Welcome to my stop on the Clutch blog tour! Author J.A. Huss has graciously done an interview with me! Welcome, J.A.! Make sure you stop to enter the giveaway!
Author Bio: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 went on to write science curriculum for homeschoolers and now runs a successful home business that creates and offers online science unit studies. When she’s not writing science curriculum or fiction, she works as a farm inspector, traveling the Eastern Plains of Colorado in variety of environmentally friendly vehicles that never have four-wheel drive, so when she gets stuck in the mud in said vehicles, she has to beg for assistance from anyone who will help her. She is not bitter about that at all.
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.
She went on to write science curriculum for homeschoolers and now runs a successful home business that creates and offers online science unit studies. When she’s not writing science curriculum or fiction, she works as a farm inspector, traveling the Eastern Plains of Colorado in variety of environmentally friendly vehicles that never have four-wheel drive, so when she gets stuck in the mud in said vehicles, she has to beg for assistance from anyone who will help her. She is not bitter about that at all.
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.
Weblinks
Website: http://www.iamjustjunco.com/
Blog: http://jahuss.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Junco-Coot/258034560979553
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446815.J_A_Huss
YouTube Trailer - CLUTCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0PWDGoTJY
YouTube Trailer - FLEDGE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LYS0N1OAY
Website: http://www.iamjustjunco.com/
Blog: http://jahuss.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Junco-Coot/258034560979553
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446815.J_A_Huss
YouTube Trailer - CLUTCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0PWDGoTJY
YouTube Trailer - FLEDGE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_LYS0N1OAY
The Blurb: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.
CONTENT WARNING - The I Am Just Junco series is NOT young adult and contains A LOT of bad language and violence
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.
CONTENT WARNING - The I Am Just Junco series is NOT young adult and contains A LOT of bad language and violence
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The Review:
This book is a ride. There are tons of twists and turns. It easy to connect to the characters. Don't assume that just because Junco is 19 that the book is YA. I'm sure many will ignore the content warning, but hey, they were warned. Junco is hardcore. The language and violence mixes together to create a very real and tough character.
You've got a lot of questions in the beginning. What's with the nightmares and being hunted? But the story reveals what it needs to.
The book sucks you in. JA did a good job at making her readers experience the book. Like the nightdog things. *Shivers* Nope, don't want to meet those any time soon.
There were a couple of spots where things were a little rough, but they don't detract from the story too much. It's a good quick read.
I recommend this for those that like action, mixed with thrills and suspense. Oh, and futuristic.
This book is a ride. There are tons of twists and turns. It easy to connect to the characters. Don't assume that just because Junco is 19 that the book is YA. I'm sure many will ignore the content warning, but hey, they were warned. Junco is hardcore. The language and violence mixes together to create a very real and tough character.
You've got a lot of questions in the beginning. What's with the nightmares and being hunted? But the story reveals what it needs to.
The book sucks you in. JA did a good job at making her readers experience the book. Like the nightdog things. *Shivers* Nope, don't want to meet those any time soon.
There were a couple of spots where things were a little rough, but they don't detract from the story too much. It's a good quick read.
I recommend this for those that like action, mixed with thrills and suspense. Oh, and futuristic.
The Interview!
JK: Did you always want to be a writer? If not, then what?
JH: No, I always wanted to be a scientist and so that’s what I went to school for. It wasn’t until much later that I decided to begin writing, first non-fiction science educational materials, and finally this year, I started writing fiction.
JK: Do your readers contact you? If so, what do they say?
JH: Most of the time readers contact me to say they enjoyed the series, also to ask when the next book is coming out.
JK: For aspiring writers, what three pieces of good advice would you give them?
JH: Learn to plot and develop characters
Find an editor that understands your genre and your story
Start planning your marketing strategy early. Way before you publish.
JK: Do you have a favorite of your own books?
JH: I always think the one I’m writing is my favorite so right now I’m in love with the fourth book, Range. Junco is so messed up and the scenes in the beginning of the book are so emotional, I just fall in love with her all over again when I read them.
But truthfully, I think Fledge is my favorite. Junco is so ugly in that book, yet despite never catching a break, she soldiers on. She does two awful things in that story, one to someone else and the other to herself. And I could never in a million years have done either of them. But if she didn’t do those terrible things, she’d never live to complete her one true mission. So in the end I have to agree with her choices. She did was she had to do. That’s kind of the story of her life. She gets the job done.
JK: How do you balance writing with your life?
JH: It’s hard because I own my own business and I have an outside part-time job. But the best way for me to find writing time is to schedule it in on my calendar.
JK: How old were you when you wrote your first book and what was it about?
JH: I wrote my first book when I was 31. It was a middle-grade mystery about a couple of orphans who went to live with their aunt on a farm.
JK: Where do your ideas come from?
JH: I have no idea…they just come to me.
JK: Do you have a writing quirk?
JH: I plot all my scenes while walking on the treadmill. It’s very hard for me to plot any other way now.
JK: Pantser or Planner?
JH: Planner all the way.
JK: Do you pick out dream casts for your books? If so, what's your favorite so far?
JH: No, I really haven’t done that, but it would be fun to do.
JK: Coke vs Pepsi?
JH: Pepsi
JK: Chocolate vs Vanilla?
JH: Chocolate
JK: Cake vs Ice Cream?
JH: Cake
JK: Do you think we dream in color or that we wake up and remember it in color?
JH: I have no idea! I’ve never thought abut that before. I think we probably dream in black and white, but I’m not sure.
JK: What's your favorite food?
JH: Everything on my Thanksgiving table!
JK: What type of food could you never live without?
JH: Milk Duds
JK: If you were stuck on a desert island, what would you take with you (limit 4 items)?
JH: A solar-powered phone charger
iPhone
Pocket knife
Lighter
JK: Favorite show growing up?
JH: The Simpsons
JK: If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?
JH: Invisibility – it has so much potential!
JK: What do you think the future will hold?
JH: Good things, I hope.
JK: Did you always want to be a writer? If not, then what?
JH: No, I always wanted to be a scientist and so that’s what I went to school for. It wasn’t until much later that I decided to begin writing, first non-fiction science educational materials, and finally this year, I started writing fiction.
JK: Do your readers contact you? If so, what do they say?
JH: Most of the time readers contact me to say they enjoyed the series, also to ask when the next book is coming out.
JK: For aspiring writers, what three pieces of good advice would you give them?
JH: Learn to plot and develop characters
Find an editor that understands your genre and your story
Start planning your marketing strategy early. Way before you publish.
JK: Do you have a favorite of your own books?
JH: I always think the one I’m writing is my favorite so right now I’m in love with the fourth book, Range. Junco is so messed up and the scenes in the beginning of the book are so emotional, I just fall in love with her all over again when I read them.
But truthfully, I think Fledge is my favorite. Junco is so ugly in that book, yet despite never catching a break, she soldiers on. She does two awful things in that story, one to someone else and the other to herself. And I could never in a million years have done either of them. But if she didn’t do those terrible things, she’d never live to complete her one true mission. So in the end I have to agree with her choices. She did was she had to do. That’s kind of the story of her life. She gets the job done.
JK: How do you balance writing with your life?
JH: It’s hard because I own my own business and I have an outside part-time job. But the best way for me to find writing time is to schedule it in on my calendar.
JK: How old were you when you wrote your first book and what was it about?
JH: I wrote my first book when I was 31. It was a middle-grade mystery about a couple of orphans who went to live with their aunt on a farm.
JK: Where do your ideas come from?
JH: I have no idea…they just come to me.
JK: Do you have a writing quirk?
JH: I plot all my scenes while walking on the treadmill. It’s very hard for me to plot any other way now.
JK: Pantser or Planner?
JH: Planner all the way.
JK: Do you pick out dream casts for your books? If so, what's your favorite so far?
JH: No, I really haven’t done that, but it would be fun to do.
JK: Coke vs Pepsi?
JH: Pepsi
JK: Chocolate vs Vanilla?
JH: Chocolate
JK: Cake vs Ice Cream?
JH: Cake
JK: Do you think we dream in color or that we wake up and remember it in color?
JH: I have no idea! I’ve never thought abut that before. I think we probably dream in black and white, but I’m not sure.
JK: What's your favorite food?
JH: Everything on my Thanksgiving table!
JK: What type of food could you never live without?
JH: Milk Duds
JK: If you were stuck on a desert island, what would you take with you (limit 4 items)?
JH: A solar-powered phone charger
iPhone
Pocket knife
Lighter
JK: Favorite show growing up?
JH: The Simpsons
JK: If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?
JH: Invisibility – it has so much potential!
JK: What do you think the future will hold?
JH: Good things, I hope.
Follow the tour!11/16 Celestial Reviews
11/21 The Avid Reader
11/22 Bookworm Babblings
11/22 Wicked Readings By Tawania
11/23 Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
11/26 The Cover by Brittany
11/26 Broad-Minded Books
11/27 Queen of All She Reads
11/21 The Avid Reader
11/22 Bookworm Babblings
11/22 Wicked Readings By Tawania
11/23 Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
11/26 The Cover by Brittany
11/26 Broad-Minded Books
11/27 Queen of All She Reads
The Excerpt:
"I think we should stick together, Junco. In fact I was thinking I can help get ya back to safety. Ya know, help ya get the Goat back up on the road. Even though yer healed, yer still pretty–" He hesitates.
"I’m pretty?" I ask.
He laughs a little and shakes his head, which pisses me off for some reason. "No, I was going to say pretty weak, ya know. From yesterday’s crash. But then I wondered if ya would take that as an insult as well."
I roll my eyes and try to push past him to get the winch hooked up to a tree, but he leans his hands on either side of the Goat, essentially boxing me in. I shoot him a nasty look and he drops his hands to let me through.
"Thanks for all your help," I call back to him, "but I’m going to take it from here. And I won’t report you, so don’t worry about that. Just get hell out of the RR before anyone else sees you." I turn to see how he’s taking the news but he’s not there. When I turn back he’s in front of me again.
He shakes his head at me.
I shake mine back and raise my eyebrows.
"You’ll refuse my help?"
"Look," I huff, "you have those people tracking you and neither of us is supposed to be out here in the first place, so let’s just cut our losses and move on. Separately."
He looks down to the tech that is still in his hand. "They can’t see anything here. Some sort of shield."
"Right. That’s called a defense system. The deeper you go into the Stag, the thicker the shields. So why don’t you just fly over to the Mountain Republic where they probably can track you?"
He lifts the device to illustrate his point. "In case ya haven’t figured it out yet, these people aren’t my ride home."
"So why are they tracking you?"
His eyes twinkle and I know what’s coming and push past him at a full run. He’s on me before I can take more than half a dozen strides and pulls on my shirt until I slip in the mud and go down hard on my back.
"Stop!" I scream, but instead of stopping he pins my arms down and sits on top of me as I wriggle and kick to try and get him off. His legs twine around mine, essentially cutting off any thoughts of getting him off me that way. Then his eyes are glowing again and his lips are touching my cheek, whispering for me to settle and be calm.
To my surprise, I do settle. I can’t help it. I realize too late that the soft words brushing past the sensitive skin on my cheek are controlling me. I can feel the sound waves trickling into my ear canal, making their way to the nerve pathways that control my muscles, and I bring my shoulders up to try and push his face away. His lips remain next to my ear and I am just about to fully give in when the tech device, forgotten and left on the ground during our struggle, sounds off an alarm. He loses his concentration and the words stop for half a moment, but that’s all I need.
I take my opportunity and flip myself over so that I’m on my belly. This takes him by surprise and for a split-second he is off balance. I flip back around and use my right arm to knock him in the windpipe as my body turns. He goes reeling off of me and I’m up and running down into the little creek.
A boot goes flying just past my head, but I don’t stop and wonder at this weird turn of events. I run as hard as I can, over the opposite bank, out of the small grove of cottonwoods, and into the tall flowing prairie grass. I’m short, so the leftover husks slap me in the face as I run, blurring my vision.
The wings descend and he’s swooping down upon me. I look up to see talons where his boots were just a few minutes ago and they latch onto my shoulders, puncturing my skin and making me scream. His grip tightens and clutches onto my shoulders making me fall. I roll as I land and pop back up, booking it again without missing a beat.
One second I’m hauling ass towards the open prairie, the next he’s on the ground in front of me and we’re on a collision path. I plan my move and let him get to within a few strides of me and then I flip into the air and land on the other side of him. He misses a step and I take advantage of it, turn and deliver a hook kick to his jaw. His head snaps to the side and he stumbles over sideways a little.
I run hard for a few seconds and don’t look back. Off in the distance I hear the roar of a hovercopter and a few seconds later I feel the effects of the prairie grass wind tunnel it creates from the blades, but still I push my way through the now wildly swaying wheat until I come upon the alien again.
His lip is bleeding and his jaw is slightly red from my kick. I stop in my tracks, bent over and panting hard.
He’s not even out of breath.
"I’m not the enemy, Junco," he screams above the roar, "and if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll run like hell because if those guys from the Mountain Republic get you, you’ll end up in the same messed-up place as your father."
He flies off, disappearing in the tallgrass before I can even string together a sentence.
But his words stay with me. Dead like my father is not something I want to be so I follow his advice. I run until the MR soldiers in the hovercopter blast me with a plasma bolt and I fall to the ground unconscious.
"I think we should stick together, Junco. In fact I was thinking I can help get ya back to safety. Ya know, help ya get the Goat back up on the road. Even though yer healed, yer still pretty–" He hesitates.
"I’m pretty?" I ask.
He laughs a little and shakes his head, which pisses me off for some reason. "No, I was going to say pretty weak, ya know. From yesterday’s crash. But then I wondered if ya would take that as an insult as well."
I roll my eyes and try to push past him to get the winch hooked up to a tree, but he leans his hands on either side of the Goat, essentially boxing me in. I shoot him a nasty look and he drops his hands to let me through.
"Thanks for all your help," I call back to him, "but I’m going to take it from here. And I won’t report you, so don’t worry about that. Just get hell out of the RR before anyone else sees you." I turn to see how he’s taking the news but he’s not there. When I turn back he’s in front of me again.
He shakes his head at me.
I shake mine back and raise my eyebrows.
"You’ll refuse my help?"
"Look," I huff, "you have those people tracking you and neither of us is supposed to be out here in the first place, so let’s just cut our losses and move on. Separately."
He looks down to the tech that is still in his hand. "They can’t see anything here. Some sort of shield."
"Right. That’s called a defense system. The deeper you go into the Stag, the thicker the shields. So why don’t you just fly over to the Mountain Republic where they probably can track you?"
He lifts the device to illustrate his point. "In case ya haven’t figured it out yet, these people aren’t my ride home."
"So why are they tracking you?"
His eyes twinkle and I know what’s coming and push past him at a full run. He’s on me before I can take more than half a dozen strides and pulls on my shirt until I slip in the mud and go down hard on my back.
"Stop!" I scream, but instead of stopping he pins my arms down and sits on top of me as I wriggle and kick to try and get him off. His legs twine around mine, essentially cutting off any thoughts of getting him off me that way. Then his eyes are glowing again and his lips are touching my cheek, whispering for me to settle and be calm.
To my surprise, I do settle. I can’t help it. I realize too late that the soft words brushing past the sensitive skin on my cheek are controlling me. I can feel the sound waves trickling into my ear canal, making their way to the nerve pathways that control my muscles, and I bring my shoulders up to try and push his face away. His lips remain next to my ear and I am just about to fully give in when the tech device, forgotten and left on the ground during our struggle, sounds off an alarm. He loses his concentration and the words stop for half a moment, but that’s all I need.
I take my opportunity and flip myself over so that I’m on my belly. This takes him by surprise and for a split-second he is off balance. I flip back around and use my right arm to knock him in the windpipe as my body turns. He goes reeling off of me and I’m up and running down into the little creek.
A boot goes flying just past my head, but I don’t stop and wonder at this weird turn of events. I run as hard as I can, over the opposite bank, out of the small grove of cottonwoods, and into the tall flowing prairie grass. I’m short, so the leftover husks slap me in the face as I run, blurring my vision.
The wings descend and he’s swooping down upon me. I look up to see talons where his boots were just a few minutes ago and they latch onto my shoulders, puncturing my skin and making me scream. His grip tightens and clutches onto my shoulders making me fall. I roll as I land and pop back up, booking it again without missing a beat.
One second I’m hauling ass towards the open prairie, the next he’s on the ground in front of me and we’re on a collision path. I plan my move and let him get to within a few strides of me and then I flip into the air and land on the other side of him. He misses a step and I take advantage of it, turn and deliver a hook kick to his jaw. His head snaps to the side and he stumbles over sideways a little.
I run hard for a few seconds and don’t look back. Off in the distance I hear the roar of a hovercopter and a few seconds later I feel the effects of the prairie grass wind tunnel it creates from the blades, but still I push my way through the now wildly swaying wheat until I come upon the alien again.
His lip is bleeding and his jaw is slightly red from my kick. I stop in my tracks, bent over and panting hard.
He’s not even out of breath.
"I’m not the enemy, Junco," he screams above the roar, "and if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll run like hell because if those guys from the Mountain Republic get you, you’ll end up in the same messed-up place as your father."
He flies off, disappearing in the tallgrass before I can even string together a sentence.
But his words stay with me. Dead like my father is not something I want to be so I follow his advice. I run until the MR soldiers in the hovercopter blast me with a plasma bolt and I fall to the ground unconscious.
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