Julie Kenner's Blog, page 99

A bit of Saturday Silliness: Have you heard the Llama Song?

Oh. My.  Yes, folks, the Llama Song is an absolute hoot.  Trust me … but don’t blame me if you end up with an earworm!

The Llama Song

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is still free at Amazon and iTunes for just a little bit longer!)

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Tabata is My Workout of Choice … What’s Yours?

I don’t like working out. There. I’ve said it. I don’t get that runner’s high. I don’t feel deprived when I can’t go to the gym. And I’m not a fan of residual sweat on the Nautilus machines. I mean, ick.

But at the same time, I’m not keen on having flabby thighs and a monster butt. So I’ve come to accept that some level of working out is necessary. I should probably say that I have no problems with being physical. Hauling wheelbarrows full of gravel into my back yard, digging up weeds, riding my bike for long distances, hiking in the park, swimming — these are all Good Things. But, alas, the Good Things aren’t enough. To whittle away butt-and-thigh, some more focused work needs to be done.

A version of this post originally appeared at The Whine Sisters blog … but a) I want to start doing Food & Fitness Friday posts and this seemed like a good start, b) I’m busy writing Nikki & Damien and this post was quick and easy, and c) I’m focusing again on working out and eating better after the holidays and this is a great motivator!

Since I’m not the insane amazing Julia London who purposefully runs long distances (without a bad guy chasing her!) and actually seems to enjoy it, I have to get more creative. And, yay, I’ve figured out what works for me! Tabata sprints  (mixed in with some weight lifting and audiobook listening on the elliptical).

But it’s Tabata sprints that I really, really love. I have a Tabata Timer app (it was free!) on my iPhone and that makes it super easy.

With Tabata, the idea is 4 minutes of 20 seconds like a bat out of hell, and then 10 seconds of nada. So I do one set (8 reps of the 20/10–the App does the counting down for you and beeps when it’s time to switch) on a bike, then 1 set on the floor with crunches, pushups, lunges, squats and deadlifts. And then one set on the track. I can run if it’s only for 4 minutes with breaks every 20 seconds. So 12 minutes of workout, plus the minimal between time. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But trust me when I say that you really feel it. Now I just have to stick with it …

How about the rest of y’all? What’s your exercise of choice? Have you done the Tabata thing? How’d it work out for you?

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

Final stop on the official Release Me blog tour! Come by and say hi!

I’m over at Lisa’s World of Books for the last stop on the official Release Me blog tour!

I’m talking about milestones and journeys.  Come share yours in the comments, and have one more chance to win a copy of Release Me!

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

A special thank you contest for helping Release Me hit NYT and USA Today bestseller lists!

You probably heard my squeal of delight yesterday when I learned that Release Me had landed on the USA Today bestseller list, the New York Times eBook bestseller list and the New York Times combined print/ebook bestseller list.  

I’m thrilled, of course, and also so grateful to everyone who bought the book and spread the word.  But how to show my thanks?  I decided that a fun contest would be in order, and so I included it in the newsletter blast I sent last night, giving everyone who bought the book or told someone about the book or otherwise spread the word a chance to enter.

If you’d like a chance to win one of four $20 gift cards and also a copy of Release Me sent to a person that you designate, then go ahead and subscribe to my newsletter.  You’ll be taken to the same information and contest entry form that subscribers saw last night.

If you already are a newsletter subscriber and didn’t get the newsletter, check your spam folder or just go ahead and subscribe again (don’t worry, you won’t get duplicate emails to the same email address).  I have about 200 subscriber emails that are bouncing, and yours may be one of them.

But hurry! The contest ends soon!

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

Come Chat about Release Me (and more!) Tonight! I’m doing a Spreecast with Cocktails & Books!

I’ll be doing a Spreecast online chat with Cocktails & Books tonight about Release Me and anything else that comes up!

Come by and join us!  It’s at 8EST/7CST and 5pm on the West Coast!

Should be a lot of fun!

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

Hump Day Books: Check out These New or Notable Reads (Jan. 9 edition)!

Don’t miss these awesome books by some of your favorite authors!

Looking for a good book to read to beat  t he mid-week doldrums? 

This week I’ve got an even dozen new or notable books for you to check out! 

Where She Belongs (Destiny Falls)

new release from Cindy Procter-King!


On A Night Like This (The Callaways)

Learn more about the new 8 book connected family series (the Callaways) at Barbara Freethy’s website!


The Traders Sister

Learn more at Anna Jacob’s website!


Bridge Over Time

First time for this book in e-format! Learn more at Brenda Hiatt’s website!


Killing Jenna Crane

Learn more here!


A SHOT TO DIE FOR (The Ellie Foreman Mysteries)

Learn more at Libby Hellmann’s site!


Stardust Miracle (A Miracle Interrupted novel)

Currently Free!

Learn more at Edie Ramer’s website!


Prelude to a Wedding (The Wedding Series Book 1)

Now Free!

Learn More at Patricia McLinn’s site!


Unwrapped

Learn more at Chantilly White’s website!


Howdy, Ma’am (The Bull Rider Series)

Learn more here!


Angel Wings

Learn more here!


Marrying Miss Shylo (The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 2)

An ENT book of the day!

Learn More Here!

 

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

Exponential growth, shampoo, and word of mouth! (And another opportunity for a copy of Release Me!)

I’m over at Wicked Lil Pixie Reviews today talking about social media and word of mouth and one of my favorite commercials from the eighties.  Most importantly, I’m saying a big thank you to readers who’ve been spreading the word about Release Me.  And giving away another copy of the book!

So come on by for this stop on the Release Me blog tour!

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

Steampunk, screenwriting, and pneumatic zeppelins! Meet Richard Ellis Preston, Jr.!

I’m thrilled to have my friend Richard Ellis Preston, Jr. blogging here today! I’ve known Richard since my days in Los Angeles (he and my husband were roomies!) and he’s a great friend, a terrific guy, and an amazingly talented writer.

He’s written dozens of made for cable films including The Sender starring Michael Madsen and R. Lee Ermey, and he (and my husband!) wrote for a kids’ television show that aired on Animal Planet.

He has a new book coming out this summer, Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders (The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin, Book One), and I’m so psyched about it!

Without further ado … here’s Richard!

 

Armada by Remton

Hello all friends and followers of Julie Kenner!  Julie is an old pal of mine and it is an honor to be a guest on her blog.  She is a wonderful writer, a wonderful person and one heck of a wit.

I have a steampunk novel – the first in a series – coming out from 47North this summer, and she has given me the opportunity to talk about steampunk in general for a few moments, among other things.

What is steampunk? That seems to be the big question – and one I feel awfully unqualified to answer – but my take on steampunk is as a subgenre of science fiction which tends to embrace a dystopian vision of the world where Victorian/Edwardian society and fantastic steam-powered machines are the norm.

 

The Victorian era, encompassing the height of the British Empire and the birth of the industrial age, provides contradictions and contrasts which are fodder for a rich storytelling landscape: the prudish Victorian ideal of romantic love vs. hedonism and debauchery; extreme wealth vs. extreme poverty; man vs. machine, and the glories of empire vs. the exploitations of colonialism.

Steampunk novels range from in-depth explorations of the aforementioned themes to using them as backdrops to stories more interested in action, mystery, automatons, romance and mayhem.

My book, Romulus Buckle and the City of the Founders, is about a war zeppelin crew–pitched by my agent as a “steampunk Pirates of the Carribean.”

It’s a swashbuckling story in the tradition of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Casablanca, and Captain Blood.

Steampunk has a loyal fan base and seems to be on a rise in terms of popularity, as far as I can tell.  It is all about the look, in many ways, with all the hulking but gorgeous brass, copper and iron steam (or mystery-powered) machines of the age.

Two of my book’s three lead characters are strong women and I really like that: writing from the perspective of both sexes balances and complicates everything so nicely.  I have been outnumbered by female family members all of my life, so it seems natural to me to populate my fictional worlds with highly capable XX chromosome pairs.

 

Think of Jules Verne’s Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea or H.G. Wells’ Time Machine – both authors are considered grandfathers of steampunk – and you get the idea.

Current films which employ steampunk elements include Sucker Punch, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Wild, Wild West and the Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies.

 

 

As a writer, I worked in children’s television and made-for-cable television and films for over a decade until I turned to novel writing, and this is where I feel I belonged all along.

If I had any advice for aspiring writers it would just be the old, worn-out stuff it took me so long to take to heart: write the story you know you must write and there is a chance the readers will sniff out the uniqueness and come to you – if you write what you think the readers want you will fade into the crowd clutching a wad of wasted time that nobody wants that you never really believed in anyway.

My manuscripts, published or not, are intense labors of love – stories that I am dying to read my self – I don’t know how I could summon the momentum to finish them otherwise.  I came to Los Angeles to begin my writing career in 1991 and my first novel is being published in 2013.  I am the typical overnight success.

Thanks so much to Richard for being here today!

I was lucky enough to get an early read of Romulus Buckle & the City of the Founders, so I’m going to share the description here:

In a post-apocalyptic world of endless snow, Captain Romulus Buckle and the stalwart crew of the Pneumatic Zeppelin must embark on a perilous mission to rescue their kidnapped leader, Balthazar Crankshaft, from the impenetrable City of the Founders.  Steaming over a territory once known as Southern California – before it was devastated in the alien war – Buckle navigates his massive airship through skies infested with enemy war zeppelins and ravenous alien beasties in this swashbuckling and high-octane steampunk adventure.  Life is desperate in the Snow World – and death is quick – and Buckle and his ship’s company must brave poisoned wastelands of noxious mustard and do battle with forgewalkers, steampipers and armored locomotives as they plunge from the skies into the underground prison warrens of the fortress-city.

Romulus Buckle is only nineteen years of age, and his brilliance as an air commander is tempered by recklessness and an obsession with the recent death of his sister, Elizabeth, at the hands of the Imperial clan.  Fortunately for Buckle, his Chief Navigator, Sabrina Serafim, a beautiful officer with scarlet hair and a mysterious connection to the Founders clan, and his Chief Engineer, Max, a half-alien female of devastating beauty, are at his side when cooler heads must prevail.  Unfortunately for Buckle, and despite everyone’s best efforts, a romantic triangle is emerging between him, Sabrina and Max, and the rising passions threaten to rip their close association asunder.  Buckle, Sabrina and Max are orphans, three of eight adopted by Balthazar, and each orphan has a past which has never been revealed to the others.

Together with his crew of orphans and never-do-wells, Captain Romulus Buckle must lead the Pneumatic Zeppelin on a desperate mission where he must risk everything to save Balthazar and attempt to prevent a catastrophic war which could wipe out all that is left of civilization and the entire human race.

But, in the Snow World, nothing is ever what it seems to be.

Sounds great, right?  You can connect with Richard at his website, his Facebook page, and through Twitter!

And Richard is doing a giveaway, too! So be sure to scroll down to the Rafflecopter widget!

So how about y’all? Do you love steampunk? Richard’s book is coming out this summer.  What books are you looking forward to later this year?  Scroll down to leave a comment!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.

 

 

 

A mix of The Matrix and myth, new YA Doomed by Tracy Deebs rocks!

I’m so excited that it’s finally release day for the new young adult novel Doomed by Tracy Deebs! I’ve been psyched about this book since I first learned the premise:  a computer age retelling of the Pandora myth with a bit of The Matrix thrown in!

Here’s a description of the book:

Pandora’s just your average teen-glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends-until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father-her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

And I think reviewers agree! Check out the review from  Booknook: “Doomed RIPPED my pants off and left me buck naked, hair blowing in the wind, happy tears streaming down my face. Cards on the freaking table… DOOMED ROCKED MY NERDY GAMER WORLD!! Holy mother of computer hacking sex gods. I was totally unprepared for the epic awesomesauceness of this book.”

Learn more about the book and meet Tracy at the Doomed Facebook Page!

Comfort reads, comfort foods, and another chance to snag a copy of Release Me!

I’m over at Seaside Book Nook today talking about comfort foods and comfort reads!

Come on by for this leg of the Release Me blog tour … you can even leave a comment there for a chance to win a copy!

P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right. (Pssst! My USA Today bestselling Aphrodite's Kiss is free at most retailers for just a little bit longer!)



P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!



XXOO

--J.K.