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04.21.08 ...Big BLOG Party in honor of
POP over at Red Room!...Here it is, darlings—starting
today, I'm throwing the bash I've been wanting to have in
honor of POP and the launch of my Pennyroyal Green series
for Avon! I'm holding the party at my
blog at Red Room, a fabulous community of diverse
authors ranging from some you likely already know and love—e.g.,
Amy Tan, James Patterson, Stephen Colbert, Daniel Handler
(Lemony Snickett), Jon Stewart, Susan Wigg (and moi!)—
and other authors you'll likely want to get to know!! Red
Room is featuring on their homepage this week a
little video I made on "Deadline Preparedness."
And sweaty half-dressed men and hard liquor might play
a role in my deadline survival, but you have to watch the
movie to find out. :)
For a chance to win beautiful handcrafted gemstone earrings
and a signed copy of POP, 1) check out the movie at Red
Room or at THE
PERILS OF PLEASURE page at the HarperCollins site;
then 2) stop by my
Red Room blog to comment—just tell me what color
my bathrobe is in the comment! (And now you're going,
"Good Lord! What kind of video is this, Julie?"
Very high budget, obviously. LOL). I've invited a number of
fabulous authors to stop by to comment about what they keep
in their Deadline Preparedness kits, so you never know
who might show up, and I'm hoping it'll be fun for all of
us. Hope you come to the party to help me celebrate POP's
success, which I owe in large part to you guys!! And of course,
I also have my usual new contest up on the contest page—win
Springy gemstone hoops!...xo..julie
03.13.08 ...A Romance stampede!...
That's what we're going for, anyway— tomorrow, Friday
the 14th, Barbara Vey is having a BLOG PARTY at her fabulous
romance blog for Publishers Weekly, Beyond
Her Book—we'd like to get a HUGE number of comments
just to kind of show PW and the world how much romance means
to us! :) There WILL be prizes, too, and you might
win one if you comment! I'll be popping in to say hi to Barbara
and everyone else who comments—hope to see you there!
Also, check out the stunning French online romance Magazine
Les
Romantiques—in honor of the French translations
of THE RUNAWAY
DUKE (Rebecca
La Rebelle in French -- here's the Amazon France
link! ) !) which is out now, and TO
LOVE A THIEF (Pickpocket
en Jupons—no cover yet!), which will be released
in French in April, they've featured an interview with me
translated into French! There are many cool things about my
job, granted, but being connected to readers all over the
world is absolutely one of the coolest. :) Tell all your French-speaking
friends, or hone your own French with a little romance. :)
03.04.08
...More POP Talk!... Happy March,
darlings! Join me today for more POP Talk as I guest blog
at Romantic Inks
[NOTE: I just corrected the link to the RI—it was originally
a bit off! That's a good link now!], and comment if you're
game! Also, check out the back cover blurb for LIKE
NO OTHER LOVER—I just posted it! Hope you're
intrigued. And because my schedule is a little on the nutty
side I decided to extend our February contest through March—and
March, coincidentally, features green things, (e.g., Spring,
St. Patrick's day), much
like our contest prize—sparkly green gemstone
POP rocks. So it was meant to be. :) I know those earrings
will 'll look beautiful on you, so enter! Come visit my blog
The
Julie Chronicles, too, to get a gander/listen at one
of the songs I used to play when I was in bands and join the
girls in chit chat. Hope you and yours are in fine, frisky
fettle on this brink of spring!!,
02.26.08 ...Like No Other Lover!! + a
fab blog at Lux!!...My darlings, we have a new title for
the second book in the Pennyroyal Green series—the one
after the Perils of Pleasure. It'll be out in November,
and after much teamwork and brainstorming between a wide variety
of talented people, I can happily tell you that it'll be called—trumpets,
please—Like
No Other Lover!! I love it! Hope you like it, too,
and thanks to everyone who donated brainpower to the titling
process. :) You can even preorder
it on Amazon now (the former title still shows up
on Amazon—but cross my heart, that's the right link,
and the correct title will show up soon!) and we're close
to having both a final cover and the back cover copy, which
I can't wait to share with you!
Also, Bethany Hensel at the very FAB Lux
Magazine interviewed me for their blog, and she asked
some fabulous, interesting questions. Find out how I know
that 65-year-old men love Beauty
and the Spy, whether I think there's a stigma associated
with romance novels, and how to stay motivated to write! Stop
by to comment today!
02.19.08 ..."Mesmerizing!"...In
an extraordinarily lovely review of POP,
Bette-Lee
Fox of Library Journal says: "A fiction
fan doesn’t love all fiction, and an avid romance reader doesn’t
love all romances. But Julie Anne Long is one author to recommend
to anyone who loves to read, period." Wow! And she goes
on to say, "Long’s way with language and character
is mesmerizing. " One of my favorite words—"mesmerizing!"
Bless her heart. :) Just wanted to share that with you, kittens!
And I'll be chatting live with the Avon Romance Group on
Facebook
on February 29th, 8 p.m. EST. You need to register for
Facebook and join
the group (if you haven't already) to chat, but hey,
it's free — and fun! Hope to see you there.
02.13.08 ... POP talk!...If you're
on
Facebook (or would like to register for it if you
aren't—it's free!), join the discussion in the Avon
Romance group— The
Perils of Pleasure is the featured title for February!!
And check out my blog at Avon
Romance this week— I discuss POP, what's sexy
to me, and wrap it all up by mentioning a nude Jude Law. :)
And talking of talking: if you're an author or aspiring author
and you plan to attend the RWA conference in San Francisco
in July, my agent Steve Axelrod and I will be discussing "Why
Publishing is Making You Crazy— and What You Can Do About
It: The Tao of Publishing." (and here you thought
I was born crazy. :)) I will have chocolate
for various attendees. :) I'll tell you more about it in the
weeks ahead!
02.04.08 ... POPping with pride!...Would
you take The
Perils of Pleasure with you to a Desert Isle? All
About Romance would: they
made POP a Desert Isle keeper, and reviewer Rike Horstmann
wrote the most beautiful review, which
you simply have to read. It begins with "this is
the best romance I have read in a long time." I'm very
touched—POP is indeed rocking! And Haven Rich over at
Romantic Inks
said it "will keep your blood racing, captivate your
senses and enchant you with each page." Read
more reviews here, and be sure to check out some of
the characters you'll meet in the series in the FAQs
section.
01.29.08 ... POP the cork with me, babies—POP
is here!!...Yay!! It's here! The
Perils of Pleasure is in stores TODAY!! Let's toast
with some cyber champagne together and cross our fingers it
flies off the shelves! :) Can't wait to hear what you think
of it! Early readers and reviewers keep telling me they just
couldn't put it down, and I hope it's true for you, too. :)
If you haven't read an excerpt yet, check
it out here, and read
a few of the rave reviews to find out what reviewers
like about it, if you're'curious. And be sure to celebrate
by entering the contest
to win some genuine gemstone POP rocks from the POP collection
by Circe Designs! Also, check out Southern
Sunshine, where I'm blogging today—you might
win a signed book! Hope life is grand, kittens!
01.21.08 ... Riding the wave of raves!
Five BLUE RIBBONS from Romance Junkies for POP; plus, an Italian
blog..."Charming, fast-pace and exciting, brimming
with adventure, passion, secrets and intrigue...I couldn't
put it down until I devoured every last word" says Maria
Shaink at Romance
Junkies about POP,
who gifted it with their highest rating—five blue
ribbons! Isn't she a doll??...And check out my guest
appearance on the splendid Italian romance blog, Rosa
is for Romance blog beginning today—my
Italian friend Elisa Rolle posted information about me and
an excerpt from POP in both English and Italian!! She also
has some really fun original artwork from some of my books
— you can see the origins of the covers for TO
LOVE A THIEF and THE
SECRET TO SEDUCTION before they became covers.
Also in POP news: I've posted a sort of Pennyroyal
Green series "cast list" under FAQs on the POP
page and a synopsis for the series.
01.15.08 ... POP is a an RT TOP Pick!...Holy
Moly—POP the cork with me, darlings! Kathe Robin of
Romantic Times
loves The Perils
of Pleasure!! Now only does she say it's HOT, she
calls it " emotionally powerful, wonderfully rich"
and " rich in passion and character."
And thus continues a wave of raves for POP: Coffee
Time Romance said it's a "fast moving story
that just engulfs the reader with every page...Colin and Madeline
are a dynamite duo and their interactions are fantastic."
And Romance Reviews
Today called it "Well paced, romantic and
suspenseful, with underlying sexual tension...THE PERILS OF
PLEASURE should go on your to-buy list." Check
out a couple of excerpts if you haven't had a chance
yet, and be sure to enter the contest
before the end of the month. Only 13 days, 7 hours, 15
minutes and 25 seconds to go!! (so
sayeth the POP widget!)
01.07.08
... Happy New Year, darlings! Boy, do
I have a resolution for you!...Fresh out of ideas for
resolutions? You've come to the right place! How does this
sound: you should resolve to start your very own collection
of all things POP-related!
Hee! (only 21 days, 3 hours, 43 minutes and 37 seconds to
go!!) You can start by signing up for a chance to WIN
an Advance Reader Copy (also
lovingly known as an ARC!)
of POP from my oh so generous publisher, HarperCollins
— I'm featured on the the HarperCollins home page under
First Look! Click on my mug on the HC home page.
I'm the brunette in orange. :) You can sign up to win ARCs
from other great HC authors, too. And while you're there,
don't forget to peek at my
very own HarperCollins web page, if you haven't paid
a visit yet.
Or...how about resolving to start a collection
of POP rocks—the gemstone variety??? Circe
Designs (fine handcrafted jewelry) created a stunning
collection of sterling silver, green chalcedony and onyx jewelry
in honor of The
Perils of Pleasure!! And come on—don't we all
want to match our jewelry to our book covers?? Hee! With
every purchase at Circe Designs in January, you can win a
free pair of POP
earrings! Just enter the coupon code "POP."
12.29.07 ...Some rocking good news
to ring out the 2007...So I was still sweeping up Sugarplum
crumbs when I heard that The
Secret to Seduction was nominated for a Romantic
Times Reviewer's Choice Award! Let's hear it for the
pink book! Also, I've posted our
contest winner, but I don't have the contest up yet
— I'll have a new contest up by January 1 specifically
in honor of—you guessed it—POP!!
Have you looked at your POP
countdown widget lately?? Only 30 days, 11 hours,
44 minutes and 44 seconds to go before it hits shelves!!!
You're welcome. :) (hee!). POPpy new year, darlings!
12.23.07
...A very merry holiday to you, my doves,
and here's to a POPpy 2008!...On this eve of Christmas
eve, here's a big, warm HUG for you and all your loved ones,
both the two-legged and four -legged varieties. Thanks for
sharing this amazing year with me, and may your holiday be
merry and bright and your stocking loaded with books!
Can't wait to waltz into 2008 with all of you—and may
it be a happy (and
POPpy, of course), healthy, fabulously prosperous
and interesting year for us all. :) I should tell you
I got an early Christmas present from Barbara Vey at Publishers
Weekly—she called POP "delightful"
and "amazing" at her Beyond
her Book blog!! And just in case Santa doesn't bring
you those sterling silver and gemstone hoops you always wanted,
you might want to stop by my
contest. :) That's it for now, lovelies! xo...julie
11.27.07 ...POPpy New Year!... Hello
darlings! Can it be December already?? (well, in three
days??) Did you notice how I skipped right over Christmas-related
puns and took my POP
puns straight into 2008? :) Probably because my mind is perpetually
on February 08 when The
Perils of Pleasure hits shelves (I may have mentioned
that once or twice.) You probably have your Christmas shopping
done already (hee! I know— I'm hilarious), but
if you want to look forward to FREE stuff at the end of December,
visit my contest page
to see how you might win some. And read the spicy
new little POP excerpt (featuring smooching) I just
posted. And I won't say Merry Xmas yet, because I'll be posting
here again this month—but happy December, and let the
merriment commence in earnest!
11.01.07 ...POPping with gratitude...
Happy day-after-Halloween, kittens! Hope any tricks you experienced
were exciting (in a good way) and hope your treats will last
at LEAST the rest of the week. :) I can hardly believe it's
already November, but sure enough!! Time for a new contest—and
we have two! One just for today—check out Romantic
Inks for an exclusive, saucy little excerpt from POP and
a chance to win an ARC! Read my blog on bestseller lists
while you're there, too—it's an eye-opener. And the hoopla,
of course, continues over on my contest page. Go there to
find out to whom I'm grateful as Thanksgiving approaches,
and how I plan to show my gratitude. :) Happy November!
UPDATE, 11.3.07: The winner of the newsletter Sneaky
Contest is Jennifer Y.! Congrats, Jennifer, for being
quick and sneaky! Also, check
out the updated earring image on the contest page—last
month's image was still up there as of yesterday. Thanks!
xo...julie
10.17.07 ... "Arigatou gozaimasu!"
means "Thank you very much!" in Japanese!!...
and why am I expressing gratitude in Japanese, you
ask?? I woke up this morning to the news that there was a
bidding war among Japanese publishers in Japan for the
rights to publish the Japanese translation of the Holt Sisters
trilogy (Beauty
and the Spy, Ways
to be Wicked and The
Secret to Seduction)!! We sold them for a princely
sum, and I'm raising a toast to all my Japanese friends right
now—I hope you enjoy the stories when you get a chance
to read them! This means so far my books will be (or have
been) published in France, Poland, Russia, Germany, The Czech
Republic, China, Spain and Japan! Whee!!
What else is new? We now have a title for my next
Pennyroyal Green Book, which will be published after POP:
The Dangers of Desire! And how hot is that??
I love it. We'll have a dangerously sexy red cover to go with
the title, too.
10.03.07 ... "FABULOUS!!"...or
so says one of my very favorite authors, Suzanne
Enoch— she rang in with an early opinion of The
Perils of Pleasure, and called it "Warm, witty and
fabulous!" Three little adjectives designed to make
this author POP with happiness, let me tell you. Isn't she
nice?? Hope you all feel the same way when you read it. :)
I'll be sharing more excerpts in the weeks ahead, but check
out the one I have up now, if you're in the mood!
10.01.07 ... Happy BOOKtober, my darlings!...In
honor of October's high holiday, Halloween (have you noticed
there's a "boo" in "book"?) and as part
of our ongoing POP
hoopla, you can go trick or treating a little early this year
— just visit my contest
page! There's nothing scary about genuine gemstone
birthstones and free books. :) And if you feel like it, meander
on over to Redwyne,
Sybil Cook's blog—she very sweetly surprised me with
a post about about POP! I'll have ARCs pretty soon, and I'll
be sprinkling exclusive excerpts over various blogs and other
places in the months ahead, so stay tuned! :)
9.25.07 ... POP goes the cover!... I've
posted the cover of POP
(The Perils of Pleasure),
kittens, and oh, my goodness, it pops. Isn't
it pretty?? Take a look! Check out the excerpt
while you're there, and then sidle on over to the contest
page to enter. I'll have a new contest
up by Friday of this week, so hurry!
Also, be sure to take a
look at my
page at the beautiful new HarperCollins website! You
might find out one or two new things about yours truly while
you're there (what on earth do I do in my spare time??)
All your favorite Avon authors have their own pages, too,
so don't stop looking at my page. Mingle! :)
9.01.07
...Take that first peak at POP!... I
love September. It might have a little something to
do with the fact that it's my birthday month, and with all
those fond memories of picking out a new binder in prepration
for going back to school. I'm a Virgo, after all. I loved
school. And there's nothing like that new binder smell,
boy. :) September has always been the month of anticipation
for me. So what better month to start the countdown
to the release of of Perils of Pleasure (aka, POP)?? The
World Premier excerpt is up (hee!), so take a look!
And after that...join the POP Hoop-la at my contest
page! I'm giving away beautiful shiny things. :) Hope
your September started beautifully, lovelies.
8.01.07 ...Feast your eyes on Thieves
and Spies!...Happy August, lovelies! Last month's contest
proved so popular I thought I'd do a reprise of sorts—only
this month you'll have a chance to consort with thieves and
spies. :) Check out my
contest page!
Also, if you're curious, I updated the blurb for THE
PERILS OF PLEASURE —I had an ever-so- slightly
earlier version up there. (Preorders
are ROCKing, by the way. :) And I can't wait to show
you guys the cover!
0.21.07 ...Just flew back from the RWA
conference in Dallas...and boy are my arms tired.
("OK, Julie," you say. "Want to know
what we're tired of? Lame jokes.") But my jaws
are also tired from flapping, since I did more talking at
the RWA Conference than I probably do in a single year. As
per usual, the conference was a blast, and as relatively non-embarrassing
photos emerge, I'll share them with you. There are a few from
the Avon dinner up
on my blog, the Julie Chronicles, right now, and
at my
MySpace page, too!
I've also added some wonderful,
beautifully written reviews of THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION:
Rakehell says
it's one of the finest books of 2007; A
Romance Review gifted it with five roses, and called
it "superlative" and "historical romance
at its best;" The
Romance Reader Connection called it a definite
keeper. Check
them out, and blush alone with me!
06.26.07 ...The pink book must have wings...because
it's flying off the shelves. Ha ha! Oh, forgive me.
I'm a trifle punchy at the moment, but delighted to tell you
that The Secret
to Seduction went back to print only three weeks
after release!! It also spent more than a month as
a B&N and Amazon bestseller, and reviews have been gratifyingly
marvelous. If you haven't had a chance to read an excerpt
yet, take a peek at at a fabulous new website called Early
Ink, which features excerpts from current and upcoming
books of a wide variety of genres.
What else is new?? Lots! I finished writing my first book
for Avon, The
Perils of Pleasure, and you can already preorder
it! And the cover (which I can't share just yet) is incredibly
beautiful! POP will be out in February 08, and I'll
of course keep you posted. :) Check
out the back cover blurb now, if you want! And...Beauty
and the Spy was nominated for the Bookseller's
Best Award! Yay! Winners will be announced at a reception
following the Literacy signing in Dallas on July 11th. And
last, but definitely not least, we have a new contest,
of course. Get your signed copies of a Holt Sisters Trilogy
starter kit. :) And I think that covers it! Hope you're doing
great, kittens!!
04.25.07 ...The Pink book is here!! ...Hurrah!
The Secret to
Seduction is in stores, glowing like a beautiful pink
beacon! LOL! And we have a winner for my newsletter's Sneaky
Contest—the very quick and sneaky Teresa E. of
Delaware! Yay, Teresa! Also, pay no mind to old T.S. Eliot
— there's nothing cruel about April at my website.
April, is, in fact, the coolest month, and you'll find out
why when you see those
beautiful pearls on my contest page.
03.01.07 ..March came in like a lion,
and it's going out with a HURRAH! ....Why? Because RT
made THE SECRET
TO SEDUCTION a Top Pick, calling it passion-filled,
lively romance brimming over with wit and wisdom."
Also, put a little Spring in your Ears with beautiful green
pearls over at my contest
page, and if you're on MySpace, check
out my new page and come be my friend!! Aren't you
glad it's Spring at last?? Hope it feels that way in your
neck of the woods. :)
02.01.07 ...I could use a couple
of thousand Valentines this year—how about you??...So
it's February, the month that plays host to the high holiday
of romance, and this year I think I'd like to have LOTS of
Valentines. Want to be mine?? It's easy! Just
enter to win handcrafted garnet and pearl earrings, a
signed book, and....a special Julie's Heroe's t-shirt!!
Yep, I have my own line of Happily
Ever After Wear (hee!) now, and all proceeds from
any t-shirt sales through May 1st go to the Humane Society
of the United States. And in other FABULOUS news, Beauty
and the Spy was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer's
Choice Award!! Say YAY for BATS!
QUICK UPDATE: MAITHE O.
of Miama, FL won the Sneaky Contest in my newsletter!!
Congrats to Maithe for being quick and sneaky!
11.01.06 ...November: It's not just for
turkey anymore!... So how did you celebrate National
Authors' day on the first? What's that you say? You had no
idea there was any such thing as national Author's
Day, and if you did, you would have sent me a big present??
Tsk, tsk. Kidding! Truthfully, every day is Author's
Day for me. Go to my contest
page to find out why, what I'm giving away in honor of it,
and to learn who I'm grateful for this year. :) (Hint: it
starts with Y, ends with a U, and has an "O" in
the middle.) Here's h oping you and yours have a wonderful
holiday this month.
10.01.06 ...It's BOOKtober!... Hee!
Forgive the dreadful pun, but how could I resist when
I'm giving away TEN (as October is the 10th month) signed
books in my contest
this month?? What else is new? Readers and reviewers seem
to be loving Ways
to be Wicked— (in
fact, Romance Reader at Heart says "Historical
Romance doesn't get much better than this," a little
phrase that thrills me so completely I might quote until the
day I die. LOL.) Also, the winner of my newsletter's sneaky
contest was Kelly C. in Tacoma, WA. Atta girl, Kelly!
Way to be quick and sneaky!! Hope you're all having a splendid
fall so far!
08.15.06 ...Ways to win books by reading
bits of WAYS TO BE WICKED... Impromptu
Contest alert! I've posted a steamy little
excerpt from WAYS TO BE WICKED on
my blog, and on Friday the 18th, 9 p.m. EST, I'll
choose (at random) a winner of a signed copy of either To
Love a Thief or Beauty
and the Spy from a commenter (a commenter on that particular
post, that is). Hope you enjoy it, kittens, and let me know
what you think!
08.01.06 ...Emus and peridots and blogs,
oh my...Holy cow, it's August! And of course we
have a winner of last month's contest (the contest answer
was "emu," kids! Boy, did I get some wild guesses.
Unicorns, anyone??), and we have a new contest,
this time featuring August's lovely, cool gem, the peridot,
as a prize. I've also posted a couple of mini excerpts from
WAYS TO
BE WICKED, the second book in the trilogy about the
Holt sisters—I keep hearing I've "outdone myself"
with this book. LOL. I hope it's true. Read 'em, and let me
know! And you can find a few photos of me both glammed up
and a little wilted at RWA conference over at The
Julie Chronicles, with more to come in the days ahead
(I'll share the ones in which I don't look like a gargoyle.
:). Hope your neck of the woods is cooling off a little! Wish
I could ship a little fog your way, if you're broiling. Happy
late summer, kittens!
06.11.06 ... You win some, you
win some...You can be the girl with the pearl earrings
in this month's Pearls
of Wisdom Contest—black pearl earrings and a
signed book are up for grabs! And if you subscribe to my newsletter,
I just wanted to let you know we had a winner of the Sneaky
Contest about five minutes after the newsletter went out
on Thursday! LOL. Congrats to the quick and sneaky Lisa
T. of Metairie, LA— she found the contest hidden
in the newsletter, so I'm sending her a signed copy of BATS.
06.11.06 4:11 p.m. Charlene S. of Kentucky JUST
won a signed copy of BATS in the Stealth Contest, only a few
minutes after I posted it! Boy, you guys are fast! LOL. Keep
your eyes on this spot for more stealth contests this month!
06.01.06 ... An extra few days
to get in on the green... In honor of my deadline, which
is coming at me the way the ground comes at a parachute jumper
(ha!), I've extended my contest
deadline to June 4th! Look for a new contest on June
5th, kittens! Can't wait to find out who'll win the emeralds.
Welcome to June!
05.30.06 ... Bookseller's Best!...
My Memorial Day began with a thrilling little email:
To Love a Thief
is a finalist in the Short Historical category for the Bookseller's
Best Award contest! The news was just the little boost
I needed to help push me over the finish line—I'm finishing
up The Secret to Seduction, the final book in my trilogy
about the Holt Sisters. Ways
to be Wicked, the second book, is preordering
at Amazon now!
05.15.06 ... Authors speeding??...
Join me and Connie
Brockway, Karen Hawkins,
Teresa Medeiros,
Sabrina Jeffries,
Shirley Karr and
Kerelyn Sparks
for Author Speed Week at Romantically
Inclined! You'll find me there this Thursday the 18th.
Hope you pop in to say hello!
05.01.06 ... The Best Things in
Life are Green... pistachios, cat's eyes, money, trees...I
mean, the list is endless. This month, in the spirit of our
whole birthstone theme, you can win one of the most coveted
green things of all (hint: they're faceted, they're shiny,
and there are two of them, one for each ear). Enter
the contest and find out who won last month's diamonds
while you're at it. (I can hardly believe it's already May!)
04.03.06 ... T'is the season for
glorious phone calls!... Got another wonderful message
the other day:
To Love a Thief has been nominated for the prestigious
Holt Medallion award in the Short Historical category!! Hurrah!
Thief is now
neck and neck with its elder sibling, The
Runaway Duke: they've both earned Romantic Times Reviewer's
Choice, Rita and Holt nominations, and this makes me a proud,
beaming book mom. Also, read about my houseboy Guillaume and
find out how to win actual diamonds in my
latest contest!
03.27.06 Nothing can be sweeter than a
call about the Rita!... Last Friday I got the call that
every romance author dreams about: To
Love a Thief has been nominated for a Rita in the
Short Historical Category! I think I actually twirled in joy.
Speaking of spinning, the reviews for BATS are still rolling
in and spinning my head: Romance
Reader Connection gave it four hearts and a plug, calling
it "simply superlative...a gorgeous and lovely novel,
a sumptuous feast for historical romance fans." I
think "superlative" and "sumptuous" are
two of my favorite words. :) Read excerpts
at the BATS page!
03.01.06 Time to go BATS!... BEAUTY
AND THE SPY is officially in stores! I'm so thrilled. So far
reviewers
are calling it "infinitely charming" and "profoundly
passionate and brilliant," among other things! What do
you think? Drop me a note if you have an opinion! Speaking
of dropping, drop by my blog today, Dishing
with the Divas, to dish about BATS if you're in the mood,
or join the chat at the Mystic
Castle tonight, 9-10 EST!
02.08.06 Sample some Diva morsels...
In the seven days leading up to that high holiday of romance,
Valentine's Day, the Fog City Divas are offering a Diva Sampler
at our blog, Dishing
with the Divas: each day you can find an excerpt from
one of our books. Be sure to stop in on Friday the 10th
to read a juicy little morsel from Beauty
and the Spy that you won't find on this site! Also,
check out some blindingly beautiful new photos of us in my
diary, and if you're in the Bay Area, come meet me
on Saturday, February 11th in San Rafael in the middle
of the Northgate shopping center mall. I'll be signing
books with a bevy of other Bay Area authors.
02.05.06 Holy Top Pick!!... Romantic
Times BOOKClub Magazine gave BEAUTY
AND THE SPY 4 1/2 stars and a Top Pick, saying, "Make
room next to Julia Quinn and Stephanie Laurens for Long."
I mean...WOW. I didn't quite swoon when I heard that...but
let's just say I felt quite pleasantly dizzy there
for a moment. Also, if you're interested in peace, love, happiness,
and protection from thieves, check out our
new contest and find out who won last month's contest
while you're there. And there's a new excerpt
online—the prologue for BATS! Hope you're having
a lovely February so far.
01.05.06
Happy New Year, Indeed!... Historical
Romance Writers has rung in my new year with
an early review—and a perfect 10!—for BEAUTY
AND THE SPY, calling it "profoundly passionate
and brilliant!" Read the review
here, along with an excerpt
from BATS! Hope your new year started just as radiantly
as mine. And speaking of radiance...you've heard of
wearing your heart on your sleeve...but frankly, I think hearts—specifically,
shiny hearts—look better in earlobes. Enter for a chance
to win garnet and 14K gold heart earrings this month in my
contest, and find
out who won last month's contest! Happy 2006, everyone!
12.30.05 My second-born makes me proud!...Talk
about a wonderful Christmas present and an auspicious way
to start a new year: To
Love a Thief has been nominated for a Romantic
Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Historical, Love
and Laughter! And the company I'm in—Loretta
Chase, Elizabeth
Boyle, Betina Krahn,
and Kathryn Caskie—is
dazzling and humbling, indeed. Wish me luck!
12.01.05 Happy Blue Year...It's December,
kittens, and that means blue topaz for our new
contest! Find out who won last month's contest, and
enter to win the pretty new danglies. Also, find out which
celebrities I've been sleeping with...visit
the Fog City Diva blog today.
;)
11.10.05 Ready to go BATS?...OK, kids,
there's a brief
excerpt from Beauty and the Spy up...in which we
discover that
Kit isn't the only one with espionage
skills. ;) Check it out!
11.01.05 Hark! Is that John Denver I hear?...Sunshine...for
your earlobes...makes me— Ahem. OK, first, let me
let me apologize for putting that song in your head,
and next let me tell you about my new contest: Sunshine
for your Earlobes. As you may have guessed, I'm continuing,
by wildly popular demand, the birthstone earring theme, and
this month it's citrines. (A whole bunch of Geminis
out there have asked me to keep going through next year. LOL!
We'll see). Check out the contest,
and find out who won last month's opals and Stealth Contest.
Keep your eyes peeled this month for an excerpt from BEAUTY
AND THE SPY, too, which I may sneak in on you...along
with a Stealth Contest or two. Happy November!
10.09.05
BLOGtober at Dishing
with the Divas continues with some rocking guests...Come
join the Fog City Divas as we dish with Christie
Ridgway this week, Karen
Hawkins next week and Christine
Feehan the week of October 24th (Halloween week, of
course!). And don't forget to enter the
contest while you're there—we're giving away
swag fit for a Diva every week this month.
10.03.05 "O" is for October and
Opals and...well, lots of other thoroughly delightful
things I won't go into here. ;) But speaking of jewels, I
cannot begin to tell you how popular those sapphire
earrings were, gang! I was forced to give them away to just
one of you, however—find
out who here—and in keeping with our birthstone
theme, I decided to give away more sparklies for your ears—opals,
this time.
Also, be sure to check out The Fog City Divas month of BLOGwarming
contests...
09.06.05
Think like a Diva!...I'm officially a Diva—of
the Fog City Diva, variety, that is! Visit our new blog, Dishing
with the Divas, to read about David Caruso, red-headed
heroes, flogging, Greek myths, 80's bands, and other profundity.
Also, win September's birthstone in my new contest,
and find out who won the big bag of swag.
09.01.05 Doing our part to spread romance
all over the net... Read the splendid new review of To
Love a Thief featured in Michelle Buonfiglio's new
internet Romance column, B(u)y
the Book! You can also read it at any of the 75 other
sites—go here
to choose one. There's also an author
profile, where I talk about hot heroes, hot violinists,
hot mayors and the inspiration for Thief, among other
things.
08.11.05
I'm going BATS!...Beauty
and the Spy (BATS), that is—just got back from
Reno and the fabulous RWA conference, just turned in my revisions
for Beauty and the
Spy, and just posted a new contest—along
with the winners of last month's hardcover THIEF and bag of
swag. The "Friends" contest proved so popular (or
rather, YOU guys proved popular—you all seem to have
a lot of friends!!) that I'll be holding a version of it every
month!
07.24.05 Do you ever get tired of
talking about yourself, Julie??... The Historical Romance
Club is featuring interviews
with moi, Nicole Jordan, Gaelen Foley and Jennifer
Ashley as part of their two-year anniversary celebration!
Check out their beautifully redesigned website. Also this
month, I was a
Mystery Author at the Romance Reader at Heart, where
I talk about my love affair with the guitar, Jesus Christ
Superstar and The Princess Bride, among other things.
You can check out past interviews with me, too, at The
Romance Reader and The
Romance Reader at Heart.
And if you're going to Reno for the big Romance Writers
of America conference (July 27th-30!) in Reno, please
stop by the literacy signing on Wednesday night and say hi!
You'll find me in the "L's". LOL! Wish me Rita luck—I'm
up for Best First Book (I may have mentioned that once or
twice). Check out my diary
for a glimpse of my gown!
07.02.05 Win a big bag of swag...with a
little help from your friends...Check out my new contest
to find out how, and learn who won last month's contest while
you're at it. Also, Beauty
and the Spy is already available for preorder on Amazon!
Have a dazzling 4th of
July!
06.01.05 Win a Thief and a Scoundrel...
What goes better with a Thief... than a Scoundrel? Check
out this month's contest
to see how you can win (signed copies!) of both. Also, we
have a bunch of winners
of our previous month's contests, and a beautiful
Thief Gallery
for your perusal. Happy June!
05.28.05 Go forth and multiply... Hi
everyone — FANTASTIC news: To
Love a Thief has gone into a second printing only
six weeks after publication! Hurrah! Thanks to everyone who
enjoyed the book and helped spread the word. :)
05.09.05 Fur loin cloths... on gyrating
male cover models were just one of the many surreal wonders
the Romantic Times conference had to offer. The conference
was a blast—I think I'm only now fully recovering
my voice, not to mention my senses. Based on feedback from
you guys, I'm extending our "Where
in the World is To Love a Thief" contest for
another month, so check out photos of THIEF posing with a
gorgeous book group, a lungfish, a giant wooden Indian,
peeking out of the shower and more in the THIEF
gallery, and send me your own beautiful mug! We do
have a books contest
winner, however. Also, we have more blush-worthy reviews for
TO LOVE A THIEF.
I write like a "master," Rakehell says. "Brilliant"
says Historical Romance Writers. Bless them.
04.27.05
I think they like it... "The best of
the best," "simply pure romantic escapism at its
best," "a must-buy!" "a truly great read
and a definite keeper," a Perfect 10 and a couple of
Top Picks..hmmm, reviewers seem to like TO
LOVE A THIEF. :) Hey, what do you think? Check out
the reviews
and the excerpt!
04.27.05
Lungfish like it, too...For the World
Contest, a reader just sent me a photo of her reading
TO LOVE A THIEF
to a lungfish, and if that doesn't rock, I don't
know what does. If you want a crack at that diamond
watch and signed copies of books—you don't need a lungfish,
but you do need to be a little creative. Go to town! I'll
extend the contest a little, since I'm going to RT
(see you in St. Louis, if you're there!).
See it pose
with a set of toes from Texas, with Spike and Angel in Canada,
with a real estate mogul and a
04.16.05 It's Sexual Tension Saturday!
...Because I figured you'd be sick of the old one by now,
here's a new excerpt from TO LOVE A THIEF—a
sizzling little scene by the fire. Enjoy!
04.02.05 See
Lily hold hands with Spike and Angel...TO
LOVE A THIEF gets around! See it pose
with a set of toes from Texas, with Spike and Angel in Canada,
with a real estate mogul and a baby from California...and
send your own creative shots my way! Check out the contest
page for how to win that diamond watch!
04.02.05 A
picture is worth a thousand words—or a diamond watch...—but
you'll have to get out your cameras to play! Also, check out
my author spotlight at the wonderful Romance
Reader at Heart, and some lovely new reviews of TO
LOVE A THIEF.
03.30.05
Pinch me, I'm dreaming...! THE
RUNAWAY DUKE is a finalist in two categories for the
Holt
Medallion: Best First Book and Best Long Historical! It's
been an astonishing few weeks—TO
LOVE A THIEF is collecting rave
reviews, too. It's in bookstores now!
03.25.05
DUKE is a Rita finalist! What a fabulous
way to wake up: I learned this morning that THE
RUNAWAY DUKE is a finalist for the RWA Rita award
for best first book! Excuse me while I twirl ecstatically
a la Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music...
03.21.05
Learn why why taking a shower is in my apartment is hazardous,
along with more JAL trivia
in an interview with yours truly at The
Romance Reader!
03.03.05 HOLY
MACKEREL! A Top Pick!...TO
LOVE A THIEF has been honored with 4 1/2 stars and
a Top Pick from Romantic
Times! They
called it "Endearing, delightful and unforgettable."
I'm
BESIDE myself. Read
the review here. Also, check out my diary
for new babbling and photos.
03.01.05 They're
forever, they're a girl's best friend, Lucy hangs out in the
sky with them... and now you
can win one of your own, thanks to Gideon Cole and Lily Masters
of TO LOVE A
THIEF! Learn more here,
and learn our picnic basket contest winner, too.
02.01.05 Your
chance to vote for a Duke... THE
RUNAWAY DUKE was voted a Desert Island Keeper at
All ABout Romance!
And if you're a fan of the book, you can vote for it—and
me—in their 2004
Reader Poll, if you're so inclined. Preliminary results
looked promising...I'm crossing my fingers!
02.01.05
A tisket, a tasket, win an ARC and a basket... the competition
for last month's pocket watch prize was fierce, but
we have a winner! We also, of course, have a new contest,
involving a beautiful basket and an ARC of TO
LOVE A THIEF, among other things (scented and/or edible).
Learn more here.
01.27.05
Do you need a secret handshake to get in, or...? TO
LOVE A THIEF will be a featured alternate in both
the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs! (and no, you don't
need a secret handshake to get into these particular clubs!)
01.25.05
My firstborn is making me proud!...THE
RUNAWAY DUKE was nominated for Historical Romance
of the Year (2004) in two different categories by the Historical
Romance Club! Take
a look at all the esteemed nominees. :) Winners will be
announced March 23rd. Cross your fingers!
01.03.05
Did I really just type "o5?"... Happy New Year,
kittens! Watch Lily and Gideon from
TO LOVE A THIEF fall in love—and enter to win
a groovy pocket watch
at the same time! Also, learn who won the Byron contest with
98 (98!!!) rhyming words, and who our "guess the prize"
pre-contest winner is.
01.03.05
I'm stunned, I tell you, stunned...
THE RUNAWAY
DUKE is nominated for a ROMANTIC TIMES Reviewer's
Choice Award! DUKE is also
Book of the Month at the beautiful
Mystic Castle.
12.26.04
Tick, tick, tick...what's that sound? Why, just the sound
of the clock running out on 2004, that's all. Let's hear it
for 2005! And as promised, I've posted an excerpt from TO
LOVE A THIEF! There's a clue to January's contest
prize in the excerpt,
too— and as a sort of pre-contest, I'll send a
signed copy of THE
RUNAWAY DUKE to anyone who correctly guesses the prize
(and sends me a note with their guess) by January 1st. (note:
January's official contest won't be posted until January
3).
12.16.04
Deck the halls, but not your in-laws... Hey, I honestly
don't care whether you've been naughty or nice. There's life
after Christmas! Check back here
on December 26th for an excerpt of TO
LOVE A THIEF, coming in April of 2005—and see
if you can guess what the next very cool contest prize will
be! (there's a hint in the excerpt).
11.23.04
Fa la la la la, etc. ...
Take a sneak-peek at my next book, TO
LOVE A THIEF and preorder it if the spirit moves you;
find out who won my last contest;
enter a new (and, OK, decidedly silly) contest and...why
are you still reading this?? Shouldn't you be out Christmas
shopping?!? Isn't Christmas like...tomorrow?? (Just
kidding. You can stop hyperventilating now).
read
more>>
09.14.04
To infinity and beyond!...
THE RUNAWAY DUKE has already
gone into a second printing!! I'm reeling with joy, shock,
and vertigo, although I think the last has something to do
with my summer cold. LOL! Also, name a horse in my new contest,
read lovely new DUKE reviews,
peek at my diary, and...
am I missing anything?
read
more>>
08.02.04
DUKE makes the lists!...
THE RUNAWAY DUKE is officially out—
and it made the Waldenbooks Top 10
and Amazon.com's Bestselling Romance lists!! Also, read some
wonderful new reviews.
BOY, am I having fun with this whole author thing!
read
more>>
07.12.04
HOLY
TOP PICK...!! My first major review:
Four and a half stars (the highest rating) for
THE RUNAWAY DUKE and a K.I.S.S. award for Connor, DUKE's
hero, from Romantic Times BOOKclub!! I can't feel my feet...
I must be floating.
read
more>>
07.12.04 Where's
Julie? Here's my "tour"
schedule, an ever-evolving list of places were I'll be signing
books, talking, just being...come see me.
read
more>>
06.23.04 What
do Steve Martin and Vin Diesel have in common?...
according to you guys, they're both HOT! I'm having so much
fun with this contest
that I've decided to extend the deadline to July 15th. Read
the rules and submit your
hottie today!
read
more>>
06.01.04 To
know, know, know me, is to...well,
I don't know if it's necessarily to love me (somewhere
my sister is laughing), but thanks to your contest questions,
now you can decide for yourself! (Be kind.) We have a contest
winner,
too, and a new contest—who do you think is HOT?
read
more>>
05.10.04 WOW!
It's really a book!...
The ARC's (Advance Reading
Copies—I know: I didn't know what that meant, either,
until a few months ago) for THE RUNAWAY DUKE have arrived!
If you're a book reviewer or a book group member and you'd
like to get your paws on one, click below.
read
more>>
04.12.04 The
trouble with highwaymen...
read a new, longer excerpt from THE
RUNAWAY DUKE.
read
more>>
03.18.04 Julie
Anne Long faints from joy!...
My first ever review—an
early one from
Romantic
TimesBOOKclub Magazine—
calls THE RUNAWAY
DUKE
"Marvelous... impossible to put down...a dazzling
debut...!"
read
more>>
03.18.04
Speaking of public speaking...
If you're in the SF Bay Area in April, join Julie and romance
writers Candice
Hern, Shelley
Bates, Jennifer Skullestad
and literary agent Elizabeth
Pomada for a discussion on "Breaking In/ Breaking
Out" of publishing.
read
more>>
02.16.04
They threw
fruit!... Read about Julie's first ever
public speaking gig—as a participant on a romance
writing panel at the First Annual San Francisco Writer's Conference
(just kidding about the fruit!)
read more>>
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