Kenner, Julie

PERSONAL:

Born in Mountainview, CA; married Don Kenner; children: one daughter. Education: University of Texas, B.A.; Baylor Law School, J.D. Hobbies and other interests: Movies and musical theater, flea markets, thrift shops, scuba diving.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Georgetown, TX. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Worked as an attorney with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in TX, at a law firm in Los Angeles, CA, at a law office in Orange County, CA, and as an attorney in private practice, until 2004; fulltime writer, 2004—.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

First place, Tampa Area Romance Authors' First Impressions Contest, and first place, New Jersey Romance Writers' Put Your Heart in a Book Contest, both 1998, both for Nobody Does It Better; first place from Texas Gold, 2001, Francis Award from Romance Journal, and Venus Award for Best Paranormal of the Year, all for The Cat's Fancy; Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal from Romantic Times, 2001, and Dorothy Parker Award for Excellence, both for Aphrodite's Kiss; RIO Recommended Read, for The Spy Who Loves Me; Waldenbooks Bestselling Author awards, for Silent Desires and Silent Confessions.

WRITINGS:

Nobody Does It Better, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

The Cat's Fancy, Love Spell Books/Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 2000.

Undercover Lovers, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Silent Desires, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Silent Confessions, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Nobody but You, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2003.

The Spy Who Loves Me, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Stolen Kisses, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Suzanne Forster) Beyond Suspicion, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Susan Kearney and Julie Elizabeth Leto) Essence of Midnight, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

First Love, Signet (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Jacquie D'Allesandro and Susan Kearney) The Hope Chest, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

Night Moves, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

The Perfect Score, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Nancy Warren and Jo Leigh) Perfect Timing, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Kathleen O'Reilly and Dee Davis) Hell with the Ladies (includes Kenner's Nick), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Kathleen O'Reilly and Dee Davis) Hell on Heels (includes Kenner's Lucia's Story), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Johanna Edwards and Serena Robar) Fendi, Ferragamo, and Fangs, Berkley Trade (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Nancy Warren and Jo Leigh) Night We Met, Harlequin/Mills & Boon, 2007.

The Good Ghouls' Guide to Getting Even, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Good Ghouls Do, Penguin (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Jennifer O'Connell, Meg Cabot, Beth Kendrick, and Cara Lockwood) Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, Pocket (New York, NY), 2007.

"PROTECTOR" SERIES

Aphrodite's Kiss, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

Aphrodite's Passion, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2002.

Aphrodite's Secret, Dorchester Publishing (New York, NY), 2003.

Aphrodite's Flame, Love Spell (New York, NY), 2004.

"DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM" SERIES

Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2005.

California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Demons Are Forever: Confessions of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, Berkley Trade (New York, NY), 2007.

"CODE-BREAKING" SERIES

The Givenchy Code, Downtown Press (New York, NY), 2005.

The Manolo Matrix, Downtown Press (New York, NY), 2006.

The Prada Paradox, Downtown Press (New York, NY), 2007.

ADAPTATIONS:

Film rights to Carpe Demon have been optioned by Warner Brothers.

SIDELIGHTS:

Romance writer Julie Kenner has written in a variety of subgenres, including spy thrillers and paranormal stories. Some critics of her work have even credited her with inventing a new type of subgenre. She "combines chick lit and romantic suspense to create a new subgenre that's absolutely irresistible," observed Claire E. White in an Internet Writing Journal review of The Givenchy Code. Kenner began her career as an attorney, and her interest in writing was sparked when she was working for a law firm that was involved in film industry litigation. She began dabbling in screenplays, but found her true calling in romance novels. "I discovered Julie Garwood's historical romances soon after and went on a romance reading binge. It was like chocolate, only not fattening. I was hooked!," she told Cathy Sova in a Romance Reader interview.

Her breakout book was the spy romance Nobody Does It Better, which was published the same year as the award-winning paranormal tale The Cat's Fancy. Combining her knowledge of the legal profession with whimsical magic, Kenner weaves a tale about a lawyer and his cat. The cat is in love with her owner, so to remove the problem of their being two different species, she locates a wise old tomcat who transforms her into a woman. In a twist reminiscent of fairy tales, the cat must get her man to love her by Halloween, or else she will turn back into a feline. The positive reaction to this tale inspired Kenner to create the "Protector" series, in which some characters from The Cat's Fancy appear. The premise of the series is that there exist godlike people called Protectors. A group of these people have organized to protect ordinary humans from Outcast Protectors, particularly the evil Hieronymous. The author mixes murder, mayhem, and romance into a unique series that drew wide praise. In a review of Aphrodite's Flame, for instance, Best Reviews contributor Harriet Klausner called the work "a terrific romantic fantasy with intertwining amateur sleuth elements and will be recognized as one of the sub-genre's top novels of the year." Although a Publishers Weekly critic felt that Aphrodite's Secret is a "hokey paranormal romance," more often critics such as Best Reviews writer Kathy Boswell considered such installments as Aphrodite's Kiss "utterly charming and thoroughly delightful."

Another popular paranormal series by Kenner is the "Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom" books. Drawing inevitable parallels between it and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show, critics still found the premise of a middle-aged suburban mother who fights demons amusing entertainment. The heroine, Kate Hunter, is a retired Demon Hunter who is drawn back into the job, despite having a husband and two kids to take care of, when a demon threatens her home. She draws support from a secret organization within the Catholic Church. "Julie Kenner mixes chick-lit, Buffythe Vampire Slayer and elements of a domestic cozy to create a new subgenre all its own, with very entertaining results," reported an Internet Writing Journal reviewer. Appreciating the fast-action pace of California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, Klausner wrote in another Best Reviews article that "Julie Kenner is at her irrelevant best with this delightfully amusing adventure sequel."

Critics also found parallels between another Kenner series and an already popular book and movie. Her "Code-Breaking" books have been compared with Dan Brown's best seller The Da Vinci Code, with some reviewers believing that Kenner's first title in the series, The Givenchy Code, was a deliberate attempt at a spoof. The author responded to these accusations in the White interview: "[My book] is not a parody or an homage or anything vis a vis The Da Vinci Code. It's chick lit suspense, and while there is humor in the story, it comes from the voice of the heroine who is narrating her journey through this terrifying maze! Like The Da Vinci Code, the characters in my story solve a series of codes, one leading to the other until we reach the ultimate climax, but that's where the similarities end." The premise behind the three books, The Givenchy Code, The Manolo Matrix, and The Prada Paradox, is that a devious multimillionaire has set up a deadly challenge based on the video game Play-Survive-Win. In each book, an unsuspecting character is informed that she has been chosen for the game and that she must solve a series of puzzles or face certain death. Should the player win, however, she will receive twenty million dollars, not to mention gaining back her life. Once Written contributor Monica Poling had some trouble swallowing this premise, but wrote that "once I let go of that stumbling block, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the first two books in the series." Adding that Kenner has "true talent for pacing and characterization," Poling asserted that it was the author's characters who made the books work. Of the first book, Booklist contributor John Charles reported that the story is an "ingenious literary creation" featuring a "fabulously fun heroine." The same reviewer called The Prada Paradox an "irresistible hybrid of sassy chick lit and stylish suspense."

Having quit her law practice, Kenner is now a fulltime author who has proven herself to be both productive and popular. Freely mixing genres, she enjoys suspense, chick lit, and paranormal and intends to continue writing romances. "Part of the reason I write in so many [genres] is that I'm easily bored," the author revealed to M.E. Wood in an Absolute Write interview. "Sad, but true! I started writing to entertain myself, and I'm fortunate to have been able to sell in a lot of different genres, which keeps my creative juices flowing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2003, Michelle Kaske, review of Nobody but You, p. 858; May 15, 2003, John Charles, review of Aphrodite's Secret, p. 1651; May 1, 2005, John Charles, review of The Givenchy Code, p. 1526; September 1, 2005, John Charles, review of First Love, p. 72; January 1, 2006, John Charles, review of The Manolo Matrix, p. 57; June 1, 2006, John Charles, review of California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, p. 49; May 15, 2007, John Charles, review of The Prada Paradox, p. 25.

Daily Variety, February 22, 2005, "WB Seizes Kenner's ‘Demon,’" p. 6.

Hollywood Reporter, February 22, 2005, "Hagemans Adapt ‘Carpe’ for 1492," p. 6.

Kliatt, September 1, 2006, Jodi Israel, review of Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, p. 54; May 1, 2007, Jodi Israel, review of California Demon, p. 52.

MBR Bookwatch, April 1, 2005, review of The Hope Chest.

Publishers Weekly, December 2, 2002, review of Nobody but You, p. 39; April 7, 2003, review of Aphrodite's Secret, p. 51; May 24, 2004, review of The Spy Who Loves Me, p. 50; May 23, 2005, review of Carpe Demon, p. 57.

ONLINE

Absolute Write,http://www.absolutewrite.com/ (July 22, 2007), M.E. Wood, "Interview with Julie Kenner."

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (July 3, 2001), Kathy Boswell, review of Aphrodite's Kiss; (August 2, 2001), Kelley Hartsell, review of Aphrodite's Kiss; (January 20, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Aphrodite's Kiss; (March 11, 2002), Kathy Boswell, review of Aphrodite's Passion; (April 7, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Aphrodite's Passion; (September 5, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Undercover Lovers, and Kathy Boswell, review of Undercover Lovers; (December 17, 2002), Kathy Boswell, review of Nobody but You; (January 6, 2003), Linda Hurst, review of Nobody but You; (March 30, 2003), Kathy Boswell, review of Silent Confessions; (April 23, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Aphrodite's Secret; (May 8, 2003), Kathy Boswell, review of Aphrodite's Secret; (May 31, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Silent Confession; (July 28, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Silent Desires; (May 29, 2004), Kathy Boswell, review of The Spy Who Loves Me; (August 9, 2004), Kathy Boswell, review of Aphrodite's Flame; (March 14, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Hope Chest; (May 25, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Givenchy Code; (June 2, 2005), Linda Hurst, review of The Givenchy Code; (June 24, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Carpe Demon; (July 12, 2005), Kathy Boswell, review of Carpe Demon; (August 10, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Aphrodite's Flame; (August 30, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of First Love; (January 25, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of The Manolo Matrix; (July 18, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of California Demon; (July 25, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of The Perfect Score; (September 26, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Hell with the Ladies; (November 20, 2006), Kathy Boswell, review of Hell with the Ladies; (May 18, 2007), Kathy Boswell, reviews of California Demon and The Good Ghouls' Guide to Getting Even; (May 27, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of The Prada Paradox; (May 29, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of Hell on Heels.

Internet Writing Journal,http://www.internetwritingjournal.com/ (July 1, 2005), Claire E. White, "A Conversation with Julie Kenner," and reviews of Carpe Demon and The Givenchy Code.

Julie Kenner Home Page,http://www.juliekenner.com (July 22, 2007).

Julie Kenner Web log,http://juliekenner.blogspot.com (July 22, 2007).

Once Written,http://www.oncewritten.com/ (May 6, 2006), Monica Poling, review of The Manolo Matrix.

Romance Reader,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (February 25, 2000), Cathy Sova, "New Faces 62: Julie Kenner."

Trashionista,http://www.trashionista.com/ (April 1, 2007), review of Carpe Demon.