Julia London's Blog, page 18

Deck the halls…and everything else!

This isn’t only the season for decorating the house, ’tis the season of holiday parties which means decorating yourself as well. So toward that end, I bought a new pair of holiday shoes! Please say hello to my Vince Camuto black sequined holiday booties!

They make me very tall, LOL!

Even though they fall under the category of “killer heels” they’re really comfortable. I wore them to a holiday concert, paired with a vintage-inspired houndstooth dress, red patent belt and black velvet cropped blazer.

 

The holiday concert was fabulous!

 

The next holiday event we attended was our neighborhood Christmas party. Due to deadline stress, I didn’t have time to shop in an actual store, but I fell in love with a dress online and took a chance that it would fit–and it did! I’m a sucker for sequins and aqua is my favorite color, so this dress was right up my alley.

Dancing with my son

 

We then attended another gathering in our neighborhood where holiday sweaters and head-gear were the dress code. I know you want a hat just like this one!

Merry Christmas!

 

Have you bought any new holiday outfits? What’s your favorite go-to holiday look? Any memorable looks from years ago that you still love?

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The Week before. . .

     I am at the point in holiday preparations when I don’t know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or have a panic attack before I really do have sooo much to do. Because Thanksgiving was a week earlier than usual, I blissfully ignored the approaching Christmas season. There was plenty of time to plan and shop…etc…etc.

Now, there’s only one more week (aka 7 more sleeps) before the big day and I am almost frozen with fear!!

The family was over this weekend and we did get out the decorations and put up the tree….and lights, so the house looks ready. I’m lucky this year when it comes to shopping – the kids are grown and airline gift cards are the request…..and a couple of other similar gifts. So, not too much shopping to do.

 

How about you? Are 7 sleeps until the Big Day enough for you to finish?

 

 

 

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Something to make you smile

Villager rescues kittens in India

Friday was hard. Really hard, and then came the weekend and the release of names, and though it’s hard to believe it possible, that somehow seemed even more horrific.

There’s really nothing that can ease the pain of the loss of those children and adults, and my heart goes out to them.

Sometimes, you need something to help you remember that despite the fact that there are some f*cked (Yeah, I said it) up people in the world, there are also so many folks with wonderful hearts doing wonderful things.

I cried reading through this list, so you might want a tissue before you click the link.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity

Hug your family, hug your friends.

XXOO

Julie

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Friday Book Day – Kiss of Steel

    Okay – I confess it once again – I was drawn to this book by its cover. There, I said it.  That’s something I said I would never do – since, as a writer, I should be drawn by the story or the storytelling. But, while looking for some steampunk romances, I found this and I was smitten. (I was looking for steampunk because my friend – and extraordinary author – Beth Ciotta’s first steampunk romance – Her Sky Cowboy – was about to be released and I wanted to get into the subgenre a bit in preparation.)

What do I like about this cover? Look at that hero? Look at the way they use shades of gray and black and touches of red to emphasize her vitality and his lack of it? But most of all – notice the intensity and longing in his gaze as he stares at her. Ooooooohhhh! So,  against my previous practice of buying the book for the story or for my past enjoyment of an author’s work, I went ahead and bought the book. It was another couple of weeks before I began reading it. . . .

And finished reading it 2 days later!

 

This is the blurb:

He craves her like no other…

Honoria Todd has no choice. Only in the dreaded Whitechapel district can she escape the long reach of the Duke of Vickers. But seeking refuge there will put her straight into the hands of Blade, legendary master of the rookeries. No one would dare cross him, but what price would he demand to keep her safe?

Ever since Vickers infected him with the craving, Blade has been quicker, stronger, almost immortal—and terrified of losing control of the monster within. Honoria could be his perfect revenge against the duke…or the salvation he never dared to dream of.

This romance novel is set in an alternate Regency England, one where the ‘Ton’ is made up of sufferers from a condition that turns them into vampires. The heroine is the daughter of a scientist who was studying the disease and when he died, she fled with her siblings to protect them. By the time Honoraria meets Blade, things are very bad indeed.

I loved Honoraria’s strength as she deals with everything life throws at her and I loved the way Blade comes to respect her and her efforts to keep her family alive even as he discovers why she is so important and could be his salvation. There’s great sexual tension between Blade and Honoraria as each must face their greatest fear and as their very survival is in doubt.

Did I say how much I loved this story?! I raced through it, interested in the way modern/more modern/fantastical technology played a role in the story, intrigued by the paranormal elements and characters and drawn in by the strong story and relationships. And, darn it, I realized where the story was going and who would be involved in the next book in the series by the time I reached the very satisfying ending.

So, if you’re looking for a Regency historical romance that is a bit different (understatement!), give this a try…..and not just for the stunningly-attractive cover!

 

 

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A New York State of Mind

The Rockettes Rocked!

Rockefeller Center!

Window Magic

 

 

 

 

 

The Holiday Season has a special air to it no matter where you live.  But during a recent visit to Manhattan, I learned that Christmas in NYC is unlike any other place I have been.  I am sure there aren’t too many cities in the world where you will find thousands of people enthusiastically walking through a cold spitting rain to see magical decorations filling store windows, or ice skating at Rockefeller Center amid golden angels, twinkling lights, and a towering Christmas tree.

I’ve been to New York several times before and already knew its 24/7 bustling energy, but this time there was an extra special zing in the air every place I went.  From the historic nine story Macy’s store with wooden escalators that had to be at least a century old, to the Rockett’s Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, to fabulous restaurants (Sangria 46, City Lobster), and piano bars with phenomenal talent (Don’t Tell Mama and Brandy’s).

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year and must have gone right to my head.  It is the only explanation I have for buying a huge, shiny red purse, and black sequin booties with four inch heels that I will be lucky to stand upright in for more than five minutes.  Guess with all of those skyscrapers surrounding me and the party atmosphere, I was in a New York State of Mind and still am.

LOL, so let me ask you what is the most impractical fun thing you’ve ever bought yourself?

Have you ever experienced New York at Christmas time?

It’s Christmas Time!

I’m celebrating today with a free giveaway of Smooth Irish, Book 2 in my Weldon Brothers Series at freepartay.com.  Sexy Southern Romance at its best.

More good news is Book 3 in the Weldon Brothers Series, Hard Irish, just received a Top Pick from Night Owls Reviews—“ Jennifer Saints is on my must-read list. Her ability to weave together a suspenseful plot rich in history with a romance that steals my heart has me coming back for more with each new release. With action packed drama and intense dialogue her stories keep the pages turning and the imaginations soaring. Hard Irish met all my expectations and has me wanting more of the Weldon brothers already!”

Merry Christmas and Much love.

Jennifer St. Giles/ Jennifer Saints? JL Saint

Remember every day to dream, believe, create, inspire, love, and heal.

 

 

 

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Yoko, Oh No!

If you’re like me and struggling to come up with gift ideas for the men in your life, look no further! Yoko Ono has designed a fashion line for men.

Picture your man in this, for casual daywear:

$75, hoodie.

Or perhaps this, for a night out:

$250, men's bandeau bra with LED light-up nipples.

Or any of these great looks for the office:

Crotch-grab pants, mesh cut-out shirts, man nipples. Priceless. (no, you can buy them, I just don't know the price).

The fashions are recreated from Ono’s 1969 sketchbook for John Lennon, called Fashions for Men, which she “was inspired to create … amazed at how my man was looking so great,” she told WWD. “I felt it was a pity if we could not make clothes emphasizing his very sexy bod … So, I made this whole series with love for his hot bod and gave it to him as a wedding present.”

Now, let’s face it, she is Yoko Ono, so chances are that she was being ironic, artsy, making a statement about objectification, or completely serious about seeing John Lennon in such garments. But now, holy excitement, you can buy them! Merry Christmas!

But if you’re looking for something a little more fun for yourself, check this one:

A dress by Carrie Ann Schumacher, crafted from 50 romance novels she rescued from a free box at her local library. Too cool!

Is Yoko Ono to be taken seriously? Do you like getting clothes for gifts? Do you give clothes as gifts, or too risky with getting the sizes wrong? Do you think one of Julia London’s old books is in that dress? 

 

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The first of many Harper Holiday Disasters

When Harpers screw up a holiday, we go big.

We don’t just break a few ornaments or blurt out the surprise special gift.  We set fire to stuffing.  We ruin brand new Christmas trees by shortening them with a pipe-cutter (so they no longer fit into the tapered tree base.)  We are tortured by our parents’ Machiavellian gift maneuvering, leaving us unsure of whether we are getting a Nintendo system or a canned ham. It’s a tradition I have proudly continued to this year, when I made applesauce in Mom’s oven on  Thanksgiving and set off the fire alarm.

TO PREVENT MY RUINING YOUR CHRISTMAS – IF YOU STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS, YOU SHOULD STOP READING RIGHT HERE.

Our holiday disasters started when I was 6 or 7 and my family was living in Mississippi.  My friend, Sharon’s*, dad thought it would be hilarious to get his older daughter to come storming into the house one afternoon just before Christmas, pretending to be upset, because her “school office” sent home a letter telling parents that Christmas had been cancelled.

Why?  Because Santa Claus had been shot in a post office robbery.  They told me that Santa had been gunned down while waiting in line for special Christmas stamps.

I was, of course, quite upset by the news and promptly burst into tears.   Big, ugly, hysterical sobs.  Did Dad or older daughter put an end to the joke and assure me that everything was OK and Christmas was still on schedule? No, no.  That would have ruined the joke.  They sent me home and didn’t say a word to my parents.

Because my sister, Manda, was 4 and did believe in Santa, I decided to suck it up and pretend like nothing happened. I didn’t want to upset her. I was a chatter-box kid, so my mom knew something was off when I was silent and glum through dinner and bedtime. I woke up at 2 a.m., screaming at the top of my lungs, “SANTA’S DEAD! HE’S DEAD! THEY SHOT HIM!”

My parents thought I was having a nightmare until I tearfully confessed that Sharon’s dad had broken the bad news earlier that day. Santa was dead, I told them sadly, and Christmas was cancelled.  My mom left the room to call Sharon’s house.

To this day, I don’t know what was said. I do know that I didn’t see Sharon all that much after that.  My mom can be a very scary person at 2 a.m.

My parents had to confess that Santa had not been shot in a post office robbery because he wasn’t real. They told me the whole story about parents buying, hiding and setting up presents on Christmas Eve.  They even confessed to eating the carrot sticks and diet root beer I left out for Santa. (I was worried about Santa’s blood sugar.)  I felt betrayed until I realized I’d been let into a secret club of “people who knew” and I loved feeling like a grown-up.  I loved that I could collude with my parents to prolong the Santa myth for Manda, and later, my brother, Matt.  I did, for years, and I made sure that when they were old enough, I was the one who GENTLY broke the news about Santa. I did not allow violent postal incidents to enter into it.

So there we have it. My traumatic Santa story. How did you find out the big guy wasn’t real?

*Names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Chaos

I wish I could tell you that the stockings were hung by the (in my case faux) chimney with care.  That the tree was bought, lighted and decorated.  That the Christmas fudge, sausage rolls and cheese wafers were made and ready to go.  That the presents were bought, wrapped, mailed and delivered.  That the house was clean (never mind decorated).  That I’d finished the novella I am supposed to have done by the month’s end.  That I’d written long and chatty notes in all the Christmas cards (only greetings, I’m afraid, but they are written and sent.)  That I’d won Publisher’s House Sweepstakes or the Powerball—whoops I’m digressing!

I gotta say, there is a serious part of me that wishes I was a kid again (and no fate, I’m not asking for a Big-like intervention).  Just a moment when the Holidays are all about the magic again.  You know—staring up at the glittering tree, wondering what Santa will bring while your mom makes hot chocolate and cookies in the kitchen and the whole house smells like pine and vanilla.  I want a Norman Rockwell moment.  Just one.   And not the kind I have to instigate.

I know, fat chance—but a girl can dream.  And maybe sneak off for a good Christmas anthology?   So spill girls… while I’m decorating like a mad woman… share some of the great Holiday romances you’ve read this season.  I want them all.  Starting with Jacquie’s Mine at Midnight.

And in case you are in the mood for a suspenseful holiday story –check out my Still of the Night…   for just 99 cents!  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005WD6A7M

 

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Weekend Reads: Auntie Mame

 

The Rosalind Russell version of Auntie Mame has always been one of my favorite old movies.  Not just because I loved tracking the various decorating periods of Mame’s apartment or because Patrick’s vocabulary lessons taught me, the impressionable 9-year-old, a whole slew of new, titillating words.  Or because Mame reminded me of my great-grandma Zeb, who was always just a bit too fabulous and progressive for Depression Era rural southern Illinois.   I loved the fact that Mame was flighty and fun and subversive (even before I understood what the word “subversive” meant) but at the end of the day, you didn’t want to screw with her.  Mame would cut you down to size with her wit and style, and you wouldn’t even realize she’d zinged you until she’d sashayed out of the room.

For a fourth-grader whose sarcasm already confused -and occasionally enraged – classmates, Mame was a heck of a role model.

When I started reading the Patrick Dennis memoir that inspired the movie, I was a bit apprehensive.  I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I did my beloved movie.  I was not disappointed.  Dennis’ portrayal of his aunt as a hyper-kinetic, free-spirit with a spine of steel and teeny-tiny attention span was just as endearing and inspiring as I remembered.  Dennis’ writing style is funny and super-descriptive, though it sometimes seems like one long run-on sentence.  You can practically feel the characters run out of breath as they monologue their way into pseudo-intellectual overdrive.  And since the author’s voice seems to age as his recollections progress, the humor in earlier chapters is delightfully sneaky.

Upon finishing this book, I think I love the characters that much more.  Believe it or not, that hasn’t always been my experience when I read a book after seeing the movie version.  Hollywood tends to “pretty up” character flaws and endings to make the viewer happy.  When I find that the characters I saw live happily ever after on screen muck it all up on the page, I get a little depressed.  For example, Mrs. Brody’s character in Jaws is a bit apprehensive about letting her husband chase after the shark, but she’s ultimately a loving, supportive spouse.  I read Peter Benchley’s novel and was dismayed  to find (SPOILER ALERT) that Mrs. Brody is an unsatisfied, resentful former socialite who misses the affluent lifestyle of her youth and ends up sleeping with the marine biologist Matt Hooper.  Also, Benchley’s Matt Hooper is eaten by the shark.  After reading the book, I found I enjoyed the movie less. I know these differences made the novel more complex and character-driven, but I hated to think of poor Hooper in the shark’s digestive tract.

Does this happen to you all often?  We’re all used to saying, “Oh, the book is so much better.”  But does anyone else find that the reverse can be true?

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Breaking Out the Heavy Artillery. . . .Holiday Style!

I’ve been procrastinating  (as usual) about getting to my holiday preparations. Thanksgiving was tooooo early this year, so I blithely put off thinking about Christmas. Oh, I love the Christmas holidays….the Christmas spirit . . . Christmas memories. . . .even Christmas shopping but I put it off as long as I can. When I can’t put it off any longer, I plunge headlong into it all……

I’m almost  at that point right now.

But what, I wonder, will push me over that edge?

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S  V-I-D-E-O-S!!!

I went looking for my pile-’o-holiday videos and am quite pleased with my collection. Some of my favorites?



Bells of Fraggle Rock is my ALL TIME favorite! Fraggle Rock was one of my boys’ favorite shows and recently they gave me the whole collection on DVD. The holiday episode is just the best! And a recent one – Prep and Landing!(which was followed by Naughty and Nice!)

 

Coming in a close second are a number of Sesame Street and Muppet videos — The Christmas Toy, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas and Muppet Family Christmas. Sigh….I just love them and even talking about them makes me want to pop them in the DVD player and watch them for endless hours…

But, of course, no talk about Christmas videos would be complete without the quintessential holiday, family video — National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!!

I mean – who could forget the millions of Christmas lights on the house or the rabid squirrel in the tree or the cat under the chair? LOL! And, all the scenes with the hapless, helpless neighbors led by Julie Louis Dreyfuss are hysterical!

Oh – I didn’t mention How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Charlie Brown’s Christmas and all the rest….because they are simply CLASSICS….or movies like The Christmas Story?

How about you? Are you feeling the holiday mood beginning to grow? Do you have any favorite holiday movies (c’mon on – admit it – you’re hooked on Lifetime Christmas movies? Or Hallmark ones?)

 

PS — If you’ve never seen NATIVITY! – you must! There’s a new one (starring Dr. Who – David Tennant) scheduled for release this Christmas season, but the first one with Martin Freeman is a MUST if you want a feel-good movie — and I absolutely love BOB!

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