Julia Devlin

Every once in a wide I like to throw my husband a little curve ball by cooking up a storm like I’m the next Martha Stewart.  It’s a good way to keep him on his toes and confuse him.  Not to mention provide him with a little fantasy material where he can pretend I’m another women for the day.  Hey, after 11 years of marriage and 17 years together, one does what she can.

So, my six year old daughter and I made this healthy multi-grain cinnamon rolls form the Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine.  There was a variation for twists, which for some reason my son had to have, and this picture is the end result.  Not perfect, not super pretty, but hey we’re new!!

And I have to say, healthy cooking never tasted so good.  My kids, who are my worst critics, gave it rave reviews. Needless to say it was gone within an hour.  (Side Note: I’m fairly certain to really be “healthy” you’re not supposed to eat all 12 servings in 1 sitting, but hey at least we got our fiber for the day.)

Happy Sunday,

~Julia~

I’m very excited to announce The Burn List is coming soon to Ellora’s Cave.

I wrote this story a couple of years ago, publishing it with a different house. When I got the rights back, it was great fun to see how I’ve grown and changed as a writer.

I laughed.

I cringed.

I corrected.

Nostalgic, I pulled out the first thing I ever wrote and read though those random, crazy pages.

I laughed.

I cringed.

I hid my head in embarrassment.

Good fun was had by all.  Maybe some day, if I’m brave enough, I’ll post some of my first writings just for fun.  We shall see..

In the mean time, let me introduce you to Abby and Lukas, two neighbors who find love in their own back yards…

After spending her thirtieth birthday with her parents, straight as an arrow Abby Simmons drowns her sorrows in a bottle of tequila and a splash of margarita mix. All she wants is a little excitement, one chance to go wild before she settles back into her regularly scheduled life. Fueled by liquid courage, Abby sets out to give herself the perfect gift—her bad boy neighbor, firefighter, Lukas Marlow.

Sure, Lukas likes intoxicated girls looking to turn their fantasies into reality as much as the next guy, but this is sweet little Abby. Definitely on the do not touch list.  Determined to save her from embarrassment, he sends her away with an order to sleep it off, and a promise to fulfill her desires in the sober light of day. Confident he’s scared her away for good, nothing could have shocked him more than an email from Abby outlining her sexual to-do list.

Turns out his quiet neighbor isn’t such a good girl after all and Lukas has no other choice but to make her burn.

I’m looking forward to sharing the cover and excerpts shortly.

~Julia~

I’m over at Flirty Author Bitches today (And the 3rd Tuesday of every month) talking about the trials and tribulations of social networking.  As you can see by my sparse blog posts that I’m not very good at the venue and wanted to share why.

Hopefully, someday, I’ll find a happy balance in this over connected world…

Come on over and let me know your thoughts.

http://flirtyauthorbitches.com/

Happy Tuesday!

~Julia~

No! I’m not talking about losing your virginity, but I like where your mind is at.  I’m talking about the first time you finish an actual story.  I’ve been thinking about my 1st time a lot recently because Riding the Rail showed up on Amazon recently and I got all nostalgic.

I came to writing later in life. I wasn’t one of those writers that had known since she was six what she was destine to be.  No, I didn’t eventhink about it until I was 35 (I’m turning 40 in August) when I had a boring job and endless free time and I was actually bored with surfing.  I still don’t even know what made me decide to open up a document and start writing characters.

Of course, they were all jumbled up in my head and I spent a lot of time just writing endless, meaningless scenes.  Then came the dreaded news that I had no idea how to actually write and I spent a good long time figuring out the how. Finally, it all started to come together and Riding the Rail was born.

I got the idea one morning when I was riding the Chicago EL to work.  I was squashed in between a bunch of strangers, none of them remotely inappropriate behavior worthy and I thought… hey, that would be a good opening scene for a book.  I started writing it that day, and about 5 weeks later I submitted it.

It’s not perfect. I look back at it now and see where I can strengthen the story and the writing.  I can see how my voice has changed and emerged since I started this crazy writing business, but that’s not really the point.  We all
need to start somewhere.  We all need a first.  And Riding the Rail is mine. It will always have a soft spot in my heart and why I’ll never pull it, revise it or change its core.  It’s a reminder of where I’ve come from and a marker of how I’ve changed and evolved since those early days where I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going.  And, for that, I am grateful

If you’re interested  you can read the excerpt or Riding the Rail on Amazon for $2.85.

~Julia~

It’s been a long full weekend, and my intention for the day we declared out independence is to celebrate my freedom from not having to clean anything, cook anything, or go to anywhere.  I’m going to sit by the pool, eat chips and double stuffed oreos and read.

How are you going to celebrate your independence?

~Julia~

Well, I’ve finally got this blog up where someone can actually see a post. Is it sad that I’ve had such a hard time getting it to work in today’s day and age?

But now that I have it, now what? There are tons of great, informative blogs out there and I admit I struggle with how to make this interesting & unique. The one thing I do know is that I’m not going to figure it out all in one day, but I hope you’ll still love me anyway and stick it out while I go through my growing pains.   

However, since I have a tendency to procrastinate in the name of perfection, I’m going to post anyway with all my messiness.  After all, isn’t  part of writing, putting it all out there even though it will never be perfect?  That’s what I tell myself anyway. 

Since I haven’t been good with updates, I thought I’d start there…

1. For now, I am a slow writer. I want to be faster, really I do. My daily writing vow is to do better.

2. I’m on page 300 of my single title contemporary romance. I’ve re-written the damn thing 5 times and believe it or not I’m actually satisfied. I’m hoping to be done in the next couple of weeks. (Maybe if I stopped re-writing I’d be a little faster getting stuff out the door)

3. Because I like challenges, I started to re-work the very first story  I ever wrote. Maybe it’s just me, but there is just something about that first couple, despite their messy incoherent plots that capture my heart.  I want to see their story told, if only because I told it to myself so many times. My writing style has changed a lot since I started (THANK GOD) so other than keeping about best friends not much is staying the same.  I think it would be kind of fun to do a before and after but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to show people how much I sucked.

4. I’ve recently become addicted to #1k1hr challenges on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/search/1k1hr If you’re a writer and on twitter, join us it’s a great way to get motivated since no one likes a public shunning.

5. Pride & Surrender was released at the end of December, it was the first time I ever wrote anything in 1st person. It was rewarding, but exhausting, not sure I’ll undertake it again for quite sometime but I couldn’t be happier with how the story turned out.

Thanks for reading,

~Julia~

The last couple of months have been really crazy for me. Yesterday every member of my household tested positive for Strep Throat! Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the new year.

On a positive note, Pride and Surrender is out today. I’ve never written anything in 1st person and I’m still not sure why when I started to write it Juliet wanted to be in 1st person but she did, and so it went. I’ve found it’s best not to ignore what the muse wants… she has her ways and I’ve learned not to question her.

I’ve found 1st person to be a unique writing experience, highly fulfilling and exhaustive in equal measures. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Juliet work through her struggles and I hope you do as well.

Until the next time, I wish you and your family love, joy, and laughter this holiday season and upcoming year.

~Julia~