Welcome to author Deb Julienne

 Today I’d like to welcome Deb Julienne to Get Lost in a Story. She’s celebrating her new novel (first of a series) and is the Queen of gorgeous guy pics and hot story-telling! So glad she’s with us today!

AUTHOR: Deb Julienne

Title:  Sex, Lies, and Beauty Aides

Publisher: Lyrical Press/Kensington Books Corp.

While some say truth is stranger than fiction, Deb Julienne’s experience runs more along the lines of a slap-stick comedy. She believes when life tosses you lemons the only thing to do is to turn it into Limoncello. Joking aside, Deb’s dream of being published will come true with the release of her first book, Sex, Lies, and Beauty Aides, a romantic comedy, coming out March 2014.

As a long time member of both Romance Writers of America (RWA) and her local RWA Chapter, the Sacramento Valley Roses, she fills the hours she’s not writing romantic comedy and romantic suspense with her day job at a Silicon Valley corporation, playing in the kitchen concocting her award-winning jams, jellies, preserves, and sauces (with alcohol of course).

Born and raised in San Jose, California, she now resides in her own little bit of heaven in the Sierra Tahoe National Forest Basin with her husband of 33 years, their three sons and one daughter, and two very precious grandkids.

ABOUT THE STORY

Sex, Lies and Beauty Aids

Sex, lies, and beauty aids finally earn the girl next door a little respect.

Sabrina Thompson, editor of Skin Deep Magazine’s successful Natural Beauty Secrets column,
is handed the challenge of her life. Take over the Love and Sex column or lose her job.
What does a twenty-four year old virgin know about love or sex when she's never been on a
third date? To complicate matters, there’s a new guy at the helm. Her only crush’s clone
is issuing orders. While his pompous and ambitious twin dries out, playboy and ne’er-do-well
Trent Wellington must assume his identity and save his family’s flailing magazine. The
bright spot amid staff cuts and content restructuring is the plucky editor he once made a
fool of himself in front of at a family gathering. Fooling everyone isn’t easy, especially
when Sabrina inspires his true self to be more than he ever has.

Years of hearing she’s too nice to date have left Sabrina’s frustration simmering. It boils
over when she discovers Trent’s deceit, and she vows to make him pay. Getting even has never
been so much fun.

CONTENT WARNING: mature language, sexual situations
A Lyrical Press/Kensington Books Contemporary Romance

ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-516-5

 SUPER FUN:

VIDEO TRAILER FOR SEX, LIES, AND BEAUTY AIDES

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Sex, Lies, and Beauty Aides

Twisted Sisters Club Series: Book One

“Oh for the love of God.” Bent over the tiny sink in the office restroom, Sabrina Thompson cupped cold water in her hands and splashed her lips.

Shocked, she stared into the mirror. Her reflection didn’t lie. Who’d have thought her skin could burn so badly without actually being on fire?

Of all the dumb-assed idiotic gimmicks. Why had paraffin wax, petroleum jelly, and jalapeno extract sounded harmless? Hindsight. Redder, plumper lips without lipstick seemed like a reasonable goal. She’d never expected this. If there were a Mick Jagger look-a-like contest, she’d count on a rejection. Even he wouldn’t want these lips.

“This is what I get for trusting the Internet.” Her lips vibrated like a kazoo when she spoke. The recipe probably had a tag for great April Fools pranks and some fifteen-year-old boy wrote it while he laughed his ass off. It crossed her mind to take a picture of the results to show what not to do.

Why today, of all days, to have an early morning meeting in the boss’s office? Thank God her boss was also her best friend. Sure, Kat would have questions about her lips. And yes, there’d be laughter at her expense, like that was something new.

Sabrina gently blotted her lips with a moist paper towel, and prayed she’d removed it all. She checked the makeup covering the scar on her right cheek, peeked out the bathroom door to be certain the coast was clear, and headed to Kat’s office. At least since she’d come in early, nobody was around to witness her humiliation.

Kat had been out of town, on the East Coast, something to do with her family. Other than a quick email to schedule this meeting, she hadn’t heard from her in over a week.

She stopped by the water cooler. Ice water in hand, she dropped into one of the ultra-modern leather chairs opposite Kat’s desk. Dunking her sore lips in the water, she made a mental note to run by her favorite consignment shop during her lunch to check out the Manolo’s that had just come in. Tina said they were her size. A perfect gift to herself for her promotion to Senior Editor. She admired the framed covers of past magazine issues lining the office. Kat made the magazine what it was today. She was proud of the periodical.

“Sabrina, right on time, as us—” Kat stopped mid-stride. “What the hell is wrong with your mouth? You look like a fish.”

Startled, she sloshed water on her skirt and tried to act casual as she wiped herself off. “The recipe didn’t mention possible swelling, only increased blood supply to the lips.” Better than what you do with yours, caught in her throat at Kat’s colorless expression. So much for hoping it wasn’t that bad.

Kat turned away, took boxes from the closet and began transferring files to them.

“What’s wrong?” Sabrina asked.

Kat didn’t respond.

“A bit early for spring cleaning, aren’t you?”

“In case I haven’t told you, I really appreciate your punctuality. Especially today.”

“What’s so special about today?” Something in Kat’s tone set her on edge, making her cautious of Kat’s behavior.

Wishing she were anywhere but here, Sabrina slid her tongue over her plump, burning lips. Mid-lick, her worst nightmare and hottest fantasy walked in, past her chair, and behind Kat’s desk. No. First her lips, then her job, now him. The man she’d dreamt of for years.

Trent Wellington.

Maybe if she pretended to be calm, cool, and collected, and ignored the fact she felt like a circus clown, he wouldn’t notice her or her enormous lips.

He winked and grinned at Kat, who merely nodded and went back to her files.

Struggling to set the cup on Kat’s desk, her vision swam, the desk weaving in and out of her reach. Her hands shook so badly she was sure to dump the rest of the water on herself. She folded her hands in her lap, knuckles white, and smiled as if it was any other day. She could do this. And maybe, she’d even pull this meeting off without thoroughly humiliating herself in front of him, again.

When he glanced her way, his brows shot up and his grin only added to her paranoid misery.

She wished someone would hurry up and say something because her jangled nerves had re-ignited the jalapeno oil.

Trent—not Kat—took the seat behind the desk.

Kat studied the carpet, blinking watery eyes.

* * * *

Mimicking Travis, his twin, Trent Wellington squared his shoulders, held his tie to his chest, sat and pulled the chair up to the desk. He withdrew a pair of heavy rimmed glasses from his inner suit pocket and pushed them into place. “Good morning, Sabrina. I’m Travis Wellington. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from Kat.”

Sabrina’s jaw dropped.

He’d managed to pull off this con, made her believe he was his identical twin, Travis. “Is something wrong?”

She frantically shook her head, auburn curls bouncing off her cheeks. She took a deep breath, sighed, and gave him a dazzling smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Travis.”

Buying time to keep from snorting with laughter, he rifled through the desk drawer.

She’d changed a bit over the years. Still a classic beauty with a great smile, cute upturned nose, and kissable lips.

“Kat do you have Sabrina’s file?”

“No.” Kat didn’t bother to look up.

He’d met Sabrina once, at Kat’s twenty-first birthday party, a long weekend at the family compound in Massachusetts, and she’d made quite an impression. When Travis mentioned the switch involved working with Sabrina, he’d been eager for a chance to see her again.

But, it hinged on fooling Kat. As long as she was distracted, he’d be fine. Otherwise, without his brother’s journalism background, he’d fail at impersonating Travis and as editor in chief of Skin Deep magazine.

The family had compiled reports of Sabrina’s success for the past several months. He opened his briefcase, pulled out dozens of folders his brother had given him and thumbed through, locating Sabrina’s file.

“Ah, here it is.”

According to Kat, Sabrina was a genius as the natural beauty editor. In the two-and-a-half years she’d been with the company, subscriptions had doubled thanks to her popular column.

Kat closed up one box and set it aside, then continued removing files from the cabinet.

He was counting on Sabrina strengths to inspire him. He had definite plans for Sabrina, wondering if she was as good as his fantasies. His gaze locked with hers and he forced himself to remember he was supposed to be standing in for his brother. What would Travis do now?

“Would you like some coffee?” Oh shit, his brother was never polite. Business was business. Damn it.

Wrinkling her nose as if he’d offered her arsenic, Sabrina shook her head. Opened her mouth twice but nothing came out. Her wide eyes were the color of the Mogul Emerald he’d seen auctioned at Christie’s in London. She turned away and picked non-existent lint from her red blazer. Her lips were quite swollen. Shiny. Getting redder by the minute, as if she’d spent hours making out.

“Ah.” His mind went blank. He didn’t mean to stare. If he tried to speak now he’d guarantee it’d come out as high-pitched squawk. He reviewed the file before him, loosening the tie that felt more like a noose. How did Travis stand these things? He unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. Cold sweat ran down his back. “Are you all right? You seem a bit nervous.” If he didn’t get his focus off himself, he’d surely screw up.

http://www.debjulienne.com/books/

DEB DIGS INTO SOME FUN QUESTIONS

LIZ: How often do you get lost in a story?

DEB: With a full time day job, taking care of a husband, kids, grandkids, and Mother-in-law, cooking/baking, taking care of the house and yards, and let’s not forget writing, I need my escape into books…nothing better than planning to read before bed, just to relax you only to find you can’t put it down and it’s 2am.

LIZ: What’s the first book you remember reading? 

DEB: Little Women. It was in the collection my mom had was a child.

LIZ: What’s your favorite “love” word?

DEB: Twitterpated…let’s see who remembers that one ;-)

LIZ: I love that word, too. I remember it from “Bambi”—when he fell in love with Feline!

LIZ: What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

DEB: I’m reading Kristan Higgins “Until There Was You” then Carol Burnside’s “Her Unexpected Family”, Mel Curtis “Amber Rules and Valentine Rules” and Tawny Weber’s “Sugar and Spice: A Karma Café”

LIZ: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

DEB: I love Beauty and the Beast, she’s a nobody, but it’s the nobody who tames and released the beast with her love.

LIZ: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

DEB: I doubt anyone will remember her…Little Audrey

LIZ: Cast your book using fairy tale or cartoon characters.

DEB:

Sabrina is Belle.

Trent is Aladdin.

Angel, Kat, and Jill are the “Silly Step-sisters who get in the way”

LIZ: Write us a haiku about your book or one of your characters!

DEB:

Sabrina’s clueless, lessons to learn

Discovering Trent lies before a judge

Payback is such a B*&^H

LIZ: What one thing about your hero drives his heroine crazy? And what one thing about your heroine drives her hero nuts?

DEB: Sabrina: She hates that Travis makes her so nervous she’s always doing the wrong thing and finds herself in embarrassing situations.

Trent: He wants to impress her but must remember to pretend to be his brother, and can’t keep his foot out of his mouth.

LIZ: Name three things that are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse.

DEB: That’s easy, Chapstick, a mirror, and face powder.

LIZ: What sound or noise do you love?

DEB: The sound of silence at the end of the day when the crickets are chirping.

   

LIZ: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

DEB: I’d like to go back in time and watch history, specifically my family’s history to see how it all happened.

LIZ: What will always make you smile, even on a bad day?

DEB: Simply smelling a gardenia can make my most horrible day ever, just go away. I have several in the yard for just that reason. The scent, early morning wafting into the house, walking around the yard, playing with the grandkids, pulling weeds, chopping wood, it’s just no big deal when I smell gardenias.

LIZ: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

DEB: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

LIZ: Who’s your favorite villain?

DEB:  Ivan Korshunov from Air Force One, because I love the scene where Harrison Ford as the President says, “Get off my plane.” I love it when the villain truly gets what they deserve.

LIZ: What is your biggest vice?

DEB: Coffee, hands down. Chocolate comes in a strong second.

LIZ: What’s your favorite kid joke?

DEB: How do you make a Kleenex dance? Put a little boogie in it.

LIZ:  Hahahaha! I love it!

LIZ: What do you hope for the future of romance publishing?

DEB: In my perfect world, one of my books would be made into a Hallmark movie.

LIZ HAS GOTTA ASK: What’s the most personal thing you’ve ever put in one of your books?

DEB: Let’s just say every single book I’ve written has at least one thing from real life in it. In Sex, Lies, and Beauty Aides two situations came from real life.

1)      When I was 13 I wasn’t allowed to buy make-up, so I figured I could at least make some lip gloss. Amazing how wax, Vaseline, red food coloring, and strawberries crushed in a garlic press make a great gloss, only stupid here decided to test it while it was still in liquid form and not only did I burn my lips, they were died beet red, and peeled for 2 weeks.

2)     In third grade I was playing baseball during recess. I was the catcher and the batter took a step back when she swung the bat and she slammed the bat into my mouth. Busted my upper jaw, teeth came through my cheek, 3 loose teeth…and it took 3 years for the damage to my mouth to grow out with me…but I’ve fixated on it ever since…you can’t tell…but I know it’s there.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Do you like books where the hero and heroine screw up in funny ways?

I’m waiting for my books to arrive but when they do I’d love to give a paper copy away to one commenter, unless he/she wants an e-book…I’ll let them choose!

CONTACT DEB!

Contact e-mail: debjulienne@gmail.com

Website:  www.debjulienne.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deb.julienne

Twitter: @debjulienne

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874605.Deb_Julienne

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/debjulienne/

Blogs: http://pinkfuzzyslipperwriters.blogspot.com/

UP NEXT:

Book II: Antics, Antidotes, and Angel (Angel’s story)

Book III: Lovers, Lies, and Alibis (Kat’s story)

Book IV: Suckers, Soldiers, and Mischief Makers (Jill’s story)