J.C Seal and I met through social media. She’s from Germany which is on my list of places to visit! She also mentions one of my favorite authors – Anne McCaffrey!
Author Bio
Janina Carol (J.C.) Seal
I’m from Germany, from the beautiful Black Forest area. I live in a small townhouse with my loving husband, my wonderful teenage daughter and my eighteen years old tomcat. To pay my bills, I work part time as a lab technician in cancer research. I only started writing in October 2018, but loved to read all my life.
Maybe you wonder, why does someone from Germany write in English? I still remember the first English book I ever read. Staying in the USA as an exchange student when I was sixteen, I picked a random book at a public library, ending up with “Dragonsong” by Anne McCaffrey. It was the beginning of my passion for stories reaching beyond the confines of the mortal human world, and also the beginning of my love for a language that’s so much more expressive than my native tongue. When finally risking the step from reader to writer, the language was out of question.
When I’m not writing, I like playing computer games or watching crime series on TV. I’m also part of the parents’ council at my daughter’s school and a committee member of the garden club around the corner.
Tell us about yourself.
Hi, my pen name is Janina Carol (J.C.) Seal. I’m 47 years old. I live in Germany, in a small townhouse, with my husband, daughter and tomcat.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
All this started in October 2019, followed by the craziest months in my life. I’ve always loved reading, but never thought about writing before. It was triggered by a dream I couldn’t get out of my head. A switch was flipped inside my head. Suddenly all those words were there, inside me, pressing their way out. I published a free fan-fiction short story playing in Aimee Easterling’s werewolf world, in October 2018 on AO3.
My pen-name Janina Carol (J.C.) Seal was created on Wed, Nov 14, 2018 at 10:32 AM. It was originally only meant for a short story I co-authored with Aimee Easterling. About the same time, I started writing Fallen Angels.
What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?
Let’s answer this in reverse. After writing Fallen Angels (Angels and Demons, Book one), I asked my editor TE Tim Blackburn (www.wassup-authors.com) what genre it would fit. He told me, it was fantasy, paranormal, adventure with a bit of romance. It turned out, these are also the genres I like to read the most. I obviously unconsciously chose to write what I like to read.
Is your book for adults, young adults or children?
It is suited for new adults and adults. It is a romance, after all, so there are some love scenes in it.
What is your current release or project?
My current release (December 2019) is the second book in the Angels-and Demons series. It’s called Angels Descendants. Part of it playes in Greece, where the main character of this book has been born. There will be Greek Gods and mythology, lightning and thunder, burned houses, a love story of course, and you will be introduced to Lucifer’s son.
I have also finished writing the first draft of book three, Angels Nemesis.
Another project I have been part of is the 31 Overlook Hotel – 31 authors, one hotel of a story. Book collaboration at its finest! 31 authors working together in one book – and I mean, working together, not just writing a chapter each‼️ Characters from each author’s book, invited to an All Hallows Masquerade Ball, now stuck at 31 Overlook Hotel, a hotel that defies Space and Time. The only way to ever leave this creepy place again, is to solve the mystery that holds them in its grasp. And the best thing is, it’s for FREE!
Join us at the 31 Overlook Hotel here: https://www.facebook.com/31OverlookHotel/
Tell us about the key characters
The protagonist of book two is Jason Tim, a young man who has denied his heritage all his life, calling his father a nutcase, running away from home. Until one day, something happens that turns his whole life upside down. He suddenly finds himself on The Chariot, the ancient vessel of the Gods, a place only known from history books. Realizing that his father told the truth all along, he must return to Earth to find him. Finally back, he is hunted by unknown foes, needs to come to terms with the changes in his life, and unravel the mystery of his own heritage. Learning that his girlfriend had been blackmailed to spy on him, he needs to unravel her heritage as well to keep her safe from abilities she cannot control, while struggling to accept his new role within the Angel community.
What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?
I think my description of the main character would do well as blurb. Lovely, by asking that question, you just saved me a lot of time writing a blurb!
Glad to help! Share an excerpt
Angels Descendants
Angels and Demons, Book two
Prologue
The truck came out of nowhere. It crashed into the driver’s side of my old Chrysler with the bone chilling screech of metal on metal, the sound of grating metal rattling though my mind as my head hit the frame of the car with brutal force. Celine screamed next to me, then my world went dark. I don’t know how long I faded in and out of consciousness. Everything that happened afterwards was a blur. Celine was repeating my name again, and again, between sobs. Excruciating pain raging along the left side of my body, accompanied by the sirens of the ambulance. Suddenly, a blinding light struck my eyes…
“The pupils don’t react, severe trauma of body and brain. He needs to go to emergency surgery – NOW!”
An oxygen mask appeared on my face. I felt myself fade away into oblivion.
CHAPTER 1
Coma
Coming to my senses again, standing in the middle of nowhere, everything around me was plain white, except for me. I looked down at my body, frowning. I knew I had been hurt quite severely in the car crash. Why did everything appear to be whole?
“Well, I guess I’m dead, then,” I spoke aloud, hearing my voice as a faint whisper. The whiteness swallowed all sound.
Was this heaven or hell? I had been an ordinary person, not bad or evil, but no saint, either. Baptized a Catholic, going to church was part of my life only on Christmas Eve once a year. Not really believing in any religion, where would I end up? Was there really a heaven, or a hell?
A sound to my left made me turn. I walked toward it. After a moment, agitated voices filtered through the white haze. They were speaking a strange language I was amazingly able to understand.
“It wasn’t my decision. You know very well why we stopped going down to help,” a woman spat out.
A male voice responded. “How did he get up here. He shouldn’t be here at all! He’s none of our business.”
“He was supposed to have a future, marry his girlfriend, have children. Because we neglected our jobs as Guardians, we have to deal with the consequences now!” a third, younger voice chimed in.
“Be quiet, Deedee, you’re much too young for this,” the first two voices replied in unison.
A sarcastic laugh reached my ears. “Too young? It doesn’t matter how old I am compared to you. I came of age a long time ago. I was born down there. Let me go back, start doing what we were created to do again. Maybe, I can do a better job than you, Dad! Perhaps, you’re getting too old!” the third voice replied icily.
A sigh escaped my lips. This couldn’t be true. They were bickering about failures. I shouldn’t even be here? The hit to my head must have made me go crazy, all this just a figment of my imagination. If my memory served me right, one of the doctors had mentioned brain damage. It seemed like I just had to find out.
My sigh must have reached their ears, because “Dad” called out.
“Since you’ve heard us, you might as well come over here, boy.”
I slowly started to make my way through the whiteness, until my left shin thumped into something solid. My left side tingled. I cried out in remembered pain.
“Oh, Dad, that’s enough now!”
The voice, belonging to the girl, sounded annoyed. Somebody clapped hands. The fog lifted to reveal a storage space full of wooden crates, old furniture, historic statues, other strange looking clutter. Where had I ended up, a smuggler’s den? The storage area of a museum? Looking down, I could see a small metal chest. That’s what my leg had bumped. Turning around, I finally took in the persons belonging to the voices that had reached my ears.
A bearded man with long, slightly curly hair. His brown hair mixed with white. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with a well-toned body clad in tight-fitting jeans and shirt. His silver-grey eyes flashed in my direction with barely concealed ire. The woman looked younger than the man. She had long brown hair. She had a friendly smile on her lips. Her well-formed body was concealed by a flowing ankle-length dress. The daughter was stunningly beautiful! Her strawberry blonde hair was braided in intricate patterns around her head. She grinned at me openly. I felt myself blush as my eyes travelled down the length of her sparsely clad body.
She held out her hand. I shook it with my mouth hanging slightly open, my brain muddled with desire.
“Welcome to the Chariot,” she greeted me.
Do you have a favorite scene?
Yes, I do.
Sword still in hand, I turned to Zeus, looking him in the eyes. The attitude towards his offspring reminded me so much of my own father, it was impossible to stifle the words gushing uncensored out of my mouth.
“How can they grow tall, if you keep them locked up in a golden cage?
How can they grow strong, if they never feel the harsh rays of the midday sun, or the chill of night?
How can they grow roots that go deep, if they miss either nourishment or water?
How can they grow resilient, if they are never submitted to the blows of a gale?
How can they learn to appreciate diversity, if they are kept apart?
How can they learn control, if there is no consequence in failure?”
What advice would you give a beginner?
Oh, you mean, like the blind leading the blind, since I’m a beginner myself. I guess the most important thing is, stay true to yourself. Don’t give up, don’t despair. Don’t let anyone tell you to stop writing. Find a community of like minds. Indie writers are special, they help each other. Don’t be afraid to reach out to one of us.
Social media links:
Gain-your-Wings and submit to my newsletter here: https://gain-your-wings.mailchimpsites.com
If you want to know more about me and my universe, you can find me here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJCSeal/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/de/J-C-Seal/e/B082336LYP?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1574954329&sr=8-1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jcseal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.c.seal/
Twitter: @AuthorJCSeal
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-c-seal
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/JaninaCarolSeal/angels-and-demons-trilogy/
Xinxii Publishing: https://www.xinxii.com/j-c-seal-98747
Or you can contact me for comments or suggestions. Just send an e-mail to: j.c.seal@web.de