In 2152 the
avian race is on Earth looking for something stolen from them decades ago –
their genetics. At the center of the search lies the Rural Republic; a small
backwards farming country with high hopes of military domination and a penchant
for illegal bioengineering.
19 year old Junco Coot is the daughter of the Rural Republic’s ranking commander. She’s the most foul-mouthed, wildly unpredictable and ruthless sniper the Rural Republic has ever trained. But when her father’s death sparks a trip into forbidden places, she triggers events that will change everything she knows to be true.
As an elite avian military officer, Tier’s mission is to destroy the bioengineering projects, kill Commander Coot’s daughter, and return home immediately. There’s just one problem. Junco isn’t who she claims to be.
With no one to trust, not even herself, Junco must confront the secrets of her past and accept her place in the future, or risk losing herself completely.
19 year old Junco Coot is the daughter of the Rural Republic’s ranking commander. She’s the most foul-mouthed, wildly unpredictable and ruthless sniper the Rural Republic has ever trained. But when her father’s death sparks a trip into forbidden places, she triggers events that will change everything she knows to be true.
As an elite avian military officer, Tier’s mission is to destroy the bioengineering projects, kill Commander Coot’s daughter, and return home immediately. There’s just one problem. Junco isn’t who she claims to be.
With no one to trust, not even herself, Junco must confront the secrets of her past and accept her place in the future, or risk losing herself completely.
Clutch –
Book One
YouTube Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0PWDGoTJY
Interview with J A Huss:
Thank you for joining us today Ms Huss and for sharing your thoughts. (soft applause)
How long have you
been writing?
I started writing non-fiction about four years ago. I’m late
to the party because I went to school to be a scientist and honestly, that
takes up a lot of your time. But I ended up quitting my PhD program because it
just started to seem – well boring. And not worth all the things I had to give
up in order to get those three letters after my name. So I quit with a Master’s degree and took a
part time job. In order to supplement my income I started to write science
curriculum for homeschool parents. I’ve been a homeschool mom for about twelve
years now, so suddenly writing became my life. Ever since I was a little girl I
had always wanted to write a novel, but it wasn’t until 2012 that I decided to
make it happen.
What Authors have
inspired you?
I am inspired by all authors that touch me with their
characters. Mostly it’s science fiction
these days, and honestly I think this comes from reading Madeleine L'Engle’s A
Wrinkle in Time series and Robert C. O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
when I was ten. That’s when I really started to think about stories with a
science slant to them and it was exciting.
But Jane Smiley wrote a literary book called Horse Heaven
that had racehorses as major characters and that started me down the road to
understanding how this character development thing worked. I have an undergraduate degree in equine
science so I love, LOVE, love that book, but it’s also the epitome of a
character-driven novel and I’ve read it dozens of time just trying to figure
out how she pulled it all together in the end.
If you could spend an
afternoon with any one author, who would it be? And why?
Writers are odd people so I’m not sure I’d actually like my
favorite author in real life. I can imagine us fighting over politics…but I’d
still be thrilled to meet him…Richard K. Morgan. He’s my current favorite author and actually
his Takeshi Kovacs series was a major influence on the creation of Junco Coot,
the main character in my new science fiction series, I Am Just Junco. I wanted
to explore what it would be like to be a soldier who was as hard and ruthless
as Kovacs, except from a young female perspective. I think we could fill up an
afternoon chatting about that and stay away from the other junk.
Do you blog? Blog
spot addy?
I do blog but I hate blogging. I’m trying to get over it
because I know that if Richard K. Morgan would blog more I’d read his blog all
the time, but he must hate blogging too, because his updates are few and far
between. So I try to think about people
who would want to know more about me and what I’m doing because of the books I
write. It’s hard to imagine, but that’s why I blog. So that people who want to
know more will find me accessible. You
can read my blog here: http://jahuss.com/
But beyond that author blog, the I Am Just Junco series has
its own blog where the characters all show up to chat about all sorts of
topics. This is where I hope the fans will end up and that’s why I have the
website (I Am Just Junco Dot Com) as the subtitle on the covers. You can check
out what the team is up to here: http://www.iamjustjunco.com/
What is the biggest reward you have received since being published?
The biggest rewards have so far come from my non-fiction
works – about once a week I get a nice e-mail from a mom telling me how I’ve
touched their lives with my science curriculum.
It’s weird because you don’t normally think of science as touching
people like that, especially a textbook. But homeschool is stressful and I try
to make science something the parents never have to think about. I love hearing from people and making that
connection back to my work. I hope Junco, even with all her faults, comes
across as a character who struggles with right and wrong and where she fits
into the world. Someone who is just trying her best with the hand she was
dealt, and someone who makes mistakes - because we all have that struggle. So
in the future, e-mails that come from readers who can relate back to Junco will
probably be the most satisfying thing about being a published fiction author.
What was the biggest
surprise that came with being published?
I think the biggest surprise is how people trust you and
look to you for answers. I have thousands of people who trust my opinion on
things, so it humbles me and forces me to be very careful when they write in
with questions. I take that part very seriously.
What has been the
biggest hardship in getting published?
Since I am an Indie publisher the hardest thing, believe it
or not, was finding an editor that I felt could relate to my story. Junco is
not your typical nineteen year old girl and lots of people won’t get her. But
my editor, R.J. Locksley, has been on board with Junco’s struggle from the very
start and I’m very grateful to have found her.
Status of current
WIP?
I’m currently about half-way into the fourth I Am Just Junco
book. This one will be called Range
and should be out in March or April of 2013.
What’s your favorite
book and why?
My favorite book is Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan. This
book is the last in a trilogy about a ruthless killer who comes back to his
home planet after hundreds of years of crime and soldiering and gets sucked
back into local politics as he carries out a revenge agenda.
I love this book because it’s a deep character-driven novel
disguised in an awesome twisty plot and filled with just about every science
fiction element you can think of. This is a story about people more than
anything, and lots of readers never got that about the book. I try to make my
stories the same way in that they are always about the characters, not the
action going on in the plot – even though there is a lot of action and a lot of
twistiness in my books as well.
Favorite genre to
read and to write?
Hands down it is science fiction, but I have a soft spot for
paranormal romance. I have a PNR series in the works, although it won’t be
pretty and sweet. All my characters have to earn their keep, they might get
their happily ever after in the end (because it’s a romance, after all) but
they gotta earn it! No freeloaders!
Marcus Luttrell – His personal story is heartbreaking and
inspirational at the same time.
Condoleezza Rice – She’s an amazing and driven woman and she
plays the piano (like Junco!).
***Secret***
***Secret***
Richard K. Morgan (I had to slip him in there one more
time!)
Definitely half full – life’s too short to be negative.
Thanks for having me on your blog and I hope you and your
readers enjoy the book!
Thank you Ms Huss, we appreciate your time and sharing with us today! (more soft applause)
My Review:
I read some really good books in October and it appears my luck is holding up for this month as well. When I started this book, I thought, oh I'm not going to like this one, but low and behold, I am now questioning why I thought that. This is a story told by Junco, the main character. It begins with a funeral followed by action...a lot of action and adventure and the coolest Avian creature I've ever read about. His name was Tier. He looked human except for the shiny green eyes and the black wings that could heal. I loved how Ms Huss developed her characters; I found them to be complex and believable!The story progressed quickly and I actually read the book in one day. Hubby and the dogs left me alone and I read to my heart's content and the conclusion of the book. The only things that bothered me were the language and the violence level, but in all honesty what would the story have been without it? It served the purpose.
I'd definitely consider the book adult based on the language and the violence, but if you like sci-fi, action, adventure, lies, and war this would be an appropriate read for you. I was sucked into the story immediately and enjoyed it immensely. I'm pretty darned sure I am going to read on in this series. Books two and three are already out....FLEDGE and FLIGHT. Book four will be out spring 2013, (RANGE). I'm giving this one a 4 wink rating. Read it for yourself and let me know if you agree! :D
Author Info:
J.
A. Huss never took a creative writing class in her life. Some would say it
shows. Others might cut her some slack. She did however, get educated and
graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Equine Science. She had
grand dreams of getting a Ph.D. but while she loves science, she hated academia
and settled for a M.S. in Forensic Toxicology from the University of Florida.
She’s always packing heat and
she is owned by two donkeys, five dogs, more chickens and ducks than she can
count, and of course, the real filthy animals, her kids. The I Am Just Junco
series was born after falling in love with the ugliest part of Colorado and the
Rural Republic is based on the area of the state she currently resides in, minus
the mutants, of course.
Links :
Author Blog: http://jahuss.com/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Virtual Signing Info:
Link:
http://iamjustjunco.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9313bfe0e0713e135eac00c60&id=0fb0896cf5
2 comments:
Thanks for the allowing me to be a guest on your blog Beth, and I'm so happy that you liked the book. I think Junco has a potty mouth too, BTW... ;) But soldiers, what can you do?
Julie
She is what she is! :D
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