Interview with Julia Joseph author of The Broken

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Julia Joseph. I’ve read one of her short stories, Palomino Man and got a hold of her telling her how much I enjoyed it. She writes amazing stories. I can’t wait to read her latest release The Broken which is sitting on my Kindle. I’m excited to have her on for a chat.

Nana, thank you so much for that warm welcome!  (Btw, your surprise message about PM flooded me with giddy delight.  You made my month.)

I’m going to start with one of your own interview questions, just to make sure you know you’re in the hot seat. Tell us an embarrassing (PG-13) story about yourself. 

Oh, boy.  Here we go…

I have a talent for falling—but not the kind you’re probably imagining.  I don’t trip, and I’m not clumsy.  No, I’m the kind of girl who show jumps horses and climbs cliffs, so I save my spectacular spills for those types of activities.  Anyway, as a sophomore in high school, I made the varsity volleyball team (which made me think I was more than awesome), and my new coach made us run sprints when we made mistakes.  I rarely made errors, but it just so happened that, on the day tons of high school kids packed the gym to take their yearbook pictures, a serve of mine went out of bounds.  Coincidentally, that was the one day that year we had a rainstorm in my desert hometown.  And did I mention that our gym roof leaked? 

Allow me to paint you a picture—

A young girl runs the length of the gym as fast as she can to show off for a crowd.  She thinks she’s really hot stuff.  Enter puddle on a wood floor.  Feet fly.  Butt slams.  Bones grind together.  Some little guy exclaims, “¡Ay, güey!” (“Whoa, dude!”).  Everything goes black.

The fall itself wasn’t the most embarrassing part of the whole debacle, however.  Nope.  I’d chipped a vertebra in my neck.   So, literal insult to injury, I got to endure weeks of phallic-themed nicknames (thanks to my lovely nude colored neck brace), which people screamed from right behind me to see how quickly I could turn around.  I also missed four weeks of my first varsity season.  Sigh.

That’s what conceit will get you, ladies and gents—humility served in an X-rated fashion.  And, yes, I have at least three more stories like this, but they involve cliffs and horses.  (How did my mother survive raising me?!)

Eek! What a horrible  and very embarrassing experience. I have the utmost respect for paranormal writers (not just because I’ve written a paranormal romance). How did you get into writing this genre?

I have no idea how I ended up writing paranormal fiction.  I was an avid Romance and Sci-fi kind of girl most of my life, but I’ve always felt there were things about our world that only special people could see.  Because I’ve tried for years to witness these things and never have, I guess I decided I’d create a world in which someone could see all that I had dreamt was possible.

How many books have you published?

Just one so far—The Broken.  As you said above, I’ve also had a short story, Palomino Man, published in the anthology Things That Go Bump for the Holidays.

Have you ever written a novel with a weak heroine?

Good question!  I think all my heroines believe that they are weak, at least in the beginning.  However, they tend to surprise themselves (and everyone else) with just how strong they can actually be when tested.  I think that’s how most of us are in the “real” world.  We’re as strong as our lives call us to be.

That was very well said. I might have to quote you. Which of your characters can you relate to best?

I relate best to the main characters in my novels.  (I’ve got two more in the works.)  They are usually based on me—or certain parts of me—so I find them utterly adorable, of course.  Lol.  In all seriousness, though, most of my females are based on women I know and love.  I think that keeps them real and allows me to honor the heroines in my own life.  I do take a lot of liberty with their characters, but the core of each remains intact.

Lol. I thought I was the only one who put a little bit of herself into the characters. What’s the hardest aspect about writing?

I’m a perfectionist, and that makes me SLOW.  I have learned to let a bit of my OCD go to get first drafts done, but I still find it very difficult.  I’m obsessed with finding the right verb for every sentence.  (I seriously need a dose of Frozen and Elsa when writing…)

Now I’m going to have to look up that last part because it went over my head. How do you come up with the concept for your book cover?

I love Khalil Gibran.  One of his paintings, Life is Flame, features a hand holding fire.  I showed it to my nephew (a fantastic graphic designer), and he did everything else.  The first time he showed me my cover image, I cried.  It was nothing like—and so much more than—anything I’d imagined.

Your nephew did a wonderful job with the cover. Please give us an analogy of what writing is like for you.

Writing is like having my teeth pulled while I balance on my head and people throw rocks at me. 

Perforating an ulcer is less painful.  Really.

I did not expect that answer. But then again, life is a huge surprise when dealing with Julia Joseph. Remember to pick up a copy of her book.

The Blurb

"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, and 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.

With his help, can Rose survive long enough to figure out who she is meant to be and why demons seem so intent on capturing her?

Buy links

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Broken-Julia-Joseph/dp/1626941041

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-julia-joseph/1111300705?ean=9781626941045

Author 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.

Contact info

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JuliaJoseph7

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/juliajosephauthor?ref=hl

Blog:  www.juliajoseph.net

Buy links

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Broken-Julia-Joseph/dp/1626941041

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-julia-joseph/1111300705?ean=9781626941045