Julie Cannon is a native sun goddess born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. After a five year stint in "snow up to my #$&" and temperatures that hovered in the 30's, she returned to the Valley of the Sun vowing never to leave again. Julie's day job is in Corporate America and her nights are spent bringing to life the stories that bounce around in her head throughout the day. She can often be found making notes of story lines or character development while in the car on the way to work, going to the store, or sitting at a stop light. Julie and her partner of fifteen years, Laura, live in Phoenix with their 7 year old son and 6-year-old daughter, 2 dogs, and Spencer the cat.

Julie has selections in Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions and the upcoming Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games, and her next romance, Heart 2 Heart, will be released December 2007 from Bold Strokes Books.

Have you always wanted to write fiction?
I’ve always been a voracious reader but never had any interest in writing until about six years ago. I had a dull job that was not real challenging and one day out of nowhere an opening sentence came to mind and I started typing. Everyday I’d come home and read what I had written to my girlfriend and it just kind of blossomed from there. I wrote off and on for several years and one day polished something up and submitted it to Bold Strokes Books.

Which authors have had a significant influence on your own work?
I like reading about strong female characters like Dr. Kay Scarpetta in the Patricia Cornwell series, Detective Kate Delafield from Katherine Forrest and even the women in Danielle Steele’s works. Their characters are strong, determined, intelligent, independent women. In the last few years I’ve studied the style of the authors at Bold Strokes Books. Not only do I read them because they are great stories but the technical aspects of how they put a story together, develop a character, set the scene, etc. can’t be beat.

Tell us a bit about your first book, Come And Get Me.
It’s about two girls. Actually it’s about two women who are similar, yet very different. Both are strong and independent and very successful in their careers. Elliott is dashingly good looking and a playgirl who can have (and does) practically any woman she wants. Along with her good looks and charm, she is filthy rich and doesn’t care if the women are interested in her or her money. All she is interested in is sex.

Lauren Collier is a corporate attorney who is also used to winning and is intrigued by Elliott after they meet at a fundraiser. She makes it known early on that she is not interested in Elliott’s money or her status in the business community but in the woman herself.

Lauren is unlike any woman Elliott has ever met. She’s bright, charming, witty and challenges her. She uses her tried and true methods to seduce Lauren and one evening she discovers something about Lauren that is totally unacceptable.

However, like any good romance novel, Elliott can’t get Lauren out of her mind. She finds herself acting totally out of character when it comes to Lauren and even though her brain keeps telling her to stay away from Lauren, her body is telling her something entirely different. Elliott has never had to chase a woman before and certainly one with the baggage Lauren is carrying. Lauren tries several times to reason with Elliott and it’s during one conversation when Lauren thinks she is finally getting through to her. Elliott is haunted when Lauren utters the phrase “I’m not going to beg you for this Elliott. If you want me, you’ll have to come and get me.”

The book is due for release in April 2007 – has the anticipation been building?
Absolutely! It’s an up and down kind of anticipation. I signed with Bold Strokes in February of 2006 and I was so excited I could hardly sit still. Then life got back to normal while I waited for the editing process to begin and when it did, I got excited again. Then it went back down waiting for the next round of edits and back up again when they arrived. The hardest part is now that all the work is done there is nothing to do except check off the days until Come and Get Me is released. To top it all off I’ll be out of the country on business the week my copies arrive so I’ll have to wait even longer to hold it in my hands.

What are you working on right now?
Right now, this instant, my tan. But I’m sure you’re asking about writing. I’m just about finished with my third manuscript that will be published by Bold Strokes sometime in 2008. The setting is in Montana and the main characters are a jaded political strategist who does whatever it takes to get her candidate elected and a rancher starting to live again after the death of her long time lover.

Your second book, Heart 2 Heart, will be released in December of this year. Can you give us a sneak peek into that?
In Heart 2 Heart Detective Kyle Bain and restaurant owner Lane Conner meet up again after Lane has recovered from a serious illness. Kyle had always been interested in Lane but the two-carat ring on her left finger said otherwise and the sparks fly when Lane confirms that during her illness her lover left her.

They begin a courtship neither one of them sure of exactly what they are doing other than it feels right. Kyle is mourning the loss of her sister and struggling with the responsibility of raising her sister’s daughter while Lane is recovering from her lover’s abandonment when she was on her deathbed.

The three begin to form a family and it all comes crashing down when Lane casually mentions something that throws their world into turmoil. Sorry, I can’t tell you what the something is, you’ll have to read it yourself to find out. Kyle can’t bear the thought of Lane’s revelation and retreats back into her work and her sister’s daughter. But Kyle is an investigator for the La Jolla Police Department and her inquisitive nature can’t let it die. She uses her training to undercover the truth and as she waits for the last piece of information to arrive she starts to question if she really wants to know the truth especially if it destroys their love.

Did you find writing a novel-sized work easier the second time around?
Yes and no. It was easier because since Bold Strokes accepted Come and Get Me (C&GM) I had more confidence in what I was doing. It was also harder because I didn’t want to be a one-hit-wonder. I wanted to produce a work as good or better than the first one.

My third book however has been more difficult. I have learned so much during the edit process for C&GM that I am applying (or at least trying to) what I’ve learned at the same time I’m telling the story. I find myself getting too caught up in the technicalities that my storytelling has suffered. In other words I keep asking if I said she too many times in the paragraph or have I used a specific phrase too many times. I finally stopped trying to combine the two and after I got the story down, have gone back and used what I have learned and fixed it.

Do you outline when you write or do you use a more intuitive approach?
I typically just sit down and write. I have a general idea where the story is going and I may make a few notes here and there so I don’t forget something. Occasionally I’ll write a scene that pops into my head and then figure out where it fits into the story later.

Has there ever been a time when you’ve censored yourself from writing about something?
No, I haven’t and I don’t think I would either. Authors write stories that are both fact and fiction. We don’t live in a perfect world nor do our stories. We need to accurately represent the time and place and circumstances of the setting of the novel for it to be believable. That being said, if I were writing a story that involved a character that had been beaten and starved as a child I think I could get my point across without detailing every blow in the back story.

What has been the greatest challenge for you so far in terms of your writing?
Time. I have a sixty hour a week job that I love, two kids in kindergarten learning how to read and ride a two-wheeler, two dogs, a cat, a house and let’s not forget about my girlfriend of 15 years. So a typical weekday is up at six, get ready for work, get the kids up and ready for school, work all day, come home, have dinner, play with the kids until bath and bed. After the kids go to bed I pull out my laptop to finish any work that must get done before the next day and then I may write a few scenes or chapters if I’m not too tired. But I don’t think my life is that much different from anyone else that juggles doing what they love with a job and family.

If you were a book, what would it be?
The Joy of Lesbian Sex.

Read any good books lately?
Needless to say I don’t have much free time to just sit down and read. However, I just finished reading Flight Risk by fellow Bold Strokes author Kim Baldwin. I could not put it down. It’s the first book in a long time I’ve read practically sitting on the edge of my seat. I’m in the middle of Running With the Wind by Nell Stark. RWtW is Nell’s first work and I know she is as thrilled now as I will be soon. Nell is an excellent writer and by the time I’m finished with RWtW I’ll be able to sail a tech dinghy, 470 and a Laser.

Tell us something about Julie Cannon no-one else knows…
I wish I were a professional mountain bike racer.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? How do you deal with it?
Not yet – ooh, maybe I’d better re-phrase that – no.

How has the Internet in general helped you in terms of connecting with your readers and other authors?
The internet has bridged the huge chasm that existed, and to a great extent still does, between what women want to read and what they have access to read. Before the web, I prowled mainstream bookstores, used bookstores and public libraries in search of lesbian fiction. I went almost every week hoping that another book would miraculously turn up on the shelf. Now, if you Google Lesbian Fiction you get over 4.2 million hits in 0.26 seconds. Sure the heck beats driving around town in the middle of a Phoenix summer.

The two-way dialogue that is now possible between authors and readers is fabulous. I look at some of the fan fiction and fan websites and these women have found a home where they might never have for their shared interests and passions. I’m sure all authors enjoy hearing from their readers as a way to connect.

At Bold Strokes Books we have an author’s group where we can talk to each other about anything at anytime. Some of us have never met but yet we know and support each other all the time. We ask for help with a particular scene, advice when we’re stuck and celebrate birthdays. It’s a great way for us to share what we know and help each other through the hurdles of publishing.

What are some of your pet peeves in life?
The lady behind the counter where I have just spent hundreds of dollars on merchandise that pays her salary doesn’t even look me in the eye and certainly doesn’t say thank you. The last person who doesn’t change the toilet paper or make a fresh pot of coffee. Barking dogs in the middle of the night. People who call my children adopted. I don’t ask, “Is this your ‘came from your womb daughter’?” Dirty dishes in the sink – on the counter is OK but not in the sink. People who have their Bluetooth in their ear at the grocery store.

What are some of the most important things you've learned about the writer's life in the lead up to having your first book published?
Trust your editor – what you may think is your best work will probably end up in the delete file. Writing the story is only the beginning. It takes a LONG time from conception to publish. Patience, patience, patience. Hurry, hurry, hurry, (also known as I need these 35 pages re-worked by the day after tomorrow). I am honoured to be a Bold Strokes author. It’s impossible to write erotica with your work colleague in the seat next to you on the 18-hour flight to Singapore. Take the time to do it right, your readers depend on it. Writing is a very solitary experience. It’s almost impossible to make your fingers go as fast as your brain. How did they ever do this before computers and email? Thank God for spell check.

A happy writer is…
Writing.