So we’re still counting down until release day (12/14/13) for THINGS THAT GO BUMP FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
In our lovely collection of paranormal, holiday shorts (stories, not actual clothing), we have the fantastic JULIA JOSEPH, story teller for Young Adult Paranormal fiction.
I’m anxious to introduce her, so I’m turning the blog on over (besides, I think those holiday cookies just started a small flash burn in my kitchen!)
Ladies and gents…I give you Julia!
Hello all!
First, I have to say how thankful I am to Ms. Jami Gray for hosting me on her blog today. My name is Julia Joseph, and I write Paranormal Young Adult fiction. I’ll be sharing a place with Jami in Black Opal’s anthology, Things That Go Bump for the Holidays.
My short story piece, entitled Palomino Man, is a prequel to my debut novel The Broken which will be released 1/18/14. Let me give you a quick introduction to both:
Palomino Man (12/14/13):
Demons don’t scare Miriam Kazin. Aggravatingly cute men do.
Young but tough, Miriam is not afraid to be alone. In fact, she prefers it. Between her unorthodox job and raising her two younger sisters, her life is already all she can handle—until she stumbles across the path of a fellow demon fighter, Shadrach, while patrolling a remote area of New Mexico.
Suddenly, Shad is popping up everywhere—usually in Miriam’s way—and it’s all she can do to keep him from disrupting what little peace she’s got in life. When she finds avoiding him impossible, Miriam discovers the one thing that truly scares her—love.
Want a taste of Palomino Man? Here’s your chance:
I watched with fear as Misty picked her way carefully across the frosted meadow, crunching the dead blades of grass beneath her hooves, before I knelt stiffly beside the trickle of water that had once been a raging river. My teeth chattered as I peeled off my stained coat and reached for the eco-soap in my pack.Assignments in the backwoods of New Mexico suck.The thought came unbidden and sounded so unlike me that I shook my head and resisted the urge to laugh, but I couldn’t hold back the groan of pure pain that escaped my lips at the shocking cold of the stream. The water reflected the harshness of the winter sun into my eyes with the fire of a million tiny stars. I had to squint while trying to wash the blood from my hands and off the Gore-Tex of my camouflage jacket. The meager suds I could manage in the freezing conditions failed miserably.I gave up and called for Misty. She’d wandered only a hundred or so yards away in her never ending search for a blade of green grass. Her soft neigh floated to me from a nearby clump of trees, quickly followed by her form materializing hazily through the snowflakes swirling up from the disturbed earth. Misty trotted over, looking wholly unsatisfied. I leaned with pleasure into her hot, sweaty flank and stroked the long muscles of her neck.I nearly missed her ears prick to attention when I bent down to refresh my washcloth for her turn at a bath. Jerking back, my eyes scanned the horizon. I couldn’t see anything, but someone had to be nearby. Dropping down into a crouch, I tapped Misty’s knee, commanding her to sit and do a horse version of my position. I whispered a quick blessing—one my father had taught me just a few short years before—and felt our presence fade a tiny bit. We’d melt completely into the background if anyone tried looking directly at us. Bless you, Daddy! The words floated through my mind, bringing only a mild tinge of pain with them. I shook my head. I had to focus in order to slip into my Sight. Being able to feel what was coming might be the only way I’d survive the next few moments.A man astride a giant palomino peeped out from between the broken branches of the trees where Misty had just been. He held a saber in his right hand, and I tried not to notice the dead look in his eyes. Alone and on my first remote mission, I couldn’t afford to let my nerves overrun logic. Concentrate and breathe, Miriam Josephine. The man could be a rancher out looking for a lost calf. With a saber? Yeah. Right.Taking only shallow breaths, I tried not to move. My mother had taught me at a tender age that a woman alone in the wilderness was too great a target. I could fight better than anyone I’d ever come across, but I’d learned well that fights avoided were much easier to win.“Don’t bother holding your breath,” Palomino Man called out. “I can see you.”
If that’s not enough, Julia’s THE BROKEN is coming in January!
The Broken (1/18/14):
The time before the start of the invasion dwindled, as did the fear of my own death. To calm my nerves, I checked my bow and supply of arrows. I felt for Ouriel’s knife strapped at my back. The weight of it steadied me. I knew now, without any doubt, I could use both weapons to kill in order save the people I loved.
Born into a family of Guardians—extraordinarily gifted humans who fight demons to protect mortal souls—seventeen year old Rose Kazin shows no signs of being blessed with the supernatural talents her family has used for generations to fight. When she and her father figure, an age old celestial Warrior, are horribly wounded in a demonic ambush, Rose awakens to find a younger Warrior, Ouriel, has volunteered to stand in as her protector. She rails against his presence, but Ouriel seems interested in only one thing—teaching Rose how to protect herself from the demons she was never supposed to fight.
(Both works will be available at blackopalbooks.com, as well as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.)
Personal Life:
As I stated earlier, these are my debut publications, and I’m currently working on the second novel in my trilogy, The Beaten. Before I embarked upon this total madness called writing, I was a teacher for many years. Rather than subject you to endless ramblings, I’ll just supply you with my official bio:
Julia Joseph taught Theatre for nine years in Texas middle and high schools, where she wrote and produced three original plays for her students. In 2011, Julia left teaching to devote all of her energy to her own children and to writing a novel. She earned her B. A. in English Literature and Language with a focus in Drama from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.
Julia spends most of her free time reading, writing, and chauffeuring her kids between activities. She lives happily with her husband and two children wherever the Army happens to station them.
I totally don’t know who that above lady is, but her life sounds strangely similar to mine…J And this, apparently, is what she looks like:
I’d be glad to answer any questions you have for me on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julia-Joseph/235817936473172?ref=hl
And I’m just starting to learn how to use twitter:
You can also visit my still under construction, basic website (where I will soon be expanding and starting a blog) at:
Thanks everyone for your time and interest! Hope you run out and pick up both books on their release dates!
Lots of love,
Julia
(Much whooping and hollerin’ commence!) Thank you, Julia for swinging on over. Stay tuned, peeps because Liv Rancourt will be dropping by later this week!