11/13/2011

This Get Lost in a Storyteller is ...Icebound


Author Julie Rowe is one of the nicest, most prolific authors I know.  She writes out of the box and readers have long anticipated Julie’s stories.  Today she’s here with the Get Lost crew to talk about one of those stories.  Please welcome, Julie Rowe.




In Antarctica the land and ocean aren’t the only things bound in ice. For Dr. Emilie Saunderson, it’s her past. She fears she won’t ever let go of the pain and grief caused by the death of her husband and child. For South Pole station manager Tom Wolinski it’s his future. He fears it’s his destiny to inflict pain and suffering on those he loves the most. Neither is prepared for the tragedy, or the miracle, with the power to free them both from being…Icebound.

DONNELL:  Big city or small town girl?

JULIE:   Small town to live in, big city close by for shopping! The small city where I live is a 4 ½ hour drive from the nearest big city. Needless to say, I don’t get to go marathon shopping very often.

DONNELL:  Let’s make this difficult… Warm or Cold Weather?
JULIE:  Cold, you can always put on more clothes or snuggle with a friend (I prefer the second option myself).

DONNELL:  Favorite room in your house and why?
JULIE:  Office/library – that’s where all the books are!

DONNELL:  Character driven or plot driven author?

JULIE:  Character driven. Darn characters nag and nag to have their story told. They’re worse than my kids.
DONNELL:  Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

 JULIE:  Sure I read reviews. It’s interesting to discover what readers take away from a story as it’s often surprising and usually something I never even thought of. That’s what’s so cool about books. The reader brings as much to the story as the author does.

DONNELL:  You’re in Antarctica in white out conditions.  Who do you want with you?
JULIE:  A cute Canadian Fish & Wildlife Officer, they know how to build an igloo in a hurry (see answer to Q. 2).

DONNELL:  What’s in your refrigerator right now?

JULIE:  A whole lot of leftovers, oh and cake. Gotta have cake in your fridge.
DONNELL:  What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you WISH more people COULD know?

JULIE:  I can’t drink alcohol, it gives me a horrible headache, so I’m like the cheapest date ever.
DONNELL:  Dog or cat person?

JULIE:  Both!

DONNELL:  What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
JULIE:  Wow, this is a difficult question to answer. There have been so many little dreams or goals realized, like validation. It’s incredibly uplifting and encouraging to discover you’re not the only person who thinks your writing is good. Seeing someone else enjoy your story is another. I want to entertain people, give them a reading experience that leaves them feeling hope and happiness. I met my book’s second reader at a conference. She told me she loved my book and thought my hero was so tortured, yet she loved him and was happy when he earned his happily-ever-after. I was overwhelmed to hear this and nearly burst into tears.

DONNELL:  What’s the most surprising thing you learned while writing/researching a book?
JULIE:  The incidence of appendicitis is much higher in Antarctica than elsewhere. No one knows why.

DONNELL:  What turns you off;  what turns you on?

JULIE:  Arrogance turns me off, intelligence turns me on (I married a computer geek = sexy!)
DONNELL:  If you could meet anyone in the world, past and present, who would it be and why?

JULIE:  Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, test pilot and the first man to break the sound barrier.  I’d like to ask him why, in 1944 after being shot down by a German fighter and escaping capture on the ground, did he appeal to General Eisenhower to be allowed to fly combat missions again. Why did Eisenhower let him fly more missions? What did Yeager say?

JULIE’S Question for Readers (Fans).  Icebound is set in Antarctica, arguably one of the last frontiers on earth. What’s the most unusual place you’ve traveled to? What drew you to this destination?

A double Golden Heart finalist in 2006, Julie Rowe has been writing medically inclined romances for over ten years. She's also a published freelancer with articles appearing in The Romance Writer's Report, Canadian Living, Today's Parent, Reader's Digest (Canada) and other magazines.

Julie is an active member of RWA and its subchapters, Heartbeat RWA, Calgary RWA, The Golden Network, Hearts Through History and RWA Online. She coordinates Book In A Week, and online workshops for Heartbeat and Calgary RWA.

And this just in… Carina Press has just bought a second medical romance, set in the Arctic. NORTH OF HEARTBREAK will release on April 16, 2012.  To learn more about Julie, visit her web site at http://www.julieroweauthor.com/

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away!
***Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

14 comments:

  1. I love to see a romance in Antarctica. Too many scary movies set there! :) Congratulations on your second sale.

    I haven't been too many unusual places. Caves qualify for me. They always seem like another world. Marvel cave in Silver Dollar city at Branson, MO is pretty amazing.

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  2. Good morning, Julie! Thanks for joining us on Get Lost in a Story! Readers, ICEBOUND is one fantastic read, so educational and thorough escapism and romance.

    I'm probably not the best to answer your question because (gasp) I haven't been out of the US yet. However, anytime this land lubber gets around the ocean, she's in awe. I've grown up in desert and mountains, that big blue sea is such a vast mystery to me.

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  3. Hi Julie!

    Loved the blurb for ICEBOUND because I love to escape into a great story!
    So far, my best, most unusual trip has been Africa. A photo-safari through several different wildlife preserves. After just a few weeks in the bush, I do not believe a person can leave Africa unchanged. So much beauty and so much suffering, and yet there is a life force there...

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  4. Hi Gilligan, I thought it was past time for romance in Antarctica too. :-)

    I've not been to Marvel cave, but I find caves facinating. I'll have to check Marvel cave out!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Donnell, you and I need to talk about going on a...cruise!

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  6. GJillian, I am so jealous! An African safari is on my bucket list. It sounds to me like your trip was what every vacation should be...a rest for your soul.

    Thanks for commenting!

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  7. Your book sounds great, Julie!

    The most far flung place I've visited is Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. My sister lived up there for a couple of years and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see the Arctic and fly over the Arctic circle.

    I went in July, so there was pretty much 24 hour sunshine and the temperature was not unlike what it is this November day in Toronto... Mid teens. (that's high 50's for the US readers.)

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  8. Thanks Maureen!

    Yep the 24 hour sunshine is something else. I had to put tin foil on my windows so I could sleep at night. :-)

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  9. Hi Julie!
    Congrats on your release! It sounds fab! The summary really drew me in!

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  10. A cruise? Did I read that correctly? I'm all over that? :) You name the time and the place, Julie! Congratulations, on ICEBOUND. I love this novel that pushes the envelope and takes people on settings where I can fairly guess they're not going to go!

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  11. Congrats on your new release! I can't say I travel much so I haven't been to any unusual places.

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  12. Congrats Julie! I've just downloaded Icebound and am looking forward to reading about your Antarctica. Also looking forward to your Arctic story. very unusual settings!

    Most interesting place I've travelled to? the Galapagos Islands. But I also really liked being in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in Canada. Completely different places, of course.

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  13. Sorry I missed your actual visit with us, Julie.
    Great interview and thanks for coming!

    ~Angi

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