The author JL Julius is about to release his first novel, Widow’s Leap, a paranormal love story of sorts. The story tells of two lovers that were separated by death, one has reincarnated and the other remains in the ‘gap’ trying to reach her beloved. It is an emotional tale that ponders the question of love after death and if true love can reach beyond the grave.
According to Julius, this tale came unexpectedly when he walked over a bridge in North Carolina. He paused a moment, when suddenly a feeling of grief and great loss came over him. At that moment, the story appeared in his mind, a complete story, not a notion or idea for a story. Years later, he commits this experience to writing. The initial story remains intact, save the addition of a few characters to help tell the tale and the fleshing out of the main ones.
None of this seems strange to him, Julius says, since he has experienced strange things all his life. Although Widow’s Leap can be considered a light romance, he also writes under the pseudonym of Duayne Keegan for his darker stories. This is where it gets weird…
A friend asked him if he would write a vampire novel, so he pulled out an old plot that went nowhere, just notes he scribbled down a year prior. When he reviewed the pages, it happened again, an entire story exploded in his mind. He wrote everything he saw and heard and realized that this story will run about three books or more. However, this wasn’t the weird part, Julius had two of the minor characters approach him and ask for bigger roles. It felt a little strange at first, he remembers, but the one character moved herself into center stage and completed the dynamics of the first book of this trilogy.
The funniest incident happened while he was walking in his “mind’s movie set,” where he noticed a pile of rags. Before he could ask why they where there, he chuckles, a lady pops her head from beneath the pile and asks to be in the story. Naturally, he was thrilled and included her.
His friends really freaked out, when a coworker with the gift inquired about a lady and what connection she had with him. She described the rag lady in detail and said, “She could only see her from the neck up and she wore a bunch of blankets.” Julius informed her that was Margo, a character in his book. He inquired why she should ask or even knew about her. His coworker replied, “Because she is here standing next to you. She has been here for sometime now, hovering around us.” Julius thought this experience was exciting and wonderful; his friends disagreed as they tried to rub away their goose bumps...
Widow’s Leap (Bookworm Publishing) ISBN 978–1-60264–310–9, $22.95 (hardcover) will be available Feb of 2009. More info at; www.jljulius.com
