Jay Bell is a transplanted American who is now living in Germany because he fell in love with his husband who was in the US as an exchange student. How romantic is that? 
Jay has written two full length novels and has just released a free book. He has two works in progress, one of which is a free book. I challenged Jay to include a greeting in German for all of our German readers and he has done so, but since I can’t read it I need someone to tell me if he screwed up. 🙂
Here’s Jay’s bio:
########
Hey everyone! My name is Jay Bell, and I’m new in school. Rather than my usually stuffy bio, Wave has been generous enough to let me loosen my knickers and talk to you directly.
I’m originally from Kansas. I’ve also lived in Missouri, Texas, and Florida in between, but Kansas always managed to suck me back in. While there, I met a rather attractive guy who was just farsighted enough to think I was the same. As it turned out, he was from Germany, and I was looking for a new adventure. That’s how we ended up here. And married.
The fresh start and my husband’s amazing generosity allowed me to focus full-time on writing, which I have been doing ever since. My fingers are itching to tell you about my books, but then that would defeat the purpose of everything below this message. Instead I’ll name one thing I love, one thing I hate, and one thing I’ve never heard of, but not exactly in that order. Ready? Olives. Polytropes. Spiders.
Auch viele Grüsse an die Leser in Deutschland! Ihr habt ein wunderbares Land und ich finde das Leben hier echt klasse und sehr freundlich. Ach ja: möchte jemand meine Bücher ins Deutsche übersetzen? Kostenlose versteht sich. Ähm. Okay, vielleicht doch lieber nicht. 😉
Jay Bell
#########
Outlined below are the blurbs of Jay’s recent and upcoming books:
The Cat in the Cradle reviewed here
“An interesting and intriguing novel with many original ideas.”~Piers Anthony, author of the Apprentice Adept and Xanth series
The Cat in the Cradle is Jay Bell’s debut fantasy novel. The novel takes the reader on an exploration of the Five Lands and the different realms of the strange and fantastic Oligarchs. Each Oligarch possesses a different colored loka that enables them to wield a unique style of magic. Dylan, aided by his talking cat Kio, must prevent the lokas from falling into the hands of a power hungry killer before the Five Lands is brought to its knees. The print version of The Cat in the Cradle features 25 original illustrations, one for each chapter.
Something Like Summer
Love, like everything in the universe, cannot be destroyed. But over time it can change.
The hot Texas nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart.
Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies.
Jay’s free short story Flesh and Blood explores Nikolai’s origins, a character introduced in The Cat in the Cradle which can be downloaded from http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26433 ”
Nikolai’s life was good, if not a little lonely. The little tavern, deep in the heart of the Wildlands, was both his home and his livelihood, and most of the time he was content. This all changed the night Nikolai decided to help a woman down on her luck. Soon he learns that nothing is what is seems. Inside or out, flesh and blood can be deceptive, and even the kindest heart can lose itself to the beast within.
Next is Language Lessons. This free short story is due for release on February 19th, 2011 and will be available from Smashwords and its distribution partners.
Love doesn’t come easy. For Joey, he didn’t care if it ever came at all. He was much too busy adding notches to his bedpost and preparing for life as an adult. But when
a causal fling waxes nostalgic about the one that got away, Joey starts to wonder if he isn’t missing something after all, if there really is something to be learned from the language of love.
Jay has another book coming out this year called Purgatory, his third full length novel, that is due to be released Autumn, 2011. Here’s the blurb
John Grey is dead… and that’s just the beginning of his problems.
Purgatory should have been a safe haven for souls that belong neither in Heaven nor Hell, but instead John finds himself in a corrupt prison, one bereft of freedom or pleasure. Along with his decedent friend Dante, John makes a brave escape from Purgatory only to fall straight down to Hell and into the arms of Rimmon, a handsome incubus. After succumbing to Rimmon’s charms, John is soon playing ambassador to Hell, visiting the afterlife realms of other cultures to recruit an army strong enough
prototype of cover
to stand against Heaven. As interesting as his new job is, John’s mind keeps returning to Purgatory and the souls still trapped there. Somehow John must stop a war he doesn’t believe in and pull off the largest prison break in history, all while desperately trying to attract the attention of an incubus whose heart belongs to another.
Jay’s Contact Information
email: foolsbones@hotmail.com
website: http://www.jaybellbooks.com/
Hey Jay,
I am a transplant to Germany, too.
But I was the student, met and married my husband.
The German was perfect, is your German really that good:)
I look forward to reading your stories.
No my German isn’t that good. I had Andreas proof read the above text. 😉
Mein echtes Deutsch klingt sehr komisch und ich mache viele Grammatikfehler, aber es geht.
Where did you end up in Germany?
BTW Jay, Christian Otto, my very good friend and Webmaster for the site, also lives in Germany but he isn’t a transplant. He was born there. 🙂
Oh no, a native! 😉 He’s done a great job with the site!
Hi Jay. *waves*
Great interview! 🙂 Viele Grüße aus Niedersachsen. 😀
We are in Rheinland-Pfalz, near Ramstein Airbase.
Tons of Americans here.
And I know Germans don’t really care if you make mistakes, and at least around here they all try and answer in English.
I don’t have an accent when I speak German, but all my German friends love the way Amis speak German, they think it’s cute, so you probably get brownie points for it:))
Yeah, all the Germans have been very kind… aside from this one guy in Berlin that laughed and laughed every time I tried to him what I wanted. LOL
I’d just like to say that I really like the cover art of your books. It’s nice to see something original instead of the same old photos recycled over and over again.
Thanks Eva! All the art is done by my husband Andreas, and I feel very lucky to have access to his talent. I’ll be sure to let him know you enjoy the covers.
Hi Jay,
I can confirm what Ailish said, Ami-German is cute, so no worries, okay? BTW Grammar, who cares for Grammar? Aren’t you, if I recall correctly, in Schwaben? ’nuff said. However, I’m glad you like it here and I sincerely hope you and your husband are always as happy as you’re now.
I loved Flesh and Blood, and Cats in the cradle is very high on my TBR. Looking forward to Purgatory, also, that sounds quirky!
Best, Feliz
Oh no, Feliz, I must apologise. I forgot to mention that you were also German. What can I say? It was very early in the morning and I was in a hurry to get back to bed. lol.
no worries Wave *grins* I’ll take it as a compliment to my English…
I’m a big fan of German accents, so it’s good to hear my accent might be cute to others. And yeah, I’m down here in BW now trying to learn Schwabish, which I swear is a completely different language.
Glad you enjoyed Flesh and Blood. It’s a little different from the rest of my writing, but if you liked it, you’ll probably like The Cat in the Cradle even more.
Yay for diplomats to Hell. 🙂 Nice to meet you and I’m definitely looking forward to that one. Nice to “meet” you here at Wave’s.
Umm. I don’t speak German nor have I lived there. Lived in Poland and the Czech Republic though, so I should get half points for touching the border, and visiting. 🙂
Nice to meet you too, Tam. I’m just taking a break from polishing up Purgatory and I have to admit, it’s a very weird book. I can’t wait to see what people make of it.
Life in Poland and the Czech Republic must have been very interesting. How did you end up there?
Umm. I was a diplomat. LOL Not very Hell-like though. I was there in the late 90’s so life was pretty “normal”. 🙂 Prague is amazing though. Love it.
Wow, a real diplomat! That’s really cool. Hey, does diplomatic immunity actually exist, or is that just a product of fiction? Did you park your car illegally and stroll through grocery stores, eating whatever you wanted and not paying a thing? Hm… I’d like to be a diplomat. 😉
Umm. Yes, it exists, and I bow my head in shame that I did park once somewhere illegally because I knew I wouldn’t get a ticket. LOL There were no spots, I needed to park.
However no stealing or randomly killing locals. 🙂 While technically they can’t prosecute you for crimes, they simply ask your government for permission to do so and mine will, quick as a wink, lift immunity and you are now at the mercy of the local courts. So while it exists, it exists to prevent diplomats from being imprisoned or harrassed for speaking up on something like human rights, not for getting out of traffic tickets. 🙂
Hi Jay,
Grüße from another German. The transplant in our family is my husband – though from the UK, not the USA.
Accents are endlessly fascinating. I speak English with little German accent and Brits regularly “accuse” me of being Swedish, South African or even Welsh. For a while we lived in Virginia, and Americans find my accent even more puzzling. Though they all thought it was sooo cute *g*.
LOL Germans are so good at speaking other languages. I really envy that and how schools require students to study so many years. In the US the requirement is usually only a year of a foreign language, which is never enough to be useful.
Funny that the Brits mistake you as being Welsh. I’ve had a lot of Germans ask me if I’m from England or the US, which makes me wonder if the accents sound very similar.
Hi, Jay! I’m looking forward to reading your books – that Hell diplomat really sounds great! Oh, and Andreas’ covers are magnificent. ^^
Thanks LadyM! I’m glad to hear another vote of confidence for Purgatory. I was worried it would be a hard book to market, but it sounds like people are interested in devilish doings. 😉
Hello Jay 🙂 I have not read any of your stories yet but that will soon be changing, they sound very interesting. I love the cover art by Andreas.
Thanks to being involved with German Shepherds and Schutzhund, I have been to Germany & Switzerland several times. I can understand spoken and written German fairly well,if it involves dog sport..LOL
Hi Dianne. How cool that you work so closely with dogs! I’m a big animal lover myself and always include pets or animal characters into my stories when I can. I take it you enter Schutzhund competitions? Do you have dogs that have to fly with you?
One of my first questions to Andreas was what they call German Shepherds in Germany. 😛 Just one example of my mad skillz with the boys!
Lots of dog lovers at this blog :-)We’ve been to Europe 4 times with a dog (several years ago now) and before I met my husband he had been with another dog 4 times. It’s quite nerve-wracking to put a dog in the belly of a jetliner!
Your skillz must have worked 😉
Hi Jay!
Your books all sound so fantastic! Cannot wait to read them :D! Your German is much better than my very basic grasp of the language!
xx
Angela!
Thanks Angela. I just read your blog entry about the US Embassy in Ottawa and it made me laugh. I visited an American Embassy once and they were just as gruff. They make you feel like a criminal, don’t they? Weird places!
The polytropes gave me a headache. *lol* (Was I the only one?)
Hi Jay, nice to meet you here. 🙂 I’m glad you like living in Germany – it’s not always easy to judge the friendliness of one’s own folks. *g*
I love the cover of “Something like Summer”, it’s gorgeous in its intensity. Orange is one of my favorite colors and I especially like the little bits of blue in it. And you mentioned somewhere that there’s hot sex in it, too! *g*
Oh, and “Purgatory” caught my attention, too, it sounds completey, uh, durchgeknallt. *lol* In an entirely good way, I guess. 😉
Yeah, German people are great. Of course it took me a few years to get used to how direct you guys can be. Very, very direct! LOL Once I got used to that then I felt right at home.
I’ll tell Andreas you like the cover for Something Like Summer. He’s crazy about orange and blue together, and man does that orange pop on the shelf!
Purgatory is indeed durchgeknallt, verrückt,und auch ein bisschen wahnsinn. 😉
Jay, my grasp of German amounts to one year of classes during the first grade while living in Frankfort. A lot of years without practice has stolen what words I did know. My hat is off to anyone learning a second language. And congratulations on your marriage. You sound so happy.
I agree that your book covers are amazing. Your husband does those? Awesome! I’ve just added several books from your list to my TBR, and I can hardly wait for Purgatory.
Hi Eden. My hat is off to people learning another language too, especially if they are living abroad. When I’m back in the US, I’m extra patient with people that struggle with English because I know how hard it can be.
Yup, my husband did all the cover art above. He did twenty-five interior illustrations for The Cat in the Cradle as well, which looking back is a little mind blowing. It feels good to be able to collaborate together, even if I am a slave driver. 🙂
*waves to the other Kansas boy* Hi, Jay. Looking forward to reading “Something Like Summer” and “Purgatory.” Congratulations on a happy marriage, getting out of Kansas and having a artistically talented husband (in any order you choose!).
Woo-hoo! Another Kansan! I know you won’t believe this, but once you get really, really, far away from Kansas, you actually start to miss it. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that. What I wouldn’t do for a Blizzard and fries from Dairy Queen!
Jay, I’ll have a Blizzard in your honor Sunday. I’d do it tomorrow, but it’s the KU v K-State game here, so you know this town will be crawling all over itself. I’m going to stay tucked away safely at work until after tip-off.
I’m reading Something like Summer right now, and loving it…..I don’t want it to end!!
Thanks for a great read Jay!