Top Ten Movie Contest

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**Please note: the giveaway is now closed.  Winner will be announced shortly.

We’re in the full swing of summer now. . . and you know one thing summer makes me think of?  Movies.  So Beth Kery, Lea at Closetreader, Stacy at Stacy’s Place on Earth, and myself are teaming up to bring you a fun giveaway that centers around–you guessed it–movies.

A few weeks ago, Beth came up with the idea for this giveaway: the four of us would name our Top Ten movies of all time.  Each of us would give away prizes through our blog, and all anyone has to do to enter is name three of his or her favorite movies.  Sounds fun and easy enough, right?

Wrong.

See, I love movies.  Lots of movies.  Lots of different types of movies.  And I have always said that I could never, ever name my favorite film.  My favorite book? No problem–Pride and Prejudice.  Favorite TV show?  That’s easy– Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Heck, I can even tell you my favorite episode of Buffy— Becoming, Part 2.  (And, TV-wise, Seinfeld would be a close second.)  But favorite movie?  Impossible to decide.  Some movies inspire me, some make me laugh, some make me sigh.  How does one compare the feelings evoked by the perfect romantic comedy versus those evoked by an epic special effects-laden action-adventure? Impossible.

But the more I thought about it, there definitely were certain movies that stood out to me, those movies that have continued to be my “go to” movies over the years.  The ones I can never turn off if I stumble across them on cable.  The ones I curl up with for company on those nights my husband is out of town.  Am I ready to declare these my official “Top 10 Movies of All Time”?  I don’t know. . . how about this instead?

THE SEMI-OFFICIAL LIST OF MOVIES  I REALLY, REALLY LIKE,
THAT MIGHT BE MY TOP TEN,
ALTHOUGH I’LL PROBABLY REALIZE I FORGOT SOMETHING
FIVE MINUTES AFTER POSTING THIS

Interestingly, despite the fact that I’m a big fan of many classic films, the vast majority of the movies on this list were released in the last forty years.  And since there’s no way I could ever rank the movies, this list is going to be in no particular order–except for #1.  I think there is probably a certain movie that I would likely consider my “favorite.”  So without further ado, here we go:

The Princess Bride. Bar none, some of the funniest, most memorable, lines ever spoken in a movie.  With romance.  And pirates.  This movie is so good even guys will admit to loving it.  That alone speaks volumes.

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. I liked all the films in the trilogy, but in my opinion, this one was the best. Granted, the story was Tolkien’s, but Peter Jackson couldn’t have brought that story to life any better.  One of the few times I’ve left a theater and just said Wow.

Shakespeare in Love.  A woman who goes against societal constraints to pursue her dreams? Star-crossed lovers?  Two big checks in my book.

Signs.  I say this to my husband every time I watch Signs–I think this movie is genius.  The tingling suspense of a Hitchcock film; excellent, amazing characters who are so well-developed they leap off the screen; and an incredible performance by Joaquin Phoenix, who stole the show virtually every scene he was in.  I know many people think The Sixth Sense is M. Night Shyamalan’s best film, but I disagree.  If you haven’t seen it, put Signs in your Netflix queue now.  Seriously.

Speaking of Hitchcock…

North By Northwest.  Hitchcock + Cary Grant = gold.  Cary Grant is perfect in this as the everyday man who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and inadvertently becomes involved in an dangerous intrigue.  (One of Hitchcock’s favorite plots.)  And did I mention it has Cary Grant?  A man whose swoon-worthiness is timeless.

Pretty Woman.  In terms of modern-day romantic comedies, this film sets the gold standard (along with When Harry Met Sally, which just narrowly missed this list). Everything about this movie was just so. . . right.  One of the best on-screen pairings, chemistry-wise, in recent film history.  From the moment Julia Roberts saunters up to that Lotus and into the life of rich, uber-dashing Richard Gere, I was sold.

Sixteen Candles. Jake Ryan–need I say more?  (Okay, I will.)  John Hughes just nailed high school life in the eighties/early nineties. And I think almost every woman who had a crush in high school can identify with Molly Ringwald’s character.  The scene where she steps out of the church and sees Jake leaning against his red Porsche, waiting for her?  Sigh.

Clueless.  Okay, if you’re tempted to laugh out loud over this choice, I ask this:  have you seen this movie?  Because I thought it would be a silly piece of fluff–and, okay, it kind of is– but it also has some of the best, snappiest, wittiest dialogue I’ve ever heard.  An incredibly smart screenplay disguised as a teen rom/com–and it’s even based on a Jane Austen novel! (Emma)

Aliens.  A kick-ass heroine who also has a softer side.  How often do you see that? Plus special effects galore.  And one of the best lines ever uttered in an action film: “Get away from her, you bitch!”  Simply because this movie shows that heroines can save the day as well as heroes, it goes in my top ten.

So I think that brings me to the movie I probably can call my Favorite Movie of All Time. . . any last-minute guesses?  Drum roll please. . .

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope.  I know that Empire Strikes Back is, in many senses, the best of the three films in the trilogy.  (Notice I don’t even mention the abominations that were the three recent Lucas movies.)  But this is the movie that started it all, and introduced us to that famous world from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Sure, the special effects were beyond impressive for its time, but what really makes this trilogy timeless is the characters and the story.  Heck, I grew up wanting to be Princess Leia.  As an impressionable youth, I think Princess Leia set the stage for my earliest musings on how girls should handle boys:

Princess Leia: Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, fly boy.

Han Solo: Great girl. Either I’m going to kill her or I’m beginning to like her.

***

Princess Leia: Listen, I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, but from now on, you do as I tell you. Okay?

Han Solo: Look, Your Worshipful-ness, let’s get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me.

Princess Leia: Then it’s a wonder you’re still alive. [about Chewbacca] Will somebody get this walking carpet out of my way?

So there you have it–my top ten list.  What do you think? Let’s hear your thoughts and comments!

And now here’s the giveaway part:  I’m giving away a $25 gift card to Amazon, Borders, or Barnes & Noble, at the winner’s choosing.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below that lists at least three of your favorite movies of all time.  Feel free to tell us all why you chose the movies you did (although that’s not required for entry in the giveaway).

THEN, you should head over to Beth, Lea, and Stacy’s blogs and check out the lists of their Top Ten Movies.  Each of them is running a separate giveaway with fun prizes, so you should feel free to leave comments (and enter) at all four blogs.  My contest here will remain open until 10pm CST on Friday, July 16th, and the winner will be announced Saturday, July 17th.

So good luck–and let’s start the movie discussion!

Back from RomCon and thoughts on “perfect” heroines (warning: a small rant)

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I’m back from RomCon!  Although I came back pretty darn exhausted, I had a wonderful time.  It’s always so much fun to catch up with readers, bloggers, and other authors. Like others have mentioned, there were some kinks in the system that hopefully will be smoothed out next year, but the overall vibe at the conference was fun and casual, and everyone I met was extremely friendly. Others have gone into detail summarizing the conference, so I thought I’d simply mention a few highlights/interesting moments from my personal experience.

–Yep, the setup of the book signing was odd.  Authors didn’t have books at their tables, instead readers needed to purchase them in a separate room.  Which meant, in some cases, that readers didn’t know which authors were inside and available to sign books.  A funny moment:  one reader stopped at my table, looking surprised, and said, “You are here!  Someone in the line said that Julie James wasn’t here because she’s sick.”  Then she paused and said, “Oh, well.  I bought Cindy Gerard’s book instead.”  And walked away.   (By the way, I had a lot of fun telling Cindy Gerard that story.)

–At the signing, I sat between Tara Janzen and Elizabeth Hoyt–not bad company to be in.  And I have to share this, which really made my day:  while talking, Tara and I  discovered that we’re both Starbucks junkies, and we lamented the fact that there was no Starbucks within walking distance of the hotel.  Tara, however, had discovered one a few miles away, and at the end of the signing, she drew me a map so I could find it.  I checked my watch and noted that, sadly, I wouldn’t have time to get there and back because I was scheduled for back-to-back panels for the remainder of the afternoon.

Five minutes later, I was in the room for the Mingle with Contemporary Authors panel when Tara sneaks in, comes over to my table, and says she’d decided to make a run for Starbucks and wanted to know what she could get me.  When she insisted I give her my order, I blurted out my standard: “Tall Mocha Light Frappucino.”  Tara blinked, then smiled and said, “I’m on it.”  And fifteen minutes later, she came back into the room (during the panel) and hand-delivered me the drink I’d been craving for two days.  How sweet is that?  I was really touched by Tara’s thoughtfulness–after spending two hours with her at the signing, and talking to her afterward, I have to say that she’s one of the friendliest, most engaging authors I’ve met.  And now I’m dying to read her books–they have these crazy/cool romantic suspense covers that remind me of Janet Evanovich and I want to buy one today. Any suggestions on which one I should start with?

–I mentioned the Mingle with Contemporary Authors panel. . . I also did a panel with three other authors on The Perfect Heroine, which was very interesting.  Author Catherine Anderson led the panel, and she asked readers several questions about their heroine preferences: whether they liked attractive heroines, heroines who were sexually confident, heroines who slept with a guy on the first date, older heroines, etc.  My view, which I expressed during the panel, is that it all comes down to execution and the development of the character.  If done right, an author should make me be able to identity with any “type” of heroine.

In reflecting more after the panel, I thought of two examples of this (sure, these involve male characters, but stick with me for a moment):  First, Richard Gere’s character in Pretty Woman. The guy is a multi-millionaire, a workaholic, reserved and controlling, power-hungry, and is used to having people bend to his will… not necessarily someone the average person would identify with.  But five minutes into the movie, we see his flaw: he can’t drive a stick-shift car.  All that money and power doesn’t mean anything when he gets lost in his Lotus on the streets of Los Angeles and has to be rescued by our heroine.  That set-up instantly makes him seem more “normal.”  Another classic example is Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark: the guy appears nearly super-human and unflappable in the opening sequence of the movie until we learn. . . he’s afraid of snakes!  Not a complete tough guy after all–instantly, he’s more likable.

A question I ask myself is why things should be any different with heroines.  After all, heroines are just characters, like heroes–shouldn’t the same standards apply?  Meaning, shouldn’t we be able to have a multi-millionaire, power-hungry workaholic heroine yet still find ways to identify with her?  I say yes!  Here’s the problem: I think writers don’t always give those heroines a chance to be likable.  I have a feeling that if the Pretty Woman scene had been written with a woman in the Richard Gere millionaire role, the character would be portrayed as being far more cold and unapproachable when the hero walked up to the Lotus to rescue her.  Because in Hollywood (and, I think literature sometimes), too often a “strong” woman equals, well, b*tch.  Remember the recent romantic comedy, The Proposal, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds?  Exactly my point.  And the scene with the snake in the plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark that instantly humanizes Indiana Jones?  Did we see any sort of similar softening/character insight-type scene in the Lara Croft movies?  Nope.  Heaven forbid we’re given a chance to actually like our kick-ass heroine-types.  Too often, at least from what I see, there is a deficiency in strong, well-rounded, heroines who can be tough yet also have a softer side.  And of course it can be done.  Two words: Princess Leia.  Or two more words: Ripley from Aliens.  (Okay, that was three words.)

Whew!  Enough of that rant, especially on a Monday morning.  For those of you who are thinking, “Listen, Ms. Soapbox, I just wanted to hear about the darn conference,” let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

–Certainly another highlight of the conference was that I got to meet and hang out with Nalini Singh.  I’m a BIG fan of her books and thus had to restrain myself from not asking thousands of questions about both her Psy/Changeling and Guild Hunter series.  I limited myself to mere hundreds of questions instead. : )  So here’s me and Nalini, who is every bit as fabulous in person as her books:

Man, that photo makes me look about six months pregnant. Oh. Wait.

–I scored a copy of Courtney Milan’s book, Proof By Seduction, at the conference and already started it on the plane ride home.  Confession time: it was on the chair next to mine as a giveaway during one of the dinners, and when the guy sitting next to me–yes, a guy, as in Some Random Dude in a suit who didn’t appear to be with anyone at the conference–wasn’t looking, I swapped my book with his.  Hey, I’ve heard great things about Courtney’s book; I was willing to play a little dirty when I saw it sitting right within my grasp.  And if you’re reading this, Some Random Dude, sorry–all is fair in love and romance novels.

So there you have it.  As with all these types of conferences, at the end of the day what makes them work (or not work) is the people you meet, and in that alone it was truly an A+ weekend.

Now, on an entirely different note. . . tomorrow I’ll be running a SUPER fun giveaway, one that I’m doing with author Beth Kery and bloggers Stacy at Stacy’s Place on Earth and Lea at Closetwriter.  There will be multiple opportunities to win prizes, and it’ll be a little different from the standard giveaway.  But awesome.  So be sure to come back tomorrow to check that out…

Where I’ve Been and Where I’ll Be (at RomCon)

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Just got back last night from a family vacation–Mr. James got a short “furlough” from the Big Case he’s working on and we decided to treat the Little Guy to some fun.  Any guesses where we went?  Here’s a hint:

Ah, Disney World with a three year-old. . . there’s no experience quite like it.  Yes, the Little Guy had his moments–what three year-old doesn’t?–but we had a fantastic time.  Although I would like to have a word with the Disney “imagineers” about one thing–do we really need a gift shop stocked with TOYS after every ride??  Help a parent out here, guys.  : )

Later this week, I’m off to Denver for RomCon.  For those of you attending the conference, I thought I’d post the schedule of places you can find me:

Saturday, July 10th: 12 PM Book Fair–Open to the Public

Saturday, July 10th: 2:30 PM Mix and Mingle with Contemporary Romance Authors, including Autumn Piper, Catherine Anderson, Cathy Maxwell, Deb Werksman, Elizabeth Hoyt, Jeanne C. Stein, Jodi Thomas, Julie James, Lori Wilde, Meg Benjamin, Susan Crandall, Susan Donovan & Leanne Banks

Saturday, July 10th: 3:30 PM The Perfect Heroine: What makes a heroine a woman you can identify with? Do you prefer them to be perfect, slender, gorgeous, and supremely self-confident? Or do you prefer them to have some flaws and feel self-conscious in some situations. Sexually active or more discerning? Financially successful or struggling in an ordinary job to make ends meet? Sexy underwear or plain? What types of heroines appeal to you? Come share your thoughts with Catherine Anderson, Cathy Maxwell, J L Wilson, Julie James, Sally MacKenzie, Susan Donovan.

Sunday, July 11th: 9 AM Speed Date a New Author–Session 3 Have a flash visit with your favorite authors or new-to-you authors and decide for yourself if you’d like to check out their books.  Some of the authors participating are Amanda McCabe, Cindi Myers, Deeanne Gist, Jeaniene Frost, Julie James, Karen Jones, Lavinia Kent, Lori Foster, Meagan Hatfield, Melissa Mayhue, Sally MacKenzie, Tara Janzen, and Terri Garey.

Of course, I’ll be around throughout the conference, attending panels/workshops, the awards ceremony (psst–Practice Makes Perfect was nominated for Best Contemporary) and other events, but those are the places you can find me for sure.

Hope to see some of you there!

Winner– Sherry Thomas Giveaway

Thanks so much to Sherry for hanging out with us this week and for the giveaway!  So without further ado, the winner of a copy of His At Night is. . .

Jacqueline C.!

(comment #13)

Congratulations! Jacqueline, please email me at info@juliejamesbooks.com with your snail mail address so that Sherry can get a copy of the book out to you. And everyone can find out more about Sherry and her books at her website.

Happy reading!

Sherry Thomas is here! (And a giveaway)

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**Please note: the giveaway is now closed.  Winner will be announced shortly.

As promised, I’ve got a another giveaway this week. . . .

I’m delighted to welcome Sherry Thomas today!

Sherry and I met last year at the RWA conference in D.C. and got a chance to hang out at the RT Convention in Columbus this past April–and I have to tell you, she is a riot.  And I’m such a fun of her writing–she writes fabulously angst-y, emotionally complex historical romances.  I read Delicious last year after meeting Sherry and loved it.  So when I saw her newest release, His At Night, available in the RT goody room I immediately snatched up a copy and devoured it as soon as I got home from the conference.   Here’s a little more about the book:

Elissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?

Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.

Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon against each other—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?

* * *

So without further ado, here’s Sherry to tell us more about His At Night and her writing process:

Q. When did you first realize you wanted to write, and how did you get started?

I wrote bits and pieces of—what else?—love scenes throughout college, but never really thought about a whole book because I didn’t know where the stories would go beyond their opening love scenes.  (They were kind of awesome, by the way, full of old romance chestnuts mixed with the most overdone sci-fi clichés.  If you want a virgin courtesan whose clothes split apart along electromagnetic lines embedded in the fabric, I’m your gal.)

Then I read a bad romance when I had the least patience for bad romances, threw the book across the room, and declared to my husband that I could do better.  Wise man that he was—and is–he said nothing as I spent the next eight years not getting published.

Q. What is it about writing romance that appeals to you?

You mean besides virgin courtesans whose clothes split apart along electromagnetic lines embedded in the fabric?  : )

I like creating characters and testing them in all kinds of trying situations.  I like fiddling with words.  I love the community of readers and writers.

Once upon a time I heard about this survey on what women would most like to be and romance writers came in second, right after goddess.  So really, it’s all good.

Q. What do you do on those writing days when you’re stressed, worn out, or distracted?

 

I eat, I goof, I play computer games and surf the interwebs endlessly.  What can I say?  I have the worst self-control ever.  When distractions appear, I wave the white flag without shame or hesitation.  So I can only be thankful that I’m not stressed or fatigued all the time!

Q. What can you tell us about your current release?

 

His at Night is my attempt at light fare.  The premise is that of a gentleman spy who pretends to be an idiot, which lends itself to all kinds of comical situations.  And then he is trapped in marriage by the one young woman he wants to avoid above all, so now he’s totally screwed–and the fun really begins.

Q. Can you share a brief excerpt from the book?

 

I’m sending this tidbit because it made my husband laugh out loud.

 

“But do you know what the most important aspect of judging a dairy cow is?”

“No, I‘m sure I don‘t, my lord,” she said, stabbing her knife into the muffin on her plate.

“Mammary development, Miss Edgerton, worth a whopping thirty-five percent of the overall score. The udder must be very large and very flexible. The teats must be of a nice size and evenly placed. Milk veins, extensive; milk wells, capacious.”

He was no longer looking at her face but at her chest. “I don‘t believe I‘ve viewed a dairy cow quite the same since. Now when I see cows, instead of just saying to myself, ‘Oh, look, cows,‘ I study their udders and teats for their conformity to the principles of animal husbandry—and for the sheer enjoyableness of studying udders and teats, of course.”

Q.  Fun questions: What are you watching on TV these days? (Or what are you reading?)

 

Not so fun answer: We don’t watch TV in our house.  Not for any noble reasons, but because when our Senior Kidlet was a tot, he would be so enthralled by the TV that we couldn’t budge him to do anything else.  So one day we made the decision to just turn off the TV.  It wasn’t a permanent decision, but as we weren’t following any particular shows on TV at that particular moment in time, we didn’t really miss it.

This, however, doesn’t mean we never watch any TV shows.  If we hear enough about it, we’ll get around to it.  I watched the first three seasons of House on DVD, the fourth season kinda lost me though.  We recently finished the whole series of the rebooted Battlestar Galactica—loved it so much!  And within the last two weeks we zoomed through the first two seasons of Lost.

And Mad Men and Glee, someday.

The most recent book I finished is an apocalyptical YA called Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  I got it after Senior Kidlet requested it, but then I got totally into it.  And finished it in front of my shower, naked, because I’d stripped for my wash, but couldn’t put the book down.

Q. What are you listening to on your Ipod?

 

Hanging head in shame: I don’t have an Ipod.  And you probably guessed it: my cell phone doesn’t do anything except making phone calls.  I’m so amazingly low-tech sometimes it takes my breath away.  : )

Q. What is your biggest weakness (shoes, purses, chocolate, etc.)?

 

Hmm, first you have me doubt my fitness for modern life, now you have me doubt my chromosomes: I have very few pairs of shoes, hardly any purses, and don’t generally keep chocolates at home—although I will gladly eat them elsewhere!

As a person, I don’t have any consistent weakness, i.e., nothing my husband can point to and commiserate with his friends about—if he were the kind of man to complain his wife before others, which he most definitely is not.  Thank goodness for the strong, silent type.  : )

What I do have are fits and bursts of situational madness.  There was a time when I lugged in tons of clothes from White House Black Market.  Their clothes fit me so well, but ultimately I can’t live on just two colors.  Not long ago I’d buy huge containers of roasted pepper hummus and bags of pita chips from Costco, and then just sit down and demolish it all—until I realize the havoc that much hummus and pita chips wreaked on my butt.  And then from time to time there would be casual games that get me so addicted I have to delete them from my computer, because I can’t get anything else done.

I really miss scarfing down a tub of hummus at a go.

Q. Complete this sentence: One fun thing about me that people might not know is……

 

From everything I’ve said so far—no TV, no music, no nothing–it might seem to folks that I’m completely disconnected from pop culture.  But that is the furthest thing from the truth.  I learn everything I need to know from celebrity gossip blogs.  I know the stars of movies, TV, music, and even sports. I know who has slept with whom and who hates whom, who’s popular, who is cheap, who is genuinely nice, and who is completely fake.

And of course I know the latest situation in the Jolie-Pitt household!

* * *

Thanks for joining us, Sherry!  For all of you, Sherry has generously offered to give away a copy of His At Night to one lucky person who leaves a comment or question below.  The giveaway will remain open until 10pm CST on Friday, July 2nd.  More information about Sherry and her books can be found at her website.

Good luck and happy reading!