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JUNE
2006
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a
letter from julie
The weather report, JQ visits
Fog City, Kermit vs. green beans, so much more
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book news
BATS
aglow with accolades; THIEF festooned with honors; WICKED available
for preorder (and get a load of
the steamy cover)
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contest
Pearls of Wisdom; a few winners
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the magical history tour
why wigs?
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~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 SeductionSabrina'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 itand 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 knowwe 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 :)
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~Book
News~ |
To
Love a Thief has been nominated for three more wonderful,
prestigious awards: the Rita, the Holt Medallion, and the Bookseller's
Best Awardall in the Best Short Historical category.
Holy Mackerel! I'm proud on behalf of my second-born. :) If you
haven't had a chance to read THIEF, check out the excerpts
and reviews on my site, or visit Amazon
and take advantage of their "Look Inside" feature. I'll
learn about the Holt, soon; the others, I'll have to wait for
the RWA conference in July. :) Wish me luck! (and wish me luck
finding a Rita dress!!)
*****
Beauty
and the Spy has definitely made a big splash...The Romance
Readers Connection calls it, "simply superlative...a
gorgeous and lovely novel, a sumptuous feast for historical romance
fans." And Romance
Reader at Heart said, "Ms. Long excels in so many
areas of her writing, from her prose, to her dialogue, to her
characterizations, that it's hard to single out anything in particular
that makes this book such a standout. Everything just comes together
perfectly: the dialogue, the plot and the characters all seem
to flow into one another." Talk about things to make
an author blush! And I'm hearing wonderful things from readers,
too. I'm so, so pleased you're enjoying the book!
You can find more reviews
for BATS on my website if you'd like to read them, along
with a
few excerpts from BATS too, if you haven't
had a chance to read them yet.
And as a reminder: The books in the Holt sisters trilogy are BEAUTY
AND THE SPY (March 06, out now); WAYS TO BE WICKED
(out in October)' and THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION (out next
year!).
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~Contest~
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NEW CONTEST: In
the spirit of our ongoing birthstone saga, this month you can win
a lovely pair of black pearl earrings and a signed book by just
answering a simple question in this month's Pearls of Wisdom
contest. AND, as a bonus, since I pretty much used up every
brain cell I own to finish THE SECRET TO SEDUCTION, I'm asking you
for your pearls of wisdomyou might win a signed bookmark
if you volunteer one. I'll publish a few of my favorite ones on
my website and in this newsletter (and I already have a few great
ones!). Go to
my contest page to learn details and enter!
w
i n n e r s: Michelle
L. of Texas won The Shine on Tiny
Diamond Contest, and Beth O. of
Florida won the emerald earrings in The Best Things in Life are
Green contest! A big hurrah for both ladies!
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~The
Magical History Tour~ |
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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.
[Visit
the Magical History Tour Archives]
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What I've been listening to:
This
Boards
of Canada (a group comprised
of a couple of Scottish guys, just to keep things cryptic)
song called Dayvan Cowboy, an exquisitely layered, dreamy,
slightly (but not overbearingly) psychedelic instrumental.
It's get-under-your-skin beautiful, and perfect driving-on-Redwood-tree-lined-mountain-roads
music. (If that's not a genre, it should be.) What
I've been reading: Taken,
by Barbara Freethy. Rocking good suspense! And look! Here' s the sneaky
contest for anyone who got this far! Be the first person to send me
an email with the words "Sneaky Contest" in the subject
line andtell me what section of my newsletter you found the sneaky
contest in, and I'll send you a signed copy of Beauty and the Spy!
Be sure to include your address. |
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Visit
the
Julie Anne Long
newsletter archive |
Take care for now, and
see you next time!
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