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Seeing Julia
Seeing Julia
by
Katherine Owen
Description
"Here's what I
know: Death abducts the dying, but grief steals from those left behind."
Julia Hamilton hates
Athens, Afghanistan, and the U.S. Army; and now, Advil. She hates a lot of things
that begin with the letter A, with good reason, because she's lost everyone
she's ever loved to these very things. But it's an illicit connection to a
stranger at her husband's funeral that saves her life, leaves her battling
grief and guilt, and has her questioning everything else including the secrets
she holds onto about her past as well as her present.
Katherine's
award-winning debut novel is heartbreakingly intense, achingly romantic, and
ultimately captivating. Seeing Julia is
an intense, emotional roller coaster of a ride, so hang on and don't forget to
breathe.
If you enjoy the
tender scenes of P.S. I Love
You, the poignant story lines of Nicholas Sparks, and the twists and
turns in plot lines like those of Jodi Picoult, you are going to LOVE Katherine
Owen's novel Seeing Julia!
Please be advised
that Seeing Julia contains adult
language and adult situations and is not appropriate for young readers.
Excerpt
From Chapter One ~ In The After Again
I've been here
before. I've done this before. At sixteen, I buried my parents. At
twenty-three, my fiancé Bobby. And now, almost four years later, my husband
Evan. I’m here again in the after. Here’s what I know: death abducts the dying,
but grief steals from those left behind. There is less of myself with every
loss.
I stare at the red
glow of the cigarette for a long time and then inhale deep. A rush of nicotine
courses through me.
I don’t smoke.
Except today, I do.
The lit cigarette
provides the only light in the church stairwell. I take comfort in the cloak of
darkness and estimate having another five minutes of anonymity before Kimberley
comes looking for me. Five minutes to get it together, to let the Oxycodone and
nicotine do their thing. One to get me to an anesthetized state and the other
because breaking the rules seems like the one thing I should do for him this
day. I lie back and willingly suffer the sharp metal edge of the stair that
digs into my back. The pain is real enough, but it’s nothing compared to the
steady ache that already pulses inside of me. I close my eyes and allow this
stairwell sanctuary to envelop all of me.
Review
By JennyJennyHark
Seeing Julia is a touching yet fun read. I didn't have a day free to read the book
from cover to cover, so had to sneak a chapter here and there, or stay up way
to late (I'd tell myself I'd just read a chapter, but as each chapter ended
there was such reason to read on, I had to read more!).
Julia is one of
those people who has experienced tremendous loss for her young age. Owen does
an amazing job of showing us Julia's progression from completely broken, to,
well... no spoilers! It's a story where you know exactly how you want it to
end, but you can't imagine the means of how Julia will get there. I found
myself thinking ahead and guessing at what might transpire next for Julia, but
I was seldom on the mark, which pulls you further and further in to Julia's
life.
I believe this is
Katherine Clare Owen's first published novel, but it feels like she's been
writing fiction her entire life. I can't wait to read Not
To Us!
About the Author
Katherine Owen lives near Seattle in a suburb overlooking Lake Washington
in a very old house with her husband and two children. She has written three
novels, Seeing
Julia, Not To Us,
and When I See
You. Katherine is also featured in the
anthology, Indie
Chicks: 25 Independent Women 25 Personal Stories (Volume 1), which
features an excerpt of Seeing Julia. She is hard at work on her next novel.
Katherine's writing delves into the complexities of relationships, often
from both love and loss perspectives, because, as an author, she enjoys the
unpredictability and uniqueness she finds there. Katherine's writing is not for
the faint of heart, it’ll take readers on a proverbial emotional roller coaster
ride, before reaching resolution, and the endings are somewhat surprising. Katherine's
writing tends to be dark, moody, and sometimes funny. It can be a bit lyrical
or even literary. It’s often edgy, so be forewarned. Her stories are comprised
of broken heroines, who are often lost, and not always intent on finding their
way back, and, even the heroes in her books have a few flaws that cause trouble
or can disappoint. Many of her readers complain they can't put the novel down,
or, just when they think they've figured the story out, it changes and becomes
something else. Katherine has garnered a wonderful following of readers who
enjoy her work, but she's always looking for more.
In late July 2010, Katherine was recognized by the Pacific Northwest
Writers Association and awarded the coveted Zola Award and first place in the
romance category (women's fiction) for her novel, Seeing Julia.
Links
