And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Julie Anne Long is a new and welcome author to the world of romance. Only two books out, she has already acquired an impressive number of fans who are anxiously awaiting her third book.

THE RUNAWAY DUKE was released by Warner Books in August 2004 and earned Julie a nomination for the Romantic Times' 2004 Best First Historical Romance award. It was quickly followed by TO LOVE A THIEF in April 2005. Both are now in their 2nd printing.

If you've already read Julie's books you'll understand why they have been received so well. If you haven't, you'll have to see what all the ado is about.

Julie has taken time out of her busy schedule to answer all the things I know you want to know about. Okay, about what I wanted to know about, but I'll bet you were wondering, too. When you are done, visit Julie at her website to learn more and keep up with what's going on with this lady.

http://www.julieannelong.com/

1. So, tell us a little more about your aspiring Rock Star days you mention at your website. *G* How long did you work at that? Was it a girl band? And what kind of music did you go for? What was your part in the band?


Ah, yes—The Examples days. That was the name of my first band—The Examples. (Some of the other names we bandied about were the Scrubbing Bubbles and the Screaming Blue Hats. Do you have any idea how hard it is to agree on a band name??) We were two women and three guys, and the band involved two guitars, bass, drums and a lead singer, whom we occasionally forced to play a tambourine. I played rhythm guitar—I had a blue Stratocaster, then a very groovy Epiphone Melodymaker I bought at Haight Ashbury Music. It’s older than I am, and Paul Westerberg from the Replacements had one like it, I’m pretty sure, which was the entire reason I bought it. I also sang backup and wrote about half the band’s song. And I tell you, that band’s existence and subsequent demise rivals anything you’ve seen on VH1’s Behind the Music. LOL. I guess we wrote and played “alternative” music, for lack of a better word for it (and I’m not sure that word even existed yet)—we were crazy for REM and 10,000 Maniacs and U2 (this was practically before anyone really knew those bands existed, and when you could see U2 in small clubs). But we loved 60’s British invasion stuff, too, and covered songs by The Who and the Zombies and the Byrds, with a little Elvis Costello and random other stuff thrown in. I personally loved the Doors and the Yardbirds, too, stuff like that. We did a great version of “Heart Full of Soul.” Or at least a loud version of it. Wrote lots of pretty good original songs, too.

Then when that band blew apart, I started another band called Orphan Choir, this time involving two women and two men (my poor overworked boyfriend at the time was the drummer for two bands), and I sang lead vocals and wrote songs. All told, I think I played music for…eight years, maybe? Ten? I was fairly serious about it. Small record companies came sniffing about. But for many reasons, I eventually hung it all up in favor of writing.


2. You mentioned your 'horse camp' adventure on your website. Did you give up that hobby or do you still take to the trails? I think I would've hung up my spurs if I had gotten bit by a horse, especially at such a young age!


Oh, I still love everything about horses—how they look, smell, the creak of saddle leather, the feel of reins in your hands—maybe I was a cowboy or chevalier in a past life, who knows? But it’s been years since I’ve been on a horse. Part of the reason is that going horseback riding is expensive, here in the Bay Area, anyway, and I don’t have many friends who share my passion for gigantic hairy beasts who might just bite.

Or kick.

3. You've lived in San Francisco for the past ten years or so,but where did you grow up? Are you a California girl or did you spend your childhood elsewhere?

I grew up in Fremont, California, one whole hour away from San Francisco. I’m totally a northern California girl, and utterly spoiled by the weather and food and beauty here…when I go to places that have actual weather, like New York or Dallas do during the summer, for example, I’m rendered humble and limp and whimpering. I will probably complain about San Francisco fog during the summer until the day I die, (it’s July 2nd as I type this, and I’m wearing a sweater AND a sweatshirt—in the house—in order to stay warm), but I still love it here.

4. I saw on your page at historicalromancewriters.com that one of your favorite websites is SFGate.com. Are you a huge SciFi fan? Do you think there may be a scifi, paranormal or fantasy novel in your future?


LOL!! The “SF” in Sfgate.com stands for San Francisco ­ it’s the San Francisco Chronicle’s home page. Although you can be forgiven for thinking that “San Francisco” and “Sci Fi” are synonymous—on any given day, a stroll down Market street in downtown San Francisco is like a stroll through a Sci Fi convention. But I do have a number of story ideas involving paranormal and/or fantasy elements. We’ll see what the future holds!


5. I saw your list of favorite books and who you think is hot (ITA Alan Rickman has got one of the greatest voices... let me know if you ever find that alarm clock!), so I thought I should ask what your favorite movies are?


Oh man, Questions like this just sort of sweep my mind blank, like a magnet over a hard drive. Let me see…I like so a lot of different kinds of movies. I’ve seen Sense and Sensibility so many times, it’s ridiculous. The Princess Bride is one of my favorites. I love animation—The Triplets of Belleville and Spirited Away are two of the weirdest, most wonderful movies I’ve ever seen, and I love The Incredibles and anything by Nick Park (but Creature Comforts is still my favorite). I love older movies: Dark Passage, The Women, My Man Godfrey, Philadelphia Story, Roman Holiday (that scene at the end where Gregory Peck is just looking at her—and everything is in his face—OMG), Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Noir stuff, all the Thin Man films, Mrs. Miniver—those are just a few. Musicals, like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. Random other stuff: Blue Velvet, After Hours, This is Spinal Tap, The Godfather movies, The Parent Trap (the original), In the Name of the Father. In other words, my tastes are all over the map. But they trend toward the retro and whimsical.

6. I know that before becoming a full-time author you were working in downtown San Francisco but, I'm curious to know, doing what? Where exactly was the turning point when you said, 'I don't have to do this anymore. I'm quitting and writing 24/7.'


Oh, I worked at a large San Francisco corporation for a while (hint: they make jeans), and that experience was both wonderful and awful in many ways, but certainly enough to drive me into the nonprofit sector—I wanted to do work I found more meaningful. But there really was a pivotal moment where I said “Enough!” As context, there was a patch of about two years, I think —right after we sold DUKE to Warner—where it felt like I had three or four full time jobs, with finishing up one book, writing the next, building a website, promoting the book, learning the ropes, going to my day job every day, answering emails and just juggling all the other chores of daily life as well the triumphs and tragedies of my loved ones. I worked about 16 hours a day, on average, day job and writing included, in bed after midnight almost every single day, just to get things done.

Finally, a point came where either my job or my writing career was going to suffer as a result (and my loved ones certainly weren’t happy about my schedule, either). I was just completely fried. I had some money saved, a little confidence banked (my first book, THE RUNAWAY DUKE went into a second printing a month after it was published), and when I realized it really came down to a choice between my career as an author or my day job…well, there really was no contest. I took the leap of faith and quit before I was certain of anything (like a second contract! LOL), which was a little scary. But so far it’s working out quite nicely—the second contract transpired—which is how I know I did the right thing. Life is about 100% better now.

7. You've published two novels, both receiving rave reviews. THE RUNAWAY DUKE and TO LOVE A THIEF have already gone into a second printings. Starting out like this has got to be every new author's dream! What has it been like? Do you feel there are expectations you have to meet that weren't there before? Or does it boost your confidence knowing what you are doing is working?


Funny, but I just gave a little talk at a San Francisco RWA meeting (as part of a panel) about Second-Book Angst. LOL. The response to THE RUNAWAY DUKE was truly heady and wonderful. But as I mentioned previously, in the wake of DUKE, my life—the people in it, the tasks requiring my attention—had all but quadrupled, so time to truly immerse myself in the writing of THIEF was really an, ahem, challenge. And as I worked on THIEF (in mostly 45 bursts to and from work on the train), I was very conscious of desperately not wanting to disappoint the people who’d believed in me— my editor and publisher and agent, for example—and all those readers who loved DUKE and who helped make it a success. I really did put myself through a lot of angst.

But all in all, it was a valuable process, because I ended up earning my own trust—trust in my own work ethic, for example, in that it would take something extraordinary or cataclysmic to prevent me from pursuing my dream of being an author for a living. And when the reviews for THIEF began rolling in, I finally realized and began to appreciate that readers enjoy what emerges from me or more or less naturally—e.g., my way of telling a story, my interpretation of the world—which gave me a greater sense of peace and more confidence going forward. The angst never really fully goes away—but I can feel it taking on a different form now. It’s less about self-doubt or uncertainty, and more about striving for excellence—trying to write fabulous, interesting stories readers enjoy—and a desire to grow and evolve as a writer. Oh, and to make the NYT list.

8. On your spotlight page here at RR@H you mentioned that you are presently working on novel #3. Can you tell us about it?


Ah, BEAUTY AND THE SPY, or BATS (the acronym), as I like to call it! It’s the first book in a trilogy about three sisters who were separated when they were very young because their mother, the mistress of a famous politician, is framed for their father’s murder and forced to flee immediately, leaving them behind. The sisters find each other, as well as true love, of course, in the series. The first book tells the story of Kit Whitelaw, a spy with a mischievous streak and a weakness for women, who sets out against orders to solve the mystery behind a murdered comrade’s death in order to save the life of his beautiful daughter, Susannah Makepeace. Susannah is the youngest of the sisters. As the weeks go by, I’ll share a few more details about BATS on my website and in my newsletter.

9. I enjoyed reading your answers to the questions about Julie at your website. I was surprised that your age is 5'8"! I wouldn't have put you a day over 5'6". *G* Seriously, are you that tall? And, I guess I should save my breath rather than ask how old you are....? (but if we figure, ahem, that the photo of your seventh grade party showed you doing the hustle to a tune by KC and the Sunshine band.... *counting fingers*....lol)


I’m pretty sure I’m 5’8 ­ I might be 5 7 and ¾.. That remaining quarter inch is probably hair. My hair is large and unruly, practically sentient, when left to its own devices. My sister is definitely taller, and she’s younger, but she pretty much always could take me in any sort of wrestling match. Let me check with her—she might have current height stats. LOL.

10. I know you were a big fan of U2 and, I'll bet, still are. What other music do you like to listen to?


Oh yeah ­ I’ve loved U2 since Boy, and I Will Follow. And I still love music. I listen to tons of different things. I’ve recently become deeply enamored of BBC 6, which I listen to online —it’s made me excited about music again. I hear lots of new stuff that I really like, and every now and then they throw in a Led Zeppelin or Monkeys song or the Who or Velvet Underground or George Clinton, all with a complete absence of irony ­ it’s just a sort of acknowledgement of the roots of “alternative,” I guess. No commercials, funny, intelligent-sounding DJ’s, they don’t repeat songs ad nauseam, and they do these really cool documentaries, too. I listen to classical music frequently while I’m writing—my favorites are Debussy, Chopin and Rachmaninoff, though I like a lot of composers, too. In my CD changer right now I have Nina Simone, The Best of Neil Diamond (love his early pop stuff! LOL. Solitary Man ­ what a great song!), The Stone Roses, Debussy and Guided by Voices. LOL. I don’t love everything. But I am opening to listening to most stuff.