Welcome Joely Sue Burkhart, author of The Bloodgate Guardian

Welcome.  Let's let my readers get to know you.

Tell us about your Carina Press release.


Based on Maya mythology, THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN mixes paranormal, thriller, and romance as Dr. Jaid Merritt must find—and survive—the Gatekeeper in order to rescue her father from the Maya hell, Xibalba. Official blurb:

Worlds within worlds await through the Maya Bloodgate…

Dr. Jaid Merritt doesn’t do digs. The last time she ventured into the jungle, someone died. Now she’s content to decipher Maya glyphs from pictures sent to her by her famous archaeologist father. But when he goes missing while trying to perform a ritual based on her translations of an ancient codex, Jaid must put aside her fears and travel to Guatemala to find him.

After misusing the Bloodgates to bring his twin brother back from the afterlife, the Maya priest known as Ruin was cursed by the gods to stand as the guardian for all time. He was unable to stop Dr. Charles Merritt from opening the gates, and now demons roam this world. The last thing he wants to do is hurt the beautiful woman who is somehow infused with his magic, but if she uses the codex to retrieve her father, Ruin must do his duty. And this time, he won’t fail. Even if it kills him. Again.

I’m fascinated with how books get their start. Do you remember the spark of an idea that grew to become this book?

There's a lot of hype about the Maya predicting the “end of the world” as December 21, 2012. I wondered what if instead of the world ending, the powerful Maya gods were returning to our world?

What kinds of stories do you like to read and write?

I love to read just about anything, and write just about anything too. Right now I'm reading a mix of non-fiction (Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku) and fairytale retelling (Nadia Lee's A Happily Ever After of Her Own). I write romantic SF/F for Drollerie Press, contemporary erotic romance for Samhain Publishing, and paranormal thriller/romance for Carina Press.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Family, house, pets, hobbies, that sort of thing.

I'm married with three monsters (girls) ages 11, 8, and 7 and two dogs. I love crafts, everything from knitting, crochet, and cross stitch, although I don't have as much time as I'd like to work on everything and still write.

What kind of music do you like? Do you listen to music while writing?

I always listen to music while I write, developing a “playlist” for each book. The Maya playlist included the soundtrack from Apocalypto and Willie Nelson & Ray Charles singing Seven Spanish Angels.

Who do you think is the sexiest man on Earth? What makes him sexy?

I love Sean Connery's accent and Clive Owens's distinctive face—all those canyons and lines and angles!

How would you spend your ideal day?

A big pot of coffee or iced tea and my laptop, writing frantically until it was time to fix dinner for the monsters!

Is there something else you’d like to mention that I haven’t asked about?

I have another contemporary erotic romance releasing from Samhain in October and I'm plotting and working on Maya #2 for Carina as I type!

Thanks for having me, Alice!

Review or rate THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN (or any of Joely's books) by July 31st to be entered to win at least two $50 gift certificates! Details See here

Read the first chapter of The Bloodgate Guardian Carina Press

Joely always has her nose buried in a book, especially one with mythology, fairy tales, and romance. She, her husband, and their three monsters live in Missouri. By day, she’s a computer programmer with a Masters of Science degree in Mathematics. When night falls, she bespells the monsters so she can write. Find her on her Website, Twitter, Facebook, and check out and check out free reads for free reads!