Thanks to everyone who dropped by to help celebrate the one year anniversary of Just the Sexiest Man Alive!   The winner of the $25 bookstore gift certificate is:

CRYSTAL B.!!

The winners of the signed copies of Just the Sexiest Man Alive are:

VAL PEARSON
JEN
JODER
RIGMAROLE
TENNISMOM MARY G

Congratulations!  Winners should email me at info@juliejamesbooks.com with your snail-mail address.  And Crystal B., please let me know if you would like a gift certificate to Borders, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com.

Happy reading!

Best,
Julie

Please note: the giveaway is now closed.

Can you believe it?  This time last year, Berkley published my first book, Just the Sexiest Man Alive.

Hooray!

While authors often joke that their favorite book is the one about to come out, I’m guessing what’s also true is that every author holds a special place in his or her heart for that first published book.

Thus, to celebrate the one year anniversary of the release of my first book, I’m doing a giveaway this week.  The first prize is a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Amazon (at the winner’s choice).  In addition, I’m giving away five signed copies of Just the Sexiest Man Alive.

To be entered in the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below.  Since this is a blog about first books, I’ll stick with the theme and ask this question: what is the first book that truly captivated you and opened your eyes to the joys of reading?

The giveaway will be open until 10pm CST on Sunday, October 11th.

Happy reading!

GIVEAWAY ALERT  (WITH LOTS O’ PRIZES)!!

Hi everyone– a quick blog today.  Just wanted to give you a heads up that next week I’ll be running a fun contest through the blog– with MULTIPLE prizes.  Yep, we’re giving away the farm here at The Julie James Blog.  Okay, not really, seeing how I don’t actually own a farm or anything.  But the part about the prizes is true, although I won’t tell you what they are yet.  You’ll have to come back next Monday to check it out.  (I know, I’m a stinker.)

So be sure to stop by next week.  And in the meantime, happy reading!

P.S. I felt like experimenting with font colors today.  So if the purple is annoying, luckily it likely will be gone by next time.

Hey everyone!  Thought I’d give you a heads up that today I’m guest-blogging over at fellow Chicago author (and friend) Beth Kery’s blog.  I’m giving away a signed copy of one of my books, and–yikes– I share a story from high school that I suspect may have influenced my writing.  If you get a chance, check it out here–I’d love to have you drop by!

Some exciting news– Bookspan bought the rights to use Practice Makes Perfect as a featured alternate in their Rhapsody, Doubleday, and BOMC2 book clubs.  It will be an end of the year special promotion for “great books you may have missed”.  Yeah!!

I’m not terribly familiar with on-line book clubs, but my understanding is that they work kind of like the BMG music clubs that became all the rage when I was in high school. (Anyone else remember BMG?  Are they still around?)  Rhapsody is a romance book club, Doubleday features, in their words, “the hottest bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction by your favorite authors”, and BOMC2 seems to be a mix of bestsellers and favorites as well.

I’m curious:  do any of you belong to on-line book clubs?  Do you like it?  Anyone have further insight into how they work?

On another note, on Thursday I’ll be guest-blogging over at author Beth Kery‘s blog. To go with the Hawaiian theme of her upcoming release, Paradise Rules, I’ll be sharing a slight humorous and definitely embarrassing story from high school that I’ve recently realized may have been part of the inspiration behind my writing romance/romantic comedies.  So be sure to check that out later this week!