over, just like me seeing it over and over. Like Groundhog Day.

So, a few years ago, she finally got me to watch a marathon. The first 4 seasons or so. We were in a groove, and I was enjoying watching her watch the show, but we had to travel, and we never got back to the moment.

Tonight the X Files came back on for a 6 show mini-series. OMG y'all. My girl is excited, Geeking out. The football game running over almost killed her. She pouted at every evidence that Mulder and Scully were on the outs. She cheered when Skinner showed up. She bounced a lot.

I may not be an X Files geek, but I do love how my girl loves it.

XXOO

Julia

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

public service announcement on some titles

Hey y'all!

I've had some folks emailing me about some of my series, mainly Bloodrose and Full Moon Dating. They're no longer available on Torquere Press LLC or on Amazon because I have reverted all of my TQ LLC titles as of Saturday. I see my books are still up on All Romance Ebooks, but I am asking folks not to buy the Torquere titles at this time. My wife would like to ask the same, as she has also pulled her titles there.

I will be re-releasing both series asap. I'm very excited about taking these series to whole new levels. I gave up publishing over a year ago to write full time, and sad as it is I've now moved away from working with the company altogether. I used to write to fill holes in a production schedule, but now I can write these stories for the sake of the stories themselves and really explore the dynamics of how such long series fit together.

Change is always difficult, and sometimes it's downright sad. No matter what, I'm proud of my work and I want to find it the best home possible, whether it's self-publishing or going with another publisher to continue the series.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about my books, and keep an eye out here for announcements about when specific books will re-release.

XXOO

Julia

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Love Apples

Maybe four years ago I sold a story to a publisher we all know. I wanted to make it a series, call the series Love Apples, call this story Apples for Teacher...

They loved the book, hated the title, wanted something more indicative of a menage. They gave it to an editor, and she stripped out everything of Julia. By this time I'd been in the business ten years, but I needed that contract with a big publisher so I did the edits and gritted my teeth.

I did okay. Until I stopped getting paid. Checks stopped coming, and I waited patiently until I was under the sales threshold to ask for my rights back. I waited six more months. Next month I get the book back and Love Apples is back on. I can't wait to put me into the story once more and update it, maybe make it novel length and add in all the wolfpack and small town politics I wanted in it! Then I'll self pub that mother.

They still have Lovers of Her Dreams, but I'm working on that.

One down, one to go. How bout them apples?

XXOO

Julia

Thursday, January 14, 2016

so many stories, so little time

what I'm working on now

desperately trying to hit my deadline on my Dreamspun Desire due the end of the month and Desert Dragons 4 due last week

a call for ARE- writing a historical mmf menage

I scrapped my latest project for Samhain. Do I write a historical or a paranormal? Werebears or rakehells? Y'all choose for me. Needs to be a m/m so I actually sell some copies and they keep pubbing me ;)

XXOO

Julia

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

life's curveballs

I had all these grand ideas about what all I was going to get accomplished this year. This was the year of the novel instead of the short or novella. The year of the USA Today bestseller and contract with Penguin or Avon a la some of the folks I know in m/m.

It may still be for all I know, but as of right now this will be the year of the diagnosis. When BA had her angioplasty last April we were so sure we could fix what ailed her with diet and exercise. Now we know it's a rare autoimmune thing. The treatment? Low dose chemo. Yeah. So she feels as though all the work she did was for nothing and I feel panicky and read to poke people with a stick for breathing hard on her.

We have to remember that we're not Wonder Woman, that we can slow down and listen to our bodies.

The rest will work itself out

Right?

XXOO

Julia

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Unexpected research for the week

marriage announcements in Regency London

How many Navy SEALS are in service at any given time

Can a Texas Ranger really requisition a horse. (A: Yes. So can a DEA or Border Patrol agent.)

do they make rainbow unicorn dildos?

what are the best nausea remedies for low dose chemo

how much do virtual assistants charge?

Never a dull moment

XXOO

Julia

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Happy New Year!

Woo.

XXOO

Julia