Julie Anne Long GuestBlog: The Party Ain't Over

From Julie: I'm so delighted be here, Bellas - many thanks to Michelle for the invitation!! And here's what I'm wondering today: Do you guys like throwing parties? Do you remember the first party you ever attended?

See, I'm reflecting upon this, because I just threw a big Blog party over at my blog in honor the release of my new book, "Like No Other Lover -- a cyber shower, if you will, whereby I gave away the gifts-and a very swinging time was had by all. I'm typing this as the party is winding down...and I already have a very pleasant, and real-feeling, cyber-hangover from all the revelry, and I'm sure I'll be walking around with a silly, dozy smile on my face for a day or so.

Now I have friends who would almost rather do anything else-attend traffic school, for instance, or give a pill to a violently thrashing cat-than throw a party. The idea of entertaining fills them with a special horror, a combination of stage fright and pre-SAT jitters.

I like parties...mostly. And I've been to dozens of different kinds of parties in my lifetime: From grade school slumber parties where we all wore footie pajamas, slept in Winnie the Pooh sleeping bags and braided each other's hair; to frat parties where wildly moshing dancers chucked empty beer bottles at my band as we played (well, in the general direction of our band...though our bass player did the feel the wind of one as it whipped by). There was a huge (and apparently very, very noisy could have, um, been the band out in the backyard) Halloween costume party San Francisco interrupted by several friendly, amused policeman who pointed at various guests and asked things like, "What's he supposed to be?" before shutting us down.

Then there are the dinner parties characterized by the hushed elegance of the décor and the food and icy silences interspersed with sniped comments between fighting couples; work holiday "parties" which feel nothing at all like parties and everything like work; to warm, wonderful, loud, just-between a dozen or so friends, unforgettable birthday parties...you name it.

Me, I like entertaining, though I am honestly not an extrovert, despite what might seem appearances to the contrary. I'm not even what you'd call gregarious, though I'm hardly retiring. But I do have more than a bit of showman or ringmaster (showwoman? Ringmistress?) in me and I am not the least bit adverse to a bit of pageantry and ceremony, not to mention color-coordinated party favors. I also have an overdeveloped imagination and outsized sense of whimsy and I get an enormous bang out of making sure people have a good time in original ways.

Apart from cyber blowouts, I've thrown a party or two in my time, mostly the dinner variety; I've perfected a few difficult-to-ruin dinner party dishes (chicken piccata is one of them) which I stick to ever since I once accidentally served leathery chicken breasts swimming in artichoke hearts to guests who gamely sawed away at them and lied about how delicious they were. (Lesson one: never experiment with a recipe the night of a dinner party).

I once had a dinner party where a friend brought a Sacher torte from Costco that was about the size of an ottoman; it lasted for months and months in my freezer, and I had to saw it to pieces to fit it in there at all. One dinner party left a permanent, Florida-shaped wine stain on my green wool rug.

And so it goes. I do get pre-party butterflies, but don't feel terrible when things go awry, because things invariably do in life.

So how do you guys feel about entertaining? Do you do much of it? Do you like throwing parties, or do they fill you with dread, or do you feel somewhere in between in the spectrum? Do you like attending parties, or does it depend on the type of party? Can you think of any particularly memorable parties or events at parties?

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Shiloh Walker's here Friday with a Hallowe'en Treat contest! 
And a steamy excerpt from her newest, "The Missing."  Eloisa James loves this book, and is featuring it in her fab barnesandnoble.com column in November. (Eloisa's here Dec 1, and you can call in to chat with her when we dish live at AuthorsOnAir.com, Dec 4)
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AUTHORS: Place a link to RBTB on your site/blog, etc., and send your URL to Michelle at mbuonfiglio@rbthebook.com to get your joint linked on the upcoming AuthorLinks pages here at RBTB/myLifetime.

Posted in: sex, love, entertainment, nora roberts, parties, guestblogs, historicals, julie anne long, shiloh walker, a lover like no...

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