It's POP day!! Pop the cork with me darlings!! Doubtless by now you've been inundated with bulletins from me -- LOL -- MySpace, my newsletter, etc. -- but thanks so much for all the enthusiasm, support, early feedback, help spreading the word, early sighting reports, and etc. Cross your fingers it does well, and buy lots of copies! LOL. So I just wanted to drop in and say -- Yay!!!!! -- hope you're doing great! And visit me today at Southern Sunshine. A signed book is up for grabs. We'll have a celebration of some sort after I turn DOD in!!
I also wanted to mention something else: Patry Francis's debut novel THE LIAR'S DIARY came out in hardcover from Dutton last spring. The trade paper release is today, but a few weeks ago, Patry was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She's had several surgeries, and her prognosis is good. Buthat Patry won't have much energy for promoting, so authors all over are helping her to get the word out.
'THE LIAR'S DIARY blog day' is today—take a look at Patry's website. In support of Patry Francis, Penguin Group USA is offering 15% off the paperback edition of The Liar's Diary when purchased online from the the Penguin website until 2/15/2008. On the shopping cart page, enter PATRY in the 'coupon code' field and click 'update cart' to activate it. Let's all send our thoughts and prayers to her!
Tell me how you are here, too, if you can. Hope all is well for you! xo for now....julie
5 blue ribbons, 5 dancing hearts, 5 glasses of champagne (w/strawberries) ...you can have 5 of anything lovely you like Julie, if you just keep writing these wonderful books! Loved POP, read it in one hugely satisfying gulp last night, can't wait for the next (if you could just write a little faster...) Rock on.
Frannie
Posted by: Frannie | January 30, 2008 at 06:55 AM
Hi Frannie -- you're a doll! So glad you enjoyed POP, and thanks for picking it up! I'll take five boxes of Godiva chocolate, please! :) Just kidding. I do love the idea of things in fives, though. :) I wish I had five servant boys to do my bidding (back rubs, squeeze healthy vegetable juices) while I polish off DOD. LOL. Wish me luck! I shall indeed Rock on.
Posted by: Julie Anne Long | January 30, 2008 at 08:39 AM
WHOOHOO!!! *doing happy dance for Julie* I pre-ordered POP and I am expecting my copy to arrive tomorrow. *crossing fingers* However, I was in the shopping mall last Friday and saw POP on the shelf at the bookstore. Was I ticked off? Oh yeah royally!!!! But I can console myself as I have Friday off and if my book arrives on time, I can spend the day curled up, with a big mug of tea besides me, reading my copy of POP. There is always a positive!
One quick question, Julie do you still have your other full time job or is the writing doing well enough that you can write full-time now? Would love if you could devote your time to writing and we could have more books but we all understand that you gotta eat and pay bills. ;)
Posted by: Charlene | January 30, 2008 at 10:58 AM
You're so cute, Charlene!!! Hope POP gets to you quickly!! I really hope you like it, too -- can't wait to hear. I'm laughing, too -- because -- (SLAPS FOREHEAD) -- I didn't plan ahead before I started my writing career and marry a rich man or acquire a trust fund. Which means...I don't have a regular day job, but there's SO much more to a writing career than just writing. I usually spend the first five or six hours of every day (usually 7 days a week) on Admin stuff -- answering emails, updating my website, planning and implementing contests, writing blogs, mailing books, answering MySpace messages, updating my page there, etc. etc. I do everything myself (because I know how to do the web stuff, and hiring help is sort of out of the budget, as I live in San Francisco -- sooooo mindbogglingly expensive. But it's home!). I write mostly at night, and try to give at least four hours a day to it. So I work a LOT. LOL. I did hire help for a few things recently and by the middle of this year I'll probably pass on a few administrative tasks to an assistant permanently. I would love to write more books!!! But books also take time to gestate before you actually write them. :) It's a constant process of evolution -- figuring out my schedule and my life, deciding what I might have to give up, what my writing process is.
I love the next book so far. I'm finishing that up today!! And then I have to leap into the next one. That one's already percolating in my mind. It'll be delicious to start a new project.
Posted by: Julie Anne Long | January 30, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Julie! Congrats on the release of POP!!! I can't wait to get my copy. I wish you all the success and the very best with your new publishing house, Avon. Love the cover, it's beautiful. :)
Kudos on passing on the word about Pantry Francis's book The Liar's Diary, I'm adding it to my shopping my list. Thank you!
Posted by: Isabel | January 30, 2008 at 09:07 PM
Hey Isabel!! Hope things are going grand with you! Thanks for the good wishes! I hope you like POP, too -- I've been hearing from readers, and they're finding it everywhere -- grocery stores, Walmrt, bookstores -- which is wonderful!! I'm really crazy about the cover. AFter I send off DOD -- which I'm just about to leave the house to do -- I'm going to run around to some bookstores and sign stock. I'm very proud to have my name on such a beautiful looking book! I'm feeling quite lucky to be with Avon. :)
Posted by: Julie Anne Long | January 31, 2008 at 09:27 AM
Hey Julie, thanks for answering regarding my writing question above! I am always in awe by the amount of work authors like yourself do in a day. *bows down to Julie* My best friend has been trying to finish her book for years and I've learnt alot about the behind the scenes stuff from her too. Two things prevent me from being a writer...one, I hate writing and number two, please see point number one! ;)) However, been a reader all my life. Glad to hear that you might be able to get an assistant later this year to help with some of your admin stuff! *thumbs up*
Posted by: Charlene | January 31, 2008 at 10:58 AM
I'm hyper because it snowed today! Wee! And I was out like a dork taking pics. Started around 4, is tapering off now. We didn't get much, but enough to make me weird and giddy.
The best possible title I've been able to think of for Book 3 is The Art of Arousal, which I don't know about. But since you finished Book 2, thought I'd throw that out there. Of course, I came up with many silly titles as well. But congrats on finish DOD! Wow, that looks almost like Dungeons and Dragons.
OK, off to make snow angels. Not really-I'm not that crazy, and there may not even be that much snow.
Posted by: Lareign | January 31, 2008 at 05:13 PM
Oh! And if you don't already know,POP got a DIK A minus review at LikesBooks! I just went over and saw it. Yay for Julie!
Posted by: Lareign | January 31, 2008 at 05:16 PM
Charlene, the world needs champion readers like you! LOL. And I know -- I really was clueless when my first book got published -- somehow I had never really considered all the other stuff involved in being a writer!! But I totally love it. I probably work too much, so I'm going to have to figure that out. But it's so satisfying to go from something very emotional and intellectual -- say, working on writing a chapter -- to a different type of creativity or technical challenge, -- making a graphic for my website, or dreaming up a contest name, or figuring out how to make a merge file from my exported winners list. LOL. Can't beat the diversity and the endless possibilities for creativity. And the independence -- I love that! I really do have the best job in the world. Even though I need a vacation. LOL.
Lareign! My early book spotter, you! I told my editor about it. I have no idea what the deal was, or if it'll have any impact on velocity or what have you. But it's hard to avoid at least a trickle of early books. What we hope for is an ongoing TORRENT of sales. LOL.
And what a beautifully written, thoughtful review that AAR review is! Thanks for telling me about it! I must write to the reviewer to thank her. It's always a pleasure to read a review and think: "Ah! She totally got what I was trying to do! I must have done something right!" LOL.
And speaking of titles: WE're re-titling DOD!!! We need a new title!! There's another book coming out this year and the title is too similar to THE DANGERS OF DESIRE. I'm going to post a blog about it. I like your "Art of..." idea. But keep thinking of more! I'll give a prominent mention in my acknowledgments to the person who comes up with a title. :)
Posted by: Julie Anne Long | February 01, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I’ve been opened to listen and understand what the bible says..god
Posted by: Office 2010 | January 18, 2012 at 05:37 PM