Category: Events - Julie Morgan Books

Con Season Over for 2018... BRING ON 2019 AND THE HOLIDAYS!

11/10/2018

2019 Con Schedule

Now that 2018 is behind me for cons, let's see where 2019 will take me! Will I see you? Let's find out! Click on the links below to be directed to their respective Facebook pages.

Space Coast Book Lovers in Cocoa Beach, FL June 27th - 30th
Indie Bookfest in Orlando August 1st - 4th
Penned Con in St Louis, MO September 12th - 14th
Shameless Book Con in Orlando October 19th

I'm pretty excited about this amazing line up! All four events I've attended at least once and all four are AMAZING! Whether you've been to events or maybe this is new territory for you, I guarantee you'll find a new to you author you'll fall in LOVE with! From stories to book boyfriends, there's a little something for everybody!

Thanksgiving... and TACOS!

Now that con season is over for majority of us authors, BRING ON THE HOLIDAYS! How are you celebrating this year? For the Morgan household, my mom is coming to visit and we're making... TACOS! Yes! Since it's only me, her and my daughter (with hubby on deployment) we thought, why not go different? So tacos it is! TACO DAY!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Visiting family? Cooking the dinner for the first time? If you're alone this season, and you're in my neck of the woods, you have a seat at my table. Always. <3

Travels and New Books

11/15/2016

I love books! All sorts of books! Paranormal, steampunk, contemporary... you name it, most likely I love it!
Now we all strive to have a library like Belle, but in real life, our library is on our ereaders. I don't know about you, but if my ereader were books on a shelf...well Belle may come take over my home. HAHA!

Anywho, my events and travels for 2016 have come to an end. My visit to Venice and Paris have created a new story I'm co-writing with the amazing Cait Reynolds. Look for it soon in a box set with Rebecca Hamilton and others, titled, Blood Fortune.

Last weekend I attended Beach Babe Book Blast in Tampa. A few weeks before that, Shameless Book Con. I came away with new friends and fascinating stories! How fascinating you ask? Well, let me tell you!
I picked up books and swag to giveaway to readers! Oh yes! I love my readers! So if you want in, comment on this post!

As for the new books, 2017 will be pumped FULL of new stories coming from me! I have two stories coming immediately at the first of the year.

Playing Her Body - another story in the Southern Roots series! Jordan, keyboard player of Deep Ember, will finally have his story told! This story will go into a box set and soon, will be a stand alone in the series.
The Power Here - another story to follow Symphony of Night. Kai comes back and has his story told with two new characters, Angelica and Felix. This trio may change the way you look at relationships. It's HOT! You'll find this in a box set called Haunted by Magic.

Soon after these two are out, I'll be releasing a few more!

Blood Fortune will release in a box set that will include other amazing authors! Seriously y'all, I cannot express the excitement I have over this story AND the box set!
Deadly Alchemy will have the third story to the series finally told! If you read Fatal Intentions, you saw what happened to Adam and Sophie. It was tragic, but their story will now be told! I'm hoping to have this out sometime in May.
The final two stories in the Special Ops series will release; Ranger and Seal. My boys have been sitting by, patiently waiting for me. Regardless of being alpha-males, they're good on waiting. <3

I believe this will take me through the 2017 year and keep me pretty busy.
Speaking of busy, check out the events I'll be at next year. I now have five on my plate! I hope to see you at one or more of them! Click here to check it out!

That's all from me for now. Keep reading and please remember to leave reviews. They help us out tremendously!

Parties, Books, and Events

8/20/2016

Who doesn't love the smell of a new book? The glue on the spine. The fresh pages. The euphoric aroma of getting lost in a story?
Let's not even get started with older books!
My point here is, online parties. I'm doing them, as well as in person! 2017 my calendar is beginning to fill up! I hope to see you at one of these fantastic events! Click here to check it out!
I'm going to begin to phase out some of my older books and bring more stock of my newer stuff. I'll let you know for sure when that begins to happen.
As far as parties, how often do you attend online parties? Do you participate? Do you get your winnings? If it's an ebook, do you read it and leave reviews? I love having the parties, but I've come to find, more often than not, people who win ebooks are not reading them. Why? It's a free ebook to you. All we ask if for you to leave a review. Consider letting the author know you'd like to send the book to a friend if there's no intention of reading. No offense will be taken; consider this, a new to us reader! Seriously, we'd love that. Sometimes life keeps us busy from reading (trust me, i get it). So read that book and leave a review. Referrals are a GREAT way to show appreciation!

NEW BOOKS ARE COMING! NEW BOOKS ARE COMING! NEW BOOKS ARE COMING!
Okay so yes, new books are INDEED coming soon! I'm working on The Power Here, the sequel to Symphony of Night (spin off of Chronicles of the Fallen series). I'm about 3k words in right now and knowing me, I'll go back and rewrite the first chapter three to four times before I'm happy with it. HA!
I'm also going to be working on book three in the Special Ops series, Ranger, and four, Seal, soon after The Power Here is completed.
Some have asked if Marianne and I will do a sequel to Dragon Master. We'd definitely love to, so let's get those ebook sales going! We would love to tell you more about Lanxston, Sebastian, Jamie's sister... oh yes, let's do this! Get Dragon Master today!

Events, events and MORE events! As 2016 is coming to an end for me, I have one more event left on the books, Beach Babe Book Blast! It's in Tampa and I hope to see you there! I had a great time with the group last year and am looking forward to a fantastic time again this year! Contact me about ticket information and I'll see you there!

Events, behavior and all around fun

6/5/2016

I'm arrived home from the Sassy in Jacksonville event. It was small, fun, and the readers attending were fantastic! Everyone seemed genuinely excited to be there. During the signing I was able to reconnect with local readers I knew, met knew to me readers, reconnected with a reader I met last year who came specifically to see me (and y'all I fangirled her HARD for this!) and reconnected with an old friend and his wife. After the event, 9 of us in tow went to have dinner at an Irish bar, allowed an Irish man in a kilt to hit on us (IT WAS FUN!) and had a fantastic time! Laughs and howls were eminent! On our way back, we relaxed, stretched then had a great game of cards against humanity. In all, FANTASTIC!!
Now on to a subject I wanted to touch base on: the do's and don'ts of cons. Some of this may seem redundant others may be reading this for the first time. I've posted about this topic before, but the circumstances were different.

Do's:

Be on your best behavior. This may appear to be a 'duh' point but seriously, behave yourself. Smile, talk to people, ask what they like to read. Make a connection and go from there. If they don't buy from you, it's not the end of the world. Give them swag to take home that has your contact information on it; whether that be your amazon page, web page, or your email. Give them something so they remember you later. Some may only do ebooks so again, make that connection.
Do be courteous to those around you. When readers are at the table next to you or across from you, smile to them and let them know you acknowledge them. Simple right? Once they visit your table and connection is made, tell them as they're walking away that "author so in so also writes such and such genre. You may like their work as well." Trust me, this goes a LONG way. Signings are great to sell your books but it's not all about you. Be courteous, trust me on this. Word gets around and before you know it, others will take note and follow your lead. I was surrounded by one person at this signing. Unfortunately others canceled due to one reason or another. Suzannah Daniels was across from me, Emily Cyr next to her. and Suzanne (SM) Donaldson two tables down. The four of us had a good time chatting with one another and when finished with readers, we sent them to one anothers tables. See how that works? Team work! Emily and I knew each other prior to the event, but Suzannah and Suzanne had only just met.
BE RESPECTFUL! I cannot say this enough. You'll be remembered by the con organizer and receive an invite back, assuming another event is put on.

OK... and now for the don'ts:

Don't misbehave, get drunk, act a fool. People, especially readers, will remember this and avoid you at all costs.
Don't call out to readers to come see you while they're waiting at an authors table to come see you. That is absolutely rude. Wait for them to visit with the author they wish to see, then call them over. Don't rush it and don't steal sales. Just no.
Above I said be respectful. DO NOT by ANY means walk the floor and begin talking smack about authors and the choices they made during the event. There's a time and a place for everything and the signing IS NOT IT! I witnessed this type of behavior this weekend and was appalled. Honestly, don't do that. You have something to say? Fine. Hold off until the event is over. Don't walk around, point fingers and pass judgement. I saw what was set up as well. Was it in bad taste? Sure. Did it affect me? Not in the least. Why does it have to affect you? Don't like it? Simply ask them to move it, or ignore it. Trust me on this, she would have. If you misbehave during the event, you'll get blacklisted by this organizer, the ones they're run with and most likely, others they associate with. You'd only have yourself to blame.

To close, behave yourself. if there's something you don't like, voice your opinion to that person in a tasteful manner. Don't be mean about it. Don't walk around talking smack. And for all sake here, don't talk smack to readers. Seriously, don't. Always remember, do something good, they'll remember you for it, connection is made, and they'll tell your friends you're awesome (or amazing, or fantastic). If you're nasty, cruel, mean, and talk smack? Yeah, they'll remember you for that too. You pick how you want to be remembered.

Sniper and Sassy in Jacksonville!

6/2/2016

Sniper Cover Reveal!

By now you may have already seen Sniper's cover reveal. How do you like Brody? I love this cover! Fellow author and cover artist extraordinaire, AD Roland, brought my visions of Sniper to life with this amazing, hot cover!

I'm so very excited about this story! Check out the synopsis:

Sniper Tom Brody enjoys his life in the Special Ops. He also enjoys his best friend, Antonella, maybe a little too much. Brody and Antonella have an agreement: friends to never cross that line.

Toni has hidden her feelings from Brody for as long as she can remember. Both want to cross the line, so much so, they act on it just before his next deployment.

When life appears to pick back up upon his return home, tragedy strikes. When an idle threat becomes a reality, Brody will encounter a fight he never thought he would have to face; search and rescue for the woman he loves.

Look for Sniper, coming August 2016!

Sassy in Jacksonville!

June 3rd I'm driving up to Jacksonville for the Sassy in Jacksonville event! If you're in the area, or surrounding areas, please come by and see us! I'll have all my books in print with me! We'll be at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront. Click on the link to get hotel directions! I hope to see you!!!

Special Ops series, Books, and Events

5/2/2016

Special Ops News and Information

Delta Force has been released a little over a month now. People have met Logan and enjoyed his story. Heartache followed by becoming a stubborn asshole to meeting the woman of his dreams who changes his life forever... Well let's say Delta Force invokes a lot of emotion!

OMG he's a beast! -- Amazon review
Holy Hannah! I figured I read a little before I go to sleep...well I could not put this book down and finished! -- Amazon review
[She] carried him when he didn't know he was being carried. -- Amazon review
This book is full of emotions, it makes you hopeful, cry, laugh, pissed and then happy. -- Author Lily-Ann Johnson, author of Blondie's Hero

What's next? Sniper is coming out mid-summer! If you've read Delta Force then you've met Tom Brody. Brody's story is told in the next installment and let me tell you... it's HOT!! Where Logan reclaims his life in Delta Force, Brody teaches his girlfriend, Tony, how to live life in the world of BDSM!

I've been planning out book three, Ranger, recently, and this story will take me into a very dark place. As thought on this story, plotting it out, and listening to the voice of Ponce (you'll meet him in Delta Force), I'm touched, moved, and scared to death to write this story. I chatted with a friend today about his story and before I could even tell her, I was on the verge of tears. Once I gained control of myself, she went a little nuts with me! It's dark story telling, more so than I have attempted before. So a part of me is excited to venture down this unknown road, while the other is fearful to considering knocking on that door. Once the door opens and I decide to walk through it, there's no going back. That is the exciting, and fearful part of it all!

You've also seen posts where I'm writing a book with Marianne Morea. Well we're closing in on being done! It may happen this week! Dragon Master is happening and our goal is to have it ready for Authors After Dark! We're both very excited about this story and cannot wait for you to meet King Tryst, Sebastian Lord Dragon, Jamie, Luke and Rowena!

Books, Books, and more... Returns?

There's been post among post recently of authors having books bought and returned. Maybe it's because the reader doesn't like it, maybe it was a duplicate purchase (although Amazon prevents this if you've already bought the book) or maybe the cost of the book is just too much.

Is 99 cents or the amount of $3.99 too much for someone's budget? Let's take a look at this and see...
Book for $3.99 is a one time purchase fee and the ebook you get to keep for the lifetime of your Amazon (or however you read through) account. (unless Amazon et al changes their dynamic, this is the way it is.)

Let's say, you buy book XYZ. You love this book. You leave a review for this book. You tell your friends about this book. So far so good, right? Okay, good.
Now let's say you bought toilet paper. You use the potty and clean yourself. Nothing is left over and nothing gets on your hand. You feel clean and refreshed. It flushes perfectly. Someone had a bad experience with product X but you said, "No! Try product Y! It was amazing on my butt!" So your friend takes your word on it and BOOM! Referral made.
One more example: you go to Starbucks and get your favorite latte. It's made perfectly and it is absolutely divine. You drink it. You thank and tip your barista. You tell your friends to go to your Starbucks because your latte, without a doubt, is the best around.

So out of the three examples above, is there any reason you'd return the products? Why return the ebook? Was it too much for your budget? Maybe you recently lost your job and down on money. I get it, but it's NO REASON to buy an authors book, read it, then return it. No one has the right to say, "put your books for free, because I left you an amazing review, and I'm entitled to such treatment." Bullshit. No, just no.
Maybe the toilet paper was so good, but it was $1.00 more than the average? Would you use the toilet paper then return it to the store? Of course not! How embarrassing would that be! "Excuse me, Joe Q. Public. I wiped my ass with this, but I think it should be free, so I'm returning it."
Oh, and let's not forget Starbucks. If the latte is so amazing, would you drink it, then demand your money back because it was too expensive? Would you pee and demand a refund because the latte is now out of your system and you think, "it should have been in my system at least another full day." Imagine taking a bottle of pee to the Starbucks counter... Eww... just as bad as returning poopy toilet paper. Disgusting, right?

SO WHY IS IT OKAY TO RETURN READ BOOKS? GO TO THE LIBRARY AND GET A FREE BOOK!!! Don't tell an author to make their books free! We spend a lot of our time away from home writing these stories, time away from our families, and put so much effort into them. Whether you enjoy them or not, do not steal by reading and returning. If you loved it, leave a review saying as much. If not, we'll take that one to two star over a return any day. Please, for all things holy, stop returning our books!!!

Events

My first event is behind me for 2016, the Novel Experience Event in Atlanta. If you missed it, you sure missed a great time! My next event will be in Jacksonville on June 4th! I hope to see you there! To check out my next in person appearance, go to my events tab (click here).
Sassy in Jacksonville (June 4th) is a one day mass signing. We'll be right on the beach so I hope to see you there! I'm setting up two outings; one Friday night and one Saturday after the signing. I hope to see you there so we can hang out! Go to my events page for more information!

Next will be Authors After Dark in Savannah August 3rd through the 7th. This will be the last and final AAD event so I REALLY hope to see you there! I'll be releasing Sniper, book two, just before the event! I'm also co-writing a book with Marianne Morea called Dragon Master! Both books we plan on having available at the event!
You know who else is planning a release during AAD? Sherrilyn Kenyon! She will be joining us the entire week! She'll be releasing a book in her series and wants to celebrate it with you!
Click on my events tab for more information!

Finally to end the year on a high note, I'll be back in Tampa for Beach Babe Book Blast November 12th! Join us for this one day mass signing! Last years event was outstanding and I'm expecting good things to come around again! Click on my events tab for more information!

That's all from me for now. It's a lot, and a lot needed to be said. Make it a fantastic day and leave that review for the books you've read, don't return them, get excited with me for Sniper and Dragon Master, and I'll see you at the next event!

TNEE wrap up and upcoming events

4/11/2016

Readers gonna read. Writers gonna write. LOL!
TNEE went off as a huge success!!! Delta Force sold out within the first hour! Readers who already had read the story talked non-stop about Logan! I LOVED hearing that!!! They were also asking about Brody's story. <3

During my author book talk, basically a panel of just me with the readers, someone asked me about writing about my experience having an autistic child. This was a question I was not prepared to answer. Needless to say, I broke down and cried while answering. I apologize for that, as it was not expected. I hope I did not hurt anyone with my answer. Move, yes, touch, definitely. But not hurt.

That aside, TNEE was great! The Villain's ball was AMAZING and the food? Out of this world!!! If you missed out on TNEE, there's another con you can get into and trust me, you WANT to be there! Huge announcement is coming soon! HUGE!!! I'll post about it, tweet, and share as soon as it has been released! I already know so for now, my lips are sealed!

Delta Force, Deadly Alchemy, and Fatal Intentions sold out! Southern Roots did pretty well and Clive was talked about often. I also realize it's time to start drawing back on Chronicles of the Fallen. Which is good because MORE people have it so YAY!!

Most authors did very well at TNEE. Horror authors were represented well. Even YA and NA! Oh, did I mention the Villain's ball? Seriously awesome! Check me out as Lady Loki and Milly Taiden as Madam Magneto!

If you haven't attended a Romance Ink event, you really need to consider doing so. They BROUGHT it! Aside from hotel issues, which is bound to happen, the staff made the event completely seamless! Now, onto the next event!

Check out my events page.
Next for me is Sassy in Jacksonville. This event will take place June 4th. Are you coming? I hope to see you there!!!
Saturday, June 4th, 2016 the event will be at Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Main event time is Saturday 12-4. Currently there is no after party scheduled so I'm setting something up private with readers, more details coming soon! Click here for more information.

After Sassy is Authors After Dark in August! This is another Romance Ink event so if you're not setup yet to attend, you NEED to be! Seriously! If you wait to see who is attending, it may be too late to get a ticket! So sign up today! Click here for more information!

Oh! Back on TNEE for a moment, readers have been watching Marianne Morea and I talk online about Dragon Master! They asked for a reading and let me tell you... the room was silent and gasps were heard! Readers were ASKING for this story to be ready for AAD! So yeah, we're working our tails off to make that happen!!!

That's it from me for now. See you on the next trip!!!

The Novel Experience Event and Southern Roots

3/16/2016

In a matter of weeks I'll be heading up to Atlanta as a featured author at The Novel Experience Event (TNEE). This will be my third time as a featured author and cannot WAIT to see everyone!
There's so much happening, so much going on... just you WAIT! If you're interested in attending, which I highly encourage you to do so! You can still get your room at the hotel Thursday - Saturday, or even Friday and Saturday, up to you! Interested? Get with me for more details. Book your room and I'll gift you a VIP ticket just for signing up! I would LOVE to have you there!!!

Did you know that the Southern Roots series is now on KU? That's right, you can now read it for FREE on KU!! What are you waiting for? Go grab the stories and meet Bobby Ray, Blaine, Clive, Matt, and Derek! Each have a unique story, and each end a HEA!

Fatal Intentions and Events for 2016

1/16/2016

It's almost time! Tuesday will be here in a matter of days! Who's ready for Fatal Intentions? Have you read Deadly Alchemy yet? If not, or if you're an audiobook lover, I'd love to gift the audiobook of Deadly Alchemy to someone! Comment on this post on my blog and I'll pick a winner!
Click on the Amazon link below to pick up your copy today!

Events for 2016, I just signed on for Sassy in Jacksonville! So if you're in the Jacksonville or surrounding areas, I'd love for you to come join us! It's Saturday, June 4th. Click on the image for further details!

The Retelling of Events, Behavior and Never Ending Thoughts...

11/3/2015

To start out this post on a bit of humor, this is me when I write...sometimes.

This blog post went up a few months ago and I think it's time to retell some of what was told then.
In the last few months, I've been to a few different events, with more setup for 2016. I'm going to post my own, honest opinion on things.

Whether you like a person or not, it should not persuade you from doing their events. If readers will be there and you could benefit from going by selling books, meeting/reconnecting with readers, then I suggest you go. Let go of not liking someone. Who cares. This is a business, treat it as such.
I have NO idea what it entails to set up an event, but from what I can see, it is very stressful. Ever hear the phrase "it's like herding cats"? It seems to apply to this to a T. As an author, if you decide to sign on to an event, you have an obligation now. You need to tell your readers and writing community where you'll be. You want them to come see you, right? You want to sell your books, right? I do not expect the event coordinator to do this for me. When I sign up for an event, that is ALL on me, 100%, to market and pimp myself. If my street team jumps in the action, HOORAH! I love my girls so yeah, every little bit helps. But if you sign on for an event and never once mention it on your social media pages, how are your readers actually going to know you're there? Consider that moving forward.
A few days before the event kicks off, stress, nerves, butterflies, etc...they effect everyone, not just the coordinator (but add 1000% of your stress levels together and you may get close to what they're feeling). Do your part and contribute to the success of the event. You've paid to be there, so work it.
The day the event opens, do your part and contribute (repeated, I know). Do the panels, talk to readers, put on a smile and 'be on'. No one is asking you to be fake, but remember, these are your readers. Without your readers, you would not be where you are. If you need a break, remove yourself for an hour or two and go to your room, go outside, go make that call...whatever it is. Sometimes it's just to go pee. I've been there, it's okay.
During the book signing, be respectful, please. Do not bad mouth other authors, bloggers, models, readers, etc. Authors and bloggers will talk, but what's worse? Readers talk as well. Word will get around. Others will find out what was said. It's the nature of the gossip beast. Want to prevent it? Don't start it.
Running along the lines of the bullet above, do not bash other events, especially the day their event is starting. You are not only hurting the event, you are hurting the authors in attendance. Do not back lash at the aggressor, either. Do not fight fire with fire. This is a professional industry. Remember, your readers will see everything as it plays out on social media. I've mentioned this before to someone. "There are three sides to every story. Your side, their side, and the truth." Not everything you see on Facebook, Twitter and TSU is real (I think we've all learned that). If you're not sure, go to the source. Keep it simple and keep the negativity OFF social media.
Remember, we are here to write and sell books. I don't know about you, but I enjoy interacting with my readers on a daily basis. Do not ignore the hand that feeds you. And do not, especially, call them out, talk bad about them, or tell them to leave you alone when all they want is a few minutes of your time to tell you how much your story affected them. Seriously, it's only a few minutes of your day. We all have something going on (trust me, I'm a special needs mom. There's LOTS going on in my life). Take a few minutes of your day to read your messages and respond.
Do not stalk people. We all read the story of the author who took it too far and went to the bloggers house because of a review they left on their book. This goes along with the three sides to every story comment since we were not there to witness it, but damn, do not stalk people. Do not be Kathy Bates from Misery.
If another author begins talking about another author or reader, do what you will, but honestly, ignore it. We are not in high school. Let's leave the pettiness at the door and write our stories. (recall above? The gossip beast?)
And finally, for the love of Pete, do not steal someone else's work! Blood, sweat, and tears go into everything we do as writers. Not everyone will like everything out there, and that is okay. It is a diverse universe and it is okay to be different. What is NOT okay is stealing someone's work, changing the sex/names/places and calling it your own. We've all read/heard about what happened. The writing world is a small, small place. You steal, give it time, you'll be found out.

Not everyone may be in agreement with my post, and that's okay. Please do not go out of your way to "ruin" another author or coordinator. Why would you want to do this? What is your goal in doing so?
Did the author write a story you don't agree with? Do not read it.
Did the author steal your story line? File a complaint with the library of congress. Get an entertainment attorney on speed dial.
Has a coordinator become a threat to the industry professionals? I highly doubt it. Even if so, be a professional and take it up with them. Work together.
Has a model, reader, blogger or author crossed the line in some fashion? Take it up with them rather than blasting them on social media.

This is not intended to blast anyone or anything, nor is there any name calling. If offense is taken (which is not my intent), then reach out to me. I am one of the kindest persons you'll EVER meet, but never, ever, mistake my kindness for weakness.

It takes years to build up trust in someone but it can take only a second to destroy it. The mouth is a powerful weapon, use it wisely. Use it in a book as a man who is seducing a woman. Use drama in your story to build your plot, not drive away authors and potential readers.