Friday, June 28, 2013

The Iron Traitor early giveaway


I promised a giveaway, didn't I?


Soooo, who's anxious to see what Meghan and Ash's son is up to?


Yes?  No?  Afraid?  (You probably should be afraid.  Very, very afraid, bwahaha.) 


Well, now's your chance to see what havoc Keirran is causing before anyone else.  To celebrate my shiny new Iron Traitor arcs, I have decided to give away one early copy of THE IRON TRAITOR, Call of the Forgotten #2.  As seen below.







The blurb:

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.



***


Excited?  Oh, and there is also an exclusive excerpt of THE FOREVER SONG, Blood of Eden #3, in the back of the book.


To enter, just copy and paste this to your Twitter or Facebook:  I want to win an arc of THE IRON TRAITOR from @jkagawa at juliekagawa.blogspot.com
 

Then leave your name and email in the comments below.  That's it.  (To be fair, just comment once, but feel free to RT or Facebook the giveaway as much as you like. )


Giveaway will run until July 19, and yes, it is international. 


Good luck!

-Julie




Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hollywood, Universal Studios, and 2 dinosaurs (Part II)


Continuing my adventures in Hollywood...


So, after my agent and I had lunch at Citywalk, it was still a couple hours to my meeting with the Universal people.  So, we decided to kill some time by picking up Awkward author Marni Bates, who is also Laurie's client and lives in L.A., and going to see a famous Hollywood landmark.

So, after meeting Marni, we all piled into Laurie's car and headed into the hills.  Hollywood Hills, that is.


After many twists and turns up a tiny, narrow road (past some truly impressive mansions), we finally reached the place we wanted to be.  And me and Marni had Laurie take this picture:





And this one:






And also this one:






Now you might be wondering: what the heck are they pointing at?  As well you should.  Because, after Laurie had taken all those pictures, she suddenly said: "Oh, wait, did you two want me to include the ginormous huge landmark right over your head, too?"



Um, YES, Laurie, we did, in fact, want that in the picture, too!



SIGH.









There we go.  Though the excitement had worn off by that time.  Fear not, Marni and I teased Laurie the entire way back.  She'll never hear the end of it, and has vowed not to take anymore pictures for us.  ^__^ 


We love you, Laurie.  This much.  XD.



 
 
 
And then, we got slightly lost going back.  But fear not, I reached my hotel with enough time to change and wait for the car that would take me to Universal Studios and my meeting.


What went on in the meeting is sadly Top Sekrit, but everyone I met was super nice and super excited about the project.  Hopefully I will get to reveal it soon, but just know this: it is EPIC.


And then, all too soon, the meeting came to a close and I asked for pictures with everybody.  They were nice enough to oblige.



 
Me and Jeff Kirschenbaum, the freaking head of Universal Pictures. ( Me = *o* )
 
 
 
 
 
From left to right: Jeff Kirschenbaum, Sara Scott (Creative Executive and also uber important), a star-struck little author from La Grange, KY, Ainsley Davies (Director of Development for Chris Morgan Productions) and Chris Morgan (Director, and also the guy who wrote the scripts for The Fast and Furious franchise.)
 
 
 
After the meeting, I was still a little dazed.  But the surprises didn't end there.  Chris Morgan and Ainsley Davies took me on a tour of the Universal Studios back lot.  I got to sit in a golf car as Chris drove us around and pointed out cool and interesting things.  Such as:




The stage for The Voice.
 
 
 
 
The town square for Back to the Future. It's missing its clock because the original set burned down, but they recreated it with everything except the clock.
 
 
 
 
 
One of the many city streets used for filming.  There was also a really awesome Old West town, too.  The back lot of Universal is HUGE.
 
 
 
 
I think this set was used for Dracula or Frankenstein or something like that.




 
Part of the Old West town.
 
 
 
 
Part of the set for The Grinch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Part of the set for War of the Worlds.  Apparently, during Halloween, they let people walk through this set and zombies come lurching out of the debris.  So cool.
 
 
 
Recognize this sign?
 
 
 
 
Here is the ride that goes with it.  If you look closely, you can see the shark that "attacked" the tour bus in the water there.
 
 
 
 
The original Bates motel.  The House is behind it to the left, and as we drove past, you could see the corpse of an old woman rocking back and forth in the window. 
 
 
 
 
The second dinosaur, right outside the Jurassic Park ride. And that concluded my tour of the Universal Studios back lot.
 
 
 

So that is the end of my adventures in Hollywood.  I got home exhausted but floating three feet off the ground.  And, if all goes well, that won't be the last I see of Universal or Hollywood, but even if it is, I'll have enough awesome memories to last a lifetime.  A huge thank you to everyone who brought me this far; I am truly grateful for all your support.

Now, let's keep our fingers crossed for a movie.  =)

-Julie
 


 



 


 



 


 


 
 
 
 
 
 



 











Sunday, June 23, 2013

Hollywood, Universal Studios, and two dinosaurs (Part 1)


Hey everyone!


Remember a month or two back when I talked about going to Hollywood to meet with some people about the Sekrit Series, the series that must not be named, possibly becoming a movie?  Don't remember that?  Well, a month or two back I was scheduled to fly out to Hollywood to talk to Universal Studios about my books, the movie option, and other exciting things.  Unfortunately, we had to postpone the Universal meeting for a later date.  Turns out some guy named Brad Pitt needed that meeting slot, so what can ya do?  ;) 

Happily, we did reschedule, and last Thursday I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles, CA, finally on my way to Hollywood.  :D


Early Thursday morning, a car arrived at my house to pick me up, and took me to the airport to catch my flight to L.A.  Thus beginning the first of many surprises.  When I checked in at the airport, I looked down at my ticket and was shocked to discover I'd be flying First Class to California.

I have never flown First Class before.  It was awesome.  They even served us breakfast.  I was the last seat in First Class, watching everyone in front of me being served food, and I was starving and a little sad that I must've missed the opportunity to place an order, but then they gave me a tray, too.



 
 
A very blurry image of my food when I was in First Class. Taken quickly because I was trying to be discreet of the fact that I was taking a picture of my food.
 
 
 
 
Several long hours later, I finally arrived in Los Angeles, and a car took me to my hotel.  Outside my hotel was the Hollywood sign.


I'm serious.  It was the Hollywood sign.


In miniature.


 
The Universal Sheraton Hollywood sign.



 
Me and Awkward author Marni Bates, whom I met the next day, below the hotel Hollywood sign. (More on that adventure later.)
 
 
 
So that first day I met with my literary agent, Laurie McLean, and we headed out to meet Brandy Rivers, my Hollywood agent, for dinner.


We might've gotten a bit lost on the way to her office.  But I did get some interesting shots.

 
That's where I want to be!
 
 
 
The first dinosaur.
 
 
 
Beware of falling McDonald signs.


 

We finally got to Brandy's office, and then we all went to dinner at Sugarfish, a fabulous sushi restaurant, and I stuffed myself with raw fish and was in heaven.


Sadly, I did not take any pictures of my dinner, but here is a picture of a fish to make up for it.





Then I went back to my hotel room to prepare for the meeting with Universal Studios the next day.


The next morning I woke up a bit nervous.  It still felt very surreal: I was in Hollywood, and that afternoon, I was going to meet the head of Universal Pictures, plus a bunch of other very important people who talked to celebrities and movie stars on a regular basis.  These people probably had drinks with Steven Spielberg and Johnny Depp.  And here I was, a tiny little author from La Grange, KY.  I kept waiting for the moment I'd wake up.


Despite my nervousness, it was a gorgeous day outside, and the view from my hotel room was spectacular.


 




Los Angeles in the morning, from the 18th floor of the Universal Sheraton.
 
 


Since my meeting wasn't until 3pm, I met Laurie again, and we decided to walk around Universal Studios Citywalk, the stretch of stores, eateries, and dance clubs you had to pass before you got to Universal Studios itself. 


 
The Gate to the legends.
 
 
 
 

Sadly, there was no time to go to the park, but Citywalk was fun.  For photos, especially.  


 
Giant guitar at the entrance.
 
 
Giant ape further down.
 
 
It's so fluffy!!!



And now, my favorite part of the walk.  Guarding the entrance of the Infusion Lounge and looming over all us puny humans, was this guy.



 
 
I must've taken a dozen pictures of him, from every angle.  He's just soooo cool. I love my dragons.
 
 



 

 
 

 
And, at last, we came to the gates of Universal Studios, where we had to stop.  And, as this post is getting rather long, I will stop here, as well. But tomorrow I will post about my meeting with the head of Universal Studios, as well as a couple other adventures that would happen before and after.  So check back tomorrow and I'll see you then.  :)







-Julie











Friday, June 14, 2013

The #YeahYA Harlequin Teen Tour


Hey, everyone! Big news!

No, really BIG news!

This is going to be the summer of awesome. Wanna know why? Course you do. Well, check out the fun banner below.





We're going on TOUUUUUUUUR.

Yup, me, Katie McGarry, Aimee Carter, and a couple other YA authors will be hitting the road and traveling to several big cities to see you. Check out the schedule below to see if we'll be anywhere near your hometown.




 


TORONTO

Sunday, July 7                                            CHAPTERS – Brampton Market Mall
2:00 PM                                                                  52 Quarry Edge Dr
author panel, Q&A, signing Brampton,                  ON L6V 4K2

905/456-7177

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter, Katie McGarry, special guests Amanda Sun and Michelle Rowen.





NEW YORK

 
Wednesday, July 10                                          BARNES & NOBLE – Carle Place
7:00 PM                                                                 91 Old Country Road
author panel, Q&A, signing                                  Carle Place, NY 11514

516/741-9850

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter, Katie McGarry



DALLAS


Friday, July 12                                              BARNES & NOBLE – Southlake Town Square   
7:00 PM                                                                    1430 Plaza Place
author panel, Q&A, signing                                    Southlake, TX 76092

817/442-0207

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter, Katie McGarry



HOUSTON

Saturday, July 13                                                        KATY BUDGET BOOKS
2:00 PM                                                                          2450 Fry Road
author panel, Q&A, signing                                           Houston, TX 77084

281/578-7770

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter





NASHVILLE

Monday, July 15                                                        BOOKS A MILLION – Nashville West
6:30 PM                                                                            6718 Charlotte Pike  
author panel, Q&A, signing                                              Nashville, TN 37209

 615/352-5154

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter





MEMPHIS

Tuesday, July 16                                                     THE BOOKSELLERS AT LAURELWOOD
6:00 PM                                                                          387 Perkins Road Extended
author panel, Q&A, signing                                            Memphis, TN 38117

901/683-2032

Featuring: Julie Kagawa, Aimée Carter






Hope to see you this summer!

Julie










Thursday, June 13, 2013

Agents and sappy love stories


Mondo exciting news, everyone!


I am so thrilled and pleased and proud to announce that my wonderful, supportive, talented husband is now agented with Foreword Literary!  Repped by none other than my own fabulous agent, Laurie McLean.


Congratulations, love!  I couldn't be more proud.  But I'm not surprised in the least.  You deserve it.   


So, now, let me tell you a little story.  Back when I was unpublished, just another wanna-be writer, my best friend and I decided to get a writing group together.  He had a friend who also wanted to write, and I had just met someone on an online critique site, a guy named Nick, who happened to live in the area.  This person and I had exchanged a couple chapters to read over, and he seemed like a pretty knowledgeable person (and not a creeper, troll, or stalker, always a plus), so I invited him to join our new writing group.


That person was my future husband.



Our group first met at the old Borders (sob), and for a few hours, we would talk and laugh and offer advice on how to make our stories better.  I learned that this new guy loved reading and fantasy and wanted to someday get a book published, just like me.  Eventually, after several years, the writing group parted ways, but Nick and I went on to get married.


So I guess you can say writing brought us together.


Yes, that was sappy.  But only fitting.  I used to dream of getting my book published and being an author.  And make no mistake, it is everything I wanted and much more than I thought.  I love my job, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  But now, my dreams have...evolved a little.  Now, my hopes include going to BEA with my author husband, doing signings together, touring together, and watching fangirls squee and bounce up and down when they see him.  ^__^   It will happen.  I know it will.


So, congratulations again to my partner, first editor, and best friend.  It has been an exciting journey, and it isn't done yet.  I can't wait to see where it takes us.


Julie



Follow Nick on Twitter @NTaylorTag if you wanna say congrats.  =)








Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Saturday's shop stuff

Hi everyone!


I've gotten a few requests asking if I'd be willing to post pictures of what will go up in my Etsy store before I put them out on Saturdays, so they'll know if there is something they really want to purchase.  While I can't do this every time I put new stock out, I will try to post pics on occasion. 


SO, with that in mind. Here is what will be for sale next Saturday, the 15th of June.








Spotted pink Appaloosa unicorn







Purple and green dragon
 
 
 




Chibi gargoyle
 
 
 
 
 
Purple dragon
 
 
 

 
Blue unicorn
 
 
 
 

Asian dragon





 
Charm dragon: Believe
 
 



 
Dragon in a top hat
 
 
 
 

 
Chibi Zeke Crosse
 
 
 
 
If you see anything that catches your fancy, the Etsy shop link is here.  You can also see past sales by clicking on the "sales" link.  Remember, all items will go up Saturday at noon, est. 
 
And, out of curiosity, is there any critter you'd like to see more of?  In a particular color, maybe?  Leave me your suggestions below.  You might just see it go up in the shop one day.  =)
 
Julie