Amanda Jean Kelly

I’ve been counting down for a while now, both on my MSN Messenger and Gmail statuses. Today I hit the number 14. So, it’s like, for realz, now. Two weeks left until matrimony! Crazy…

We’ve definitely gotten a lot done, but there’s still so much to do. My to-do list from the Knot is a relentless and unforgiving task master. You see, if you were supposed to do something, and you haven’t, an exclamation pops up to show you the list’s indignation over the impudence of not completing that task in a timely fashion. My current insults to the list are as below…

I was looking at my fiance’s blog this fine Saturday morning in LA. In reading how diligently he has been updating it, and with such well-written and interesting material, I felt shamed at how little I have updated the beautiful website he made for me. Thus, today, an update from me.

The last few days in the City of Angels have been really beautiful, the way I wish summers always could be. Before that, it had been incredibly, throat-cloggingly, ass-to-leather-upholstery-glueingly hot. Especially up in northern Los Angeles County, where I work. Freaking high desert. So now that it’s at least ten degrees cooler, it feels positively balmy out there…

I’ve never posted about the wedding planning before, and why not? Probably because I live and breathe it, and don’t also want to write about it. I can’t wait to be married, but planning the ceremony by which we get there? Well that’s no piece of… wedding cake.

So our trip was really wonderful, a total break from our workaday lives. We tasted wine, we walked along the moonlit beach… We even went to a museum, which we’ve never done before as a couple, and that was very nice. Something about touching things (you’re not supposed to touch) that are older than Jesus with the one you love. It’s quite a bonding experience.

The weather was perfect and the drive up was fairly brief. I left my camera’s battery charger at work in Santa Clarita, so we trekked up the 5 to pick it up and then took the 126 west to where it meets the 101 and got there about noon…

Usually, when a three-day weekend comes around, I’ll request one day off to go ahead and make it a four-day weekend. Might as well get the most time off for as little vacation days as possible, right? Well, this year I kind of forgot about Memorial Day until the last minute. Suddenly, I realized that if I took Tuesday off, Paul and I could actually have two days off together… That we might even be able to go out of town.

So I decided that that was just what we would do. By this time Monday, we’ll be sitting on the beach in Santa Barbara, getting ready to watch the sunset. And I couldn’t be more excited about it…

Today I’m giving a taste of the newest book from Julie Anne Long, the second in her Three Sisters trilogy (Beauty and the Spy was first!). It’s called Ways to Be Wicked, and it’s available from Warner starting October wherever books are sold.

Sylvie Lamoureux is the darling of the Paris ballet, renowned for her beauty and passionate dedication to her art. But when a mysterious letter sends her across the English Channel, she finds herself literally landing in the lap of one of London’s most notorious men.

With a face that has charmed many a London lady, theater impresario Tom Shaughnessy is used to women falling into his arms. But from the moment this feisty young Frenchwoman leaps into his carriage, he senses he’s met his rival in wit, daring…and sensuality.

When fate pulls Sylvie into the bawdy world of Tom’s theater, a desire neither of them fully expects threatens to upend their well-laid plans. But the past Sylvie never knew she had will force her to make a decision. She can either let it bring down the curtain on their fiery pas de deux…or trust this wicked man with her heart.

To read the scene that precedes this one and learn a little more about Tom and Sylvie, visit the WAYS TO BE WICKED page at Julie’s website. Otherwise, read on!

The dig may be ending, but the romantic adventure is just beginning… So celebrate the release of In Ruins by entering my contest!

The winner will receive one of my official tote bags filled with goodies that’ll let you experience your own excavation adventure, including the DVD Mystery of the Maya, a gorgeous, authentic jade bracelet, and of course, a copy of In Ruins! I’m even throwing in a paperback edition of my favorite archaeological romance, Nora Roberts’ Birthright.

As I’m close to celebrating my fourth published book, I thought it was about time I got serious about the place where I write. Previously, I didn’t much like my workspace and for this reason, I would work everywhere but there. At the kitchen table, at the outdoor cafe (bad visibility for laptop screens), on the couch, etc. It turns out, I just can’t work very well when my desk is in my bedroom. I see a hamper of laundry, an unmade bed, the pile of bills in the “to-be-paid” pile. Lots of stuff to do, and none of it inspiring.

So, I made a mental list of what I wanted my new habitat to look like, what I thought it should contain. I need lots of ambiant light, so that was first. Candles, a new wall lamp, a string of ex-Christmas lights that we already had up. I also needed to get organized, which meant a filing cabinet with hanging and manila folders…

Wow, it’s been a crazy few weeks. Now that I finally have a moment to catch my breath, I can get back to blogging about my authorial adventures.

A week ago, I returned from my Phaze NYC booksigning/reading. My sister and I traipsed around the city for five days, not so much to hit the touristy spots, but with a wish for a more authentic Manhattan experience. We did manage to hit the top of the Empire State Building (or, as my sister reminds me, the 86th floor, and thank God for that, I don’t think my heart could have taken one floor higher), despite rainy conditions, as well as numerous other favorites, including…

As a bride-to-be, I decided to set the first scene of DEAD MAN’S CAY in a bridal shop. The ideas just started flowing and I actually got seven pages done at lunch today. Ta da! Take that, Book in a Week.

OK, so I’d have to move a bit faster to actually finish a “book” in one week, but anything that will get me closer to the finish line of my first single title is helpful. My heroine Sonya is slowly revealing herself and I’m trying to make sure the beginning of her journey from mild-mannered and unloved heiress to wild adventuress isn’t too mild. I want to ensure that she starts the story with less confidence than she ends with, but I also don’t want her to be completely steam-rolled by her rotten fiance Nikolas…