To give a little background on me, I was raised in Salt Lake City and attended Brighton High School where I met the love of my life. After a few detours at BYU and "dear-Johning" him while he was on his mission to Sweden, he came home and we got married. We moved to a little town in west central Utah, and opened up the only grocery store. Don't ask why we did that; we still have no idea. If this is something you're considering, please write me and I'll talk you out of it. Not out of moving to the country, but out of opening a business in rural America. There are times when I ponder the sanity in such a move, but walking out on my porch at night and seeing the Milky Way satisfies my claim to mental stability.

We have three little people running around the house. They came in the following order: Rae, Allen, and Lucas. Whenever we consider adding to the brood we remind ourselves that we are already outnumbered and rethink the wisdom of increasing their favor. They are the highlight of our lives and keep us laughing every day. Well . . . scolding and laughing ;)

Some of my favorite things to do are: read, write, eat, dance, hike, and play on the beach. I love to go four wheeling with my kids and snuggle with my husband to watch videos.  I love Italian food, but my all out favorite kind of food is Indian. The Bombay House in Provo is my favorite restaurant. I have a fascination for the Indian culture. I love the way they dress and speak, and their food is the finest accomplishment of mankind. I harbor the dream of going on tour through the far east when my kids grow up enough to handle such an extreme vacation. (Or should I say when they are old enough for me to handle taking them on such an extreme vacation?) In truth I would love to travel anywhere and am of the mindset that if I don't leave my time zone at least once every six months, I'll go crazy and take everyone I know with me. For the sake of marriage preservation, my husband indulges me in this need. Another place I would love to visit is Sweden. I speak somewhat fluent Swedish (which I learned in college to get out of taking math) I am an avid fan of Mickey Mouse and go to Disneyland at least once a year. I've been told you can always trust someone who is willing to wear a Mickey Mouse watch. I don't know the validity of such a claim, but take comfort in it regardless.

My favorite novel of all time is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen with the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan running a close second. I totally love the book Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. Douglas Adams rocks my world and I love that JK Rowling lets Ron stare stupidly all the time.  I am so tired of hearing the literary snobs snub Harry Potter for the adverbs.  If it works for her then leave her alone about it! My favorite movie of all time is Meet Joe Black (no, I don't have a crush on Brad Pitt) with The Phantom of the Opera running a close second ( I like the book by Gaston Leroux as well.) Favorite song of all time . . . too tough to answer since I am pretty eclectic with my tastes in music. I love music in all its variety.  If I had to pick one, it would probably be the Diva Song from the movie The Fifth Element.  

I currently work full time as an investigator for eBay which has its moments of being entertaining. It's a pretty cool job and helps support my shopping/surfing habits. I buy all my Christmas and birthday gifts on eBay and heartily endorse it.  However, if you email me from here with eBay questions, I will stomp my feet and gnash my teeth and refer you to the webform.

I started writing when I was in seventh grade at Butler Middle School under the encouragement of Mrs Brown, a teacher who told me I had talent. It was the first time in my life anyone told me I was good at anything. I kept writing and got serious about it in tenth grade when another teacher told me I would never be a writer. What did he know? He was a bearded red head who was short enough to look suspiciously like a leprechaun when he wore green, which he wore often enough to make for some good rumors. I ignored him and started my first book when I was fifteen years old. It began as a seven page short story that morphed into a novel-length life of its own, going on to win the best fiction award of my publishing house for the year 2001.The dream of writing a New York Times best seller is not as simple as once imagined, but I won't give up hope on that dream until I'm dead.  And I'm not dead yet! 

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( http://www.mormon.org/ ) and that faith is the corner stone of which all other aspects of my life have been built upon (especially writing). I am a member of LDStorymakers and have learned more about writing from that association than from any other source.

Goals I have set for myself are to raise my children to be happy, responsible adults that remember to call their mother even after they move away, treat my husband well enough that he loves me just as much as I love him (which is a love to put all others to shame in the glare of its brilliance), to keep writing until they pry the pen from my cold dead fingers, and regret nothing when I come to the end of my life.

What am I working on now?  

In the national market, I have completed the first of a fantasy series for young adults titled The Thirteenth Month, which is before an aquisitions board right now and I am praying for the best. I am developing an adult fantasy trilogy called The Triad with its first book called The Sand Prophets. I have two science fiction novels, The Inheritance and Hap Hazzard and the Hazzerdous Universe. I even have one very light romance read called The Day My Subconcience Betrayed Me. I am researching for an LDS war trilogy titled Nineteen. I have an LDS young adult novel working titled Seeking Zion. This should be out in 2008.

(You can see I've been keeping busy!) I have included links to sample chapters of most of these here to let you know what there is to look forward to!

If you need anything or have comments or questions, feel free to write and leave your thoughts. I am excited to hear them. Be happy, recycle your cans, and be nice to people. Love, Julie