New writers aren't all that unusual in the field of science fiction and fantasy literature. We see new authors pop up every day, some of them two-novel wonders, others having the staying power to keep writing good books and provide readers of sf & f literature some fresh perspectives. J.V. Jones (Julie, to her friends) is one such writer who obviously possesses the quality of all great writers. I first heard about Julie's works when I was browsing an issue of Locus magazine, and saw a review of her first book that was due out in July of 1995, The Baker's Boy. The book sounded very interesting and entertaining, even if it was to be the first book of the Book of Words trilogy, and I was able to pick the book up when it first came out in trade paperback.
The Baker's Boy was a very pleasant surprise, and not just to me. While I found that the reviews of the book were full of praise, the reviewers missed an awful lot of the subtle interactions between the characters in that first book. I can't say that Jack and Melli were all that loveable during the early part of the book, but as the novel worked its way along, they grew in their personalities and became very close to my heart. The sequel to that first book, A Man Betrayed, was just as good, if not better, than the first book, and Julie has continued with her fine writing in the third book.
Julie's web site has a small biography section, that informs us that J.V. Jones was born in Liverpool, England, in 1963. She has been writing for four years, and is just starting work on her fifth novel, which is currently untitled. She currently resides in San Diego, California.
The following is a listing of Julie V. Jones's fiction to this point:
J.V. Jones has her own web site that is truly interesting, and features a lot of different pages that are largely based on her characters from the books. There's a lot of material here, and she's even given the browser the chance to be greeted with a .WAV file or two.