A seductive excerpt...

Just wanted to tell everyone that I'm guest-blogging via an exclusive excerpt from TSTS over at Romantic Inks today! And it's Isabel's birthday!! If you visit them, tell her I sent you, and wish her a happy birthday!! :) I think I'll put myself on a Extra-Lite blogging schedule through May in part to make sure TPOP is as shiny and wonderful a book as possible. And when THAT'S done, I might want to have a nice big BLOG party to celebrate...hmmm....

How is everyone, meanwhile?? Apart from a cat with digestive issues, freeways falling down, and a small bout with allergies, everything's good over here. :)

Comments

[Diana]

Great to hear from you, Julie. I'm doing all right. I'm going to try to get a standby ticket to see Conan O'Brien's show at the Orpheum Theatre tomorrow, but I have my doubts that I'll get one because 1) It's Friday and 2) Many people will want to see Tom Waits and Snoop Dogg (the guests on the show) for free.

[Julie Anne Long]

oh man, Diana!!! Tom Waits is a guest??!?? Argh! I totally want to go to that. Let me know if you get a ticket! I'm glued to the computer. But i'm happy to live vicariously. LOL.

[Isabel]

Julie, I just posted a follow up comment to yours at RI. OMG, thank you!!! This has to be one of the best bday presents ever! I'm so, so thankful for your generosity. I'll be in touch soon!
Congrats on the release of TSTS, perfect timing! *G*

[Julie Anne Long]

Isabel, it was so much fun to surprise you!! You guys are the greatest. :) I had another blog planned, actually, but a few things came up (cat health issues -- you don't want to know, trust me. LOL. but he'll live :), but I'm glad this worked out!! And those t-shirts are surprisingly cute on -- they all fit well and look groovy. I'll go look at RI now...

[Diana]

Sadly, I did not get a ticket. :( I waited in line for five hours for nothing. My feet are tired!!!

[Haven Rich]

I'm so glad you posted the excerpt and that your kitty is feeling better Julie! You had me worried there for a bit!

Don't worry about the original post, we can catch up on that one another time when you have more time to share hehe.

Hope all is going well with you.

And not that you need added stress, but have you begun buying cloths for conference?

[Julie Anne Long]

Diana!! Five hours and no ticket!!! ARGH!! Did you at least see any cute guys?? LOL. Then again, where were you -- near the Orpheum? Ah, well. I think you should write to Conan and tell him. Make it amusing. And full of pathos. Maybe he'll send you tickets to a show, who knows. LOL.

[Julie Anne Long]

Haven, thanks again for thinking of the idea for Isabel, and for posting the excerpt! Kitty is doing fine - back to eating his regular food. As for conference clothes...I'll probably use a lot of what I already have!! I'm determined to be Miss Carry On again. I like little skirts and sweaters, frankly. A couple of pairs of shoes. I'll be set. :) How about you? Are you shopping for conference clothes? Is this your first RWA conference??? You must make a beeline to see me at the signing. :)

[Ranurgis]

I certainly wish I could make it down to an RWA conference, even if it's just to get books autographed or buy them. What's wrong with the Detroit area or Buffalo or even Chicago?

Not that I mind Dallas or San Francisco or wherever it is next--I'd love to visit them.

Will go to Romantic Inks now.

Glad your "puddy" is doing better.

[Julie Anne Long]

Ranurgis, I feel that way about RT conferences -- it would be easier for me to budget for and attend them if they were anywhere closer to San Francisco!! I always attend RWA, because I know for certain I'll see my editor and agent there. RWA is in San Francisco next year -- woo hoo!! You really ought to go to that conference.

And if you check out any bookstores in Canada, I'd love hear a report on TSTS. I've heard from a couple of readers that it was already sold out at their Borders store as of last week. :) That must be a good sign. And we're going on Month 2 of TSTs being in the Top historicals at B&N. That pesky Amanda Quick is #1. LOL. TSTS is #2, though. It's a beautiful sight. :)

[meardaba]

Yeah, I sometimes wish there was some sort of centralized author meeting place. Then maybe I could, years in advance, organize myself and save the thousands I would need to go see my favourites.

Sigh.

Anyway, I hope your kitty is doing better! I'll be back in Canada for a weekend in a week, and can't wait! I'm going to snuggle all kitties I can find. They're going to hate it. :D

[Haven Rich]

That's wonderful your kitty is feeling better!

Shopping for conference, oh honey, I began that long ago! As it stands I have 3 new pairs of shoes, 2 new skirts, 3 dresses. Plus I already had a pair of slacks and a nice white shirt, but I'm looking for a simple blazer to go with it.

And you can bet your bottom I'll see you at the booksigning! I wouldn't miss that!!

So far here's what I do know:
July 10, Playing it by ear!
July 11, Beau Monde stuff and booksigning
July 12, Romance Divas dinner and workshops
July 13, I'm suppose to be helping an agent/editor with their appointments
July 14, Who knows! And the Awards!!!
July 15, Don't know about the morning, but driving home in the afternoon.

This is my first FULL conference, but I have attended the booksigning (2004, Dallas) before.

[Julie Anne Long]

Yay, Mear, you get to go home, and your mum gets to see you and ascertain that you're really alive!! :) It must be hard to be deprived of kitties for any length of time, too. :) How long do you stay in Germany? Is it a long-term job? Maybe you'll have to found your own writer's conference in Canada and Germany or something. Entice all us authors to go. LOL. I wouldn't mind a tax-deductible trip to Canada!!

Sounds like you're going to be quite foxy at the conference, Haven! :) I might need to find some more shoes. I'll go shopping in June. :) You never really need summer clothes in San Francisco -- or it's more lik eyou need them only a couple of times a year -- so I have very little that's appropriate for Dallas in July. But I'll figure it out. i like red and pink. and black. :) H&M, here I come...

[meardaba]

You'll find tons at H&M, Julie. So much black and pink and orange in that store this season...

But, sadly, I won't get to see my mummy over that weekend. I'm actually going to Halifax, the wrong side of the continent, for a wedding. It's my best friend's, and I really have to go. Woot, $1000 plane ticket for 4 days!

I'll be moving back to Canada in June, though, to Toronto. Pretty much the centre of the universe--errr, I mean, centre of all things that happen in Canada. Hopefully from there I'll get a chance to invite all of the cool authors to visit me!

[Haven Rich]

meardaba, you are one busy traveler!

Julie, up until now, my clothing was that of a homebody! Shorts/t-shirts and pajamas, and you know most of them have huge stains on them. It was sad really! At least now, I have several items that are more professional and FUN.

I'm going to blame this on me not feeling so hot today and ask: What is H&M? I'm sure it's going to be a head-smacking moment, but I've gotta ask lol.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! I'm on the final count-down until I fly home to my mom...and celebrate her 50th birthday. Luau, here I come!

[Kathy K]

LOL Mear... centre of Canada eh?? I'm in Alberta.. you can keep all the *stuff*... I like it quieter. *grin*
Julie, I'm sorry that you were having issues with allergies (I HATE allergies) and I'm very glad that Damian (sp?) is okay... it is Damian, right? Or am I channneling something else?

Well, I (& my family) survived, thrived and LOVED the 14+ hour trip TO Winnipeg, MB and back over the weekend. We had a LOT of fun spending so much time together and with two of our kids being home only part-time (or less) it was such a treat! And having three drivers, we each only had about a 2 to 3 hour shift at a time, so it was well-broken up drive-time wise.
Although, coming home we stopped in at my DH's hometown in Saskatchewan (which is a 9 hour trip home, BTW) and didn't leave until after 9 pm... ended up pulling into the driveway just before 6 am Monday; I was babysitting at 7. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE!, went to bed and slept 'til at least 1 pm... I napped until 7 then was up and going for the rest of the day... tired? me? uh... can you say *exhausted*?.. That's rhetorical BTW... *grin*

But the wedding was excellent, seeing all the siblings and offspring on my husband's side was FANTASTIC! and we had a great trip... other than weatherwise.. that kinda sucked. But, other than yesterday, it's actually been very nice here... Yippee!!

Someday, I'd love to be able to attend any kind of author conference... as a reader of course... but it would be MUCH easier if it was here... in Alberta... Canada... LOL
And if you could get a tax-deductible trip to the mountains, say Banff or Jasper?? Close to where I live?? LOL

Great to be back and feel human... or at least as much as I usually do.

[Julie Anne Long]

Haven, H&M is a store that has tons of groovy and pretty cheap clothes. And I do mean TONS...we just got two H&M stores in SF over the past couple of years, and it's kind of overwhelming to go in there. LOL. I think they're a worldwide chain, and kind of scattered over the U.S. The first one I ever saw was in NY. But if you need to replenish your wardrobe (or parts of it) quickly and you're not a millionaire, H&M is the way to go. LOL. And cool, Mear - I like orange, too!! :) I got an orange sweater there last year. :) Good for brightening the gloomy days (of which today was one -- F-O-G-G-Y. And COLD!!!! Where did Spring go??). I hardly ever buy clothes anymore -- i live in jeans and my favorite t-shirts, with the addition/subtraction of sweaters, etc. So I probably need to take a good hard look in the closet to see what can go another year without causing comment. LOL. I like the idea of wearing dresses the whole time at the conference. LOL. Just throw it over my head, et voila!! If i can only find the kind that won't WRINKLE, I'll be set...

So Mear's going to a wedding, and Kathy's getting back from one!! Your trip totally sounds like it was a blast, Kathy. Glad you guys had a great time, and that you made it back safely. I think I told you that some of my favorite memories are of long road trips. But man...grueling, too!!

I started cracking up, too, Kathy -- you were close!! Kitty's name is Domenic. (Damian and Domenic are both romance hero names, aren't they??) But sometimes he *behaves* like Damien (Like from the Omen.) A little possessed. :) But he's doing fine. Back to eating his regular food and it's staying down, so all's right in our world. LOL. We had a harrowing few days.

I have a VERY glamorous life, if you haven't noticed. LOL.

So now it's up to Mear and Kathy to plan a writer's conference up in some very pretty and preferably sunny part of Canada, so all of us authors can descend upon you. :)

Have a safe trip, Mear!! And have a blast. And hope you get some rest, Kathy. It's bound to take the rest of this week, at least, to recover from all of that. :)

[Haven Rich]

I tend to shop at CATOs, they are really cheap and have plus size clothing, which is nice!

On the weight issue, I've been losing some! So far, over the past 5 months, I've lost 20 pounds. I stepped on the scale this morning and yay, I finally got the 20 pound mark. For awhile there I was holding steady and nothing was coming off, but this morning I was 4 pounds lighter.

Talk about inspiring to work out some more, which I've been really forcing myself to do lately lol.

[meardaba]

Hahah, Kathy, I like the quiet too. I'm originally from northern BC, so I know ALL about wide open spaces and wilderness. No people up there. I have to move to Toronto for my (soon-to-be-I-hope) career. Editing in Canada is centered in Toronto, and so I accepted the fact that I have to spend at least one year there. I hate that city, btw. Too many people in one place.

Thanks for the good wishes, Julie and everyone! I leave Wednesday morning (eaaaaaaaaaaarly), so I won't be around for a while! Mostly because I'm taking my computer with me and leaving it with my future roommate, who will then transport all my stuff to Toronto from Halifax. He's a very nice boy, even though he has no idea how much stuff I'm bringing back with me. Har har har.

Everyone have a great week!

[Haven Rich]

Oh My Gosh! I'm so excited!! I picked up my copy of TPOP and The Runaway Duke! I'm so excited!! Oh wait, I said that already..so you really get the idea huh. I'm so doing the happy dance!

[Ranurgis]

Juliieee? Where are you?

Stuck in MySpace I guess. Well, I'm not over there yet and might never be.

I guess MySpace is taking over Blogland. Too bad because you can't be just a guest on MySpace.

[Ranurgis]

Actually one of my friends from Steinbach, MB wants to visit me. However, I have to have a more respectable room for her to lodge in. I'd better get busy on that.

I'm from Winnipeg MB. Just wrote to a friend of mine whom I haven't seen since her son was about a year old. That was back in either 1976 or 1980. Now he has two little boys one 3 years old and the other 4 weeks.

I lived in Europe (Germany to be specific) for all of the 1970s, my "lost" North American Decade.

[julie@julieannelong.com]

Hey girls!! I'm here, and fine, but glued to my computer night and day until June 1 finishing a book, so tumbleweeds will be rolling through the blog here, probably, until then. LOL. I might post something very light. But I'm very nose-to-the-grindstone right now. How is everybody??

Hey Haven!! I think you mean TSTS!! LOL. Thanks for buying it!! TPOP is the book I'm finishing up writing. Maybe you slipped into another dimension and bought it. If so, how did you like it?? LOL. Tell us how it ends!! Just kidding. You'll have to let me know what you think of TSTS.

Pipe up if you're all around, and let me know how you are!! I'll peek back this week.

[Haven Rich]

You're right it's TSTS! I had a major brain dead moment. Sorry! Of course, if you hurry I can read TPOP hehe!!!

Lately, I haven't been reading much. I just finished a review for Romance Divas and have begun my Regency dress for conference. I should be able to finish it up tomorrow...or at least I'm hoping so.

But then I have the quilt to get busy on for the Beau Monde auction. Busy busy!!

[Kathy K]

Oh thank heavens!! I was wondering where Haven came across TPOP and I was totally envious!
It sounds like you're busy, busy Haven.... when are you off to RWA? And how's your submission going? (Am I right about that?)

And Julie, I check here every day..and if I don't see you here I check on MySpace... and if there's nothing there, then I thank heaven that you're busy writing!! Wahoo!! *another JAL book gonna come out*... hehehe; even if I have to wait! It'll be soooo worth it.

'Sides I like checking in here and seeing how everyone else is doing. Although...
I haven't been around here much since last Friday when my car was toasted in a multi-car accident. Thank heavens no one was hurt... but my car and the pickup behind me were (are) write-offs and the woman who started the whole shebang, I think her van is probably a goner as well. Now I have nothing and am still waiting for the insurance adjuster to show up... and hoping *fingers crossed* that we can get something for my 1983 LTD Ford station wagon... that I had the brakes replaced on TWO days before the accident. Ah well.. for two days, I could stop the car safely and not worry about rear-ending someone.... funny how I ended up being rear-ended in turn, eh?? LOL

Hope you're all okay and that spring is treating you alright! We're having iffy weather.. some gorgeous, sunny (not too hot) days then a couple of cold, gray and/or blustery days... Spring, you gotta love it.. otherwise you'd cry!

TTFN!