Bio:
Joel T. McGrath resides in New Hampshire with his beautiful wife, Jessica, their two cats, Chance and Mittens, and two gerbils, Scurry and Scamper. He is the eighth of nine children and currently enjoys a career of nursing. He graduated from Virginia Western in 2003 and always looks forward to whatever life throws his way. He began writing because he had stories to tell that were in contrast from the mainstream books that crowd the bookshelves. With his book Shrouded Secrets, he dared to produce a work that would kindle the imagination, as well as entice and challenge the reader's intelligence.
INTERVIEW:
“If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?”
It would so have to be Herman Melville. I would want to tell him that Moby Dick turned out to be a classic, even though critics of his day bashed it to pieces.
“Night owl, or early bird?”
The day doesn’t really start until about two a.m., right?
“Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.”
Because more than simple entertainment, Shrouded Secrets is a reflection of what makes us human, and isn’t that the only thing that really matters in the end?
“Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?”
I’ve written two other works, both of which I feel have great potential. One of the manuscripts is currently under consideration by a major publishing house.
“Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?”
Danielle, one of Shrouded Secrets main characters, is more a teenager than the woman she resembles. She definitely has some growing pains along the way. Danielle lives her life clinging to the love she craves, which is often in direct conflict with the love she feels that she deserves. That’s why her song would have to be “Gravity,” by Sara Bareilles.
David James, Danielle’s younger brother, is kind of a complex dude at times. He’s not a kid, but he likes kid things still; however, he’s becoming more self-conscious as he becomes more self-aware. For that reason, he’s somewhere between “Creep,” by Radiohead, and “My Hero,” by Foo Fighters.
“What is your favorite Quote?”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“What's the craziest writing idea you've had?”
Since I’m a nurse, I wrote a story about Werewolfism where otherwise normal, healthy people would unknowingly change into Werewolves after prolonged exposure to a person who was a genetic carrier of Werewolfism. The person with the gene did not become afflicted, but rather they caused those around them to turn into Werewolves. This temporary condition of Werewolfism caused friends and strangers alike to instinctively hunt and kill the genetic carrier until the allergic response was purged, or the carrier left the area altogether.
With a dwindling number of friends who are also genetic carriers like himself, Victor, the main character, discovers that he can never stay in one place for more than 29 days, or every full moon, for fear of being devoured by packs of hungry beasts. As the flulike symptoms of those around him get worse, he has to make the hardest choice of all, whether to uproot and leave the woman he loves, or let her become the inevitable source of his death.
“What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?”
“Favorite Food?”
“What was your favorite children's book?”
Bunnicula
“Nickname?”
JT
“If you were a super hero what would your kryptonite be?”
My wife, Jessica, and I mean that in a good way. She is my weakness.
“What do you do in your free time?”
Ha, what free time? LOL
“If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?”
If at First You Don’t Succeed…Yada, Yada, Yada
“What is your guilty pleasure?”
“What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit?”
“Love in the Wild” on NBC
“Write a Haiku about your book”
“In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with?”
“What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?”
Taste is subjective, so don’t worry about literary snobs, and just stay true to the craft.
When a teenage brother and sister inherit secret metaphysical powers, they are unknowingly hunted by a group of clandestine immortals. While one of the siblings will reluctantly choose the path of righteousness, the other will defiantly dabble with the promise of true power and the darkness that accompanies it.
As David James begins his freshman year of high school, he learns that his older sister Danielle's popularity isn't genetic. However, their lives change dramatically with the discovery that they possess power which grants them vast unearthly abilities. The more they strive for reasonable normality, the more unstable their powers become when combined with the stresses of high school teenage life.
While jealously, love, and anger unhinge their once typical lives, temptations to abuse their newfound gifts are manipulated by a shrouded and unyielding adversary who seeks to cast earth into a modern dark age. Soon secrets will injure the ones they love as the burden of true power begins to isolate them. Not even the ominous prospect of a crumbling world matters when each of them finds that they are helpless to control their own desires.
Shrouded Secrets is an imaginative story in which David and Danielle James encounter the realm Eruditus. It is there they are taught to employ powers of the Artifex. The Galinea, knighted protectors of Eruditus, have those among them who have gone rogue. These malcontents, known as the Shroud, have set their sights on the two siblings. A perilous adventure ensues as David and Danielle become entangled with enemies who seek to claim their very lives.
Book Giveaway:
1 copy of Shrouded Secrets
Open to US or Canada
Ends 10/14/11
Optional Extra Entry
+2 Fan or Friend Joel on Goodreads
Thank you for the interview. Was there something specific that inspired you to write Shrouded Secrets? Why did you choose to write Children and Young Adult books?
ReplyDeleteThank you.
k(dot)cherub2011(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteGreat questions and yes, there was something specific that inspired Shrouded Secrets. In Chapter 3, The Mystery of Fisher-cat Junction, David and his sister, Danielle, get lost in the deep, dark woods while visiting their grandfather in New Hampshire. During that time, they stumble upon an unusual sight---a perfectly preserved, hundred-year-old train depot abandoned in the middle of nowhere. For me, this is where the story really begins, not just because some strange things begin to happen at this point, but this part of my story is also rooted in some truth.
A few years back, I stumbled upon a similar scene here in the woods of NH while hiking with my wife. It was spooky to say the least, and much of what I described in the book was precisely how I remembered the inside of that depot to this day. I do have to add that the outward appearance was so frightening for my wife that she elected to forgo exploring the inside of the train station with me.
That being said, I chose to write to a younger age group because in the slightly altered immortal words of Charles Dickens, “It the best of times, it is the worst of times.” I know many of our strongest emotions, both good and bad, are experienced during our younger years. These years can be as magical as they can be dreadful. However, I set out to capture a tiny bit of gold dust from the things we all cherished, and unfortunately some ash from the lumps of coal that may have been heaped upon us during that same time.
Joel T. McGrath
Thank you so much for your in depth response. Having grown up in upstate NY, I remember well the wonderful things you could find in the woods.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are successful in providing some magic to your audience.
A great interview. Congratulations on your book. It sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteHi Beverly,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I want to share a Goodreads link to my 2012 release, The Shadow Harvest, and I welcome emails for a free ARC of my 2012 title through GR as well.
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/278376-the-shadow-harvest
Joel T. McGrath
Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with us today and for the awesome giveaway opportunity. I would love to read Shrouded Secrets. Are you considering completing the werewolfism story :) I think it sounds good as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise,
ReplyDeleteI will be branching out into other genres shortly with the help of my publisher of course. There are several YA, and adult para-romance/ urban-fantasy novels that I'm in the process of polishing up at this point. Though, several years ago I was going to title the novel that I mentioned in the outset, New Moon, but, I guess you probably know why I can't name it that anymore:P
Joel T. McGrath
Your book sounds good, please enter me for the drawing. susan Leech garysue@dejazzd.com
ReplyDeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteDo mean for an ARC for my 2012 title, The Shadow Harvest?
Joel T. McGrath
Shrouded Secrets is now part of Amazon's 4 for 3 promotion. For more details, see the links below.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Shrouded-Secrets-Joel-T-McGrath/dp/1453791922/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317140899&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/promotions/details/popup/A229XSEXRO8FG3