Monday, July 9, 2012

Kansas City Cowboy Bookmark, Anyone?

August 2012 (available now at www.eharlequin.com)

Today's blog post will be a mash-up of several different thoughts.  With a July 15th deadline, a proposal due August 1st, and the RWA conference in between, to be honest, it's hard to compose something new and pithy in my head right now.  So here, in no particular order, are some random bits of news--some more interesting than others, no doubt. ;)

1.  I just got back from the dentist and found out I get to go again to get some work done in a couple of months.  Yay.  Not. Dentist blames it all on not having enamel on my teeth as a youngster (I had terrible pneumonia with such a high fever that no enamel formed on my baby teeth--apparently, poor baby teeth affects adult teeth?).  But they're all still my own teeth, so that's good.  At one point (about first-second grade), I looked like Jaws from the James Bond movies--I actually had silver caps on my baby molars.  Boy was I glad to lose those!

2.  The next book in my Precinct: Task Force miniseries comes out August 1st.  But it's already for sale on www.eHarlequin.com.  Cool!  I bought some copies as soon as they were available (so, of course, Murphy's Law states that my author copies arrived the same day the ones I ordered did).  So I've sent out those promised copies to all those previous blog winners who've been waiting.  Enjoy!

3.  The book I'm finishing up now, originally called CHAIN OF EVIDENCE, has been retitled TACTICAL ADVANTAGE.  I love it.  Really reflects the hero, who's a man of action--think Elliot from the tv show LEVERAGE.  TACTICAL ADVANTAGE will be out in March 2013.

4.  The game "Angry Birds" should really be titles "Angry Players".  I've got it on my Kindle Fire, and hubby has it on his i-Pad.  We both play over lunch, and get testy when those piggies refuse to die.  I really wish there was an option where players could choose which birds to use in different situations.  But I guess working with the options they give you is part of the game's challenge.

Independence, MO signing: Saranna DeWylde, Julie Miller, Janette Kenney, Sherri Shackelford (Cheryl St.John's foot--sorry Cheryl!  Good thing I can write books--photography isn't my best thing.)


5.  I have bookmarks for my book KANSAS CITY COWBOY.  I ordered them to have at my Independence, MO booksigning, and to share at RWA.  I've got about 25 left over, so if anyone would like a KC COWBOY bookmark (signed, of course), just send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 5162, Grand Island, NE 68802-5162.  I'll mail them out as long as I have them in stock, so act soon if you'd like one.

I'm giving away one more copy of KANSAS CITY COWBOY to a lucky poster today.  What's a random thought on your mind today?  Any writing or book questions?  Share a good book you've read recently?  Since I'm late getting this posted today, I'll wait and pick a winner sometime tomorrow.

Have a good one!
Julie Miller

38 comments:

  1. Read Kansas City Cowboy - LOVED IT! I'm trying to figure out who the Red Rose Rapist is, but I've never been very good about figuring out that mystery in books.

    Can you tell us who Tactical Advantage's H/h are?

    Waiting for more clues from the next book to see if I can figure out the bad man.

    Random thoughts? It's Monday, all my thoughts are random. :-) Otherwise The Closer is on tonight, Leverage starts next weekend and a few other of my summer shows are starting. Another one I like is Destination Truth on SyFy.

    Have a good day!
    DeniseB

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    1. Thanks, Denise! So pleased to hear you loved KC COWBOY!!

      TACTICAL ADVANTAGE is the story of (and I think there have been plenty of hints that these two strike sparks off each other ;)) Det. Nick Fensom and CSI Annie Hermann.

      THE CLOSER starts tonight?! Ack. Better get crackin' on my work so I'm done in time to watch. Thanks for the reminder!

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    2. Oh, and I've got several SyFy shows I love, too. I'm going to be very sad to see EUREKA go. But I'm so excited to see the return of WAREHOUSE 13! ALPHAS, too.

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    3. Oh goody! Nick and Annie together! I was hoping they would get together, but one never knows how an author is going to spin it.

      Can you tell us anymore about the other books? Also, is there a new task force member introduced in a later book. There seems to be one more book than task force members, especially if Annie and Nick's book will be together. I'm getting nosey.

      Also, don't forget Leverage starts next Sunday. There are so many of the shows that I like that are going to be on at the same time though, that I'll have to watch some of them when they are rebroadcasted on a different night.

      Denise

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  2. A random thought.... I think that would be more of a constant thought for me... READ MORE! Lol.

    A good book I read recently... I read a lot but I think the one that is more on my mind right now is Susan Mallery's Summer Nights.

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    1. I like the way you think, Yazmin ;)

      Susan Mallery is a wonderful writer. I haven't read Summer Nights, though. I'll have to check it out.

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  3. Hi, Julie!
    Thanks for your random thoughts today.
    1) Sympathize with you re another dentist appointment, but am glad for your sake that you still have your teeth. I often think of my 94-year-old neighbour when she was in the hospital. On her medical chart, written in huge caps, was "HAS OWN TEETH!" Apparently that is uncommon at her age, and she was tired of staff trying to put her teeth in a glass overnight, LOL!
    2) Figures that your author copies came at the same time as the others. Reminds me of women who adopt a child, and shortly thereafter get pregnant. Oh well. The more, the merrier, books included!
    3) Will watch for TACTICAL ADVANTAGE when it comes out. Thanks for the heads up!
    4) I think my daughter has an iPad in which a friend downloaded a free app for her yesterday. She just loves it. No idea what it's called, but there's an animal (monkey?) on it that repeats whatever you say into the phone. Sure wish I knew the right terminology here, but you probably get the idea.
    5) That's pretty cool with you sending out bookmarks. Thanks on behalf of your readers.
    6) MY random thought of the day? Just realized it's our 31st wedding anniversary in two days' time, so I'd better head out the door to pick some stuff up (probably a nice card and a chocolate bar). We don't do much present-wise for anniversaries, unless it's a big one, in which case we would go somewhere special for us. Last year we left the house around 9 am, drove an hour away, took a ferry to a nearby island, toodled around the island slowly while pulling over to let faster vehicles whip by, "necked" a bit, had a lovely lunch on the island (followed by my homemade brownies), ferried back, toodled around the city, ate supper at a restaurant (with same dessert in the car), took yet another ferry on the way home, necked some more, stopped at an ice cream parlor for a small cone each, and got home by 9:30 pm. A perfect way to celebrate our 30th....

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    1. Happy Anniversary, Laney4! Sounds like you had a marvelous celebration last year.

      Sounds kind of like the weekend hubby and I shared for our 25th anniversary (only, we went to KC, MO instead of an island--but wandering through the Nelson-Atkins Museum (gorgeous facility! saw my favorite Monet paintings, learned lots via the American and Native American galleries, even saw an Egyptian mummy--then we had iced tea in their Rozelle Gallery (made me think of Bath, England). Then we had fun at a local casino (I'd never been) and shared a really nice dinner.

      The special part was that it was just the two of us. Nice.

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    2. Exactly (re "just the two of us"). Congrats!

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  4. hey julie!! you know I would love a copy of KCCowboy! My random thoughts... We were just in KC last week hanging out at Crown Center, etc for some family time. Today is Monday, hubby's week off is over, and its back to reality. I'm wishing I was back in KC, hanging out and having fun! Have a great day! Angie

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    1. So close and yet so far away, yes? We drove by Crown Center after visiting the Art Museum.

      Ah, yes, back to reality. Hope you had some wonderful family time together!

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  5. I have to say....of all of you books, I was waiting for a cowboy story. I'm not a huge cowboy fan and every other author seems to be doing them, but I am curious to see what you can do because I know you will rock! I was pleasantly surprised to see this one coming out. Of course, if you want to do another book about Sawyer Kinkaid I wouldn't complain. I'd love to add this book to my collection as I am running out of Julie Miller books to read. :)

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    1. Thanks, Teresa! So Sawyer is the Kincaid brother who spoke to you, eh? I had a lot of fun writing 4 such different heroes for the Kincaid brothers. And I have an equal amount of fun discovering which brother appeals to what reader. ;)

      Yes, I know cowboys are uber popular with a lot of writers. I've always wanted to write one, but never had a story to realistically fit my contemporary Fourth Precinct stories. And then my agent (whose thumb is always on the pulse of what's selling) suggested I could work in a cowboy story by having an outsider visit KCPD. It was all the suggestion I needed to come up with the idea of KANSAS CITY COWBOY.

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  6. Random thoughts.......Just saw a commercial for a fiber one brownie(and yes it made me want one) but the voice of the male actor made me think of the cover of your cowboy book. I often see and hear the characters in a book that I am reading and while I have not bought your book yet the cover had already had me imagaining the chacters! I am on the last chapters of the book I am reading now so can hardly wait to read KC Cowboy!!

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    1. Hey, Lilsis! (I'm waving now that I've connected the name to the person I've met ;))

      Voices are one of the things I love best about creating a character--especially my hero. Looks matter, yes, but sometimes putting a great voice to a character is what makes him come alive for me.

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  7. Random thoughts... Nothing on TV for me tonight, so more reading... thinking of activities for my little nephew to do after his nap... lol, what to have for lunch...
    As for books, I have been enjoying a bunch of billionaire/cowboys from Crystal Green lately.

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    1. I hope your cowboy reading mood lasts until KANSAS CITY COWBOY comes out, Colleen. ;)

      I took a break from writing to watch EUREKA with my hubby tonight. Next week is the series finale, so I don't want to miss anything. Went back and wrote for an hour, and now I'm finally getting back to checking the blog. Was pleasantly surprised to see so many posts. You guys rock!

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  8. Nothing on tv for me tonight either, so I will also be reading. I just finished mowing our yard, need to water the garden tomorrow.

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    1. Hubby mowed our yard Sunday. I was surprised at how quickly he was back in the house. We've been in drought-like conditions, so where it isn't shady and we haven't watered daily, there wasn't anything to mow. Hope your job was just as easy!

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  9. Hi Julie,
    The last season on THE CLOSER premieres tomorrow night. Can't wait to see where they take the series.

    Just wondering...have you seen MAN ON A LEDGE? Watched that last week with my mom & aunt (their first time to see it). They had very interesting reactions.

    Under the same deadlines as you, friend, but I won't make it to RWA this year. Better get back to it.

    ~Angi

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    1. Doesn't MAN ON A LEDGE have Sam Worthington in it? I love him! But no, I haven't seen the movie yet. Your comment about "interesting reactions" intrigues me, though. I'll have to check it out.

      Good luck with the deadline!

      We'll miss you at RWA!

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  10. Random thoughts include figuring out what's for dinner and what time the home run derby is on tonight.

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    1. Ack! I missed the home run derby? My schedule gets all out of whack at deadline time. If I don't write it on the calendar, I don't remember it. Who won?

      Are you a National League or American League fan?

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    2. I root for the American League because I'm a Yankees fan. How about you?

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    3. Usually National League because of the St. Louis Cardinals. But I love the Royals, too. So it can depend on who's selected.

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  11. My random thought is that I am going to try to find you at the RWA literacy signing.:) I am also hooked on Angry Birds.

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    1. Yay, Gayle! I think finding people will be a little trickier at the literacy autographing this year. Hope their master plan helps with traffic flow. Can't think of why else they'd do it. I'll be at table 400 unless they change it again.

      (and don't worry, there aren't 400 tables--it's their numbering code) Hope to see you there!

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  12. The books sound good. How many books are planned for the series?

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks for asking bn100!

      6 books:

      THE MARINE NEXT DOOR
      KANSAS CITY COWBOY
      TACTICAL ADVANTAGE
      *PROTECTOR WITHOUT A PAST
      *TASK FORCE BRIDE
      *YULETIDE PROTECTOR
      (*the last 3 titles aren't set in stone yet)

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  13. Julie, can't wait to get my copy of Kansas City Cowboy. Hopefully will remember to send for the bookmarks. Is Tactical Advantage the next book after KC Cowboy in the Precinct series? Have fun at RWA.

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    1. Yes, Ruth, thanks for asking. I listed the titles above. Here are the scheduled release dates:

      THE MARINE NEXT DOOR--May 2012
      KC COWBOY--Aug 2012
      TACTICAL ADVANTAGE--March 2013
      PROTECTOR W/O A PAST--June 2013
      TASK FORCE BRIDE--Sept 2013
      YULETIDE PROTECTOR--Dec 2013

      I have a December 2012 anthology out with Dana Marton and Paula Graves titled THREE COWBOYS. That project was scheduled before I sold my Precinct: Task Force miniseries, so that's why there's a gap in Task Force releases.

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    2. Great, will look for the anthology come November on eharlequin.

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  14. Loves 2 Read Romance - LauraJuly 9, 2012 at 9:31 PM

    My random thoughts for the day aren't so random. I am seriously considering going to join the gym so I can lose weight before my brother's wedding. Another random thought is if I should join a dating site so I can hopefully be in a relationship and have a date for the wedding. Tell Maggie Hi!

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    1. I'll give Maggie a tummy rub for you, Laura--she'll love it!

      Good luck with your goals!

      I do have a teacher friend who met a wonderful guy she's now engaged to on Match.com. Don't know if that's always the case, but I know they're happy. I have friends whose niece met and married a guy through eHarmony. I'm not recommending one site or another, but they can work. Good luck!

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  15. wow6 books cant wait to read thank you for the chace

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  16. Thanks for stopping by, Tammy. Good luck!

    In the next hour or so I'll jot down all the names, toss them on the floor, and have our dog Maggie pick the winner. Stay tuned. ;)

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  17. Hi julie, I am so excited to read your next book in the series, I stayed up till midnight for august books to be released on harlequin, to get my order in early. Can't wait to read the rest of the series next year.

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  18. And the winner is... Gayle Cochrane!

    Congratulations, Gayle--Maggie nosed your name out of the pile and selected you as the winner of yesterday/today's blog. Just email me your snail mail addy, and I'll get a copy of KANSAS CITY COWBOY in the mail to you ASAP.

    Thanks to everyone who stopped by! I'll be back to blog again after the RWA conference at the end of July. In the meantime, you can catch me at the Get Lost in a Story Blog on July 15th, and almost any day on www.Harlequin.com.

    Stay cool!

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