Friday, February 26, 2010

Signing tomorrow (AAGH!)

First, an apology. Sort of. My schedule has been extremely hectic of late, and the frequency of my blog posts are suffering because of it. I WANT to post, but at the end of the day all my writing juices have been sucked dry and all I want to do is curl up and play Assassin's Creed II till my eyeballs rot out.
















Will try to be better in the future.

Second, my first signing is TOMORROW (Aaaaaah!). So if you want to drop by the Louisville Hurstbourne Borders and watch an author in full panic mode--no, bad author!--I mean listen to me read a bit of Iron King and then sign some books, feel free to drop in. That will be tomorrow at Borders on 2520 S. Hurstbourne Gem Lane, Louisville Ky 40220, from 6-8 pm.

And bring smelling salts. Just in case.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

February Events and stuff

Holy Cannoli, Batman! (What's cannoli, anyone know?)

I realized I have A Lot of stuff going on this month, and have posted none of it. Bad Author, no cookie.

So, in order to rectify the situation, here is a list of all the places I will be in the month of February:


February 18: Live Chat with The Mundie Moms at 8pm CST http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2010/02/our-chat-with-iron-king-author-julie.html (That is TONIGHT, people!)

February 22: Author Chat with the Page Flipper at 8pm EST http://thepageflipper.blogspot.com/2010/02/author-chats.html

February 24: Chatting with the Late Bloomers (no time yet, probably 9pm EST): http://www.latebloomeronline.com/

February 27: Borders Signing(!) 6-8pm EST at 2520 S. Hurstbourne Gem Lane, Louisville KY 40220

Whew, busy month. Hope to see you guys there! Oh, hey look, cannoli...

Sunday, February 14, 2010

St. Valentines Day Crush-A-Thon

A Valentine Day Crush-A-Thon

In honor of St. Valentines Day, I asked several bloggers, authors, and readers who their favorite literary crush (or crushes) were. Who were the heroes that made their hearts beat faster, whose presence on a page could not be denied or ignored, who could make them squee just by hearing their names? I received a staggering amount of swoon-worthy candidates, but the ones that made it onto the list are the ones mentioned at least twice by different people. So, without further ado, I give you:

THE ST. VALENTINE’S DAY CRUSH-A-THON (Warning: May cause heart palpitations, rapid breathing, drooling, and uncontrollable squee-ing. Please take the necessary precautions.)


The modern Crush-worthies:



















Jace (The Mortal Instruments): Snarky yet sensitive. A jerk in a snuggle suit, as one person said.

Patch (Hush Hush): The ultimate Bad Boy. Fallen from grace, but still redeemable.

Alex Fuentes (Perfect Chemistry): Another dark, dangerous-but-honorable Bad Boy.

Peeta (The Hunger Games): He bakes! He cleans! He kills your enemies! What more do you need?

Spencer (Suite Scarlet): Funny and charming, and an actor to boot.

Christophe (Strange Angels): A half-vampire with a werewolf rival. We all know who’s going to win.

Po (Graceling): Even with his name, he can still kick-ass.

Daniel (The Dark Devine): Mysterious, dark, and dangerous. Do I see a theme?

Roiben (Tithe): He’s a faery knight. With silver hair and a sword. ‘Nuff said.

Niall (Wicked Lovely series): You can actually die from wanting this faery so much.

Seth (Wicked Lovely series): Caring, sweet, and with more hardware than Ace Tools.

North (Brightly Woven): Dark and mysterious, and a wizard as well.

Severus Snape (Harry Potter): Really?

Ethan Wate (Beautiful Creatures): Reminding us that we can still love the ordinary guys.

Jamie Fraser (Outlander): Scottish Highlanders are just sexy. Everyone knows that.

Sam (Shiver): A werewolf boy who writes song lyrics for you. Tell me that’s not the ultimate in sweet.

Kartick (A Great and Terrible Beauty): Anyone who would sacrifice themselves for love is someone to sigh for.

Valek (Poison Study): My favorite literary crush. I have a thing for assassins, but Valek is coolness personified. He can also kill you with a pinky.

Ash (The Iron King): Yes, The Iron King’s own Ash was mentioned, too. Must be the dark, dangerous Ice Prince persona.

Puck (The Iron King): For as many Ash admirers, there are also Puck fans. Be careful around him, though, or you might end up with donkey ears.



The classics that make us sigh

Mr. Knightly (Emma): Just his name means you should swoon for him.

Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre): This dark, brooding gentleman has the Mother of all Secrets in his attic.

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird): A tireless crusader for Good, that alone makes him admirable.

Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables): The ultimate Sweet Boy, in many opinions. He waits so long for Anne to come to her senses.

Laurie (Little Women): Goofy, charming, and sweet. Jo is obviously blind.

John Thornton (North and South): A stern, business-like demeanor only masks a sweet, sensitive side.

Peter Pan: (Peter Pan and Wendy): Endless youth and a devil-may-care attitude makes Peter a contender for many hearts.


Those swoon-worthy vampires


















Edward Cullen (Twilight): Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Edward has captured the hearts of more fans then perhaps any other fictional guy out there. Must be the sparkles.

Eric Northman (Sookie Stackhouse series): Big blond Viking god? What’s not to love?

Damon (Vampire Diaries): Dark and mysterious, as a vampire should be.

Stefan (Vampire Diaries): Damon’s brother and rival, his opposite in many ways.

Dimitri (Vampire Acadamy): We’re all still waiting to see if Rose can save him.

Bones (Night Huntress series): Don’t we all wish we could be Cat.

Jean-Claude (Laura K. Hamilton series): I don’t know if being around Jean-Claude is healthy, but he’s certainly beautiful.

Nicholas (Hearts at Stake): He has seven vampire brothers, but still manages to steal the show.


And the winner of the St. Valentine’s Day Crush-A-Thon, the one name that was mentioned more often than anyone else’s, the ultimate Swoon-worthy character:

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice): What is it about Mr. Darcy that makes everyone swoon? Is it his piercing eyes? His distant, aloof character? Or maybe the fact that he was played by the wonderful Colin Firth in one of the many adaptations to film. Whatever the reason, Mr. Darcy has withstood the test of time, rising above the ranks of vampires and supernatural boyfriends, to take his place as Number One in the St. Valentine’s Day Crush-A-Thon.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Zombie-Unicorn deathmatch


















There seems to be a lot of talk about Team Zombie/Team Unicorn lately. And though I'm Team Unicorn myself (raises umbrella to deflect hurled tomatoes from Team Zombie), it got me wondering: what would happen if a zombie and a unicorn had a fight to the death? And then of course, my over-creative writer brain(s!) wouldn't let it go, and before long, insanity was born.

So, for your entertainment (mostly my entertainment), I bring you ... the first Zombie/Unicorn deathmatch! May the best mythical creature win.


ROUND 1: 1 zombie vs. 1 unicorn. Fight!


Zombie shuffles out ("brains"). Sees unicorn. Shuffles forward ("BRAINS!").



















Unicorn stabs zombie through the head with horn. Zombie's brain explodes from the magical unicorn rainbow light.

Zombie dies. (Again)

Round 1 to unicorn.


Round 2: 3 zombies vs. 1 unicorn. Fight!

Zombies shuffle out. ("Brains!")

Zombies shamble up to unicorn. Unicorn stabs one zombie through the head and kicks another in the skull with back hooves. Two zombies die, but one latches on and tears off a unicorn ear. Unicorn rears up and crushes zombie's head with front hooves.
















Zombies die. (One was a zombie mime.)

Round 2 to unicorn.


Round 3: Zombie horde vs. unicorn. Fight!

Zombie horde charges unicorn ("Brains! Brains! Brains!")














Unicorn disappears under massive zombie horde.

Round 3 to zombies.


So, as you can see, one unicorn can hold out against one or two zombies, but as we know, zombies rarely travel alone. Unfortunately, the question of which creature rules is still rather nebulous. Zombie or unicorn? Well, why does it have to be one or the other? Can't we all get along? Can't we find some common ground ...?





















Then again ....

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Signing party!

_

I have a signing date!

My first signing, whooo!

So, if you want to come see me and say hi, I'll be at the Louisville Borders on Hurstbourne Lane, Saturday February 27th from 6-8 pm.

Here is the address

Borders
2520 S. Hurstbourne Gem Lane
Louisville, KY 40220

Come see me and get Glomped. :D

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Who's your favorite literary crush?

In the spirit of the great LOVE holiday coming up, I've been asked to do a Valentine's Day guest post. I have decided to make it a post of our favorite literary crushes, so I'll need your help for this one. So here's my question:

Who is your favorite literary crush (or crushes), and why?

Don't forget the classics, either. Mr. Darcy might not be as hip and cool as Edward Cullen (or as sparkly), but he's certainly smoldering all on his own.



ETA: Went and changed the picture. Apparently, Colin Firth is the REAL Mr. Darcy, lol!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Grimalkin Rock winner!

Today is February 1st!

The Official Release Day for The Iron King! AND, just as exciting, the end of the Grimalkin Rock contest. The Random Number Generator has spoken, and I have a winner!

Carol(ina), or Bookluvercarol, you've won yourself a signed Iron King and a Grimalkin rock. Please email me your info so I can send you your prize.

Thanks everyone for entering! Don't despair, this won't be the last Grimalkin rock contest I have. You never know when I'll be inspired to paint a sarcastic gray cat, so keep checking back. ;)

Thanks again, everyone!

Julie