Julie and Julie and Julia

I saw Julie and Julia today. Cute. Meryl Streep was fabulous, as always. I could have watched her for the entire movie, frankly. Amy Adams's hair was very distracting, and her diction felt like she was someone from another country trying to speak with an American accent. Very strange. I wish I could say that the movie inspired me to cook, but, alas, I still have no interest. My husband, however, seemed to find a spark, so I'm hoping that will continue.

The movie also got me thinking about blogs and how Julie's blog had so many followers. Sigh. Not that I feel like my blogging is worth a million hits, but very few blogs out there are great literature. So why do we choose to read certain blogs? Why do some get noticed and not others? The only blogs I read religiously are the ones belonging to a few of my close friends (about, say, their adoption process of a Korean baby or about moving to a new state and trying to adjust), Harry Potter ones (yes, that is dorky. I'll admit it. But HP helped me through some seriously rough patches, so I still keep him around as a sort of security blanket), and Go Fug Yourself (I think these girls are hysterical). So I'm going to throw a poll atcha that I did a loooong time ago (Did you know I've been blogging for over three years?). I'm hoping the stats have increased somewhat from the piddly 13 responses I received the last time I posted it back in 2006. If not, well, maybe I should be doing something more productive with my time?

How often do you check my blog?
	Every day
	two to three times a week
	once a week
	once a month
	this is my first time
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Proust Questionnaire Thursday! Today's Special Guest: Tamora Pierce!

Tamora Pierce is the goddess of young adult fantasy literature. I have spent countless hours with her characters in Tortall, and once had a student who used her books as security blankets, checking several out per day just to carry around the school. Tamora is currently working on MASTIFF, the end of the Beka Cooper trilogy, and on a collection of short stories for Random House. And she has her own Cafepress store! You can visit Tamora on the web at tamorapierce.com.

The following questions are based on James Lipton's questions from Inside the Actors Studio, which, in turn, are based on the Proust Questionnaire. One of the questions is about swearing, so as Tamora("aka the Pottymouth of Full Cast Audio") says-- Brace yourself!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present-- Tamora Pierce!

1. What is your favorite word?
Portents.

2. What is your least favorite word?
accounting

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Nature and music

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Loud-mouthed bullies and drunks.

5. What sound or noise do you love?
The wind in the trees or a cat's purr.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
Voices raised in fury.

7. What is your favorite curse word?
Fuck.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Editing.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Stoop labor.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Ya done good, kid."

Next Thursday's author: Andrew Smith!

Welcome to the Jungle

Right now I'm sort of in jungle mode, since Romy is rolling around on her jungle-themed play mat, and I just figured out how to make myself an author page on Amazon (um, that's in a jungle, right? Or not? I meant the Amazon River, not like the online seller is located in the jungle.). Hence the title of this post. Really, I'm just testing this out, so this will be my first blog post that also goes straight to Amazon. Hmm. I should probably spice it up, but I'm not in a spicy mood.

I have started typing up the new novel. I really like it. Like, with my last one (INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER! Coming September 29!) I had so much trouble getting started, and I kept going back to the beginning over and over again. But the new one, which I shall call DON'T STOP NOW for now until my editor tells me different, has a great opening. In Julie world. Not, like, BANG! POW! ZIP! or anything. But the characters are tight, and it's funny. I'm kind of stoked.

I'll keep this short and sweet. Hello Amazon!

Gonna Fly Now

I am so stoked. I finished the first draft of my third YA novel this morning! And I really like it! Well, as of now I do. I will see when I go back and type it up. You see, I hand write all of my novels, so the stankiest of all steps becomes typing it into the computer. Last time I considered paying someone else to do it, but it ends up being my largest revision, so I might as well just do it, hate it, and then feel really good. It truly is my least favorite part of the whole writing process. The first part, actually writing the book, is fun in a reading the book kind of way. But typing it up is painstaking, and means sitting in front of a computer forever, making my carpal tunnel scream at me and sometimes, sadly, boring the crap out of myself. It also reminds me of all of the times I said, "I'll just fix that later." For instance, the main character started off as straight edge, but then I decide to take that out because I don't know a whole lot about being straight edge and it wasn't all that interesting to the story. I may be a bit rambly today because I'm so excited, as well as overwhelmed by the new prospect of the typing step. Sorry!

In other news, I have decided to change the day of my YA Author Proust Questionnaire to Thursdays, since people don't seem to be as on top of their blog reading on Fridays. I want the authors to get as much blog viewage as possible before I move on to other things. Remember, this Thursday= Tamora Pierce! So cool!

I am now going to enjoy my last free week before I go back to work :(

Want a free copy of Get Well Soon?

I'm giving away FREE copies of the paperback edition of Get Well Soon to the first 15 bloggers who contact me. All you have to do is send an email with your name, address, and blog URL to julie@juliehalpern.com. Then I'll send you a copy of the book, as long as you promise to review the book on your blog. When the review is up, email me a link. Simple, no?

And check out the new, black version of the cover on paperback edition:








Dark and brooding! Just like me! I kid. Look for it at a bookstore near you.

Proust Questionnaire Friday! Today's Special Guest: Barry Lyga!

A fellow comic lover, Barry Lyga is the fabulous author of YA faves The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Boy Toy, Hero-Type, and the upcoming Astonishing Adventures sequel, Goth Girl Rising. And he was was responsible for spearheading and developing Free Comic Book Day! Who knew? (Uh, those of you who read his online bio, probably). You can visit Barry on the web at barrylyga.com.

The following questions are based on James Lipton's questions from Inside the Actors Studio, which, in turn, are based on the Proust Questionnaire. One of the questions is about swearing, so please excuse our French.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present-- Barry Lyga!

1. What is your favorite word? Coruscate
2. What is your least favorite word? No
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Hidden connections between elements, ideas, people
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Predictability
5. What sound or noise do you love? Rain on the roof
6. What sound or noise do you hate? A baby crying
7. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Videogame designer/programmer
9. What profession would you not like to do? Anything that involves the words "cubicle" or "manager" or "necktie"
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "Dude, don't worry about that agnostic stuff -- we're good."

Next week's author: Tamora Pierce!

Limbo

Now is a time of day when I feel like I should be doing a lot of things, and here I am on the internet. So I am trying to be on the internet and productive at the same time. See, the internet can suck time, as everyone knows, but it also is really part of my job. How else could I blog, connect with other authors and readers, and email long lost friends and relatives? But there is so much more I should be doing. The problem is, Romy is sleeping. Her naps are random of length and time. I could sit down and write some more of my new novel (I wrote ten pages early this morning), but if she wakes up, then I'll be interrupted (excuse). I could exercise, but I have not full digested my morning snack (excuse). I could shower, but that might wake her up (excuse). This is how my brain works in guilting myself so badly that I am filled with self-hatred by the end of it. Does anyone else's brain work this way? I'm torturing myself right now. Going mental. And the problem is I have no idea what would make me feel most fulfilled in this short span of time, so I'll just beat myself up until Romy cries. Wait-- is that a peep on the baby monitor? Yes it is! I am spared my self-beating once again. Gotta go snuggle my baby!

Great link: Molly Ringwald writes about John Hughes.