CONTEST!

I received my author copies of Devil's Gold and have decided to initiate a contest to give away a free autographed copy.

Contest Rules:

Post the most bizarre wildlife trivia you know. The one that makes me laugh the loudest or stuns me into silence gets a book. I will confirm the validity of the trivia, but I certainly won't rule out a well-crafted and believable fake fact when selecting a winner. You have until Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The winners will be announced Monday morning. Get busy.

There will be two winners:

First Place: Free Book & trivia inserted in ANGEL FALLS (acknowledged, of course)
Runner Up: Trivia inserted in ANGEL FALLS (acknowledged, of course)

Disclaimer: It's my contest so whatever I say goes -- enter at your own risk.

Have fun and be creative.

Julie

The Darker Side of Inspiration...

I don't write fluffy.

Along with the beautiful comes the ugly...

And what the ugly is destroying...

Inspiration

As the release of Devil's Gold nears, I thought that I would disclose my inspiration for the story. Several years ago, we vacationed here:

Rancho Alegre

It was an amazing trip, comprised of Hot Air Balloon Rides

and a day with Mad River!

But most of all, it was the quiet beauty of the majestic Grand Tetons that permanently invaded my soul. Soaring mountain peaks tipped with white embracing plains scattered with buffalo, elk and, of course, wolves.

This is where the inception of Devil's Gold occurred. This is where I left a small piece of my heart.

The Year of Wolfee

I am now anxiously counting down the weeks, days, hours and minutes until I can hold my book. I love my publisher Medallion Press. However, they have certainly gone above and beyond with the publicity for Devil's Gold. I knew they liked the book, but who would have figured it was earth shattering...

March 2009 - DEVIL'S GOLD

Happy New Year all!

Edits!

I received my edits yesterday which provided a flurry of excitment, causing me to hand out the wrong cell phone number to Medallion's author liason, Kerry. Thank goodness she's used to crazy writers and was able to look up the correct number. In addition to that, my brain shut down, and I confused the meaning of anagram and acronym. Yes, please join me in yelling idiot.

The edits were relatively painless and the manuscript scattered with positive comments. I suppose that's to help prevent the I suck syndrome. I'll share what I learned. My characters are stuck in perpetual "Joker" mode because they grin so damn much. Easy fix. I have inflamed Mr. Webster with my lack of farther/further differential knowledge. Note to self to blow up page 46 of The Elements of Style. Oh yes, and sometimes I became so engrossed with the story that I forgot to clearly indicate who was speaking. Hey, wait a minute, that's one of my pet peeves. How dare I commit the same atrocity in my own work?

Anyway, that was my editing experience. The most difficult debate was a polite suggestion that I redefine the ZEBRA acronym. I did lose some sleep over this. Thanks to my Medallion author group for helping me with that one. I settled on Zoological Environmental Bio Research Agency.

I did take my time and re-read the manuscript as I went through the editing process. I will now go and drink heavily and congratulate myself on not submitting to the desire to rewrite the entire book because I suck.

I have duly noted how far down to start the chapter headings, to use . . . instead of ... and a few other specifics that Medallion prefers. Angel Falls will hopefully be less of a chore for my editors -- who by the way, are awesome. Here's a shout-out to Emily Steele and Janet Bank. Thank you so much for all your hard work and for taking such good care of my first book.

Time to Breathe....

I wanted to post these amazing pictures my son took on his cell phone during our vacation last week.




I can't believe that his itty phone captured such fabulous photography. Way cool.

In addition to our venture to Florida, we held the annual July 4th party which included about 80 people and a stupendous fireworks display by the eldest child in my family aka my hubbie.

Needless to say, I survived both vacation and party as well as a Buffy and Angel marathon which has consumed my evenings for the past month. 1 Month = 7 years of Buffy. I'm exhausted and grateful it's over. I was a faithful viewer of both shows but until you see the episodes back to back, the genius that is Joss Whedon isn't clear. An amazing talent and gift that man holds. I'm awed and jealous and suddenly speaking like Yoda for some unknown reason.

I attempted to write while on vacation but that was an absolute waste of time. It's very hard to be at the beach while my characters are in the Amazon, facing all sorts of challenges that I just couldn't bring myself to care about. Me: Look at that beautiful sunrise! Character: I'm dying over here... Me: So what! Do you see that beautiful sunrise?

So, needless to say, I'll be back to the grind tomorrow. I gave myself yesterday to readjust from party craziness and today I'm attempting to focus on the job that pays the bills. But tomorrow, I suppose I'll have to rescue my character from whatever peril she's found herself in. I'm really loving this book and anticipating re-immersing myself in the plot. I want to have this submitted to Medallion by the beginning of next month so I have quite a bit of work ahead of me. Not so certain I'm wanting to be me right now...but this is the craft and the writing must go on.

Julie

Long Gone....

I don't balance things well which means that I'm incapable of updating this blog and focusing a hundred percent on my writing. Why? Probably because I multi-task in so many other areas of my life. So I'm heading back to the trenches and probably won't return until Angel Falls is polished and on its way to my publisher.

One thing that happened this weekend that was pretty cool - I found myself on Amazon and Borders. What a thrill.....