A Corbin resident with a background in criminal justice, emergency response, and retail management is now a published science-fiction author. His debut novel, The Serpent’s Promise, launches the first installment of his planned Aberrant Series.
J. Karl Jones was born and raised in California. He later spent several years in Oregon and Washington before moving to the City of Corbin approximately five years ago.
Throughout his career, he has lived several different lives, working as a campus police officer while studying criminal justice, taking advanced criminal investigation courses taught by FBI profilers, serving as a firefighter and EMT, managing retail teams, bounty hunting, and driving as a long-haul trucker.
“Each job gave me a different view of the world, from the intensity of first-responder work to the long, quiet miles on the road,” said Jones.
After retiring, Jones turned to stained glass art, creating window panels and wall hangings. Yet, his thoughts drifted back to the imaginative stories he used to tell his youngest son, Russ, inspiring him to finally put those tales on paper.
“Over the years, we had conversations about what ifs,” said Jones. “What if what we’ve been taught is a misunderstanding or the watered-down version?”
He explained, “We talk about the stars and the cosmos, wormholes, and time travel. We’ve talked about every ‘what if’ that you can imagine when it comes to science fiction.”
While writing the stories, he finally found the thrill and adventure his soul was searching for.
This marked the beginning of The Serpent’s Promise, which he dedicated to his son, Russ.
“Remembering all these conversations, I thought I should put these on paper and see if anybody else out there would be interested in it,” said Jones.
According to Amazon, The Serpent’s Promise is a “high-concept sci-fi thriller that rewrites human history from the very beginning.”
Set in 1996, the novel follows archaeologist Yu Tao and a small team of scientists as they stumble upon an ancient alien digital archive.
“They uncover that every major event from the creation of the first man to the Roman Empire was actually tactical maneuvers in a high-tech civil war between a couple of brothers,” said Jones. “Those brothers created a genetical lineage: gifted one with free will and alongside another one for obedience for a working class that drives every war and revolution in our history.”
Jones began writing the series after moving to Corbin, a process that took about two years.
The second book in the series, The Bloodline Accords, is scheduled for release on March 20.
“The series itself goes from the beginning of mankind, and eventually it will take us all the way into the cosmos and other world battles,” said Jones.
While the novel may challenge traditional perspectives on history, Jones emphasizes that it is purely a work of fiction.
“The book may be controversial to some people because of the way that it’s laid out,” said Jones. “I’d like to say that it is a work of fiction from my imagination. I hope readers enjoy the ride and I hope they see it as a thrilling new way of looking at old mysteries and myths.”
The Serpent’s Promise is available through Amazon and Goodreads.
Readers can also follow updates on the Aberrant Series website sites.google.com/view/the-aberrant-series/ and Facebook page The Aberrant Series J. Karl Jones.
“I think this book is going to touch a lot more people once it gets out there and it starts getting some recognition,” said Jones. “I think it’s going to, hopefully, open up some people’s imagination.”
