Well, actually, I was masquerading at the “Con” as a Paranormal Thriller writer. So the experience was less Alice In Wonderland than it sounds. Though I did see the Mad Hatter while I was there…

And there was this great group of kids rocking a Harry Potter theme. They’d vamped it up with a Gossip Girl flair. How cool is that! Tons of fans were showing their Star Wars luv, wearing awesome costumes. I even saw an killer R2D2 replica. There were so many amazing characters and aliens and creatures of the night. People roaming the halls and ballrooms and lobbies in full makeup and costume 24/7. It was a non-stop spectacle that I can’t describe in words. So, here are a few pics to get you in the mood ;o)…

If you ask my husband or anyone in my family, they’ll tell you I’m a major pain in the butt to watch a movie with. I can’t help it. I’m a writer—and I therefore think like one, always plotting. I’m also an avid reader, with suspense/horror/thrillers being among my favorite books. Finally, I’m also very competitive…I like being challenged,  playing a mental game against the movie makers to see if I can figure things out before they want me to.

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t figure everything out. Heaven help me if the kids aren’t home and I try to figure out how to set the TV and DVD player so I can actually watch and hear a movie at the same time. But once that movie’s on, I am…

There’s been much discussion about what constitutes an urban fantasy book. We asked bestselling author Marjorie M. Liu, who writes both romance (the Dirk & Steele novels) and urban fantasy (the Hunter Kiss novels) to give us her definition.

See video below and let us know what you think urban fantasy is. We’ll be giving away an urban fantasy book to a random poster (you must live in the United States to qualify).

Welcome to RELEASE DAY and to the Strangely Beautiful Haunted London Blog Tour! Thank you RNTV for hosting me on this very, very special day. I appreciate all you do for our industry, Maria, Marisa, the reviewers and readers, it’s such an honor to be here.

For those of you just joining us, the purpose of this Haunted tour is to celebrate the release of my Gothic Victorian Fantasy Romance debut, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in the Strangely Beautiful series. This Tour will introduce you to some of the real, documented London haunts who “ghost-star” in my book. When Professor Alexi Rychman and his Guard of spectral police make their rounds, it is to any number of London phantasms. Since these characters are familiar to The Guard, I don’t get to tell their full story in the book. But here I can give them their due and show how they’ve inspired parts of the book. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy!

My dearest Readers,
The following is what men would actually learn if they attended the School of Gallantry. By the by — for those of you that are curious — the School of Gallantry was founded in 1830 in London, by Madame de Maitenon who sought to educate men in the topic of love and seduction. (Mind you, the school and all the characters in my books are fictional but hey, a woman can dream)

Gentlemen:
*Instead of relying on giving a lady more flowers and more gifts, try to rely on giving more of yourself.
*The art of pleasure involves more than just that stick between your legs.
*As a side note to number 2, most women’s delicate little pearls cannot be reached by said stick, no matter how long or how large. Which…

Julie James is the author of Just the Sexiest Man Alive and Practice Makes Perfect. Her third book, Something About You, comes out in March 2010.

The other day, someone posed an interesting question to me:  which five fictional characters would I invite to a dinner party, and why?  This question intrigued me so much, I thought it merited further consideration.

I enjoy throwing dinner parties.  Sure, it’s a lot of work, and sometimes going to a restaurant is more convenient, but I like the cozy, relaxed feel of entertaining in my own home.  (And I get to pick the wine.)  When planning such an event, I give some thought to the guest list—who will mix well together (and more important, who won’t), and what interesting things they bring to the table, so…