January's Paradigm (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781588987440)

I was named Joseph Conrad for my dad's favorite novelist. As a boy my dream was to become a Major League Baseball player, but my parents had other ideas. They urged me to play it safe, learn a trade, get a job with an automotive company and retire in forty years with a gold watch. To me that was a prison sentence. I was creative and wanted to leave my mark on the world. How to go about achieving that dream perplexed me for many years, until I sat down to write my first novel. January's Paradigm was born from a bloodied and bruised heart. What started as therapy for me turned into a passion. My dad often criticized me for not finishing what I started, and I was determined to finish a novel. When Dad read my second draft, after two years of labor, he was pleased. While I geared up for submitting my child to agents and publishers I struggled for a name. A nom deplume was out of the question. I wanted to use "Conrad" but didn't wish to be compared to the man who today is considered one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. I finally settled on J. Conrad Guest and have never regretted it. If you're reading these words, you have my thanks for finding me. I hope you'll find on these pages something that appeals to your literary appetite.