Julie Kenner's Blog, page 108
November 28, 2012
Leslie Langtry – Julie Kenner Fan Girl! (or ‘Scuse me while I find a chicken suit …)
Available for 99 cents at most retailers! Trust me … Grab a copy!
When Leslie sent me her guest post for the day, she told me I wasn’t allowed to change it … and then I read it and totally got all mushy! The whole chicken suit thing, however, really is tempting …
Leslie Langtry is the author of the Bombay’s Greatest Hits series (which includes ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy — available for 99 cents at most retailers!), The Adulterer’s Unofficial Guide to Family Vacations, and (according to her website) several books she hasn’t finished yet, because she’s very lazy. (ha!)
Romantic Times says this about the Bombay family series: “Langtry’s ability to make this lethal and outrageous clan both funny and somewhat endearing is a testament to her style. Who knew the assassination business could produce so many laughs…”
I think the books are awesome, too (and you’ll see proof of that below … wink!)
At any rate, without further ado, please welcome Leslie to the blog!
It’s true. The moment I read Carpe Demon – I was hooked on Julie Kenner (well, not literally hooked – because that would be awkward and stalkerish). I loved the idea of a soccer mom/demon hunter. At the time, I was just starting my soccer mom/assassin stuff. Reading Julie’s books gave me the inspiration I needed to work on and finish the book.
Let’s go back to the beginning. It was the mid-2000’s, chick lit was dying off (Noooooooo!). Publishers had shut down their humor lines (because no one liked laughing…I guess?). Things were bleak. I was 38 and finally decided to write a book to see if I could sell it. I’d been to a couple of Romance Writers of America national conferences, and all I heard from editors was, “Do you do medieval Scotland (um, no, I can barely spell the names)? Or dark paranormal (is a cannibal shapeshifter too dark?)? Or serial killer suspense (yeah…that stuff creeps me out)?”
The fact is, I wanted to make people laugh. I wanted to write to write about characters my age (mostly because I can’t remember what it was like to be under the age of 30). “No one is doing that,” was the response I heard over and over.
Then in 2005, I read Carpe Demon. And suddenly there was a glimmer of hope. Someone else was doing what I wanted to do – and doing it well, I might add. So in between waiting for each new Demon book to come out – I wrote a book about a widowed soccer mom, named Gin Bombay, who happens to be in the family business of assassination.
In 2006, I sold the book on my 40th birthday to a publisher. My editor asked if there was any author in particular I’d like a blurb from. I immediately asked for Julie Kenner. And Julie came through!
“With an irreverent, tell-it-like-it-is, suburban-mom-assassin narrator, Leslie Langtry’s ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy delivers wild and wicked fun.” – USA Today Bestselling Author, Julie Kenner.
Do I need to tell you how awesome that was? That quote was the first, serious validation of my writing – and it came from my hero – Julie Kenner!
So basically, if Julie asked me to write a book in a storefront window, dressed like a chicken for a week. I’d totally do it. For her (not for anyone else because chicken suits chafe).
Thank you Julie Kenner!
Julie here: See what I mean about mushy? (I swear I didn’t pay her off to say good things.) And, honestly, I’m so touched by Leslie’s kind words that I’ll totally give her a pass on the chicken suit thing. (That’s reasonable, right?)
I want to thank Leslie for offering to guest blog today and apologize in advance if I don’t pop in as much as I’d like to. I’m at the hospital today for Isabella’s bone graft surgery, and not only do I not know the WiFi situation, but I’m also probably a bit distracted!
Visit Leslie at her website or on Facebook!
Thanks in advance for making Leslie welcome! Have you read the Bombay series? Do you like kickass suburban moms? Should we toss a few demons their way and have Kate join forces with the Bombay family? Hmmm….
November 27, 2012
We’re off to see the wizard, um, surgeon! At Dell Children’s Hospital!
Hello, cutie! Mom loves ya!
Our darling Isabella is growing up so fast. She’s nine now, and it’s hard to believe we adopted her just over six years ago. Time flies!
When we adopted her at age 3, her palate had not yet been repaired, though her lip had been repaired in China. (Those of you who are new to my blog may not know that our youngest daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate).
She had her palate repaired at age three and a half. And since then, she’s had two lip revisions (you can barely see the scar now!) and tomorrow she’s having one of the biggies. The docs at the cranio-facial clinic at Dell Children’s Medical center will be taking a bit of bone from her hip tomorrow (Wednesday) to graft into the one place the cleft still remains: her upper gumline. This will give her permanent teeth a place to anchor (and improve her speech even more).
It’s amazing how far she’s come. From not being able to articulate any words at all (it’s impossible without a palate) to being completely understandable (except for the odd word here and there).
She’s such a young lady now … not to mention a trooper! A shame she’s the only kid on the planet who doesn’t like milk shakes, because she’s on a liquid diet for the next two weeks. Ugh!
Here she is just a few months ago. (I stealth recorded in Bloomingdales while her big sister was trying on clothes! She’s a doll … and her speech is great!)
And here she is six years ago before the palate repair (this tape is long; we made it for the speech therapist)
Hugs to my darling Isabella! We love you and we’re so proud of you!
November 26, 2012
Sister Magic … or not!
And when they’re good, they’re very good…and when they’re bad they drive mommy nuts!
I’m in a sentimental mood this week because, as I’ll be blogging about more tomorrow, this week is our little Isabella’s bone graft surgery. As those of you who’ve followed my various blogs over the years know, we adopted Isabella in 2006 right about the time she turned three (she actually got her citizenship on her third birthday when we hit the first port of entry in the U.S.!)
Earlier today, I was helping our oldest daughter, Catherine (now 11) make prototype jewelry for the fifth grade business fair. Isabella came down wanting to help, and in typical pre-teen fashion, Catherine sent her away. Sigh. (They play well together when they play well … but when they don’t, it’s fireworks. I was an only child. I hear this is normal. But dang, it can be trying!)
Anyway, I was doing some computer clean up today and ran across this very old post from before our travel to China. I thought it was apropos!
Awwwww!
Kids say the sweetest things!
Lately C has taken to playing in the backyard (and independently, too!). Today she was out there until the last possible minute, begging “just five more minutes!” off her dad every five minutes until the sun was disappearing behind the trees. At one point, I decided to go check on her, and found that she’d been plucking flowers and leaves off our various plants. This is a normal state of affairs around our house … D and I are convinced she has a future career in horticulture!
At any rate, we moved her Little Tykes kitchen outside at the beginning of summer, and these bits of plant are usually part of some fabulous new “dish” she’s making, so I asked if she was cooking something. She said no, and very excitedly urged me over to look at what she’d done. A circle of bits of petals, leaves, sticks and more. “What is that?” I asked.
“Magic,” she said. “To bring my sister home faster.”
I swear, I teared up!
I can’t wait to see my two little girls playing together!
Hmmm. I wonder if I can sprinkle some of that magic dust around for perpetual peace among siblings? It’s a thought …
Were you an only child or one of several? Reassure me that the bickering is normal? Pretty please?
Got a Nook? Get a deal!
USA Today bestselling Aphrodite’s Kiss currently free for the Nook! (and for the iBook, too!)
Here’s a peek …
Zoe Smith stared at the chocolate bar, wondering if it was going to attack. She’d confiscated it an hour ago from one of the students, who knew better than to bring food into the library, and she’d been contemplating the dastardly thing ever since. It looked innocent enough—sitting there on her desk surrounded by children’s book catalogs, order forms, and manila folders.
Zoe knew better.
That smooth, creamy milk chocolate mixed with chewy caramel had it in for her.
One bite, and Riverdance would begin tap-tapping away inside her mouth. Two bites, and her head would start spinning while smoke came out of her ears. Three bites, and those urban legends about spontaneous human combustion wouldn’t be legend anymore. Her whole life, Zoe’d had to watch what she ate. Too spicy, too tangy, too anything and she’d be jumping up and down, trying to put out a fire on her tongue or otherwise calm her taste buds. Read More from Aphrodite’s Kiss or learn about the while series here
November 25, 2012
Climbing the Kindle Free Chart!
Cool! So psyched to see that Aphrodite’s Kiss is climbing the Kindle Free charts! It’s #16 overall and #7 on the contemporary romance lists! Neato!!!
Have you grabbed your copy? And here are all the books in Superhero Protector series. LOVE the covers!
Soft kitties, sweet kitties …
Some of our sweet kitties.
November 24, 2012
Words running amok
I think I write the world’s longest synopses. Seriously, if I just reformat this puppy to double-space, change the font to courier, put in some dialogue where I’ve only described the conversation and add a few hard page breaks for chapters, I think I’ll have a book! Take that, March 1 deadline!!! Bwhahahahahahahaahahahaha
(The sad thing? I probably still have a few more pages to go before I finish the thing. At least I’m loving the story!)
Scrivener – awesome tool, fabulous tutorial!
Yeah, I love Scrivener THAT much…
I’ve sung the praises of Scrivener before on this blog, but since it really is my go-to writing tool (and since I currently have copies open and running on both of the computers on my desk — the Macbook Air and the iMac), I thought a little Saturday Scrivener love was in order.
I ran across this great video tutorial. For anyone who is on the fence, give it a look. And then try the software. If you’re like me, you’ll love it!
Do you use Scrivener? Thinking about trying it? If you’re a writer, what’s your go-to, can’t-live-without writing tool?
Winner!
Congrats to Angel Rodriguez who won a full set of signed Shadow Keeper novels along with an early read of Release Me! Angel, check your email in-box!!
