~A Letter from Julie~

So what's new, pussycats? Does it feel like summer in your neck of the woods yet? Are the kids out of school? Have you dusted off the barbeque? Here in San Francisco, I'm suspiciously eyeing the sunny skies (it's been glorious) while keeping one hand hovering over my winter sweaters, ready to snatch one up when the summer weather pattern kicks in: freezing fog, howling winds. Then again, maybe it'll skip us this year and it'll actually be warm (ha!), and I'll have to shave my legs after all (did I really just type that?). Hope you have a stack of summer reading at the ready. :)

Me? I just spent a few days prostrate in a dark room with a cool, damp rag on my forehead (OK, so I'm exaggerating a wee bit) after finishing the third and final book in my trilogy (The Secret to Seduction—Sabrina's story, out next year) about the Holt Sisters, but I've recovered nicely and I'm feeling a tad frisky now, thanks in no small part to the ongoing thrilling reviews for BATS, a whole slew of honors for TO LOVE A THIEF (scroll down for book news) and the great emails so many of you guys have sent to me. I love getting your notes! They make all the difference in the world when I'm staring down the barrel of a deadline, boy. But I confess I'm behind on answering them! If you've sent one over the past few months, I really appreciate it—and expect an answer from me in the next few weeks!

In other news: the second book in my trilogy, Ways to be Wicked, is now preordering at Amazon. It'll be out in October, so you might want to get 'em while they're fresh! LOL. And while you're at it, get a load of that steamy cover to the right, on which two people are happily demonstrating one of the more popular and traditional ways to be wicked. ;) Read the back cover copy here, and look for an excerpt on my website next month! I'll have ARCs, soon, too. If you're a reviewer and you don't receive an ARC soon, let me know—we authors receive fewer ARCs these days, but I'll make sure you get a copy of the page proofs if you're game to read it in that format. Send me an email if you have questions about it.

We have a new contest this month, too, of course, and scroll down to learn the winners of the diamonds and the emeralds. Many thanks to those of you who sent fan mail to my houseboy, Guillaume (oh, that cracked me up) or offered detailed advice for getting the brown stuff off of my refrigerator shelf. <--(these are references to the diamond contest. LOL). I loved hearing about everyone's favorite green things, too. Money, avocados, emeralds and trees were the front runners, but Kermit the Frog ranked surprisingly high. Sadly, there was only one vote for green beans. There were some more specific and lyrical entries, too: Betty N. in Florida loves "Green grass right after it rains" Tamatha B. in Missouri loves her "daughter's emerald green eyes," Camelia S. in California loves "a handful of grass blades springing up in a flower pot," and Janna B. in California loves "the homemade slime she makes with her fifth graders in science class." LOL! This was fun! And some of you will be receiving signed bookmarks in the mail. :)

And if you're a romance fan and a blog reader, I wanted to mention a couple of terrific blogs that invited me to guest recently: Romantically Inclined, and Michelle Buonfiglio's Romance By the Blog. Both are sassy, fun and informative, always.

And last, but oh so definitely not least: Join the Fog City Divas at the Dishing with the Divas blog when we welcome the one, the only, Julia Quinn on June 12 and 13th. I know you, me and the rest of the world are eagerly awaiting On the Way to the Wedding! And the lovely and talented Michelle Rowen, witty writer of paranormal romances, will be joining us on June 29th and 30th to talk about Angel with Attitude, her July book.

Whew! That's it for now, kids! Hope everything is going splendidly for you. As always, feel free to pass this newsletter onto anyone you think you might enjoy it, and take care for now!

Warm Regards,

Julie :)

In To Love a Thief, our story begins with our hero, barrister Gideon Cole, and his friend, Lord Kilmartin, standing in the middle of Bond Street on a hot day. Gideon silently reflects that he really isn't looking forward to "returning to Westminster chambers, to donning his wig and robes and eloquently pleading a case while beads of perspiration ran down the back of his neck." Wig, you ask? Yes indeed: wigs were a required part of the court dress in 1820, and they remain part of court dress for English barristers and judges today. The practice probably originated around 1660, when Charles II returned from France bringing with him the French fashion for powdered wigs worn in the court of Louis the XIV. Barristers wear "tie-wigs," which cover half the head; judges wear the frizzier "bob-wigs"; and, on ceremonial occasions, senior barristers, judges, and members of the House of Lords wear the shoulder-length "spaniel wigs."

And back in 1992, the House of Lords debated the merits of wig-wearing. One member, Lord Richard, griped that wigs were "insanitary, scratchy, and extremely hot." But when polls were in, it was clear that most of the legal profession as well as the public wanted barristers and judges to continue to wear wigs for a number of reasons, including the fact that they positing they confer dignity and solemnity on court proceedings.

In the market for a barrister wig? Take a look at the Ede & Ravenscroft site, England's leading wigmakers (in business since 1689), for a look at these wigs and a for a little more on the history of court dress.

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