A snippet from The Werewolf Code

This is from the new Arcana, the Werewolf Code: The Moon

____

Sliding off his stool, Deke headed for the giant plate glass windows, stripping off his shirt as he went. Kasey liked to look out in the night when he fed, pressing Deke against the cool glass. "Come here, baby. I got something for you."

A low growl sounded behind him, Kasey coming for him, so fast and silent that he hardly had time to blink before Kasey pressed up against him, jerking at his pants, the fabric tearing way too easily.

"I guess I'll have to tell Axis that his new tactical nylon is for shit against vamps."

"Later," Kasey whispered in his ear, incredibly sharp fangs grazing his skin.

"Yeah." His whole body arched from the tiny sting, his cock waving in the air, craving a touch, a bite. "Much, much later."

"Much. Where do you want me to feed tonight, lover?" Kasey touched his throat. "Here? Or here?" Those fingers moved down his chest, sliding over his hip before landing on the crease between his thigh and his torso.

"Oh. There. Yeah, baby. There." Hell, he knew Kasey couldn't look out the window and do that, but he just didn't care. He wanted that spot. Right. There.

____

Find it here: http://www.torquerepress.com/fiction/thewerewolfcode.html

New Book!

I have an Arcana out from Torquere Press!

It's based on the Moon tarot card, and it's called The Werewolf Code.

I love these boys. Deke is a werewolf, Kasey is a vampire, and they run a detective agency. They get a new client who draws them into the middle of a very dangerous genetic experiment, and there's biting and fighting and hot sex :D

I hope to do a whole series about these guys. They're smokin hot, really talky and fun as hell. Of course, y'all have to buy it for me to be able to write more of them, so shoo. Go buy...

www.torquerebooks.com

Celebrate Romance

So, I went to Celebrate Romance in South Carolina over the past weekend.

What did Julia Talbot learn about being primarily a glbt writer among hardcore romance readers and writers?

Well, I learned that most folks don't get what I do. They're willing to listen, though, even if the idea sort of horrifies them.

There were a few ladies who really complimented both me and BA on our part of the panel discussions, and it was very nice to hear. The readers were great fun, and it was a hoot to meet some of the writers I've read over the years like Jade Lee and Stephanie Bond, and interact with them as peers, not just star struck fans.

I also learned that I have the best fans ever. Y'all rock so hard. No, really.

On the deep and philosophical end, I learned that there's still a huge prejudice against ebooks and e-publishers out there. Despite the fact that authors who put books out with major NY publishers have never seen a royalty check, FIFTEEN MONTHS after their book's release, despite the fact that a major author admits to making less than I make on one publisher alone in a year of being published with a house that sells her books in Wal-Mart...

I'm kind of glad I don't have an agent, if I have to give up that much of my hard earned sales...

Does this mean you should stop buying books in bookstores? Absolutely not. The only way to get NY to listen is to buy books. But I also want to thank all the people who support e-publishing. It's made me not just a writer, which I always was, but an author with books out there to sell, and I will forever be grateful.

At any rate, a huge thanks to Cybil and her team for CR. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I learned a lot.

Look for me next at Romantic Times, in Pittsburg (ack) where I will be with Chris Owen, Jodi Payne, and BA Tortuga

Mates

out from Bareback Angels, a new m/m/f menage books called Mates!

My story is about a girl named Abby, who has a terrible fear of dogs. Her psychologist gets a dog trainer named Aaron to help her out, but he has two secrets. His lover Lee, and the fact that he and Lee are both werewolves. Is there any way this can work out for the boys and their new girl?

The book also features BA Tortuga and Sean Michael!

www.torquerebooks.com

bad reviews

One of the worst thing a writer can do is read their own reviews.

Oh, sure, when they're good, they lift you up, make you want to write more. But when a reader review comes through and tells you more than once that your bestselling book is flat and lifeless, when these are your best characters ever, well...

It makes me want to scream and have a tantrum and run away

It's ridiculous. I know it. I've sold more than 5000 copies of this book. I've gotten hundreds of emails begging for more. Two readers who wouldn't read it again. Two. And it made me just want to cry.

In better news, these same characters will appear in a short story soon, in an anthology from Torquere Press.

So if you like the Thatchers, keep an eye out!

Working on a lot of stuff

I have a new Turn of the Screw starting ion March at Torquere Press. It's a mmf menage called Pictures of You, about a photographer and her obsession with her male lover neighbors.

I have a Single Shot called Sins of the Father coming out at the beginning of March. It's about Deke and Kasey, a werewolf and a vampire who own a detective agency, hired by a young woman to clean up her father's genetic experiments.

I'm tapping away on 2 novels, too, working my fingers off y'all!

what people are saying

got a lovely review of Natural Selection, the last book of the Pack Mentality series from Changeling Press (www.changelingpress.com)

http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2008/02/pack-mentality-natural-selection.html

Here's a highlight:

Pack Mentality: Natural Selection is a humorous episode of werewolf society and how to join the pack. Julia Talbot’s characters are funny, sexy and very charming. This is a most enjoyable story.

Woo hoo!

newsletter

woo hoo! I got a newsletter up at my Yahoogroup!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/juliatalbotnews

You can go there and check it out. It has some news, some cool favorite weird links and a free vignette . M/M natch

I'll have more stuff coming out soon, so keep an eye out for news!

new book out from Changeling

It's the very last book in the Pack Mentality series, called Natural Selection

Ryan is pretty happy with his lover Loyal and their little cabin in the woods. The only thing he misses is a pack. Werewolves need company, after all. Loyal is a werebear, and is much more of a loner, so he's suspicious when a new pack comes to town, wanting Ryan to stay away.

Kamen and Steve, Liam, Jenny and Sasha, Colin and Myra, all your favorites from the Pack Mentality series are here! They have to help Ryan fight for what's his, and maybe help him find a pack of his own!

check it out at www.changelingpress.com!

some new books

I have a new Sip out at Torquere called Nothing But Trouble. It's about bank robber Bryce and Abel, a very curious deputy. See what they get up to at www.torquerebooks.com

In early February I have a new book coming out from Changeling Press, called Pack Mentality: Natural Selection. It's the 4th book in the Pack Mentality series, and all your favorites are back. Jenny, Liam, Sasha, Myra and Colin, Kamen and Steve, and a new pair Ryan and Loyal. Check it out at the coming soon link at www.changelingpress.com

My chapter of Five O'Clock Bar goes up at Turn of the Screw this next week. It's a multi-author story featuring my buds Sean Michael, Chris Owen, BA Tortuga and others. See it and other available stories here: http://torquerepress.com/subs/stories.html

Turn of the Screw is a great subscription service where you get new chapters of amazing stories every week!

I'll be posting excerpts here and at my Livejournal. http://julia-talbot.livejournal.com/

wow

been a bit, huh? I know, I know, bad author

The year seems to be starting out as the year of the changing face of romance. Yep, people are taking not of folks like me and some of my publishers and fellow authors.

I'll be speaking on the changing romance subject at Celebrate Romance, a conference being held the last weekend of February in Columbia South Carolina. It's a great little con, dedicated to readers, unlike the ones that have gotten so big and bloated with writers. There are some great writers attending and the booksigning on Sunday looks to be a fun day!

Check out their website here:

http://www.crspring.com/

What else? Did I ever pimp my Christmas Single Shot? It's called A Good Thing, and it's about the guy who lost everything on Christmas, including his Christmas spirit, but when he meets a new man, he gets it back! Find it under Julia Talbot at www.torquerebooks.com

Keep an eye out for more!

J

tyring hard to hit deadlines

and uh, eek.

failing

keep an eye out, though, I ought to have some christmassy stuff out :D

a new review

for an old title. It's always a nice surprise. This one is for Recipe for Love, out with Changeling Press (www.changelingpress.com)

http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/recipeforlovetalbot.htm

Taste Test!

I'm featured in the new Taste Test from Torquere Press, along with my buddies BA Tortuga and Dallas Coleman. If you like your cowboys Buck Wild, you'll love this one!

Here's the official doolie!

Sometimes cowboys like to get buck wild. They get a little crazy, get a little wild hair. That's the premise behind this Taste Test featuring Dallas Coleman, Julia Talbot and BA Tortuga.

Dallas Coleman gives us Jimmy, who's settled down to become a banker, and Cory, an off again-on again lover who tempts him to be have some fun. Julia's Colby and Sean are both bullriders and ex-lovers who get up to some serious fun. BA gives us Jack and Deke, two sometime lovers who come together with a fiery passion that's impossible to ignore. Get buck wild with these boys today!

www.torquerebooks.com

I got word that a lesbian story I wrote a good while back for an anthology with Pretty Things Press, called Lipstick on Her Collar, has a cover. We don't have a sure date, but keep an eye out here!

new novella

This one is about 20,000 words, so definitely not a sip! ;)

It's a Spurs and Saddles from Torquere Press, called Sparkle and Shine. It's over at www.torquerebooks.com

Evan is a rodeo cowboy with an eight year old daughter, an ex-wife who loves to make trouble, and a best friend he wants to love on. Brooks is his best buddy, who wants to be way more than friends. Can these two cowboys get it together?

have a sample!

***

"What are you staring at?" Brooks snarled, flinging his jeans at his suitcase.

Heaven. That was his first thought.

"Nothing. I mean, I'm not staring. I'm sorry, Brooks." There. Ta da.

Tight shoulders relaxed. "Yeah? I… Me too, man. I just figured we were having a laugh."

"We were. I was just feeling sorry for myself." Beer. It had to be the beer making him say all these touchy feeling things.

"Yeah?" Coming right up to him, Brooks clapped him on his shoulder, fingers scarred and callused. "No need, man. You're rock solid."

Almost as hard as a rock, for sure. Wasn't beer supposed to make a man limp? Sandra had always said so. Evan barely resisted the urge to adjust himself.

"Thanks, Brooks. Really." When he felt like he wouldn't offend the man, Evan turned away, breathing hard through his nose.

"Hey, you got the quease? We could order room service."

"Oh, good idea. Something burger-like." That would give him something to do with his hands and his runaway mouth.

"Maybe chocolate cake, too, huh?" Brooks loved the frosting. Evan had seen him eat all the way around a three layer cake, just eating the sugary stuff.

"You order, huh?"

"What's gotten into you?" Brooks asked when he woulda run for the bathroom again.

"I'm horny, okay?" he kinda shouted, hands clenching. "I want to go jack off in the bathroom!"

"Oh." Blue eyes snapped right up to meet his, Brooks staring hard. "You don't gotta run off, buddy."

Another Sip

I seem to be rocking the short fiction these days! I think it's my lack of attention span. There's something about being able to finish a story that's very satisfying. Anyhoo, my Sip came out last week, and I kinda got lost with the Halloween/Vegas/Bullrider thing.

It's called Splitting the Difference, and it's about country singer Dane, who goes back to his West Texas hometown for a wedding, meeting up with an old high school friend names Kent.

I adore people who have history, and this is one of those stories ;) You can find it at www.torquerebooks.com

Here's a wee snip:

"Well, well. I didn't think I'd ever see Dane Hotchkins in this town again."

The voice had the kind of deep drawl only West Texas could make, and Dane cringed at the familiarity of it, at the way it made all sorts of old memories come to life.

He turned, staring at Kent Lawrence, just shaking his head. The man hadn't changed a bit, hadn't gotten all swollen like so many of his old high school buddies had. Lean, long, and all cowboy, Kent looked fucking edible.

As always.

"Well, hey, Kent. I reckon you wouldn't have, if Becky hadn't decided to get married." No way would he miss his baby sister's wedding, even if it did mean eating his words from ten years ago. He'd burned those years right down the highway, singing at every honky-tonk and dive in Texas and Oklahoma. He'd never made it to Nashville, but Austin wasn't a bad place to call home.

Way better than BF Nowhere West Texas.

"Oh, right. I heard about that. You bring you some supermodel as a date?" Those green eyes twinkled, the lines beside them deep and new, the skin tanned to an even dark brown. Lord, that man still did it for him, not that he'd ever let Kent know.

"No. I didn't bring anything but my guitar and enough clothes to get me through the week. Gonna rent the tux, even."

"Oh, now, I thought a big shot like you would have your own."

Sighing, Dane shook his head. "You're looking for a fight, Kent, I ain't your man. I'm too damned tired and old. 'Sides, I always liked you. Don't fuck that up."

I have an appearance coming up in February at Celebrate Romance, and they've asked us authors to spread the word! For readers, it's a very affordable con, and there will be lots of opportunity to meet with your favorite authors!

Happy Halloween!

happy halloween!

here's a bit of my sip! It's called Grimoire Erato and it's available at www.torquerebooks.com

***

The book smelled like pine and sage, which shouldn't surprise him, the way his uncle had spread the herbs about. Kelly had expected it to smell kinda… musty. The more natural tang of spice was a pleasant surprise.

"Well, old man," he said out loud, just to hear someone talk. "Let's see what was so all fired special about this one that you didn't share it."

The letters swam a little at first. He liked his languages dead, he would admit, but it had been a long while since he'd read Latin. Hell, this was worse. It was a combination of Latin and archaic Greek.

"Every well-educated young man should read French, Latin and Greek," Uncle Noel had told him not long after Kelly's mom and dad had died in a freak snowstorm. They'd been cross-country skiing.

His eight year-old self had scoffed. "Does that mean I get a grand tour of Europe when I'm old enough, too?"

Noel's blue eyes had danced. "If you behave."

Kelly had soon learned that Noel always kept his promises, and he'd been sent off on a backpacking tour of Europe when he turned eighteen. Noel had given him a Eurailpass and enough money to last two months if he was frugal.

It had been the time of his life.

Sighing, rubbing his eyes, Kelly focused back on the book, reading some of it out loud, just for the fun of it. "A lonely man should sacrifice a cock, if what he desires leads him to this path, and should offer the flesh to the one bound to serve, to receive his earthly reward. He should read from the book at the longest hour, and light the fire that will bring him the thing he needs above all else."

Right. Lord, what a crock of shit.

Kelly closed the book and finished off his brandy, just as the old grandfather clock struck midnight thirty. Well, there was the longest hour, huh? Cackling, Kelly climbed to his feet to refill his brandy, and the fire laid out in the fireplace caught his eye. Oh, hell, why not? He lit the kindling, watching it spring to life like it never did when he actually needed a fire.

He didn't have a cock to sacrifice, but maybe he'd jack off when he went to bed. Just to see what the old book had up its leather jacket.

Which was probably not a damned thing.

hello hello!

man, I'm pooped. I have a novel due that's still a fledgling and I'm flailing (woo, alliteration)

I've been thinking a lot about my style, and about my favorite genres, and I want to hear from readers! Do you like my historicals? contemporaries? My mysteries?

Let me know what genre you think I do best. I'll give away a copy of my Arcana, Rock Bottom, from Torquere Press to one random commentor!

have I pimped Crash and Burn?

I think I have, but I bet I haven't posted a snippet! :D

Here's a wee bit from Crash and Burn, my sip over at Torquere Press

***

"Danny! Danny, quit it!" There was Todd again, grabbing him, pulling him out into the tiny hallway. "You're not helping shit."

No. No, Todd was the helpful one, wasn't he? Danny turned and drove his hand into the wall next to Todd's head, his face inches from Todd's nose. "Why don't you quit? Why are you still fucking here? I'm a fucking lost cause."

"I… I don't know. You're still paying me?" Those green eyes were so wide, so shocked, and it kinda revved his motor.

"True enough. I wonder how helpful you really want to be."

"What?" That pretty mouth fell open, and somehow Danny had never noticed how sweet Todd's lips looked, how hot that square-but-lean face was.

"I need to blow off steam." He leaned, trying to press his mouth to Todd's, but Todd ducked.

"No. No, I won't do that unless you mean it. I'll… I'll find you someone."

"What if I want you?" The thought had never occurred to him before, and Dan wondered why not. Now, with Todd pressed up against him, he thought maybe it was the best idea he'd had in ages.

"You don't. You're just pissed off." Pushing Danny away, Todd stuck his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched like Danny had actually hit him. "If you had ever once looked at me before now? I'd be naked in a heartbeat. I'll make a couple calls."

Todd left him standing there with his mouth hanging open, just like that.

When the hot young thing showed up, though, Danny gave him a fifty and told the kid to go have a beer on him. Somehow, it just wasn't the same.

***