Ortolon, Julie

PERSONAL:

Married; husband a journalist. Education: Attended Schreiner College.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Artist and writer. Former art gallery owner.

WRITINGS:

Drive Me Wild, Dell (New York, NY), 2000.

Dear Cupid, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2001.

"PEARL ISLAND" TRILOGY

Falling for You, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2002.

Lead Me On, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2003.

Don't Tempt Me, St. Martin's Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2004.

"PERFECT" TRILOGY

Almost Perfect, New American Library (New York, NY), 2005.

Just Perfect, New American Library (New York, NY), 2005.

Too Perfect, Signet Eclipse (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Julie Ortolon wanted to be a writer ever since she was little girl, but, partly because of her severe dyslexia, turned to a career in art instead. However, when the author's husband brought home a computer and Ortolon discovered spell check, she once again thought of writing as a career and eventually became a published romance writer. "It took me ten years of hard work, lots of sacrifices … in order to focus on writing, and four manuscripts that didn't sell before I finally sold my fifth manuscript, Drive Me Wild," Ortolon told Claire E. White in an interview on the Writers Write Web site. Her first romance novel tells the story of Brent Michaels, a successful television anchor, and Laura Beth Morgan, a woman from his hometown who has led a lackluster life. When Laura invites Brent back to their small Texas town to appear in a local version of The Dating Game, Brent purposely picks Laura as his date and a romance ensues. Cathy Sova, writing for Romance Reader, commended Ortolon on her debut and added: "Hats off to a bright new voice in the contemporary romance field. Drive Me Wild is going to do just that to a lot of romance readers!"

Ortolon has gone on to write several successful romance novels, including her "Pearl Island" and "Perfect" trilogies. Don't Tempt Me, the last book in the "Pearl Island" trilogy, completes the story of three sisters. Adrian St. Claire's two sisters fall in love in the first two romances in the trilogy and now it's Adrian's turn. Adrian's man turns out to be Jackie Taylor, an owner of a cruise ship and a treasure hunter who seeks information about a treasure that may be in a saved letter from Adrian's great-grandfather. Maria Hatton, writing in Booklist, described the novel as both "humorous and stirring."

Almost Perfect, the first book in the "Perfect" trilogy, features three friends who decide to face their biggest fears after another friend writes a self-help book and uses them as examples of people who let fear control their lives. The first book focuses on the widowed Maddy, who falls for her old flame when she decides to pursue her dream of being an artist and takes the arts-and-crafts director job at a summer camp headed by an old high-school flame. Booklist contributor Hatton called the novel a "funny and compelling story of two unforgettable characters." Too Perfect, the final book in the trilogy, has Amy facing her fear of traveling alone. However, she soon finds herself stranded on a Caribbean island, where she gets a job supposedly working for a disfigured man. In reality, however, her new employer is a Hollywood star hiding from the paparazzi. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that "the fanciful plot twists are fun."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2001, Maria Hatton, review of Dear Cupid, p. 1854; January 1, 2003, Maria Hatton, review of Lead Me On, p. 859; February 1, 2004, Maria Hatton, review of Don't Tempt Me, p. 955; September 1, 2005, Maria Hatton, review of Almost Perfect, p. 73.

Publishers Weekly, May 21, 2001, review of Dear Cupid, p. 87; March 18, 2002, review of Falling for You, p. 84; December 9, 2002, review of Lead Me On, p. 68; January 19, 2004, review of Don't Tempt Me, p. 59; October 3, 2005, review of Too Perfect, p. 52.

ONLINE

All about Romance,http://www.likesbooks.com/ (October 5, 2004), Andrea Pool, review of Dear Cupid.

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (March 2, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Falling for You; (April 5, 2002), Kathy Boswell, review of Falling for You; (December 15, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Lead Me On; (February 10, 2003), Tanzey Cutter, review of Lead Me On.

Crescent Blues Book Views,http://www.crescentblues.com/ (July 10, 2003), Patricia Lucas White, review of Dear Cupid; (April 23, 2007), Jen Foote, review of Lead Me On.

Curvy Novels,http://curvynovels.com/ (October 5, 2004), review of Dear Cupid.

Escape to Romance,http://www.escapetoromance.com/ (October 5, 2004), Marlene Breakfield, review of Lead Me On.

Julie Ortolon Home Page,http://www.ortolon.com (April 23, 2007).

Music City Romance Writers,http://www.mcrw.com/ (August, 2002), Trish Milburn, "Author Q & A: Julie Ortolon."

Readers Read,http://www.readersread.com/ (October 5, 2004), reviews of Dear Cupid and Falling for You.

Romance Reader,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (March 20, 2000), Cathy Sova, review of Drive Me Wild; (August 27, 2001), Cathy Sova, review of Dear Cupid; (March 25, 2002), Susan Scribner, review of Falling for You.

Writers Write,http://www.writerswrite.com/ (September 23, 2007), Claire E. White, "A Conversation with Julie Ortolon."