Ruminations upon "re-entry"

So I've been down in the deadline submarine with my hero, Colin Eversea, and heroine, Madeleine Greenway, of the Perils of Pleasure. <-- (Check it out!! You can already preorder it!! I'm v. excited!!) And you're right, Lareign. I am indeed blinking and squinting and re-learning how to walk, talk, shave and interact with humans again. "Re-entry," if you will, isn't an overnight process, and has its awkward moments. For example, the other day I greeted my neighbor with, "Hi, Colin!" My neighbor is about 80 years old and uses a walker, and though I've said "hi" to him numerous times before and I suppose he's dashing enough, I don't actually know his name. In a conversation with a friend, I referred to my agent as "Colin." My agent's name is, in fact, Steve. And in a conversation with my friend Melisa, I stopped myself just in time from calling her "Colin." Not only is her name not Colin, Melisa, as you might have guessed, is a girl.

And then the other day I walked out to the store for the first time in days (when I'm on deadline, my diet is primarily dark chocolate, tea and angst), this poor innocent woman stopped me to ask if she could catch the 43 bus nearby. Drunk on the human contact, I babbled on about the entire route for the 43, the 6 and the 66, treated her to my opinions on MUNI and the weather and San Francisco politics, and I couldn't seem to stop talking even when she frantically bobbed her head and began backing away. I had similar babbling conversations with the bagger at the grocery store and the guy who handed me my wheatgrass juice over at Jamba.

So apparently I can either say "Colin" or I can babble. Somewhere in-between lies real communication. I'm re-learning the art of conversation. Baby steps.

And then I looked—really looked—in the mirror for the first time in weeks. Gazing back at me was the love child of Cousin It and Frida Kahlo. My brows are creeping yearningly toward each other. My hair has taken gross advantage of my inattention, and is now enormous. I rifled desperately through my cupboards for lotions and ungents and tweezers, daunted by the magnitude of the task facing me. I think I need a team to go at me with various waxes and implements, kind of like a Nascar Pit Crew, only with good smelling Bumble & Bumble products.

I'm slowly catching up on zillions of messages and chores and housework, too.  I got really sick toward the tail-end of the writing process, complete with a fever and everything—I swear I could have lit candles with my eyeballs I was so hot. So it's been interesting. :) I'm tempted just to watch cartoons and let the hair on my shins grow. But my extraordinarily efficient editor has already read POP, pronounced it "truly wonderful!" and rendered a short revision letter. I'm excited about starting. Let's have a vote: should I watch cartoons, or do work?? Just kidding. Actually, I need to buy some conference clothes, too.

Also, I wanted to mention three very cool things (one I mentioned in the comments below): THE SECRET TO SEDUCTON went back to print only THREE weeks into release! Woo hoo! It's spent about two months on the B&N and Amazon bestseller lists, too, give or take a day here and there. :) 2) you can read excerpts from it at EarlyInk, Molly Smith's (Jennifer Crusie's very talented daughter, who designs websites) very cool new site, which features excerpts from new releases across many genres. I love the concept, and I'll be a frequent visitor there to look for new books; And 3) BEAUTY AND THE SPY was nominated for the Bookseller's Best Award in the Short Historical category. Yay! The winners are announced at a reception following the literacy signing in Dallas, coming up soon.

So...anyone out there? How are you all?? What's the weather report?? Got any news??

Comments

[Megan]

Hooray! Welcome back to the land of the living!

[Julie Anne Long]

Yay, Megan!! I got your email! I'm glad you're coming to SF, and doing a reading of your fabulous book in the Ferry Building so close to Scharffen Berger. LOL. Now THAT'S what I call convenient. I'll definitely be there. I might not even call you Colin. :)

[Karen H in NC]

Hi Julie,

Welcome back to the land of the living. This new book sounds like another winner for you.

Question: Is this book a stand-alone or is it the start of a new series?

[Michelle]

Julie's alive! I was wondering there with the lack of posts...

Congrats on the nom! That's great! :-)

Looking forward to seeing you in Dallas...

[Julie Anne Long]

Hey Karen! :) THE PERILS OF PLEASURE is the launch of a new Regency-set series, but it's a standalone, too! The series surrounds the people who live in the town of Pennyroyal Green, Sussex, a town anchored by two wealthy, aristrocratic families, the Everseas and Redmonds, who are bound by ancient secrets and grudges and have lots of siblings, cousins, etc. :) The stories move in and out of Pennyroyal Green (we'll spend time in other places, such as London) and won't always directly concern the Everseas and Redmonds, but we'll meet a lot of the people who live in the town. Think of it as an ongoing soap, in a way. :) Each story can be read on its own, and each features one primary hero and heroine, but circumstances and characters from previous stories in the series will crop up now and again. And throughout the series, we'll uncover some of the secrets linking the family back to the time of William the Conqueror. :) There are endless possibilities for stories. I'm pretty excited about POP, for one!! I hope you like it!!

Hey Michelle!! yeah, back among the living, but it's taking a while to reanimate fully. LOL. Did I hear that you won the HOlt Medallion?? ATta girl!! Dallas should be fun. Do we need to toast any other significant events in your life while we're there?? :)

[Kathy K]

Hey Julie!! Glad you could come up for a breath of fresh air.... Is there any fresh air in SF?
The weather here is cooler and gray and a little rainy; overall it's not too bad as it makes up for the days of 25C to 28C (77F to 82F) we had last week ~ UGH ~ which are just toooo warm for me. It's a very good thing I live where I do, 'cause if I had to deal with temps like that on a regular basis I'd be a blithering idiot.

Still waiting to hear back from the insurance company with regard to what I get back for my poor beast ~ all I can say is that it's a good thing that we kept it up; the money we shelled out for new brakes and a new radiator are probably pretty much what we're gonna be getting back!

My baby just had her grade 9 Farewell last Friday and is now full of herself and keeps telling how she's now *almost in grade 10*... I remind her that she has to wait for school to be over (June 26) before I'll even consider her in high school ~ yikes!
But she's going on 15 and looks at her 3 sibs that are 23, 21½ and (almost) 20 and she's feeling left out. As I say to her, there's really not much that I can do about it now...sorry Teresa! LOL

Anyway, glad that all's well with you ~ once you recover from your *hibernation*... and I'm soooo glad that you disappear from time to time. I mean, we do miss your wit and humour, but if you're writing ~ WELL!... keep it up, 'kay?

Hugs!

[Michelle]

LOL Julie... alas, that which we were going to toast has been temporarily put on hold. However, I did just get a new two-book deal. So maybe we'll toast in the fall.

[Diana]

Hi, Julie. Congrats on The Secret to Seduction. I bought it a while ago, but haven't read it yet. I have a tendency to buy books and not read them for a while, but since I'm currently on my summer break, I should totally start the books in your trilogy. They look good. :)

I've been doing all right--still dealing with some health issues. I'm hoping that my immune system will get stronger again now that I'm away from the little kids for a while. They're not the sole cause of my recent ill health, but I'm pretty sure they're a contributing factor.

I saw a really funny movie, Knocked Up, last week. It's by the same guy who wrote and directed The 40 Year Old Virgin. I definitely recommend Knocked Up if you're in the mood to laugh.

I'm planning to attend Megan's book signing, so maybe I'll see you there. Hope all's well with you. The lovely weather here has been great.

[Julie Anne Long]

Hey girls!! Hey Kathy!! Glad you're doing great! :) I'm laughing, though, at your idea of unbearable temperatures, because it's funny how acclimated we get to where we live. San Francisco would probably feel about right to you a lot of the time, I'm betting (apart from the relentless gloom we get during the summer), because it's usually in the 60's (farenheit) or so. As for me, I was raised in east bay burbs, where I could occasionally wear shorts and a tank top, not only during the day, but -- GASP!! -- AT NIGHT. LOL. I miss that. That old Eric Burden song -- "Warm San Francisco Nights" -- used to crack me up, because THERE IS NO SUCH THING. Seriously. Or, there might have been a warm night like once, 15 years or so ago. LOL. So 77 degrees sounds kinda nice to hang out in for a little while. I'd probably find a reason to complain about that, too, though, if I got too much of it. :) It's sunny here through Friday of this week, thankfully, because as Diana can attest, we got about 10-12 days or something of gloom in a row a week or so ago. Argh.

Does high school begin in 9th grade in Canada? In the US -- at least around here -- we have 1-6th elementary school, 7th-8th Junior High (dreadful years, those), and 9-12 is high school. And she's going into high school!! A rite of passage for Teresa!! That's so sweet. :) Hope high school is a blast for her. I had almost too much fun in high school. :)

As for writing...man, you know that scene in Ghost? Well, it's the only one I can think of at the moment, though I'm sure there are other similar scenes in movies and books. But it's the one where various spirits climb into Whoopi Goldberg to use her to communicate with the living and she's like morphed out of shape and they wear her out?? It's like that. Writing is. LOL. You have to channel stuff. It's (or can be) a weirdly intensely physical, mental, emotional, logistical, creative process. It can really use every bit of you up sometimes, in odd ways. LIke five people (characters) have had the use of your mind and heart for months.

YAY!! On the deal, Michelle!! We must talk. :) Are you staying at the Hyatt in Dallas? I'm at the Adam's Mark. Which, according to both of the reviews on Travelocity, "smells bad." ROFL. Sigh.

Diana, that's a bummer your health is still plaguing you!! Quite a few years ago i went through a phase of weird health issues -- nothing major, but it was quite a process to finally definitively *learn* it was nothing major -- and I learned so much about health as a result. I take WAY better care of myself now and have good habits, etc. So we might have a silver lining. :) It's no fun while you're experiencing it, though. You probably do need a rest. I think I need a lengthy vacation. LOL. I haven't had anything that i can actually accurately call a vacation in a really shamefully long, long time. :) Though I've had days off here and there. I'm glad you're going to Megan's signing!! It would be so cool to meet you!! And thanks for buying TSTS. :) Hope you like it! It's wild -- I'm getting more mail about that book than nearly every other one I've written to date. It totally struck a chord with readers, which surprised me. I never know how books are going to turn out. LOL. I never actually know how I truly feel about a book until months after it's been published, because I've been way too close to it. It's funny that way. But I'm so touched by the feedback. Kathy was one of the first to tell me what she thought of it, and I've heard her sentiments repeated again and again. It's great.

And now it's time for bed. :)

[Kathy K]

Wow.. writing sounds like it can be a very invasive process! Much easier to be a reader ~ 'cause then I get to sneak into their lives... much more comfortable I think. *grin*

Senior high goes from grades 10 to 12 here, except for Ontario (and maybe BC) ~ there they go to grade 13.
I know a lot of people that say that there shouldn't be a grade 8 because for that whole year kids are pretty much useless. LOL
I can't say enough positive things about Jr. High teachers... man, I'd be tearing my hair out the first day of school if I taught 12 to 14 year old kids.. UGH! And I think that those are probably the worst / hardest years around for the kids; speaking both as a student and a parent.
Gads, as a parent I've been in the school system now for 18+ years, so by the time Teresa is finished it'll be 21 *gulp* years. And I remember when my son went into sr. high 8 years ago... Yikes! In many ways it seems like such a short time ago. I'm not counting College / University though... No PTAC for secondary education. LOL

And with regard to weather, yep the 60's would be excellent. When it gets to the 70's like that I stay inside as much as possible in front of the fan. I'm such a wuss! San Francisco, other than the gray skies and gloom, would be wonderful... and there's WATER there too! Although that might increase the humidity which is another pet peeve of mine.

I'm getting the insurance cheque today for my car ~ Wahoo! It's the upper limit of what we were *hoping* for, so that's good. I'm pretty sure that we'll need to put a little more into a 'new' second-hand car, but it's going to be more fuel efficient! 1983 Ford station wagons aren't all that good on gas mileage. *grin* I'm giddy 'cause I'm getting a new car... hehehe.

Well, I've taken up enough time and space for now... I'll let someone else have a turn.
I'm looking for more books, 'kay?? Soon? LOL

Have a great one!

[Lareign]

Julie, I've stayed at the Adam's Mark. It was for a college journalism conference a couple years ago. I had no problem with it. I thought it was pretty nice, I think. I think I was impressed by how many floors there were, then I was all sad because I think I was on like the fifth floor, ha. And the elevators were fast, if I remember right. Which I may not.

Then again, I was a college student. And all you had to really do to impress me was give me free food. Heck, that sort of still holds true today.

Anyway, there was much drunken debauchery, as you might imagine. I remember the hot tub was pretty nice, although I don't think I actually went in there. I was the sober one, which means I have incriminating pics of everyone else, ha.

Anyway, shoot me a message or something and let me know what you think of it. I'll try to remember more about it and annoy you with those details later. But I never noticed a strange odor. Unless vodka counts.

[Julie Anne Long]

Yay, Kathy, on your insurance settlement, and on it being the upper limit!! That's pretty good news. Getting a new car after an '83 is going to be a REAL eye opener/ LOL. I had an '87 Toyota and bought a...'96 Saturn? Yeah, it was a '96 -- some years after that. It was like they'd reinvented the CAR or something, it felt that different. LOL. Steering, brakes, etc. Or do you guys already have a newer car?? What are you going to buy? I'd buy another Toyota again in a heartbeat. If i needed a car. :)

Hey Lareign! Yeah, you cracked me up! Apparently the reviews of the Adam's Mark say it's "seen better days," and that the AC didn't work, in addition to the smell issue. LOL. Which sounds PERFECT for July in Texas (the AC bit). :) Though reviews are wildly subjective, of course. We'll see how it goes. I'll be spending a lot of time roaming around the Hyatt, too (which is where the conference is actually LOCATED.)

Incriminating pics, eh?? Maybe one of your former classmates/hot tub mates will show up on American Idol. :) I can be lured with free food, too. I'm going to have to bring my own stash of healthy(ish) snacks, though. :)

[Haven Rich]

Ok first, after I've picked myself off the floor from laughing over the Frida/Cousin It love child comment, I must say: Welcome back! We missed you!

Here's the update on me (as I sorta commented on below, just for the heck of it)

I've survived a trip to my hometown, complete with seeing my sister. Yeah it was fun!

My dad gave me a new laptop..me: OH yeah, It's my birthday (not really), OH yeah, I'm the princess (again, not really).

RI lost a member, but I've got a few possible applications that I'm taking into big consideration. As I so hate replacing the RI ladies.

I've had a conference roommate nightmare! We booked 4, one dropped due to health issues that cost a fortune. Replaced her and not even 24 hours later, the newest 4th backed out as well. So now, we're on our 3rd forth roommate lol.

I just finished a wonderful book that is coming out in August...btw ya'll are going to LOVE Candice Hern's upcoming book. Sadly, I can't enjoy the after-reading glow because I've committed myself to 3 other reviews. All due before I leave for conference. Yay...right?

The quilt for the Beau Monde auction is half way finished, and I'm thanking the heavens it doesn't take that long to put one of these together. Whew on that one.

The gift baskets are almost finished and ready to send out, but not without me buying over $100 worth of chocolate from Godiva. *coughcough* I got a few small pieces for myself too hehe.

The Molly entries are almost finished being judged...one of them is really awesome! I gave her a perfect score, I can say this since I actually signed it lol.

Umm...oh yeah..I've got the material to make my award night dress, but just in case I don't get it finished in time, I have two possible back-up dresses that my mom let me bring home. Gotta love shopping in mom's closet hehe.

Romantic Inks is now on my space..but the completed "look" will have to wait until after conference. I'm too busy! Now if someone hires me for a job...I'll make time *wink* (ps. I've also posted some of my graphic design jobs on my website...finally)

Whew, I think that's it!

Julie, congrats on the wonderful news! I'm so glad you made it to see another book completed!!

I hope you find a dress soon for the awards..yes I have a hang-up on the formal front haha.

[Kathy K]

Wow... On my MySpace page, one of my new "friends" had a comment that I checked out. There was a video attached and I watched it and could absolutely cannot believe it! Well, I could believe it, but it blew me away. I watched it twice and want to find it and keep it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En0A8KGMgq8

Check it out and may you enjoy it as much as I did!

[Julie Anne Long]

Kathy, that video is AMAZING!! Holy cow! I was just floored. Isn't that remarkable? It's so eerie and moving when people are born with already-mature talents like that. Wonder what kind of singer she'll become??

Glad to see you're busy as usual, Haven! LOL. Congrats on the new laptop -- I LOVE getting new computers. And I'm sure Candice's book is wonderful - ALL her books are wonderful. :) I'm nearly done shopping for conference clothes -- I'm bound to look semi-respectable, at the very least. Now, to do something about that mop on my head, aka, my hair. I'll have to friend you guys at Romantic Inks on MySpace, too. Getting zillions of messages there. People are so lovely!! I spent a weekend on revisions. The sun was out today. Which was splendid, given that it's June and San Francisco. Crossing fingers for more sun! Happy Monday!

[Haven Rich]

I think I've been requested to do hair for awards night by several ladies I know.

All I can say is bring: Duct tape, super glue and a rolling pin..and you'll have wonderful hair!

Need instructions on how the above works? Use the rolling pin to knock the chick who's hair you admire the most. Use the duct tape to rip her bald and the super glue to install the new locks on your head lol.

Ok, see this is what happens when I stay up too late.

[Ranurgis]

Aaah, so that's what you've been up to. I thought that maybe you were hiding on MySpace. I can't decide whether to go on that or not.

As far as reestablishing contact with the "outside" world goes, I know very well what you mean. I go for days here never speaking to anyone. Today I tested my voice to see if I had laryngitis or not. Either I have allergies or a cold. I wonder if you can be allergic to Popsicles? I had such a craving for them as it got to over 90F here. And now I have a cold.

And tomorrow is, I hope, D-day with my Hydro company. More than a year after I got the bill with the shocking increase in consumption, they're finally sending someone out to examine the situation. At 10 a.m. no less. That's my brightest time of the day...not. I'm usually still asleep. I hope I can fall asleep at all. I certainly hope that I'll soon get back the $800 I overpaid last year and so far this year it's already another $250 because they jacked up the budget price because of last year's supposedly high consumption. It would also be nice if they gave me some interest on that money. I'm just relying on God to work it out.

Do you know, Julie, that I haven't even seen a copy of TSTS yet? What with trying to get all this straightened out, I've hardly been to bookstores. I was at one on Sunday but I didn't remember when it was supposed to come out and so I didn't look for it specifically. The stores with discounted books have both changed a lot and are selling fewer new book and more old remainders instead. That can be good because you can find books you missed a couple of years ago. But it cuts down on the new ones they are able to sell. They limit themselves to 20 bestsellers and the Harlequin and Silhouette books and about 10 Hardcover bestsellers. That's all for both WalMart and Zellers right now. Actually the one grocery store carries more except that I have to travel over an hour by bus (round-trip) to get to one of them.

Yeah, see who's babbling now! Time for a bedtime shower in hope that it'll help me sleep. Nighty-night.

[Ranurgis]

Oh yeah, for Brenda Novak's JDRF auction I offered to proof-read/edit a manuscript. Instead, I ended up with two. I got one on Friday (still unopened because of the coming Hydro confrontation) and the other winner e-mailed me yesterday. Both of them are over 90-100 thousand words.

A retiree who writes books about "Ralph the Beagle" and his adventures also put up 3 sets of the first 6 books for the auction. So far I have the name of only one winner. I don't get their names until they've paid their money to the JDRF. I proof-read and edited those too.

And my computer is *still* giving me problems. I really must do something soon. But it is hampered by the Hydro problem as well.

[Julie Anne Long]

Haven, you're so multi-talented!! You can do hair, too? But I vote we *celebrate* each other's beauty. Not remove it with duct tape. LOL. (although, in a pinch, duct tape might be a good stand in for leg wax, who knows??)

Hey Ranurgis!! Sounds like you're doing pretty good, despite the heat and your capricious computer. :) It's 90 degrees there?? Holy cow!! And $800 is way too much to overpay for a hydroelectric bill! Hope you get that taken care of. And if you go on MySpace, Ranurgis, prepare to get sucked in. LOL. It's a lot of fun, but it can take up a lot of time, too. I'm meeting the nicest people there. A really diverse bunch.

I'd love to hear if you stumble across TSTS! I'm getting email about it from Canadian readers, but I don't know where they bought the book, precisely. I always love to know that stuff, as you know. :)

Did I mention I saw the cover for POP?? It's GORGEOUS. Really, just sexy and lush and beautiful, and probably my favorite cover yet. Can't share it yet, but I'm VERY excited. :) Can't wait to show you.

[Haven Rich]

Oh do the evils of the world never end? You've seen the cover and can't share. Uggg!! That is just cruel!!

About the hair: I've had really long hair for the majority of my life. It gets in the way if you're leaning over things..like cooking. So I've learned dozens of ways to style hair to look really nice in an up do. Because face facts, my husband could come home and say, "hey lets go..."

Of course, I also like my hair down for certain events. So you'll just have to see what I'll come up with.

[Microsoft Office]

I’ve been opened to listen and understand what the bible says..god