Joseph Rollins started this website to share his writing with the world. He is a lover of all fiction and an avid reader and writer. He also consumes a significant amount of non-fiction and enjoys viewing and creating many different types of visual art.
Follow his rambling, meandering blog here
Joseph's first finished novel, a steampunk fantasy-thriller titled Iron Spires over the White City, was published by Black Rose Writing on August 20, 2020.
Order your copy now from Amazon, or the Kindle edition as part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited. He has three other novels at some point of completion, along with a wide range of poetry and short stories. Several excerpts are listed below.
Joseph lives and works on a small farm and grape vineyard in Northern Arizona with his dog, cat, five chickens, four ducks, and two humans. He plans on adding both a partridge and a pear tree in the fall.
Iron Spires over the White City
This novel is a steampunk adventure story set in the 1880s. The globe is dominated by the powerful British Empire, whose technological advancements centuries earlier gave them control over all the world’s colonies. But a global Resistance movement is gathering steam while the fundamental tenets of colonialism are questioned by Victoria’s own people.
Iron Spires follows a family on its journey halfway around the world as they attempt a daring rescue that leads them into the heart of a gruesome plot.
Publishing rights for Iron Spires over the White City were picked up by Black Rose Writing. After his contract expired, Joseph self-published the second edition on Amazon.
A live reading and Q & A can be viewed on Facebook Live
Chapter 1 Download the PDF
Chapter 2 Download the PDF
Chapter 3 Download the PDF
The Patron Saint of Luchadores
The Patron Saint of Luchadores is the story of two displaced teenage Latinos from California as they struggle with sin, redemption, community, and family. They journey from a border city in Mexico to a cathedral in Mexico City where they hope to receive the blessing of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patron Saint of Luchadores.
Chapter 1
Download the PDF
In the second draft of the novel, surreal concepts take shape as the boys contend with the impossible becoming real. Below is a short story exemplifying this.
The Spider Story
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The story of Jesus Malverde, sometimes referred to as the Robin Hood of Mexico, plays a prominent role in the novel.
Jesus Malverde, Angel of the Poor
The Strange Tales of Dr. Maxwell Zoelegger
Dr. Maxwell Zoelegger is young man of profound scientific genius. While working in a government research facility, Zoelegger begins building a food replicator, modeled after the type used on his favorite television show, Star Trek. Hoping to change the world for the better, his employers view his devise as a potential weapon of mass destruction. Max flees persecution and tries to complete his devise while being pursued by the long arm of the law.
Read the first short story written about Dr. Zoelegger
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I am currently redrafting this story from the first-person perspective of both Zoelegger and the detective searching for him in a format similar to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
This chapter is from the current draft of the Dr. Zoelegger novel, told from the first-person perspective of Special Agent Samuel Johnson.
Read the chapter with Agent Johnson
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This is a chapter written in first person from Dr. Zoelegger's point of view.
Read the chapter written from Dr. Zoelegger's Point of View
Magical Realism
I recently took a course on magical realism, a surrealist style of writing. It blends realistic fiction with fantasy or mythology. I posted a couple of short pieces I wrote for class - a rewrite of the Peter Pan fairy tale and a poem.
Magical Realism Shorts
