Julie James

Whoo-hoo!  Last night I turned in A Lot Like Love to my editor.  Whew– glad to have that off my plate.  Here’s hoping she likes it.

Today I’m packing my bags, and then tomorrow… it’s off to Columbus, Ohio, for the 2010 RT BookLovers Convention!  This will be my first time attending the RT convention, and I’m very excited.  For those of you attending, or in the Columbus area, here’s where you’ll be able to find me:

*Friday, April 30th 10:00-11:00a.m. I’m hosting a Save the Contemporary panel with Jane Litte from Dear Author, Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and fellow contemporary author Louisa Edwards.  Here’s the description:

“Love the modern take on the age old romance tale? We do and we want to meet with other readers who love contemporary romances. What makes a great contemporary romance truly great? Come share your thoughts and favorites, and make suggestions on what could make contemporary romance even better.”

Oh– and I’ll be giving away 25 copies of Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect during the panel.  So if you’re around, be sure to drop by for a fabulous, fun discussion on contemporary romance.

*Saturday, May 1, 11:00a.m.- 2:00p.m, Giant Book Fair.  I’ll be signing books, along with about 300 other authors.  Registered conference members can attend for free, and the event is also open to the public for a $5.00 fee.  The full lists of authors attending the signing can be found here.

Beyond that, I’ll be attending many of the workshops and author events–and of course the parties, too.  Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Quick question:

I need some opinions/suggestions for a A Lot Like Love (aka Book 4): what actor/celebrity would you describe as tall, dark, and smoldering?

Just for fun, I googled “tall, dark, and handsome” and this guy came up:

Would say his eyes are green?  Because the hero in A Lot Like Love has dark hair and green eyes, and I sure wouldn’t mind picturing this guy.  : )

By the way, his name is Eduardo Verástegui, and Wikipedia lists him as a model, singer and actor from Mexico. I think I need to do a little more research on him… for the book, of course.

Hey everyone!  Thought I’d mention that I’ll be attending the Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Writers’ Conference, which is next Friday and Saturday, April 23-24th.

There’s a book signing on that Saturday (the 24th) from 4:30-6:00pm that is open to the public.  So if you’re in the Deerfield, IL area, drop by and meet some fabulous authors!  Here’s the list of authors who are attending:

The conference and signing will be held at:

HYATT DEERFIELD
1750 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015

Hope to see some of you there!

First, big apologies for the state of my blog these past couple of weeks.  Book 4 is due to my editor at the end of the month, and I’m currently working my way (feverishly) through the second draft.  I get this way near the end, and become totally absorbed in the book.  I promise to do better soon!

On days like these where I’m putting in those reeaaallly long hours, I find myself turning to my most comforting of comfort reads.  So earlier this week I read Morality for Beautiful Girls, book #3 in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Anyone else a fan of this series?  The books are about Precious Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana, and her “adventures as she navigates the cases of her clients and the complexities of her personal life.”  (from the author’s website)  The series is wonderful, charming, often humorous (with a dash of mystery), and captures Africa beautifully.  (I went on safari a few years ago and it was the most incredible trip.)  I highly recommend this series, particularly to women–Precious’s charming insights into men and their behavior never fail to put a smile on my face.  Oh! And they made a mini-series of the books, on HBO, which I plan to treat myself to as a reward for turning in Book 4.

And speaking of Book 4… it appears to be official… my editor confirmed that the title of the book is A Lot Like Love.  Wow–my first title that Berkley has kept!  And I can’t even take credit for it–many thanks to Elyssa Papa for the suggestion.  Hope to have more info to share on the book soon…

In the meantime, I’m curious–what are your most comforting of comfort reads?  Those books you want to sink into after a long day?