Tag-Archive for » Julie Wright «

The Hazzardous Universe
09
July
Julie

The phone call from my editor: “Hey Jules, how are you doing?”

“Good . . . I am good, aren’t I?”

“Well that depends on if you’re okay with an early 2011 release of The Hazzardous Universe . . . we were thinking February.”

This is where I rupture my editor’s eardrums with my girl screams and do a happy dance that makes me look maniacal on the front porch of my country store.

This moment has been a long time in the making. In 2007, I went to LTUE (Life, The Universe, and everything). I spoke on several panels, sold a bunch of books, and made some new friends. One of those friends was an artist. His name was Kevin Wasden. He drew me a little dragon, and a little ogre, and bought one of my books.

Several days later, he wrote me an email, asking me to lunch. Turns out he had been sketching a particular character for years and he wanted to see this character in a book. But he was an artist, not a writer. He needed a writer. And since he’d bought my book, went home, and read it, he decided I was the writer he needed.

We met for lunch and he showed me all his ideas for this character. The sketches were amazing and I had to say yes to the project because only an idiot would turn down a character with a wicked awesome name like Hap Hazzard.

The book has been through several revisions and morphing as the story grew beyond just a single book. We’d have to do a series. I finished book one and outlined the series–deciding we’d write the next book when the first book sold.

We’ve had a LOT of interest over the last couple of years, but it seemed an author/artist combo was an impossible sale to publishing houses who already had their stable of artists. No one was willing to take us as a team.

Until now.

My editor (Kirk Shaw–the brilliant)  asked me to send it to him–even though my publishing house didn’t do science fiction. He sent it off to readers, got amazing reviews back and prepared a kick butt presentation to a marketing board who felt wary of embarking into a genre they’d never done before.

And bless them all, they were interested. Interested enough to want to meet with Kevin and I and hear more. The meeting was awesome, Kevin shone like  a rock star, and they told us they’d discuss it again in their committee meeting.

The next 24 hours were nerve-wracking, and ended with the above phone call conversation. Kevin and I have been officially accepted as a team and will be able to do the book as we envisioned in the beginning. The first book of the Hazzardous Universe will release in February of 2011 and it is going to be awesome!

I am humbled and thrilled that my publishing house believes in me and is taking this chance to sail into new waters with me. They are awesome!

Seven months until blast off! I’d better get writing book 2!

Category: Jules is Celebrating, Random Rants On Writing  Tags: , , , , ,  16 Comments
31
May
Julie

As a child, every memorial day centered on the town of Oak City where my grandfather was buried. It was the town my father, aunts, and uncles had grown up. It was the town my grandma had spent the majority of her adult life. For them it was home.

For me . . . it was home too. Though I didn’t live there (not yet) and only visited a handful of times every year. For me, Oak City was the place of four wheelers and frog catching. It was getting lost in fields of rye grass taller than me. It was the candy store, the camp fires, the moon rising over the mountains,  taking walks without anyone worrying over where I’d gone and when I’d be back. It was childhood freedom.

And it was the cemetery.

We always went to the cemetery. We’d walk with grandma, taking our place in the family pilgrimage to the edge of town. Grandma always shed tears at the graveside of my grandfather. I hadn’t known him. He’d died before I was born. But I knew her, loved her, wanted to be everything she was, and if grandma was sad, then the moment needed to be respected. But I was young, and had never lost anyone I’d loved. The sadness was hard to understand even while it was being respected. I had no attachment to any of the people under the grass and stone markers. Memorial Day was festive, bright, and filled with flowers. The tears didn’t make sense.

Until later.

When it was me standing at Grandma’s graveside, when one of the biggest reasons Oak City felt like home was gone.

Today–twenty years later from that time I’d been forced to say goodbye, the tears felt fresh, the wound felt new instead of scabbed and scarred over with time. My aunt had bought little plant markers for when someone plants a garden patch so they remember where they put everything. She’d also bought a ton of flowers ready for planting. She put every child, grandchild, and great grandchild along with their respective spouses that had all blossomed under the love of my grandparents on those markers and placed the markers in the flower pots.

I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight.

Grandma would have loved it.

So on this day where we honor our dead, I just want to say hello to my grandmother. Hello, and I still miss you every day.

Category: Random Rants on life, family life  Tags: , , ,  4 Comments
LDStorymaker Conference Report 2010
28
April
Julie

Conference was twenty shades of awesome! There is nothing finer than hanging out with 450 writers for a weekend.

Bootcamp was awesome. Registration for bootcamp started at 6:30, but like Sarah Eden, I think 6:30 am is a thing better left not acknowledged. I got to play bootcamp instructor for five writers who were delightful to associate with and who had good work to share. One of them was a sixteen year old kid who is definitely on the up and coming list of new authors. I envy the opportunities that simply didn’t exist when I was his age. Think of how much better I could have been . . . seriously bootcamp rocked. Sarah Eden and the critique group that kicked it off was fun and definitely beneficial for the attendees.

editing at bootcamp

Bootcamp!

I got to do a pitch for one of my novels to Krista Marino who is delightful in every way. She likes thrift stores. How could I not love someone who likes thrift stores? This is one of the things that will forever bond Josi Kilpack and me together. We have had some good times in thrift stores. But I digress. Krista rocked. And now I am pleading with the gods of ink and paper to make her my editor so that I can shop with her and eat with her (she has great taste in food as well) And she obviously has great taste in writing, because she asked for the full manuscript. Yay! I feel a little dumb because my pitch was pretty pathetic, and I’m grateful my writing can stand on its own or she might have thrown me from the room.

After I’d finished the pitch, I felt like I could relax, so I went back to the bookstore to help Mr Wright, who deserves accolades and awards for putting up with all the stuff I make him do. I helped for about an hour when he said, “Your presentation isn’t tomorrow. You know that right?” Thinking he was messing with me, I argued that causing me stress on one of my busiest weekends was way uncool. So we had a bicker moment until he finally had to prove himself right by actually opening the syllabus and showing me that the class I was supposed to teach was indeed in 28 minutes. Nice.

My powerpoint wasn’t done and although I had 18 pages of notes, they weren’t totally organized into something that would flow smoothly. So in 28 minutes, I wrapped up the powerpoint, glanced through the notes, and rushed off to teach my class (halfway hoping that everyone had gone to the editor’s class being held that same hour). No such luck. The room was full. I think it went well in spite of me. I am so glad I had good notes! The class was on emotion in writing. So at least it was something I’m good at.  Mr Wright saved me, even if he had to argue with me and twist my arm to do it. I so owe that man.

Since my presentation AND my pitch was over, my friday night was totally open. I almost talked Josi into shoe shopping with me after dinner, but our keen sense of moral obligation took over and alas–no shoes. Instead I went back to the bookstore area to hang out and chit chat–as is proper and fun at a conference. This is where I found that the dress Janette planned on wearing to the Whitney banquet wasn’t going to work because she’s already worn it the day before and didn’t want a repeat. Because I am overprepared on everything except on the classes I’m supposed to teach, I had several dresses that were award banquet worthy, so Janette Rallison, Annette Lyon, Jessica Day George, and I went up to my hotel room and played dress up. So. Much. Fun. Janette is beautiful. We stayed there until nearly midnight when Mr. Wright showed up and mostly broke up the party.  And I just now remembered I promised Annette a head massage. I owe you big time Annette!

I sat next to Michael Flynn for lunch on Saturday, and so enjoyed meeting him. He is the producer of The Best Two Years. He is awesome and I might have fun stuff to share later on about that.

I got the chance to chit chat with Kirk Shaw, my editor at Covenant and I just think the world of him. Not only is he a discerning reader (since he chose to publish my books) but he is truly awesome. He’s just sweet and good to everyone and it’s fun to work with someone I respect so much.

The whitney banquet was lovely, as usual. Dan Wells did an amazing tribute to Dave Wolverton that made me get weepy in every way.  It was  a beautiful night and even though I didn’t win the Whitney Award, I loved being there and honoring those who did.I have to be honest, I’d held out hope that if I was going to lose my category, I wanted to lose to Riley Noehren. Gravity Vs. the Girl was so much fun and it would have been an honor in every way to lose to her. She did win the best novel by a new author alongside Dan Wells for I Am Not a Serial Killer. So deserved–both of them.

The highlight of my evening came after. Hanging out with Jessica and Janette is just so much fun! We had some pictures with our loser cake to assuage the pain of not taking home any awards (all said tongue in cheek, please know we were all okay and happy for those who did win). Another girl party in my hotel room (poor Mr. Wright). Later Howard Tayler helped us clean the bookstore up and load our car which was sweet beyond words and Mr. Wright and I talked until 2 am about all we’d seen and done. Some of my best moments in life are lying in the dark, holding his hand, and talking about our lives, our children, our dreams.

Another awesome aspect was Kim Vanderhorst brough me chocolate from Canada, and Don Carey brought me Dr Pepper in real glass bottles from Texas. I love these people! You guys spoil me.

And now I am off to prepare one manuscript for a film producer, another for my current publisher, and yet another for a national publisher. I plan on being busy. Wish me luck!

Dave Wolverton and Me

Mr. Wright

Janette Rallison looking fabulous as always

Eating our comfort cake after losing the Whitney's :) Jessica Day George, James Dashner, Me, Janette Rallison. Great writers all of them!

The women from www.LDSwomen'sbookreview.com, Janette and me

Category: Random Rants On Writing  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  16 Comments
The Sapphire Flute
09
April
Julie
Lesson learned: never leave a manuscript you’re working on unattended. I came back to my computer to find my son had finished my sentence for me: “And then her head blew up.”
I guess it’s better than some of the “sentence-finishers” my husband has left me when I’ve left my computer open.
I promised to review a book a while back and then never got around to writing the review so I am doing that today (since I am now done with taxes, wrote 3300 new words in my work in progress, and the kids are in school–and yes, I am putting off preparations for the class I’m teaching at the writer’s conference in two weeks).
Karen Hoover is one of my very dear friends. She is my favorite roommate for the LTUE science fiction and fantasy symposium. She puts up with my whining, my snarky attitude, and the fact that I snore. Seriously. She is a true friend. When I first met Karen, it was at a storymaker writing conference. James Dashner invited her to dinner with us and things just grew from there. After that dinner, she went home and wrote a poem called the poser because she felt so out of place at a table full of published authors. I told her she was wrong. She is not a poser. She was working on her writing and she’d be published soon enough.
And now she is.
And I couldn’t be more proud of her. Karen is such a humble, good person. She makes me a better person when I am with her. I am grateful for every twist of fate that put her in my path and allowed her to like me. And so it is with honor and excitement that I get to review her book, The Sapphire Flute
 
The Sapphire Flute
It has been 3,000 years since a white mage has been seen upon Rasann.

In the midst of a volcanic eruption miles outside of her village, Ember discovers she can see magic and change the appearance of things at will. Against her mother’s wishes, she leaves for the mage trials only to be kidnapped before arriving. In trying to escape, she discovers she has inherited her father’s secret–a secret that places her in direct conflict with her father’s greatest enemy.

At the same time, Kayla is given guardianship of the sapphire flute and told not to play it. The evil mage C’Tan has been searching for it for decades and the sound alone is enough to call her. For the flute to be truly safe, Kayla must find its birthplace in the mountains high above Javak. The girls’ paths are set on a collision course…a course that C’Tan is determined to prevent at all costs.

Ember, Kayla, and C’Tan are all strong female leads who carry a very character driven story. The magic system is brilliant and something I never would have thought up, so now I have magic system envy. And the action is strong enough to pull along the reluctant reader. When I first read this book, Mr.Wright  asked what I was reading. I told him and then he asked, “Is it any good?”
“Of course, it’s good, or I wouldn’t be reading it.”
“You’re just saying that because she’s your friend and you love her,” he said.
“No. I’m saying it because it’s true.” At this point I’m ready to throw a boot at Mr. Wright’s head.
“Prove it. Read me the first page and if, when you get to the end, I want you to turn the page and read more, then we can safely say it’s a good book.”
So I read the first page and stopped.
“Hey!” He became indignant. “Why are you stopping?”
“The first page is over.”
Then a little sheepishly, because he was so caught up in the story that he’d already forgotten our deal, he said, “Fine. Turn the page.”
Turn the page indeed. Great job, Karen! Great book!
Category: Jules is amused, Random Rants On Writing, reviews  Tags: , , , , ,  8 Comments
Cross My Heart
04
April
Julie

Cross My Heart!

That’s the title to my new book and I really like it. It goes along with a bitter piece of poetry I wrote back in college when I’d determined all men were evil minions of Satan. I think the title works great for the story and am excited for the release!

It’s coming out in October, and if you couldn’t tell from the title, it’s a romance novel–romantic comedy to be exact. My previous two books were a wee bit emotionally draining, so I needed a pick-me-up and wrote Cross My Heart. I laughed pretty much the whole time I wrote it and loved every minute of that story. I was able to go back to Boston a couple of years ago on a research trip which helped me write both Cross My Heart, and the novel I just turned into my agent, Spell Check. It was a whirlwind trip of filming locations, taking pictures, figuring out plots, and romancing Mr. Wright  in the city that lies at the space between my childhood and growing up.

I lived in Boston for a short while when I was eighteen. I loved going back. I loved going back with him. And I’m excited to share the fruits of that trip with my readers. Seriously guys. You are going to love this one.

And how weird is this, I was doing genealogy and came across some things that belonged to my great grandma. Turns out she was a writer. Turns out she was published in several little magazines and such. What I came across were several suspense/mystery short stories. The stories were fun to find and read, but what was really fun?

She had a rejection letter from Ladies Home Journal attached to one of those stories, and along with that, she had the actual magazine where the story finally found publication. It was an odd sort of kinship I felt, reading this letter sent to my great grandmother in 1952. I love that she saved the letter, the original story and the magazine. All those things together paint a vivid picture about my great grandmother. She believed in herself, and she didn’t give up.

It must run in our blood. I have rejection letters to books I’ve later held in my hands as published works.  Giving up is never an option. As I sit here with my fifth book about to be published and several more completed and awaiting their turn in print, I wonder what would have happened if I’d quit with that first letter? What would I have lost? What friendships and associations would I have never known?

It makes me physically ill to think of all I would have missed.

Thanks Grandma. May whatever’s flowing in our DNA never die.

Category: Jules is Celebrating, Jules is amused, Random Rants On Writing, family life  Tags: , ,  17 Comments
Scary Stories
02
March
Julie

Why is it that whenever I read a book written by one of my friends that is classified as frightening (the book, not the friend), does my power always go off, leaving me in total blackness and terror? Seriously, I am determined to hate both Jeffrey Savage with his Dark Memories, and now Dan Wells with his I am Not a Serial Killer, for providing me with moments of total and complete, mind numbing, scream-your-throat-to-raw-hamburger terror.

I hate being afraid. Seriously. Hate. It.  I don’t watch scary movies. I don’t read scary books. And I determined a long time ago that I would never WRITE anything scary.

Which is why yesterday is so baffling to me.

My brother called me with an idea for a book, one that I’d already considered and cast away because it wandered into the realm of scary, and I don’t write scary. I told him I don’t write scary and confirmed it with him several times throughout our conversation because I wanted to make sure he understood I meant it. Then we hung up.

And the idea banged around in my grey matter while I did dishes, while I vacuumed, while I got dressed, and while I sorted laundry. You see I told him that IF I were to write the story, it would have to be different from all the things that have been done before. It would have to be a YA book because I just don’t understand adults, and it would have to start out well enough to snatch the reader immediately. I gave him a long list of rules for such a book and all the things that would have to go into it.

And my mind couldn’t let go of how I could write the story and make it fit into all those rules. I called my brother back an hour later and gave him a brief synopsis of a storyline that would work.

He laughed that it only took me an hour to hammer out the storyline.

I hung up.

And wrote the first chapter.

It’s a great first chapter. It’s a great story.

Curses. I guess I do write scary stories after all.

The bad thing? The REALLY bad thing? Mr. Wright was out of town last night. I put the Wright brothers to bed and reached my hand out to turn out my bedroom light. My hand froze over the switch, hovering and shaking as though I were battling some unseen force (this force I like to call my personal irrational fear).

The personal irrational fear won over common sense. I slept with my stupid light on. I guess I write scary stories pretty well, because my first chapter scared the snot out of me.

Category: Random Rants On Writing  Tags: , , , , , ,  8 Comments
Whitney Awards!!!
05
February
Julie

Oh wow . . . my book Eyes Like Mine is actually a finalist for the Whitney Award!!!! I had so completely prepared myself for disappointment and overeating while watching movies with no value to them today. I am in absolute shock. I think I’ll snap out of it soon and be bouncing off the walls, but for now–just . . . wow!

And I’m trying really hard not to think of how pretty that glass book with my name on it would look sitting on my desk . . .

But at least go look and see how pretty my book looks sitting in the row of finalists in the general fiction category:

http://www.whitneyawards.com/2009finalists.html

YAY!

Category: Jules is Celebrating, Random Rants On Writing  Tags: , , ,  14 Comments
Another Book!
27
January
Julie

So I’m sitting in my store today, eating the world’s most expensive hamburger, and typing furiously to finish the novel I’d meant to finish last month and my youngest calls me from home.

“Mom! You need to call your editor RIGHT NOW!” he says. Even at his young age, he understands that a phone call from my editor trumps a phone call from pretty much anyone else (except my agent, who is an absolute equal).

Editors only have a handful of reasons to actually make phone calls.

  • To reject you
  • To tell you you missed a deadline
  • To tell you they changed your title
  • To tell you that you need to do a bit (or a lot) more editing
  • To tell you that there is no reason to do stress overeating, but that your novel is going to the review committee for final approval
  • Or to tell you that your novel was accepted.

So my other son walks in through the front door of my store (he passes through the store to get home) at just this moment. “Watch the store for me a minute while I go home to make a phone call!” I command as I fly out the back door. I find my cell phone, see I have a voice mail, listen to the voicemail which is my editor asking me to return his call, and with the monarch migration going on in my stomach, hit the speed-dial button that connects me to my editor.

“Hey Jules.”  He answers before the end of the first ring.

“Hey Kirk.”

This is where we go off on polite chit chat for a moment before he says,  “So . . . the committee has discussed your novel Love Study and have decided to publish it.”

The monarch migration fly on as I exhale in relief.

So I have a new book slated to come out. YAY! Its release date is early 2011, so next year sometime. It’s strictly romance. It’s funny, sassy, smart, and filled with love–as is my heart when I think on how much I really like my editor and the acquisitions committee at Covenant. It’s an LDS novel and is so much fun that you are guaranteed to love it.  I’ll post the cover when I get it, but since it isn’t coming out for a while, you’re going to have to wait–just like I have to.

It used to be called The Day My Subconcious Betrayed Me, but I had to change it to something shorter (though I’m stubbornly keeping it the way it is on my website, because that’s the way uh-huh uh-huh I like it). For the purposes of just getting it to the committee, Kirk and I came up with Love Study. Love Study is a respectable title, but it doesn’t pop the way the novel does. So if you all come up with anything that sounds snappy for a sassy romance, feel free to let me know. I am totally open to suggestions. The first chapter is on my website. Go have a peek.

Category: Jules is Celebrating, Random Rants On Writing, Work In Progress  Tags: , , ,  15 Comments
It’s Out!!
07
July
Julie

Eyes Like Mine is officially available!

eyes_like_mine

No, the launch party has not yet been totally nailed down. I am drowning in my things to do list. But the book is OUT! My dear friend, Heather Moore (who helped me in the editing process of this book) wrote me yesterday to let me know she bought a copy at Seagull Book and Tape. I am so jealous of her. I haven’t even seen my baby in its physical form yet. But I am wicked excited about the release of this book simply because it is a really awesome book. :) You guys will all love it. I promise.

And to celebrate, let’s do a giveaway thing. Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment stating you’ve done so and I will have one of my kids do the drawing. If you’re already a follower, just leave a comment stating such. The contest will close on July 14th, just because that’s my daddy’s birthday and everyone should celebrate my daddy’s birthday (the entire country of France does every year). 

The prize? Well duh–it’s a free copy of Eyes Like Mine, and because I love you all so much and want you to be blessed with good reading, we’ll do a second drawing where the lucky winner gets a copy of English Trifle.

EnglishTrifle

Getting a copy of English Trifle is way cool because it isn’t even available in bookstores until late July. You will want to read this book asap because it is simply so much fun! Since I have such awesome connections in having Josi Kilpack as one of best friends, I can get you a copy now. It’s true; I am cool. Actually, it is because of Josi that I didn’t give up or give in when things in my publishing life looked dark and terrifying. She helped me edit this book, advised me on conflict (which she is so good at) and acted as all around cheerleader when I got depressed. Everyone needs a Josi Kilpack in their lives.

Since Eyes like Mine is a time travel novel, it might be kind of fun to know if any of you could have a visitor out of the past stay in your home for a week , who would you want and why?

For me, if the person we’re meeting is a relative, I would want my Great Great Grandma Minnie Crawford. I found a journal page she wrote while doing my genealogy and felt such a connection to this woman who lived through so much and persevered to the end.  Grandma Minnie lived 99 years. She died two months before she hit the century mark two years before my birthday. I would like to meet her and have her meet me. I would like her to know what her life story meant to me in my life.

If I could meet up with a non relative, I’d want to spend that time with Jane Austen. I know I’m predictable, but wouldn’t she be fun to show the future to? I’d take her to see her own movies to see what she thought of them. I think she would be sooooo much fun to hang out with.

Category: Jules is Celebrating, Random Rants On Writing  Tags: , , , , , ,  44 Comments
A Note On Dating
22
June
Julie
Prom 1988

Prom 1988

Mr. Wright and I just passed our 17th wedding anniversary. It’s been 21 years since our first date. It’s hard to believe we’re that old. The man is a total punk. He teases, tickles, does butterfly kisses on the kids’ cheeks so they giggle in church when we’re supposed to be quiet. He is altogether infuriating. He is amazing.

It’s no secret the kids would choose him over me if given the choice. I don’t blame them. I’d choose him too. I think back to the person I was when he met me. I was wretchedly ugly–too skinny, too pale, no sense of how to present myself, and I had no confidence. In the time we dated he changed all that. Not that he changed how I looked, but how I saw myself. And by seeing myself through his eyes, I found I was someone worthwhile. And then he left for his mission for our church.

2 years.

He told my grandmother before she died that he was going to treat me so good that while he was gone on his mission, no one else would be able to compare. And he fairly well did it. There were a few guys who ranked pretty high, but in the end, it all came back to Mr. Wright. It’s amazing what a girl can learn in two years.

  1. Some guys are physically deformed in a way that is not readily apparent. Though they appear to have only two hands–they really have four or more.
  2. Dating during poverty ridden college years could be viewed the same as going to a soup kitchen–the company might not be great but you got fed, so who can complain?
  3. One small argument with your boyfriend on a mission in a foreign country through mail takes months and is exhausting.
  4. Learning how to stand on your own is imperative if you ever want to stand with someone else by your side.
  5. Never give your phone number to people you don’t want calling you.
  6. A pretty face gets boring if nothing intelligent ever comes out of it.
  7. You can recover from tripping over love. Falling in love is forever.
  8. If someone asks you to marry them and the word, “NO!” screams inside your head, do not allow the word, “Yes.” to fall out of your mouth.
  9. Looks Nice and Nice Looking do not exactly mean the same thing. (see number one about the hands)
  10. The marriage decision is the one and only time where you have the right to make a totally selfish choice.

I’m glad I made a selfish choice in getting married to Mr. Wright. Even when he’s annoying, I’m grateful he’s annoying me rather than some other less deserving female. He puts up with a lot from me. And I’m glad to say that after 17 years, he’s still likes me for reasons I still don’t understand. So I guess we’ll keep each other.

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