Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
When Julie (aka JK) was very little, she used to climb up the spiral staircase to her dad's study (yes, he had the cool room), sit at his desk, and bang out "stories" on his typewriter. Without saying how many (cough) years ago (cough, cough) that was, Julie will say that she used to type so fast that the keys on the typewriter got all stuck together, and she'd have to pry them apart carefully and quietly, and hope nobody noticed and she didn't get in trouble. A few years later, she moved on to writing stories with actual words, and the pen (and/or typewriter) moved more slowly. The stories in her head, however, didn't. They just kept buzzing away in there, demanding to be let out, and Julie figured the only thing she could do about that was go stark raving mad ... or become a writer (Ed Note: those two things are not actually mutually exclusive, but let's not mention that to Julie!). Julie still has the stories, characters, people, voices, whatever rattling around inside of her head, and, in fact, she's even got a bit of a split personality. In fact, her other half might just nudge her way into the Whine Sisters blog one of these days. Bwahahahahahahahahaha. Ahem. Julie lives in Texas, just a (very long) stone's throw from Julia (someone really should make a movie title out of those names!), with her husband, two energetic daughters, and two temperamental cats. Astrological sign: Libra Favorite Leading Man: Cary Grant Favorite Comfort Food: Tostitos and Pace Picante Sauce You can sample more of Julie's insanity at her website, www.juliekenner.com
Recent posts by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner:
by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
With a new book out (ahem, Claim Me, in case you didn’t know!) and a book deadline that I just scraped by (Complete Me, coming July 30!), I’ve been a little busy. But now that I have some breathing room, I’m looking forward to catching up on both movies and reading! I did [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Last week, the cleaning lady said as she was leaving the house that she can’t wait to see how the place looks once it’s painted. I gawped and said thanks and silently wondered how in the heck she knew that we are about to paint the place. And then–duh–I realized. I have colored swaths all [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I confess that I was dubious when I first heard that Daniel Craig would be the “new” James Bond. But he won me over in Casino Royale. And while I hated the one that came next, I thought Skyfall redeemed the franchise. And I have to say, Daniel Craig is, well, yummy. But Sean Connery [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I did it. I broke down and hired a cleaning service to come in and do the heavy cleaning once per month. I’ve tried before, but I was much more of a clutterbug then. (Lately, I’m all about getting rid of sh** … too bad my eleven year old isn’t. But that’s the topic of [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Yesterday, I hosted guest blogger SaraLynn Hoyt on my blog, and she wrote about ensuring that indie pubbed books are high quality. At the end of that post, I disagreed with one thing she said: that you should make the changes suggested by your critique partner (or editor). I definitely agree that you need to [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
This weekend, my family and I went on a movie-watching spree. We’d been telling the girls we’d find a movie that we all would enjoy, and so we sat down and watched That Thing You Do! with Tom Hanks. The girls were dubious at first, but ended up loving it. So much so that Isabella [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Once again, it’s movie award season, and once again, I saw next to nothing in the theaters. Sigh. The only two movies I’ve seen in the last few months, in fact, are SkyFall and Finding Nemo in 3D. I seem to recall going and seeing something else with my eleven year old daughter, but darned [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Yes, yes, I’m diving shamelessly into Blatant Self-Promo mode … but so what!?! I have a new book out and I. Am. Psyched! Yes, Release Me is finally officially on sale here in the States and Canada and also in the U.K (and Australia/New Zealand!)! I’m so excited! If you’re a fan of erotic romance, I [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
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 [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I am not one to live dangerously. I don’t zip in and out of traffic. I always wear my seatbelt. I toss deli meat after the expiration date. I don’t skydive, with or without a parachute. And I absolutely, positively, don’t visit websites that come through my spam filter. But Twitter, ah, Twitter … Those [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Well, dang. The Toyota is starting to wear down. We thought this week that it was all over, and we were going to be whining at the door of the Smart Car dealership (the kids could run along after the car–good exercise, and those things only have two seats!). But then we went car shopping [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Once upon a time, my mom had some really cool dishes and stuff. Coconut-like cups from Trader Vics. Jewel Tea stem ware. Some really amazing stoneware. And some fabulous wooden salad bowls. When she moved into a nursing home, all that stuff became mine, and one thing that I used regularly was a huge wooden [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I just got back from six days in Manhattan and another four days in White Plains at the Novelists, Inc. conference, and although I had a great time, it’s wonderful to be home. Why? Not because I wasn’t having a good time (it was awesome…I even got to hang out with fellow Whiners Dee Davis [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I got my first perm when I was 11. It was a traumatic experience, as my grandmother took me to her beauty parlor and the hairdresser pretty much fried my baby fine hair. I was left with a frizzy mess of dried, chemically burned hair that my mother cut off when I returned home at [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I’m 99% sure another Whiner has used that headline in the last year or so, but that’s just too freaking bad, because it fits what I’m blogging about … changes! Good and bad and good and awesome. Bad changes: When your bank account balance changes into the red. Good changes: When you win the lottery [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Sometimes, ya just gotta go for it. That saying can apply to a lot of things, but this weekend it applied to food. Yup, for my birthday, I totally pigged out. And man, was it good! We originally had dinner plans on my actual birthday (Saturday) but at the last minute I told the family [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I’m in a neighborhood bookclub, and tonight we’re hosting at my house. The book was one I admit I hadn’t heard of, though I believe it got a lot of advance buzz (yes, I do sometimes move into my cave and roll the boulder in front of the door!). It’s Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, and [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Happy Labor Day everyone! It’s nice having a three day weekend. The kids are home, my husband is home, the yard beckons (as does the grill). And, yes, revisions, too! That’s my plan: housework and revisions. Not the traditional concept of Labor Day, I suppose, but to be honest, I’ve never known what the traditional [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Well, it turns out that August 7 is a banner day in the Kenner household. Why? Because of three exciting things happening today First of all, today’s the day we register Catherine as a public school kid. I’ve got all my paperwork all lined up, including the transcript/report card I had to make for her. [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
I’m excited because this is the release week for the sixth Shadow Keepers book, WHEN TEMPTATION BURNS. The series is like a paranormal LAW AND ORDER in that it centers around a paranormal judicial system through which the various hidden inhabitants of our world like vampires and werewolves and daemons police themselves. Here’s the blurb [...]
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by Julie Kenner/J.K. Beck/J. Kenner
Well, it finally happened. Although I love homeschooling and believe strongly in the value of homeschooling, in just one short month, Catherine will be starting 5th grade as (da da DA DUM!) a public school kid!!! This decision happened really fast (so many of our important family decisions have — the decision to buy our [...]
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