Julie Barrett's Blog en-US Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:17:49 -0800 60 Julie Barrett's Blog 144 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo_144.jpg /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/247054-weekend-assignment-scandalized Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:17:49 -0800 <![CDATA[Weekend Assignment: Scandalized]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/247054-weekend-assignment-scandalized The press and the public always seem to be obsessed with one scandal or another, from Tiger Woods to Balloon Boy. Do you eagerly follow such stories, try to avoid them, or something in between? Does the identity of the celebrity (or would-be celebrity) affect how interested you are?

This would assume I had time to do that. I click and read some stories but honestly, unless a celebrity does something beyond the pale I'm not terribly interested. If I follow, it's mainly out of interest to see ho...

posted by Julie Barrett on December, 10 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/244235-in-which-i-probably-alienate-a-few-writer-friends Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:19:15 -0800 <![CDATA[In Which I Probably Alienate A Few Writer Friends]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/244235-in-which-i-probably-alienate-a-few-writer-friends
MWA Delists Harlequin. (Via Lee Goldberg)

The kicker for me is that Harlequin continues to think there's no problem with sending rejected writers to Dellarte Press. As Goldberg points out in the comments, when Random House owned a piece of Xlibris they kept it separate and never suggested to rejected authors that they might want to...

posted by Julie Barrett on December, 07 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/239600-weekend-assignment-keep-me-warm Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:16:55 -0800 <![CDATA[Weekend Assignment: Keep Me Warm!]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/239600-weekend-assignment-keep-me-warm Even in Tucson, things can get a bit chilly on December nights. What is your favorite way to keep warm?

Sometimes procrastination is a good thing. I've been swamped this week, but I woke up to this:

120209_snow1.jpg

We had about a quarter of an inch of snow sticking to the ground before it stopped. It never got below 35F, so there was no danger of the roads freezing.

This is the first cold snap we've had this fall. Last night a cold rain fell, and I was simply cold and miserable. About 7:30 last night I gave up...

posted by Julie Barrett on December, 02 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/235849-an-item-of-sherlockian-interest Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:17:24 -0800 <![CDATA[An Item of Sherlockian Interest]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/235849-an-item-of-sherlockian-interest did jump in and start cleaning in the home office today. That's a story for later, but I think I may post a few pictures along the way of items we've uncovered. This is like an archaeological expedition. How could such a small closet be so stuffed?

I found a framed copy of my first pro sale - an article for a computer magazine. I need to scan and preserve that. But I also found this:

bangalore.jpg

I was the winner of the first ever 1st Bangalore Pioneers (they were a Sherlockian society) Crime Conte...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 28 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/235196-i-can-t-believe-i-left-the-house Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:16:37 -0800 <![CDATA[I Can't Believe I Left the House...]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/235196-i-can-t-believe-i-left-the-house buy anything. I mean, when you go shopping at 1:00 the bargains are all gone. It was more of an excuse to get out of the house. though I did find one thing - a Huey Pro monitor calibration system. It was an open box deal and less than I paid for the standard Huey. Now I can calibrate both monitors. Eeee!

Also grabbed a few things at the grocery store. Hey, that's the place to be on the day after Thank...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 27 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/233692-weekend-assignment-a-decade-of-thanks Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:18:13 -0800 <![CDATA[Weekend Assignment: A Decade of Thanks]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/233692-weekend-assignment-a-decade-of-thanks What
aspect of living in the 21st century are you most thankful about? I'm
talking technology, medical breakthroughs, favorite tv shows, even
people and pets born since the ball drop of nine years ago.

I'm pretty darned thankful for the technology that allows me to work at home. Now if the economy would just cooperate...

Well, this is amusing. As I was working on this blog post the doorbell rang. UPS delivered us a new router! It's a good thing I wasn't working today, which is precisely ...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 25 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/231812-publishing-myths-part-10-realistic-expectations-anyone Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:17:04 -0800 <![CDATA[Publishing Myths Part 10: Realistic Expectations, Anyone?]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/231812-publishing-myths-part-10-realistic-expectations-anyone
Through this blog and the SF conventions I attend I encounter quite a few writers who are either self-published or vanity-published. Or vanity-pubbed who think they've self-published. I also meet many people who are with legitimate small presses. Most of them - thanks to their publishers being up-front with things - have realist...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 23 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229001-more-on-harlequin-horizons-and-vanity-subidy-publishing-in-general Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:19 -0800 <![CDATA[More on Harlequin Horizons and Vanity/Subidy Publishing in General]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229001-more-on-harlequin-horizons-and-vanity-subidy-publishing-in-general
All this brouhaha over the Harlequin Horizons venture got me to thinking about how writers and other creatives are treated in this world. The tipping point for this rant was from Harlequin's own statement today (reprinted at Agent Kristen's blog). Here's the line that got me:

It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change.
Publishing models will continue to change, but Yog's Law doesn't.

Writers a...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 23 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229002-when-karma-bites-back Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:19 -0800 <![CDATA[When Karma Bites Back]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229002-when-karma-bites-back options the school district was considering for realigning schools. I expressed concerns about students in this neighborhood who didn't have transportation to a more distant high school. The district offers bus service, but if a student wants to participate in extracurricular activities or some tutoring plans, their family is responsible for transportation. People like me were told to suck it up. We'd have two great schools on the east side under the "balanced...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 23 ]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229003-harlequin-enters-the-self-publishing-field Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:19 -0800 <![CDATA[Harlequin Enters the Self-Publishing Field]]> /author/show/833550.Julie_Barrett/blog/229003-harlequin-enters-the-self-publishing-field Harlequin Horizons. This is a partnership with Author Solutions, parent of AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, and other ventures. The press release announcing the new venture is here.

This announcement has generated a lot of discussion, some of which I'll round up at the end of the post. One of he most interesting is over at Dear Author, where Harlequin's Malle Vallik answers some questions about the venture.

Quoting from the...

posted by Julie Barrett on November, 23 ]]>