Welcome to the "Get Wicked!" Cyber Dance Party!!

A LATE MONDAY NIGHT NOTE FROM JULIE: Talk about a great party!! I had a blast today! You guys really know how to help a girl celebrate. And a few people have crashed on top of the pile of coats in the guest bedroom—I can hear the snoring from here—and we're finally starting to run a bit low on the Cyber Dom Perignon, but the doors to this party don't close until 6 p.m. PDT Tuesday the 3rd, so if you haven't had a chance to dance or to try the hummus, come on in!)

Happy October kittens, and welcome to our Cyber Dance Party!! So what are we celebrating? Two joyous things: the release of WAYS TO BE WICKED, the second book in the Holt sisters trilogy, and the fact that I get to write a new series (for Avon!) when I’ve finished the trilogy!! Yay! Right below this blog is our soundtrack for the party, so go ahead and scroll down, read the instructions, and by all means start dancing—there might even be a song dedicated to you (if you requested one earlier)!! (Both listening and dancing are optional, but I discovered recently that my own blog reading experience was greatly enhanced by “Private Idaho,” so I have to recommend it.)

And even though there’s actually a great little song down there called “Ways to be Wicked,” this particular song is our theme song for the day:

  Our dance party theme song

(Napster will probably let you listen to one song without registering, but registering is cinchy. Scroll down to find out how.)

Anyway, so, my talented Avon Red author buddy Toni Blake has asked me a variety of questions both relevant (about Ways to be Wicked) and utterly trivial (just the kind I like), and I’ve posted answers to them below, so welcome to a very random interview. LOL. There’s a photo of me and Toni dressed up for a different kind of party over there, just so you can remember what we look like, but that’s not the dress code for this particular party. I mean, I’m not even going to tell you what I’m wearing right now. Let’s just call it “comfortable” and leave it at that. I can do The Pony in it. And the Cabbage Patch. That's what really matters.

And when you’re done reading our interview, go ahead and ask me any question at all! About writing, about Ways to be Wicked, about what I plan to have for dinner. Whatever you want. Everyone who participates today will get a Party Favor—a signed bookmark! (Send me an email with the words “Party Favor” in the subject line after you comment, and include your address!), and one random commenter will win a GRAND prize: my entire body of work—well, four books—and a lovely pair of pearl and diamond earrings. I’ll announce a winner on Wednesday. I’ll leave this blog rolling for two days, I figure.

Thanks for coming! Come on in, kick off your shoes (unless you dance better in those spike heels) mingle, have a cyber finger sandwich, sip some cyber Dom, dance a little, grill me!! Let’s get this party started!

Toni: WAYS TO BE WICKED takes place in a bawdy London theater setting. That’s totally cool, and makes me think of Shakespeare in Love and the more recent Stage Beauty, even though I know the time period is different. What inspired this fabulously fun setting?

Truthfully, the setting just sort of happened, and it was all Beauty and the Spy’s fault. [Beauty and the Spy is the first book in the trilogy; WTBW is the second; The Secret to Seduction is the third]. I was writing the part of the story where Kit and Susannah are researching the truth about Susannah’s past, and they wind up at the White Lily, a bawdy theater in London. And who should be inside when I (figuratively speaking) pushed open that theater door but the theater’s owner, Tom Shaughnessy? I was half in love with him as I wrote him—I mean, strangely, I felt like I already knew him—and I was having so much fun writing those short scenes at The White Lily that when Tom walked offstage, so to speak, I wanted to follow him. I knew he had to be my next hero.

And once I was there in the theater setting…Well, I love contrasts: I loved creating a hero who is devil-may-care, cheerfully unapologetic about his reputation as a lady’s man, and utterly committed to something that seems frivolous on the surface—the bawdy shows at the theater—but who also happens to be determined and ambitious and a little bit dangerous, because he’s survived on the streets and he’s earned everything he has the hard way. I love the gaiety of the theater shows contrasted with the offstage antics, jealousies, ambitions and heartbreaks of the characters.

And my primary goal when I’m writing is to entertain myself, because truly, if I’m thoroughly engaged in the story—amused, aroused, worried on behalf of my characters, living the story with them—I figure my readers will be, too. And in general, in life, I'm entertained by variety and little surprises, which means I love unusual heroes and heroines and fully developed peripheral characters and unique settings, so I was quickly captivated by the possibilities a theater presented, particularly in the Regency period.

  WAYS TO BE WICKED was the #1 bestselling historical romance at BN.com AND reached #30 overall at BN.com before it was even released! That rocks! Did you do anything to celebrate?

I did! I had some carrot cake.

Have you seen Jennifer the Spider lately? Or do you feel she’s moved on to some other windowsill by now?

Jennifer sent a postcard—she’s living outside, beneath the back stairs. She’s not bitter about her eviction. And there are more flies out there by the garbage cans than there are in my office (I’m sure you’re all very happy to hear that), so she has a lot more to eat. [Note to the uninitiated: Jennifer, and spiders in general, starred in a blog a few weeks ago.]

My current book, SWEPT AWAY, takes place on a deserted island. I dedicated the book to my husband, saying if I had to pick someone to be stuck on an island with, I’d choose him. If YOU had to be stuck on an island with one other person, who would you take?

Superman. Because that way he could fly both of us right OFF that damn island. (The word “stuck” troubles me, you see. It implies a protracted period of time withou t sanitary facilities— this is a “deserted” island, right?—and the need to eat things like shellfish to survive, and I’m allergic to shellfish.) Or…wait! I know! Elastic Man! Because he could stretch aaallllll the way out across the water to make a bridge to the mainland, and I could walk across him all the way home, and—

All right, all right. I know you’re looking for an answer as sweet as yours, Toni, and as I’m a romance author, I ought to be able to come up with something, so hang on, hang on…Wait—got it!! I’d like to be stuck with the man of my dreams…only, when we’re first stranded, I wouldn’t know he was the man of my dreams, and he wouldn’t know I was the woman of his. We’d spend our time on the island figuring it out, because God knows we’ll need something to do while we’re stuck there, besides fending off predators. In between falling in love, I’ll probably carve Scrabble tiles out of driftwood. This man will have a fantastic vocabulary, and will also be able to make both a radio and an IPod from a coconut.

I wouldn’t mind being stuck with Tom Shaughnessy from Ways to be Wicked, either. He knows lots of good bawdy songs, so we probably won’t be bored. Or your hero of Swept Away, for that matter.

Another desert island question, but this one is more abstract and philosophical: You’re stuck on a desert island with one other person, and you have to choose one of the following: someone you love but who doesn’t love you in return OR someone who loves you but who you do not love. We’re talkin’ romantic love here, by the way. Which do you choose – the person you love or the person who loves you?

Oh man. I LOVE this question! My mind just sort of spasmed with happiness at the sheer philosophical torment of it all. LOL. But all it does is lead to more questions: is there HOPE of your love being returned? Because hope is a very bright, sustaining thing, whereas the potential for guilt and regret and irritation—stemming from knowing you’re stuck with someone who loves you but whom you’ll never love in return—can be quite wearing and uncomfortable. Me, I’m comfortable with yearning. And hope. I know how to yearn and hope. I write romance, after all. But I’m uncomfortable with making people uncomfortable or unhappy. LOL.

Then again, the entirely unfamiliar circumstance of a desert island might bring out entirely different qualities in the stranded people, uncovering new reasons to love or not love. See?? The possibilities are endless.

To give a short answer, it would probably be easier for me to be the one who loves, rather than the one who is loved, but this bears an ENTIRE blog post worth of discussion, probably.

A last desert island question: You’re stuck on a desert island and you can take 5 books. What are they?

On day three of being stuck on the island, I’ll discover that one of the five books is a magical, inflatable book. When rubbed just the right number of times, it will turn into a very sturdy dinghy which will carry me away from the island, and the other books will also be magical books, each of which will turn into brand new books the minute I finish reading them. This way I won’t get bored as I float back to the mainland, because I’ll have lots to read. I read fast.

Don’t get me wrong. I mean, I like islands, and all. It's just that words like “stuck” and “trapped” make me all squirmy. Plus, I have work to do back on the mainland. I have a new series to write!

Or maybe I should choose very thick books that I can burn for fuel if necessary, or to cook the wild beasts I caught with my bare hands. Or maybe they should be five blank books, so I can write and write and write brand new stories. :)

Ok, kittens—pause a moment in your booty shaking and ask me questions! But remember I'm on the West Coast, so I'll be joining you around 8 or 9 a.m. San Francisco time. But don't feel like you have to wait for me! Feel free to get it started, and I'll make a grand entrance. LOL.

Comments

[Ranurgis]

Well, this is indeed going to be a very interesting party. I have to go shopping tomorrow morning (EDT) and I should be back before the party starts unless I can't get up too early. After all it is now 0350 EDT now.

I just figured out how to watch DVDs and VCRs without having cable on the TV. I'm definitely mechanically challenged but I "dot it" in my 3-year-old niece's words (she's now 23 and just got her own car on Friday). She said that to my mother when we were baby-sitting and my mother couldn't figure out how to get a VCR going. My brother has always been on the forefront of buying anything new for entertainment--including computers.

I guess I can hope that the store I have to go to has WTBW although they've had none of your others and the official release date has still not arrived or has it?

I was certain I had posted something on Sept. 28 specifically mentioning that I won't be able to listen to the music because I have no speakers. They, like so many other badly-needed items--are lost somewhere in the basement. So I'll have to see how things go.

I'll certainly have to come by.

[Ranurgis]

BTW, that finger-food and the Dom look yummy. Hmm, they are. I hope you don't mind that I sneaked some already. After all if you put it out already that means we can have some, right? You did say to start without you if needed and I just feel a little peckish.

[Vicki]

Not sure I am doing this right. I am somewhat cyberly challenged. Anyways, just curious as the the Idaho and potato fascination, lol. I am from Idaho and everybody ALWAYS has to say something about Idaho and the potato. Just curious, lol

[Annmarie]

Great dance party! I'm lovin' the 80s "theme" and the wonderful lady who picked Groove is in the Heart really knows her groovy dance music...I'll turn it up & dance more after the kids head to school! Here's a question...once you find the man of your dreams, how do you keep it (your relationship) from getting "old" (i.e. boring)?

[PJ]

Great site Julie. I got your newsletter this morning and popped right over - for the very first time. I picked up WTBW at the store this weekend and can't wait to dive in. I'm hearing such great things about this book from people who have already read it!

I can't think of a question right now. I'll come back by once I'm fully awake.

Congrats on the B&N bestseller placement!

PJ

[Tomoko]

Dear Julie Anne Long,
Is there any other type of book you'd like to write? Any other genre you'd like to dip your talented little tootsies in?

[Haven Rich]

OH man that food looks good up there.

Hmm questions...

Well since your on a boogie-til-the-sun-comes-up mood, we might as well go with it! Did you ever have a "our" song with someone..high school sweetheart perhaps?

You know how much I adored WTBW, so I'm curious as to when exactly I can get my hands on book 3?

But questions about this book: Did you fall out of your chair laughing when you wrote the clam scene? Did you break out in hives as your allergic to shellfish? Did you dance around to those bawdy songs?

To me anyhow, this book is such a contrast to the last, what made you decide change the style of the book from the first?

Love the interview btw, but umm islands are only good when they have 5 star hotels and lots of hunks on them. Otherwise I start thinking of Tom Hanks in that one movie I slept through.

[Danielle]

Julianne,

Where did the idea of writing a book that takes place in a "risque club" come from?

I'm going to have to look for my dancing shoes from the 80's. She's a brick house!!!!

[Carol]

Congratulations on the B&N bestseller placement!

Did you always want to be a writer? How long did it take you to get your first book published and how did you react when you found out it sold?

[Jennifer Y.]

Great party and interview.

I have been wondering about Jennifer the Spider...LOL. So you are going to be fashionably late, huh, since you live on the west coast?

Well, here is a question or two or three.

Why do you write romance?

What do you like to read?

Have your reading habits changed since you became a writer/published?

[Kathleen]

What a great party!! Thanks for the fun Julie!

Questions:
Is there a type of genre that you would still like to write?

Where would you really like to travel to do "research" on a book? For example, for settings.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written so far?

[Toni Blake]

Woohoo, looks like the party's hoppin'! I just danced to Head Over Heels, now I'm going to kick back and have a glass of ... OJ, because I just can't drink at 10 AM ; )

So, Julie, love the party, but ... here's the thing. I think you're taking this desert island thing a little too literally ; ) Maybe I should have phrased it differently. Like ... if you were stuck in a secluded place, but it had all the modern ameneties, plenty to eat, showers, feather dusters, soap, etc. ... Of course, the word stuck is still there, but I think you're concentrating too much on the "stuck" and not enough on the heart of the question ; )

Like in the "to love or be loved" question. Doesn't matter where you are, and don't think of the future raminfications of building fires together and eating coconuts and having it lead to romance - the heart of the question is: which is more satisfying and contenting to you: to love or to be loved.

So there ; ) The party hostess has spoken ; )

BUT - I LOVED the Jennifer answer. Man, who knew spiders could write? I'm starting to think you should put her in a box and take her on the road. You could get RICH! Charlotte reincarnated!

Toni

[Minna]

Into how many languages have your books been translated so far?

[Karen]

What a great idea. I love the 80's theme.

Do you write under any other names? How do you get the ideas for your stories?

[ellie]

Great Party. Where does your wonderful creativity arise from?

[pearl]

How do you become inspired to write these great stories.

[joelle]

Have your travelled for the research for your novels.

[Sandy]

Since this book is set in a London theatre, do you have a favorite play?

[Julie Anne Long]

Good morning, Kittens!! (Well, it's morning here!!) Glad you could all make it! I would have gotten here sooner but my limo got stuck in traffic. Hee!! (I commuted ten feet to the office from the bedroom). Are you dancing? Did you try the finger sandwiches?? Apparently Ranurgis tried them some last late, late last nightm right after I put them out, but there are plenty left!!

Hey Vicki! Welcome to the blog! You did it right! You're from Idaho, eh? I hereby dedicate "Private Idaho" to you, then.

Annmarie, I have a *very* active imagination, so as long as the man of my dreams (whoever that might turn out to be) has a vivid one, too, keeping the romance alive should be a challenge, but a *pleasant* one. LOL.

Welcome, PJ! Groove *is* in the Heart is a fab dance song. LOL. And thanks for the congrats!!

Tomoko, "talented little tootsies?" You're so cute! LOL. I have soooo many ideas for stories, and so many ideas, and I definitely want to branch out. I would love to write something contemporary, but I haven't decided precisely what genre yet. But I'm excited about the possibilities, and I've given myself to the first of next year to come up with my next non-historical project. :)

Haven, those are fab questions!
~I did have a couple of "our songs," and you reminded me of some great songs I forgot to put on the list—like ABC's "The Look of Love." Anything by Led Zeppelin—didn't matter what age we were—was a makeout soundtrack. LOL.

~Book 3, THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION, will be out in May of 07!

~I *did* crack myself up as I was writing that oyster scene. I wondered if i was getting carried away, but I was having so much fun i I figured, what the hey!

~The difference in the tone of this book had to do a bit with the speed with which I wrote it and the fact that I felt like writing something a bit lighter and slightly less densely plotted after BATS. Call it a...palate cleanser. LOL. I had so much fun writing it, but I tried to make sure there was an edge to all the lightness, too—can't have light without shade, and vice versa!

[sharon]

Do you do any fitness activity in order to stimulate your writing.

[Sandy]

Have you traveled to London? If so, what are your favorite things to do in the city?

[Julie Anne Long]

Hi kids!! Me again!! I decided to answer in shifts. LOL. Danielle, glad you could make it to the party! The idea for the theater just sort of happened as I was writing BATS, because the White Lily showed up there first—and the rest, as they say, is history (or historical romance. LOL).

Carol, thanks for the congrats! I think I've been a writer in some ways ever *since* I could write...once I could write, it was like, "Ahhh...now i can write STORIES!" That seemed the whole point of writing. But my academic and career trajectories took me any number of different places before I settled down to write my first book. And though I sold it pretty quickly—a few months after I wrote it—it seemed like it was years in the making, and in retrospect it was necessary for me to experience everything I did up to that point—jobs, people, projects, relationships, etc.— before I could write the kind of book I wanted to write. And when learned it was sold?? I think I did that "Julie Andrews Sound-of-Music" twirly dance around my bedroom. LOL.

Hey Jennifer!! I think I write romance because at heart...I'm just a hopeless romantic. I like it all, from the quiet and subtle to the stormy, Wuthering-Heights type romance. It makes life worth living. :)

I read...everything. LOL! Less romance than I used to, for sure, because it feels like homework now. Lately I'm into books set in very distinctive places, like Alexander McCall Smith's Scotland or Botswana books, or Donna Leon's Venice books.

Hi Kathleen!! I *would* like to write other genres! I have so many ideas! And next year I'd love to do more traveling to *anywhere* for research...my new series begins in the Sussex downs, so I'd like get a strong sense of that. :) And a favorite character...is it annoying if I say I love them all?? LOL. And usually my favorite is the one I'm currently writing, because I'm still discovering that character. I like complexity, so it's particularly fun to write multi-dimensional villains, that's for sure.

[Taneasha]

Julie, I love, love, love your books. I am an aspiring author myself, and my question is more about your writing practices. How much time do you spend writing everyday? Do you set word goals or time limits? Do you find it harder or easier to work with a deadline?

This is a great little party, and I love your blog.

Taneasha

[Kathy K]

Hi Julie,

Wow! this is one hopping, happening party! Love the music ~ I'm chair dancing as we speak...er as I type; excuse the typo's that are sure to arise... oh, and a chair dance is NOT the same as a lap dance, 'kay??

So, your announcement ~ the books for Avon... YES! more books that I can definitely look forward to adding to my collection. Now to the question part...

Do you have a concrete characters yet [well, not concrete as in cement, but you know... people ideas]?? ~ Okay, forget the problem with typos, the music is so good I've lost all brain power *sigh*

How many books will there be?

Will they be connected??

And will they be done SOON?? I HATE waiting for your books, 'cause it takes too long... wait, that doesn't sound right... I Love the anticipation of a new JAL book, and you can take as long as you need to right 'em [*sigh* WRITE] because they're so good - but I wish I could, you know, fast forward, get the new book and return to the present.
Ah well, they do say "Good things come to those who wait".

Waiting impatiently [and enjoying the party immensely!] and wow! so many new people, too

Kathy ^.^

[Julie Anne Long]

Hostess Toni!! No way, man, the "desert island" part was the best part of both questions!. LOL. My imagination immediately went into hyperdrive, its favorite gear. And particularly in the second question, if you take the desert island into consideration, it makes it that much more interesting, I think...throws us into the realms of what *is* the nature of love?? And etc. LOL. (You all might be unsurprised to learn that I've been accused more than once of thinking too much about everything. LOL.)

Hi Minna! Well, so far we've sold THE RUNAWAY DUKE and TO LOVE A THIEF to France, and my agent has lots of nibbles from other places, too, so hopefully one day I'll be in LOTS of languages. I can't wait! I'll keep everyone posted!

(I'm totally listening to "What I Like About You" right now and bopping in my chair. LOL.)

Karen, so far I only write under Julie Anne Long, but lately I've had a wonderful time driving my friends crazy asking for opinions on pseudonyms. LOL! I might one day use one for a project.

And Karen and Pearl...And as for the ideas for stories...boy, they are EVERYWHERE. In the ether. On my desk. At the grocery store. In an overheard word at the bus stop. A whole story can unfurl from just a *kernel* of an idea. When an idea hits, I sit with it a bit to see how fertile it might be, and the ones that feel the most rich and rewarding are the ones that become entire books, I think.

Ellie, I'm glad you're enjoying the party!!! LOL. I think creativity comes from wanting to *entertain* myself, whether that means learning something new, or dancing to 80's music. LOL. And if I can rope other people into my good time, that's even better!

Sharon, the fitness activity that best stimulates my writing is walking from my desk to the stove to make more and more tea. LOL. Actually, I run on my mini trampoline with my weights!! That amuses me. Or, if things get intense, and I need to burn off a little angst or take a break, I run up these very steep stairs near where I live (San Francisco features many, many steep places to choose from).

Joelle, I haven't traveled to a *specific* place for my novels yet, but I plan to next year. :)

A favorite play?? THat's a great question! I'm partial to Shakespeare, but I'm not sure I have an absolute favorite—I do have a lot of favorite lines from various plays, though! I'll have to give that some more thought.