I write hot. Steamy, burn the bed [or insert alternative J] down hot. They’re romances first and foremost though. For me, I really believe the love/sex scenes of a book are crucial to the developing relationship in a romance novel. Yeah, you guessed it. You won’t find any closed doors in my books LOL. It’s during these most intimate moments people are perhaps at their most vulnerable and it provides tremendous opportunity for a writer to further the story and develop the characters. What they say, how they touch, their reactions, how they’re effected…all provide rich insight into the characters, their histories and how they’re changing at that moment. A love/sex scene should be important to the story, perhaps a turning point, but at a minimum divulge something about one or both of the characters either to the reader or to each other. It shouldn’t be included ‘just because’ it’s about time they got down and dirty. No, it has to have a specific purpose. At least in my view. AND it also has to be completely consistent with the characters and who they are. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine as a reader. Whatever the characters…

You know that commercial that ends with the question “What’s in your wallet?”  Mack Tanner, the hero in my newest release YUKON WEDDING has something in his wall.  As a matter of fact, his new bride-of-convenience Lana is sure he has secret somethings stashed in every room of their new home.  Mack’s got serious trust issues where banks (and gold miners and women for that matter) are concerned.  It was fun to take a man who has been alone too long and invade his life with a feisty woman and a frustrating-but-adorable toddler. Mack buries a treasure to keep the world from getting at his fortune.  As a matter of fact, he goes to all kinds of trouble to keep the world from his gold, but if I told you the details I’d ruin the story for you.  Be assured that much mayhem takes place before Mack realizes he needs a bit more trust in his life (and in his soul). All that hiding got me thinking, though.  Where would I hide a treasure?  Now I’m not talking about hiding the chocolate, where you stand inside your pantry and swallow down the Hershey’s to say “nothing” when your preschooler asks…

With TEXAS BLUE in April I’m releasing my 31st book and my 24th Historical Romance.(My book video for TEXAS BLUE is out today) I’ve been a National Bestseller since my third book and on the USAToday and NYTimes lists since book 16. I have the Harmony Series going in mainstream fiction and sales are equaling my historical sales already. As a bestseller in two running series, I’m being asked over and over what the secret is and I’ve given it some thought. A few years ago a writer visited Amarillo to give a speech. She said, “I’m excited to be in the hometown of Jodi Thomas for here must be very rare air indeed.”In one way she was right. Writers do develop in rare air, but not pure air. Most people who make their living writing have stumbled, tumbled until they are covered with scars. The bumps they took molded them into what they are as writers far more than simply talent did. First, those who succeed, treat writing as a profession. Writing is only half the game, the business of writing is the other half. A woman asked me if she should take a class. (She didn’t feel she…

2010 was an exciting year for my book list, and I expect 2011 to much the same. Needless to say, since I write mysteries, I tend to do a great deal of reading in that area. But I have broad ranging tastes. Still …. Let’s start off with a taste of historical fiction. I enjoyed Rebecca Cantrell’s follow-up to her award-winning debut novel, A TRACE OF SMOKE. A NIGHT OF LONG KNIVES picks up the story of her heroine Hannah Vogel, a female reporter in the male-dominated world of 1930s Nazi Germany. It is a worthy successor, and I look forward to the release of the third in this series, A GAME OF LIES, this summer. Back in 2008, I was living in England, and I picked up a book titled THE SHAKESPEARE SECRET by J.L. Carell. I’m a nut about novels involving Shakespeare, since my first published novel had been MURDER ON THE TWELFTH NIGHT, starring the Bard as a Holmesian figure. Carell did a great job at building an intriguing modern plot around Shakespeare’s life. But in 2010, I discovered the sequel: HAUNT ME STILL, by Jennifer Lee Carell. This is a marvelous book that explores Shakespeare’s life…

Since I wrote a mystery novel about a reality show, many people assume that I am a diehard reality show fan. I watch them now and then, but my favorite shows are actually sitcoms. Once in awhile, my husband and I catch a rerun of Wife Swap and find it amusing. There was one episode featuring a mom entrepreneur who was obsessed with preaching about health, vision boards and positive thinking. My husband said, “Wow, she’s you on steroids,” and I was particularly intrigued by that episode. We have also watched Undercover Boss a couple of times. Despite finding the occasional reality show interesting, I don’t watch them regularly, basically because we don’t have enough room on our TiVo. So why did I write SINK OR SWIM, which features a personal trainer who appears on a reality show? Frankly, I find our culture’s fascinating with reality shows an interesting phenomenon and the idea for the book popped into my mind. I wanted to explore what could happen when a normal person becomes thrust into the limelight, and why someone might try out for a reality show in the first place. In the book, ambitious personal trainer Cassidy Novak has always…

Hello, everyone! I’m happy to be here today to talk to you about my new release, A LOT LIKE LOVE. Last week I found out that the book has gone into its second printing after only two weeks (whoo-hoo!)—and I’m thrilled the book is connecting so well with readers. For those of you who’d like to know more about A LOT LIKE LOVE, haven’t read any of my books, or are wondering, “Who is this Julie James person, anyway?”, here’s the scoop: A LOT LIKE LOVE is about a wealthy wine store owner who agrees to pose as the girlfriend of an undercover FBI agent—as part of a sting operation—in exchange for her twin brother’s release from prison. There were two things I knew when beginning to outline the book.  First, that the heroine would not be a lawyer (unlike the heroines in my first three books).  I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I could write something different.  Second, I knew the book would somehow involve wine. The wine idea began fermenting in my mind (yes, pun intended) after my husband and I took a trip to Napa Valley.  Wine and romance seemed, to me, like such…

Since I’m here at Fresh Fiction, I’d like to talk about fresh heroines. These sorts of female characters are out of the ordinary, unconventional, interesting, spirited, bold, strong, and do things you might not expect. Alana, the heroine of my new Carina Press release, LAIRD OF DARKNESS is just this sort of heroine. She’s also entertaining. The story takes place in late medieval times in a Scotland filled with magic and mythical creatures. But this young noblewoman isn’t a virgin as young ladies of the time were expected to be. She’s not a prostitute, either. She’s simply a girl who had a tryst with a handsome stable lad of her own choosing when they were both teens. Why would I break with convention and create a sexually experienced lady? I wanted Alana to be a bit different from the heroines you normally find in historical romance. I wanted her to have an interesting past and memories she could draw upon when she is tempted by the hot dark Highlander, Duncan, who takes her hostage. It turns out she isn’t as afraid of him as he’s hoping she’ll be. In fact, she sees through his harsh, dark façade to the vulnerability…

Dear Readers, I’m giving birth to a new baby today.  Its name is HUMMINGBIRD LAKE it is the second book of my new Eternity Springs series.  This baby was conceived around fire pit with some writer friends over two years ago, and I carried it for six long months.  Now, with older sibling  ANGEL’S REST a month old, it’s time for the new offspring to join the family. Right now I’m in the transition stage of labor.  The hard stage.  The one that makes a girl want to glare at her keyboard and declare “I’m never touching you again!” That’s because now it’s time for me to talk about the book. I’m supposed to engage readers’ interest so they will go out and buy it.  The problem is that I find this part of the job more painful than watching my beloved Texas Aggies lose in the first round of this year’s March Madness.  They tell us to come up with a one sentence sales pitch, a high concept, an elevator sales pitch.  Yeah, right.  I spent 400 manuscript pages telling this story, and I’m supposed to condense it down to a sentence?  Aargh! Sage watched a tall man dressed…

Without a doubt it was the taming of Quinton Cameron. Oops…sorry, had to duck and run there because that big, highland earl didn’t take too kindly to me announcing that he’d been tamed. Now Deirdre found it rather amusing. The curse of being a writer is that your characters are always with you and not always at the end of their story. HIGHLAND HEAT was a fun book to write. But it was also stressful. Both Deidre and Quinton were hard nuts to crack. They’d both loved and lost, through bitter betrayal. The sort which leaves a painful scar across the heart. More importantly, neither wanted to trust their tender affections to another again. Those are points I often find myself pondering when I write a historical—trust and affection. These people lived vastly different lives than we do today. Marriage was a business first. A matter for level headed consideration and not because women were chattel. That was certainly part of it, but think about it for a moment… You have a daughter and the average life span is less than fifty. There are few good employment professions for women so that leaves you knowing you will not be around…

2011 has been a year of changes for me. I realize we’re not very far in, but I’ve had a rollercoaster ride already! I didn’t set any resolutions and tried to set goals instead. Am I moving towards my goals? HMMM…good question. Professionally I would say yes. I got a promotion and going back to school for a few business courses so that I can be better at my job, and earn a professional childcare director certificate. I’ve increased enrollment at my center, but still have a way to go. So yes, I think things are on track professionally. (Especially if I learn to conquer my new version of word!) Personally my goals are not quite within sight, but I’m confident I’ll get back on track! I want to do some things to my house, and I’m determined that even though I’ve said that for years, this is the year! I’d like to lose some weight, and It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog. I had a blog written, but because I have a new computer with a new version of Word (that I’ve not a clue how to use) I lost the whole thing! I wish…