Happy 2015! & Happy 2016!

Bon voyage to 2015. Welcome 2016! This is our year! All of our year!

2015 was a fun year for the Jules. A lot happened and I'm happy to share a bit of my year.

• Became an adult, officially. Ditched my twin bed for a queen-sized bed fit for a King.
• Attended Comic Con for the first time & saw Matt Smith there (Doctor Who). Smitten.
• Celebrated my 33rd birthday.
• Saw U2 in concert for the 5th time. I love those boys.
• Did a bit of hiking in the Utah mountains at the beginning of the summer.
• Colored my hair very blonde. Loved it!
• Traveled Down Under to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. On a broken foot, to boot. No pun intended, as I was wearing a boot cast. Nothing holds me back. Although, it probably should have. Loved loved loved the trip!
• Broken foot is healing, hopefully will be 100% better one of these days.
• Read 47 books. The goal was 50, but I came in pretty darn close.
• Trying my hand at painting. I'm somewhat good. Read "somewhat" very loosely.
• Toyed around with some writing ideas.
• Spent good times with family and friends.

How about you?

 

2016 is going to be a year of joy! I'm certain of it. Not sure if I will be adventuring unless if someone wants to pay for me to go to Africa with them... Maybe Morocco? Any takers? :)

 

I plan to get back to my writing roots, hone in my painting skills, and reading 50 books. I would definitely like to start dating someone whom I will eventually marry. If you know any LDS great guys, let me know. :)

 

Well, happy to be blogging again. Not sure if I will consistently blog, but Id' like to say hello and hope you have a delightful new year!

 

Hugs all the way from Bag End...

Writing Jewels

Smiling all the Way From A to Z -- T

Many things make me smile but the today's letter super-duper-with-sugar-and-the-kitchen-sink-on-top makes me smile. And big time. It is...

 

TRAVELING

 

I love being immersed in new cultures and seeing different places, especially if it requires taking a plane. Turbulence is a must at least a couple times while I'm in the air. Oh, just thinking about dropping in altitude makes me giggle. Yet, oddly enough, I don't like roller coasters so much. Go figure.

 

I've been all over the world and still have many a place to go! Before I kick the can (ugh, morbid, sorry), I plan on visiting every continent, even Antarctica. Yup, I'll play a game of tag with some penguins (I'll win, obviously) and most certainly wear bundles and bundles of warm clothing. Brrrr

 

Here's a list of places I've traveled to so far: Canada, U.S. (30 states), England (lived there), Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, China, and Taiwan (lived there).

 

My favorite place I have been to is the Cinque Terre in Italy. Sigh!

 

Do you like traveling? Where have you been to? Where's your favorite place to vacation? Starting with the letter T, what makes you smile?

 

Writing Jewels

PS: Sorry I didn't check out many blogs yesterday, especially those people that commented on my "Sleeping In" post. My laptops power charger kicked the can (this is twice in all of a month). I had to purchase a new one. The person that let me borrow hers couldn't get it to me until later on last night; therefore, blogging wasn't able to happen. Plus, I was feeling a bit sick yesterday. So, long story short, sorry dearest followers. I hope I can do better today. :)

 

PPS: Refer to the blurb on the very top of my blogs sidebar to know why I am posting about what makes me smile. Go forward and smile!

 

 

A Little Bit of This & a Little Bit of That

I’ve felt really quiet this week so far. And it’s only Tuesday. That’s way bad. I decided that I had to get back into the swing of things, so I started tweeting. Tweeting always perks me up. What do you know, it worked. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to share with you on today’s post. Last night while I watched Chuck, I stared at my laptop screen with lack of any idea. Needing to be consistent on my blog, I decided to just blab and see if you love my blabbing. Oh, I blab in every post. Oh, well!

So, my rewrite is nearing its end. I’m enjoying crafting my two main characters into teenagers. It feels better. It feels right. It feels like they should have been younger the whole time. I hope to have the rewrite completed by the end of the week. Wish me luck as I wish all you writers luck with the enjoyable madness of writing.



I have the travel bug really bad right now. Actually, it’s a constant battle. If anyone wants to sponsor me to travel to some extravagant and beautiful beach-like place (preferably international), I would love you forever and maybe even kiss you (only if you are a man and single). I’m kidding, but if you’re rich then why not spend your money on me. Haha The pic to the right is a photo I took of the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. Beautiful!

Well, there is my blabbing for this lovely Tuesday!

Last and most important note: Don’t forget to check out my post and contest this Thursday. It will all be about Jennifer L. Armentrout’s prequel novel, Daimon, to her upcoming release, Half-Blood.

Traveling - Oh the Joy!

Just a little tidbit about Julia King: I LOVE to travel. As you very well know, “Felicite Comes” came into existence because of a little, well BIG, trip that I took to Paris. It was the catalyst that made my brain’s inspiration muscles start running. Anyway, a huge part of my life has been traveling. It all started on a dark and rainy night… Just kidding! No seriously, as a small child, my dad and mom would take us on road trips throughout the western states. We would also venture in nature to hike. These trips or hikes helped me to see the value in exploring the world. I also have this silly idea that places in the world do not exist until I see them. 
You know what? Seeing the world in all its glory is priceless!
I think of the various oceans I have seen, the sweet smell of incense burning as I walked through Buddhist temples, the sounds of the big cities that have rushed in my ears, the taste of the food as I savor it, and the feel of the wind embrace my face. All of these feelings will forever be etched in my mind because I partook of the various beauties that the earth has to offer.
Traveling is rewarding on so many different levels. One of the rewards is to be able to gloat about your trips. This is ever so humble of me!  I can say that I have trekked the Great Wall of China and peered at the tremendous amount of water cascading over Niagara Falls. I have seen Jennifer Lopez in Rome, Italy (yes, it is true). I can say that I have eaten pig kidney in Taiwan. I can say that I have hiked the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera? I can even say that I have done some of my international traveling ALONE! I can hear the “ewws” and “ahhs” in my head. All bow down to my glory! Just kidding!
But no really and seriously, traveling is one of the ways in which we can open our minds to other people, other cultures, and other ways of life. A lot less troubles would occur if people had the opportunity to experience different ways of life and seeing the new culture through the eyes of the natives.
Traveling is also liberating. You learn a lot about yourself in the process. I have learned through traveling that I can do something bigger than myself. I can get myself from point A to point B and back again in an unfamiliar place. I can be precautious. I can use different currency. I can survive in a country where I do not speak the language. Through traveling, I learned that I can do anything that I put my mind to!
What are your favorite traveling moments? I would love to hear about them. Just perhaps, I will want to go there because you have inspired me by your stories!

My Novel

For those that do not know, I am in the process of writing a novel. I sort of wish that I had been blogging about it during the process of writing but just thought that I would start one now.

Here's how it began, I had a dream in December (yes, really I had a dream that inspired me). The dream just kept on bitting at me all day long while I was at work. For those that know me really well, I have dramatic, vivid and sometimes crazy, terrifying dreams. This one was not necessarily in that catagory but close enough. Over the period of a couple weeks, the dream still was just as vivid in my mind as it was the night I had it.

I decided that it was time to develop it into a plot line. I had tried to write before but to no avail however one very sleepless night I formed the beginning stages of the book in my head. I began to write in early January 2010.

Now, four months later, I am at 198 pages and some wrists that get very sore after writing for a while.

All I can tell you about the book, is it is set in Paris. My trip to Paris last summer paid off even more than just being able to see Lance Armstrong riding in Le Tour de France. I look forward to finishing the rough draft by the end of May 2010 and progressing forward through the editing process. That is the part that scares me but I will be fine.

I am completely dedicated to making this work a published piece of literary genius. Well, it sure won't be Tokien but close. :)

Check back for more information about the book and book signings to come. I will be doing that though. I am positive.