Note:  the contest is over– the new Sexiest Man Alive has been crowned.  Winners of the giveaway will be posted shortly.

That’s right, folks, it’s Sexiest Man Alive time.  Once again, Diana Holquist and I have come together to celebrate the fact that: (a) our books have, um, almost the exact same title, and more important, (b) the announcement of People‘s Sexiest Man Alive for 2009 is just days away.  (And hey–it’s a good excuse to look at pictures of some really attractive men.)

To get you in the mood for the crowning of the new Sexiest Man Alive (don’t worry Hugh Jackman, you’ll live on in our hearts and lusty thoughts forever), Diana and I are teaming up to give away free copies of our books.  And if you haven’t read Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist (psst– it was a RITA nominee), you’ll want to rectify that situation immediately.

So here’s the contest. . . who do you think will be People‘s Sexiest Man Alive for 2009? Here are some of our contenders, but feel free to nominate anyone you want:

Gerard Butler.
I mean, seriously, People, don’t you think the man is due?

–

Or how about. . .

Jon Hamm aka The Hot Guy from Mad Men
Gotta love a man who looks great in a suit, right?

–

And now for the always controversial. . .

Ryan Reynolds.
I just don’t see what some people (who shall remain nameless) have against this guy.  I see six reasons to adore him.  It’s called his abs.

–

Johnny Depp, the Bad Boy.
This man can have gold teeth and look as though he hasn’t showered for days,
and he still manages to be sexy.

Then, head over to Diana’s blog and follow the instructions there to enter to win a signed copy of Diana’s book, Sexiest Man Alive.

A couple of provisos (what can I say–it’s the lawyer in me):

This poll is in no way affiliated with People–it’s just for fun and free books!

Should People announce their Sexiest Man Alive before 10pm CST on November 15th, the contest is considered over as of the time of the announcement, and no votes posted after that will be entered in the contest.

In the event that no one correctly picks the 2009 Sexiest Man Alive, or if less than 5 people do so, the remaining signed copies of JTSMA will be awarded to randomly chosen commenters.

And one last thing:  because I recently ran a giveaway for Just the Sexiest Man Alive (the one-year anniversary celebration), should anyone who wins a copy of the book wish to substitute it for a signed copy of my other release, Practice Makes Perfect, I’m happy to do so.

Happy reading!

Curious to know more about my upcoming release, Something About You?  Here’s an excerpt:

FATE HAS THROWN TWO SWORN ENEMIES. . .

Of all the hotel rooms rented by all the adulterous politicians in Chicago, female Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had to choose the one next to 1308, where some hot-and-heavy lovemaking ends in bloodshed. And of all the FBI agents in Illinois, it had to be Special Agent Jack Pallas who gets assigned to this high-profile homicide. The same Jack Pallas who still blames Cameron for a botched crackdown three years ago—and nearly ruining his career…

. . .INTO EACH OTHER’S ARMS

Work with Cameron Lynde? Are they kidding? Maybe, Jack thinks, this is some kind of welcome-back prank after his stint away from Chicago. But it’s no joke: the pair is going to have to put their rocky past behind them and focus on the case at hand. That is, if they can cut back on the razor-sharp jibes—and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension…

Unedited Advance Excerpt from Chapter Two

“This is getting ridiculous. I have rights, you know.”

Cameron faced off against the cop guarding the door to her hotel room, determined to get some answers.

The young police officer nodded sympathetically. “I know, ma’am, and I do apologize, but I’m just following orders.”

Maybe it was her frustration at being cooped up in her hotel room for what was now going on five—yes, five—hours, but Cameron was going to strangle the kid if he ma’am-ed her one more time. She was thirty-two years old, not sixty. Although she’d probably given up the right to be called “Miss” somewhere around the time she had started thinking of twenty-two-year-old man-boy police officers as kids.

Deciding that throttling a cop was probably not the best way to go when presumably dozens more stood right outside her door (she couldn’t say for sure; she hadn’t been permitted to even look out into the hallway, let alone step a toe out there), Cameron tried another tactic. The man-boy clearly responded to authority, maybe she could use that to her advantage.

“Look, I probably should’ve mentioned this earlier, but I’m an assistant U.S. attorney. I work out of the Chicago office—”

“If you live in Chicago, what are you doing spending the night in a hotel?” Officer Man-Boy interrupted.

“I’m redoing my hardwood floors. The point is—”

“Really?” He seemed very interested in this. “Because I’ve been trying to find somebody to update my bathroom. The people who owned the place before me put in this crazy black and white marble and gold fixtures and the place looks like something out of the Playboy Mansion. Mind if I ask how you found a contractor to take on a job that small?”

Cameron cocked her head. “Are you trying to sidetrack me with these questions, or do you just have some weird fascination with home improvement?”

“Possibly the former. I was under the distinct impression that you were about to become difficult.”

Cameron had to hide her smile. Officer Man-Boy may not have been as green as she’d thought.

“Here’s the thing,” she told him, “you can’t keep me here against my will, especially since I’ve already given my statement to Detective Slonsky. You know that, and more important, I know that. There’s clearly something unusual going on with this investigation, and while I’m willing to cooperate and give you guys a little leeway as a professional courtesy, I’m going to need some answers if you expect me to keep waiting here. And if you’re not the person who can give me those answers, that’s fine, but then I’d like it if you could go get Slonsky or whoever it is that I should be talking to.”

Officer Man-Boy was not unsympathetic. “Look—I know you’ve been stuck in this room for a long time, but the FBI guys said that they’re gonna talk to you as soon as they finish next door.”

“So it’s the FBI who’s running this, then?”

“I probably wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“Why do they have jurisdiction?” Cameron pressed. “This is a homicide case, right?”

Officer Man-Boy didn’t fall for the bait a second time. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lynde, but my hands are tied. The agent in charge of the investigation specifically said I’m not allowed to talk to you about this.”

“Then I think I should speak to the agent in charge. Who is it?” As a prosecutor for the Northern District of Illinois, she had worked with many of the FBI agents in Chicago.

“Some special agent—I didn’t catch his name,” Officer Man-Boy said. “Although I think he might know you. When he told me to guard this room, he said he felt bad for sticking me with you for this long.”

Cameron tried not to show any reaction, but that stung. True, she wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy with a lot of the FBI agents she worked with—many of them still blamed her for that incident three years ago—but with the exception of one particular agent who, fortunately, was miles away in Nevada or Nebraska or something, she hadn’t thought that anyone in the FBI disliked her enough to openly bad-mouth her.

Officer Man-Boy looked apologetic. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re so bad.”

“Thanks. And did this unknown special agent who allegedly thinks he knows me have anything else to say?”

“Only that I should go get him if you start acting fussy.” He looked her over. “You’re going to start acting fussy now, aren’t you?”

Cameron folded her arms across her chest. “Yes, I think I am.” And it wouldn’t be an act. “You go find this agent, whoever he is, and tell him that that the fussy woman in room 1307 is through being jerked around. And tell him that I would appreciate it very much if he could wrap up his little power trip and condescend to speak to me himself. Because I would like to know how long he expects me to sit here and wait.”

“For as long as I ask you to, Ms. Lynde.”

The voice came from the doorway.

Cameron had her back to the door, but she would’ve recognized that voice anywhere—low and as smooth as velvet.

It couldn’t be.

She turned around and took in the man standing across the room from her. He looked exactly the same as he did the last time she’d seen him three years ago: tall, dark, and scowling.

She didn’t bother to mask the animosity in her voice. “Agent Pallas . . . I didn’t realize you were back in town. How was Nevada?”

“Nebraska.”

From his icy look, Cameron knew that her day, which had already been off to a most inauspicious start, had just gotten about fifty times worse.

Thanks, everyone, for dropping by and making this such a fun giveaway!  I really enjoyed hearing your Halloween memories, and appreciate all the book recommendations.  It really is the perfect time of year to curl up with a great paranormal romance, isn’t it?

So without further ado, the lucky winner of both The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason and Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh is. . .

PaulaAP!

(commenter #20)

Congratulations, PaulaAP!  Please email me your snail-mail address at info@juliejamesbooks.com, at I’ll get those books right out to you.

Happy reading everyone, and Happy Halloween!

Note: the Halloween giveaway is closed.

I love Halloween–everything about it. I love the costumes, the decorations, the crisp fall air.  Some of my favorite, most vivid childhood memories involve halloween parties, trick-or-treating, watching scary movies at slumber parties, and forcing myself to go through haunted houses with my much braver friends.  (I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to scary stuff, what can I say?)

I also find this time of year to be oddly romantic.  So much so that when I began writing my upcoming release Something About You (which, while still a contemporary romance, has a suspense subplot), I knew I wanted the book to take place in Chicago during the fall.  And I’ve been wondering lately why I find the Halloween season particularly romantic. This morning I started scrolling through my Halloween memories, and one in particular jumped out at me.

Freshman year.  His name was Steve.

I was thirteen years old (darn November birthday) and in my first year of high school.  One of my best friends, we’ll call her Emily, somehow met and had become friends with–gasp–a sophomore boy–named Steve.  She had a crush on him.  Big time.  A few weeks into her crush, she introduced me to Steve at a football game and we all began talking.  And then… when Emily ran off to buy a hotdog or something, Steve asked me for my phone number.

Uh oh.

I distinctly remember trying to figure out how to handle this situation: of course I was supposed to decline, my friend really liked this guy, but on the other hand Steve didn’t know Emily liked him and she would’ve killed me if I had told him.  And there was another problem:  Steve was really, really cute.  Now before you slay me for what I’m about to say next, keep in mind that I: (a) was thirteen years old, and (b) had absolutely no experience in How To Handle Boy Issues because I’d gone through a really awkward phase in junior high that involved glasses and blue eye shadow (thank you, late 80’s) that mercifully had begun to cease over the summer (thank you, contacts).  So having a boy ask for my phone number was wholly new to me.

So I did it.  I gave Steve my phone number.  Back-stabbing ho! you cry.  Well, maybe.  But in my defense when Steve called the next day, my conscience kicked in, and I brushed him off.  So he called again.  And again.  Eventually we started talking, a lot, and now–big problem– I liked Steve, too.  Not knowing what else to do, I gave in and told him that Emily had a crush on him and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.  Steve, to his credit, was that most rare of high school creatures– A Really Nice Guy–and he didn’t want to hurt Emily either.  So we agreed that we would hold off on “going out” (remember the days when you called it that?) to see if Emily got over her crush.

A few weeks later, it was Halloween.  Emily, myself and some of our other girlfriends went to the town’s annual Haunted House, which was actually pretty big and scary. We “happened” to meet Steve and his friends there.  (Okay, Steve and I may have had something to do with that.)  We decided to go into the haunted house together, one large group of girls and guys.  Someone suggested we go in boy-girl-boy-girl (to protect us frightened females) and “somehow” Steve and I ended up next to each other at the end of the line.  We got into the haunted house–and yes, being the aforementioned wuss, I was actually kind of scared–when I suddenly felt Steve slip his hand into mine and pull me back from the rest of the group.  We waited for everyone to get lost ahead of us, and then, in the darkened coffin-filled and fake-blood-splattered hallways of the haunted house, he, well… kissed me.  Then we went through the rest of the haunted house holding hands, and when we got to the end we let go and pushed out the exit door.  We found Emily and our other friends waiting outside for us.

“Wow.  We must’ve gotten separated at that part with the strobe light.  Frea-ky,” I said breathlessly.  (How sly was that…?)  Emily appeared not at all suspicious, and I felt kind of guilty, and also like I had this secret, this big, romantic thing–a first kiss– that had happened to me that I couldn’t tell anyone about.  Heady stuff, for a thirteen year old.

What’s really funny to me now, is that in Something About You, I wrote this scene that is in some ways similar to that Haunted House moment. But I hadn’t even picked up on those similarities until I sat down to write this blog post.  I guess that’s the neat thing about blog-writing: in writing about yourself, you sometimes learn something about yourself along the way.  In any event, for those of you who do happen to pick up Something About You, I’ll be curious to know if you catch which scene I’m referring to.  😉

So now for the giveaway part.  (Yes, this isn’t just some weird sharing moment, there’s still a giveaway.)  Speaking of romance, haunted houses, and other paranormal things… I’ve often said that I’m a newbie reader to paranormal romance.  Not because I don’t like it, more because I simply don’t know where to start.  But over and over there were two series of books that people told me I had to read:  the Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason, and the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh.  I’ve since begun both series, and I have to say:  I’m a big fan.

As such, to celebrate Halloween, this week I’m giving away to one lucky person copies of both The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason, and Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh, the first books in each author’s series.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below.  You can share a favorite (or romantic) Halloween memory, you can tell me which paranormal romances are your favorites, or you can just say hi.  (I’m not fussy.)  The contest will remain open until 10pm CST on Friday evening, and the winner will be announced on Halloween.

Happy reading!  And Happy Halloween!

Whew.  Back from a 10-day vacation with the family and I’m buried under a ton of catch-up work.  I’m working on the page edits for Something About You, some promotional things, and then–oh yeah– there’s Book 4. Book 4 is turning out to be a little devil… a quarter of the way through, I decided I needed to take a slightly different approach with the heroine and hero.  Particularly the hero–he’s not quite as perfect as I had originally envisioned him.  Funny, how these things change along the way.

I hope to post more very soon– maybe some more on my vacation– but after taking my two year-old to Disney World for over a week, in 95 degree temps no less, I’m just wiped.  (BTW, my husband has now nicknamed our son “El Fiasco” after a disastrous lunch in Epcot at a Mexican cantina.)

In the meantime, thought I’d mention that I finished Too Good To Be True by Kristan Higgins, which I enjoyed, and that I’m currently reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger.  So far, I’m completely sucked in–and the gothic/ghost story element is perfect for this time of year.

How ’bout all of you– reading anything good?