Welcome To Debbie's Den

Hi Julia! I’m so glad you could stop and chat with me. This is going to be a lot of fun so let’s get out the chocolates and cheesecake and relax.

I had a blast wandering around your web site. After reading your biography, I'm amazed at the exciting life you have led thus far. A simple farm girl going to University to study government, then off to work at the White House (even if you did get "fired" after Clinton took office), traveling extensively, and becoming a nationally bestselling author. Whew! I'm tired just writing about it. What haven't you done yet that you would like to do?

Gee. I think my life may sound better than it has really been, LOL! But I can't complain — I've had a great life so far and it just keeps getting better! As for what I'd like to do that I haven't done yet, I think I have hit that age where I am ready to give back. I have been thinking about doing some volunteer work in my community. I'm not sure exactly what, but perhaps something to do with animals or children. I'm exploring some ideas.

I LOVED the Rogues of Regent Street series. How did you come up with the concept of 'The Rogues'? Did you model any of them after people you know?

My publisher wanted a trilogy, for starters. And I thought of close-knit groups of men that I knew, like my brother-in-law, who has been hanging out with the same three men since I can remember. They aren't exactly rogues, but it sort of gave me an idea, and I said to myself, hey, wait a minute, what if my brother-in-law was, like, really cool? And lived in England two hundred years ago? And was rich? I couldn't picture my brother-in-law past the first question, but at least it spurred me on to the Rogues idea, HAHA.

When reading your books, the reader can actually picture the scenery and feel as if she's there, in that time and place. How much research do you do to create such a scene? I'm sure it helps having visited places that are similar to what you are trying to describe.

Thank you, that's quite a compliment, Deb! As for how I do it, of course I want my book to be historically accurate, but I think most of the 'feel' of my books comes from reading a lot from that time period (Jane Austen, etc., ) and then, nothing can compare to actually going there and seeing how people lived. There are tours in England and Scotland of regency homes and old haunts, and it's really fascinating. Those trips help me describe how people lived; reading the classics like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens help me describe how people might have thought. With a little artistic and historical license, of course.

The Rogues are such a close-knit group of guys. Did you have a similar group of girl friends growing up?

Some of my best friendships started in childhood. We haven't lived in the same place, but we've kept in touch all these years. I think a better comparison of close-knit friendship is what I have with my sisters. We know everything about one another, like the Rogues did, and we have been together all these years, good times and bad.

You mentioned, in your biography, that you wrote a lot of stories while you lived on your family's ranch in West Texas. Did you ever have the foresight to keep those stories and maybe turn them into a bestseller now?

Excuse me for a moment, I busted a gut. That's too funny! Let's see…perhaps the one I wrote about the twelve year old girl who was captured by Indians, then escaped, then was captured again, then escaped again, then was captured again, then escaped again—and oh, she escaped the same way each time because that was the only thing her author, another twelve-year old, could come up with… Really, there is nothing in my repertoire prior to 1995 that is even remotely saleable, LOL! And I only have a couple of them left. I think my Mom threw them out with the Halloween candy I had left stashed under my bed (another reason to just come clean and put the candy out in the open!)

I understand that you will be writing a contemporary trilogy for Berkley. When do you expect these to be released? What will they be about?

The trilogy started off loosely based on King Lear. Very loosely. It's about a very wealthy man who has three daughters—end of any similarity to Shakespeare. Anyway, this wealthy man finds out he has an aggressive form of cancer and has a 50-50 chance of living. He is estranged from his wife, he has raised three girls in the lap of luxury and has built a shipping empire. But at the end of the day he is alone and with offspring so pampered that they can't do for themselves, or carry on the business he has built from the ground up. So he sets out to make everything right before he dies. Because of the little bit of time he has left, he resorts to drastic measures to change things. Each book is about a daughter, her relationship with her father, and how she copes when he cuts her off from the money tree and makes her stand on her own two feet. The first book in the series, Material Girl, will be out next August (2003). This is about the oldest daughter, who Dad demotes from a cushy job in the family company to bubblewrap and styrofoam peanuts so she can learn a little about the biz and about life.

Now that the Rogues of Regent Street trilogy is done, what's next? Any more regencies in the works? (I hope!)

YES! I am currently writing the first book of another regency trilogy. This is about the two factions of the Lockhart family (one in Scotland, the other in England), that have been feuding for centuries. What started out as ideological difference in medieval times has, over the years, turned into a feud about a strange gold statue of a beastie, which the English Lockharts possess and the Scottish Lockharts want. The Scottish Lockharts believe it is theirs by rights, and moreover, that the beastie holds the key to a terrible curse and their financial future. The trilogy is about the three children of the Scottish Lockharts who each seek to reclaim the statue from their English cousins. The first book is about the oldest son, Liam, a Captain in the Highland Regiments. He goes to London only to be undone by a little girl, and then her mother. The first book should be out from Pocket in early 2004.

Understanding the publishing industry is almost a must if someone wants to become published author. Can you give us a step by step on how to proceed? Where did you start?

Really, do you think so? I suppose it helps, but I didn't know anything about the publishing industry when I started. I guess I lived right at some point, because I was one of the lucky ones who happened to be in the right place at the right time. When I wrote Devil's Love in 1997, I went to the bookstore and got How to Get Published, or something like that—and followed its advice. I sent a query to four agents simultaneously, and landed one within a week. I had a contract with Dell two weeks after that. I knew nothing about the industry or even the romance genre, and everything happened so quickly that I wondered if perhaps it really wasn't so hard to get published like I'd always heard. Well, I'm not usually such a bonehead, and I know now how incredibly lucky I was my work hit my agent and the market at exactly the right time. I therefore really don't have any step-by-step procedure. What I do know is that you must first WRITE the book, and the whole book. Then send a query to agents (I think it is easier to sell to a publisher through an agent). But then again, there are certainly enough success stories out there of people who didn't have an agent. I guess the bottom line is, if the book is well-written, and it is the right book for the market, it will sell.

What is at typical day of writing like for you? Do you have any kind of routine? Any cheesecake or chocolates stashed somewhere for those "brain freeze" times (my daughter Maci's term for writer's block, LOL)?

I have chocolate, but why stash it? Why not have it lying around in every room, only an arm's length away? That's the way I do it! Yes, I do have a routine I try to adhere to. I start early in the morning and work a couple of hours, then take my dogs for a walk and work out, then come back and work a couple of hours, then run errands or do odd chores, then another two or three hours. I have discovered that creativity wanes after a couple of hours, and its good for the mind and body to take a break. I also try and break it up by working on different books. Some authors can't do that, but I find it helps me keep a fresh perspective on each book.

What is the most and the least gratifying thing about being a writer?

In a word, writing. Sometimes the process of writing is a horrible grind. But most times, when I read a finished project of mine, I am so rewarded that it makes the grind worth it.. Sandy Hingston (The Suitor) recently sent me this little joke that sort of sums it up: A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell. He decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, he saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes. The writer then ascended to heaven, where he saw rows and rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop, too. And as they worked, they were also whipped with thorny lashes. "Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!" "Not really," replied a celestial voice. "Here, your work is published."

Earlier this year, you left your day job to write full time. How has it worked out for you so far? Do you miss going out to work each day?

THIS is the life! I loooooove writing full time! And no, I don't miss going to my old job. Ever. Now, I go to work each day, but without pantyhose and stress. I am really the most content with life that I have ever been. There is really something to be said for doing what you enjoy and enjoying what you do! (Joke above notwithstanding).

Okay, one last question. Of all the books you have written to this date, which one is your favorite? Why?

That is a tough question. The truth is, the next book I am cooking in my head is always my favorite. Don't get me wrong—I am proud of the books I have written, but I guess I see things in all of them that I could have done better, and with each book I develop, I think, okay, this is the one! But it never is! I do have a couple of favorite characters. I am partial to Abbey from Devil's Love and Arthur from Beautiful Stranger. I don't know why, I just personally like them.

OMG Julia, I don’t know when I’ve laughed more. You’re a hoot and a wonderful woman. Thank you so much for visiting. I had a ball and I hope you did too.

Deb, thanks so much for asking me to your website! As always, readers can reach me at julia@julialondon.com.