Julia London's Blog, page 14

My Celebrity Addiction

Well, my newest anyway. I blame Molly Harper. I’ve always liked actor Tom Hardy. He’s easy on the eyes, has an incredible voice, and shares a name with one of my favorite classic authors. What’s not to like?

He was Eames in Inception. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. And then one day, I was watching a Star Trek: Nemesis replay on TV and I stopped in my tracks when I heard his voice. “OMG, is a young Tom Hardy starring as Shinzon?” Sure enough, yes.

And then I started plotting the first in my new book series right about the time I noticed Molly posting pictures of Tom Hardy on Tumblr, and that was it. I tumbled. Head over heels. Tom Hardy was the model for the hero in my newest book, Captain Connor Thorne.

If you haven’t heard about what I’m up to, I’m going back to my historical romance roots:

Sherri Browning Erwin’s THORNEBROOK PARK trilogy, set in Edwardian England on the Yorkshire estate where the Earl of Aberford resides, to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks, in a three-book deal, for publication in Fall 2013, by Stephany Evans at FinePrint Literary Management (World).

If you like Downton Abbey, welcome to Thornebrook Park. The first book in the series: Never a Lady  

After the loss of her husband and fortune in India, Eve Kendal returns to England and learns about life in the back stairways when she accepts work as a lady’s maid in order to survive her change of circumstances—until a developing attraction to her employer’s brother, Captain Connor Thorne, throws her future at Thornbrook Park into doubt.

Connor, it so happens, is working out some of his war-related issues in the boxing ring. And on Tumblr, I found pictures like this one:

And this:

And this:

Swoon, swoon, and swoon. Matthew MacFayden (probably my least favorite Darcy) narrowly beat out Tom Hardy for the Darcy role in 2005′s Pride and Prejudice (with my least favorite Elizabeth, Keira Knightley). Can we all just close our eyes and imagine the Darcy Tom could have been? Also, he did play Heathcliff in a 2009 TV version of Wuthering Heights. 

Well? Into Tom Hardy yet? Who is your most recent celebrity obsession?

Follow me on Tumblr or Pinterest!

 

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He’s No Angel

He’s No Angel is the first book in a new contemporary series with a light paranormal twist. The paranormal element revolves around a wanna-be angel who is trying to perform good deeds so he can get out of the prison-like limbo wherehe’s stuck and make his way to heaven. Only problem is all his do-good assignments concern helping couples on Earth find True Love, and our angel is NOT a romantic guy.  After a bunch of failures, he has one last chance to earn his wings– or it’s off to Hell for him. Not good. And even worse? His couple on Earth are reallly not cooperating! The book will be coming out later this fall and is the first in my Heaven Can Wait series for the CRAVE paranormal line.

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Where’s the Wow?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Okay, maybe this is a function of getting old.  Or maybe I’ve just lost that spark, but some of the things I used to enjoy when I was younger just don’t seem to have the same wow factor as they did before.

This whole train of thought started with  last night’s Super Bowl.  To begin with, I didn’t have a favorite team, which always means a slow night for me.  But that’s not my complaint.   The problem came with the commercials.  Usually that’s the highlight of the game for me.  But this year?  Meh!

My favorite was the one with the Clydesdale, but I’d actually already seen it online (and all over Facebook) so it didn’t really count since it wasn’t a surprise.   And most of the others were either off the wall or not particularly well made.  There was nothing really new and exciting.

Which brings me to another of my long time favorite television shows.  The Oscars.  For the past few years, I simply haven’t cared.  The show has been lackluster, the advent of ten (TEN) nominees for best film has diluted the waters too much, and the politics seems so in your face sometimes, it makes me wonder why I watch.

Oh yeah, the dresses.  But even they’ve been boring over the past few years.  And watching the endless stream of analysis over it all is even more boring – it stretches for months now instead of the breathless

build-up over a week to a show we know practically nothing about in advance.

Seriously people we don’t need to know everything in advance.  I’m so tired of television shows that use commercial break teasers to tell you what’s going to happen in the next section.  I mean, sometimes they actually give away the plot, or the winner,  or whatever it is that’s supposed to keep you watching through the commercial.

I realize that we’re all supposed to have the attention spans of gnats.  But  I’m capable of waiting 60 seconds for the pay-off.  In fact, I prefer it.

So come on people.  Wow me.   Make me want to watch.

And on a more positive note.  Thank you Julian Fellowes for FINALLY getting Bates out of jail.  But dude, you need to explain what the heck we were doing all that time with the guard and the guy who looked like Uncle Fester.  Seriously, surely there was a point?

What about you?  Were you wowed by the Super Bowl Commercials?  Do the Oscars make you tingle?  Do you like all the infinite wind up for events?  And do you need to be told what is going to be told what happens next?

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You Show Me Stars by Jennifer St. Giles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I must apologize because I seem to be stuck on songs and music lately.  So when I’m pressed to share what’s on my mind in a blog, that’s what’s bubbling to the surface.  You Show Me Stars is a song by, yes you guessed it, Chris Mann.  It is beautiful and inspiring and so worth searching it out.  (Yes, his singing shows me stars but I’m not talking about “THAT” today)  But I do encourage everyone reading to listen to it.  The reason I’m bringing it up today is because the words of the song remind me of why I write and read about love.  Here are some of the words to the song:

Last Night Is Coming On

Last Breath Before It’s Gone

And All My Angels Have Flown

When Shadows Start To Form

When I Have Lost It All

I Call Your Name

I Call Your Name

And You Come To Me With Open Arms Of Life

You Save Me Almost Every Single Night Just In Time

You Show Me Stars In All Of My Dark Hours

You Show Me Stars In All Of My Dark Hours

You Show Me Stars (you Show Me Stars)

In My Dark Hours

And Through The Hardest Parts

The Beauty And The Dark

You Hold The Sun In Your Hands

When I Am Burning Out

Your Halos All Around

Bringing Me Back

Back To Life

Love shows us stars in all our dark hours.  It reaches into the heart and no matter what the trouble or how deep the despair love reaches in and breathes life into our lives.  Whenever I read a romance, I walk away with hope singing in my heart.  And when I write a romance, I know that no matter how hurt or broken my hero or heroine are love will show them stars in their dark hours.

This week the second book in my Silent Warrior Series, Tactical Deception by JL Saint, will be released in print.  In this series, I think my heroes and heroines have to deal with some serious real life issues that are happening in the world today from terrorism, to self-protection issues, to extremism no matter what your religious belief, to soldiers struggling with living life after a failed mission and PTSD.  The story began in book one, Collateral Damage, and continues on in Tactical Deception.  Each of the men and women deal with issues differently, but it is love that shows them stars in their dark hours.

This weekend we lost a great soldier and his friend who were trying to help another soldier struggling with PTSD.  Pray for their families and if you can, reach out and give thanks to any of our heroes who serve and sacrifice so that we live in freedom.

And, today, as we struggle upon life’s path, maybe we can remind ourselves to take heart from those who love us and to reach out in love to others and show them stars in their dark hours.

Happy Reading And remember every day to Dream, Believe, Create, Inspire, Love, and Heal.

Love

Jennifer St. Giles/ Jennifer Saints/ JL Saint

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Weekend Reads: Babyville

 

I will admit that Babyville is not a new find for me.  I first read it several years ago while I was pregnant with my daughter, Darcy.  The story revolves around three women in different stages of “baby readiness.” Samantha has just had a baby and feels isolated and overwhelmed.  Julia desperately wants a baby with her boyfriend, but her focus on conception is driving him away.  And Maeve isn’t even thinking about babies as a possibility, but becomes pregnant by a man with whom she’s not in a relationship.  All three women traverse the baby-landscape with varying degrees of growth.

What I love about Jane Green is that she doesn’t pull any emotional punches.  She’s not afraid of making her characters seem neurotic or even unlikeable.  And that gives the reader a much more authentic, intimate insight into the character’s mind.  So when I was pregnant and recently coming off the “trying to conceive” cycle – I totally understood Julia’s frustrations and how suddenly, now that she wanted a baby, every woman she saw seemed to be pregnant.  I read it, thinking, “Oh my gosh, I was NORMAL!”

And a few weeks ago, I re-read Sam’s post-partum loneliness and frustrations with her well-meaning husband, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I was NORMAL!”  (With the exception of Sam’s near-erotomanic crush on a friend’s husband. I didn’t do that.)

Even though the story will occasionally make you uncomfortably introspective, I highly recommend Babyville. The characters aren’t picture perfect, but they’re incredibly real and enjoyable

And then immediately follow it up with Green’s “The Other Woman,” which explores a woman’s claustrophobic relationship with her invasive, passive-aggressive mother-in-law. It gets a little ugly, but it’s a very compelling story.

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Fun with Rick Springfield!

Some of you may know that I continue my crush on rock star/actor Rick Springfield unabashedly. I’ve liked him since he was Dr. Noah Drake AND sang ‘Jessie’s Girl’ (even in spite of spelling that name incorrectly – I mean JESSIE is the girl spelling….?!). In the last decade or so, I make an attempt to see him in concert when he’s in the South Jersey area…which he was last Saturday.

Originally scheduled for October, the concert had to be rescheduled because….well, I don’t remember why, but it was moved to my pre-birthday weekend – perfect timing in my opinion — so hubby and I went on down to Atlantic City to enjoy dinner and the concernt ..and….it was GREAT!! Made even better by our great seats — especially when Rick, during “Human Touch”, tours the audience by walking across seats talking to people as he goes. Well, he walked right into my section and right in front of me. Torn between grabbing…er…reaching out to help him balance and taking photos, I did a little of both!

Some views:

 

As a treat, the DH bought Rick’s new CD “Songs for the End of the World” for me and we listened to it all the way home after the concert.

But, the cool thing was when I read the insert to discover that there were extras included and that they needed to be viewed using some new smartphone app! Very cool! I downloaded the app and am impressed that Rick is so cutting-edge (even though he is, GASP!, almost 64 years old!)…. There are what I would describe as holograms that are activated when viewed with the app and Rick wakens on the CD cover and talks to you! (You can see it above, too!) Then if you open the CD booklet, he not only talks to you but there are extra videos and songs to download through the app…. I am so impressed…

LOL! Geek girl loves it!

So, how about you? Are you a fangirl of anyone in particular? Belong to (or used to) any fan clubs? Follow anyone in concert or appearances?  C’mon, I can’t be the only one!

 

 

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Birds Can Tell Time?

Okay, so I’ve been bird watching lately. (Stopping laughing immediately, Jacquie D and Jennifer St. G.)

I haven’t been watching on purpose, mind you. I didn’t pay actual money to go on a trip and traipse around in the woods with high-powered binoculars looking for the last pink-plumed cockatoo or anything. (I’m not much on nature. I had some truly traumatic years in the girl scouts.)

But every morning as I sit at my desk, I see two cardinals hopping around my bushes and on my deck. They arrive at the exact same time every morning and basically take the same skippy little route around the yard and deck, then fly off, one after the other.

So all I know about cardinals is that the brighter one is the male–right, yes?–and that they grace a number of baseball jerseys in the St. Louis area. Which leads to my question…how in the world do birds know what time it is? I’m not fanciful enough to think they have little wrist watches strapped to their legs, but still, don’t you think it’s kind of miraculous? I mean, the term “bird brain” isn’t just a cliche, is it? It can’t be timed with sunrise, as that’s different every day. Plus, how would they handle daylight savings time? Maybe they’re like Indiana and Arizona, and they ignore government-sponsored manipulations of time.

(As you may already be aware, a writer’s mind is a strange place.)

Anyway, I thought I’d ask you guys. Since somebody on this blog always seems to know the answer to a variety of obscure things. Can birds tell time?

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Do You Have A Secret Yearning?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a confession to make.  There is something in life that I always wished I could do but unfortunately will never be able to truly do.  That is to really sing. LOL, something as simple as opening my mouth and letting the joys and sorrows of my heart to come out.  Now those who don’t know me well or don’t know me at all are asking why no?  Those who know me intimately, already know.

It’s not shyness that keeps me from singing.  Though a painful shyness did plague my younger years but a good bit of determination and the passion to write stories helped me over that hump…mostly.  Humor and not taking life too seriously helps, too.  Every now and then my tongue gets stuck to the roof of my mouth as if mired in a clump of peanut butter and my brain still scrambles so that my words spew forth in a jumbled mess.  I’ve learned to laugh those moments off and keep moving forward.

What keeps me from singing is a complete and utter lack of not only talent, but an inability to carry a tune, in addition to being one hundred percent tone deaf.  That is the unvarnished truth.  So when I go to church and everyone stands to sing, I shout the words in my heart but keep my voice low so I don’t cause the person next to me pain.  And LOL after hearing Jeff Foxworthy speak of how his mother-in-law ruined a concert by singing the songs off key and loud, I vowed not to get carried away and sing in other public arenas either.

However I do go into my room and turn up Chris Mann or Celine Dion on high volume so nobody can hear me singing and I let my heart out and sing at the top of my lungs.  Then I sigh and quietly envy all of those remarkable people who can touch, inspire, and bring joy to others with their voice.

I recently had the blessed pleasure of seeing Celine Dion in concert.  The woman is completely amazing!!  So singing is on my mind.

I am extremely thankful that I am blessed with the ability to tell a story.  At least according to some folks, I can. LOL.  Romance isn’t for everyone.  I am a firm believer that there is not enough love expressed in this world.  So I pour my heart, my joys, and my passion into words in a book and do my best to share the beauty of what love can really be and mean between a man and a woman and in all of our relationships in life.

So I ask you today, do you have a secret yearning?

 

Happy Reading and if your looking for some sexy Valentine stories, check out my Weldon Brothers, Wild Irish, Smooth Irish, and Hard Irish are available on Amazon.  And for those of you who like a lot of suspense and action in your stories, Tactical Deception comes out in print in February.

Remember Every day to dream, believe, create, inspire, love, and heal.  That is the true path to success.

Love

Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints, JL Saint!

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What movies have you seen lately?

This weekend, my family and I went on a movie-watching spree. We’d been telling the girls we’d find a movie that we all would enjoy, and so we sat down and watched That Thing You Do! with Tom Hanks. The girls were dubious at first, but ended up loving it. So much so that Isabella told us she downloaded it to her iPad. I guess it’s going to replace Family Plot as her go-to movie.

If you haven’t seen it, run out and get it NOW. As far as I’m concerned, this movie has no flaws. And, according to my husband, the goofy bandmember also plays the dad in the Wimpy Kid movies.

(Speaking of playing someone else, is anyone else a Notting Hill fan? I can’t believe I didn’t recognize the hapless stockbroker friend as Richard from Downton Abbey!)

Our evening didn’t stop there, though. My husband works at a K-8 elementary school, and so the girls are constantly talking about Twilight. And my eldest daughter brought up “What’s Twilight” recently. So we decided to watch it (oddly, I think Don and I enjoyed it more than Catherine, who said it was “weird”). But after that, we went ahead and downloaded New Moon, too (which, as a movie, I thought  it significantly missed the mark. Bella was an idiot for most of the movie, and there was no thriller aspect from Victoria, and the Jacob thing never did it for me as I never believed he was a danger or a potential love interest. Be that as it may, I’m going to continue watching the series. (I haven’t read the books; only the first one, so except what dribbles out into pop culture, this is all new to me.)

Needless to say, our Saturday night was pretty much useless … but fun! Have you seen any of those flicks? What did you think? What’s the most recent movie you watched?

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Happy Birthday, Dee!

Cheers to you!

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