First and foremost, I’m a practicing Christian. I was born again a few years ago, and proud of the changes that has made in my life. Nowhere near perfect, I’ve got a long way to go. But the journey has been excellent thus far.
I’m also an author, with three books already complete and my novel, Assault on Saint Agnes is the recipient of the Genesis Award for best unpublished work in 2015. That was awarded by the American Christian Fiction Writers. Assault on Saint Agnes has also finished second in the Athanatos Ministries Christian Novel Contest, and was a finalist in Operation First Novel. All three contests are highly regarded in the industry. My motto – Angels Surround! – tells the tale. I don’t think that the Bible should be the last place for heroes to exist with the determination and drive that God places in some of us. My characters are right out of the Bible in terms of actions and motivation, and they serve the Living God. Assault on Saint Agnes is available now, click this link.
Nicholas of Haiti is the modern retelling of the story of Nicholas of Myra, the real Santa Claus. Set in Haiti, it is a powerful tale of human trafficking and demonic powers.
The COVID Quarantine Cantina is a collection of flash fiction/short stories by a group of award-winning authors. They were written during the first four months of the 2020 lockdown. Interesting stuff, and an eye-opening insight into what we expected, and feared, was coming.
I currently have several more novels in the hopper at various stages of completion. I love writing and it’s been a passion for many years. Yet it was just in the last few years that I finished that first book. I took a little “ramp-up time” it seems… about half a century.
For those of you that are interested in the other parts of my life, my professional Santa life is captured at www.santajoe.com.
You’ll find some pictures and information there that might guide you in selecting a Santa for your event. (Let me know if you’re a reader when you contact me – could involve a special rate depending on your opinion of the blog…)
Now, on to the acting segment of my universe. I’ve been doing professional voice over work for the past decade, starting under my own label at Voxmasters.com
My client list includes several multi-national corporations as well as a host of smaller clients. Voxmasters is about to grow again, with a new website finally completed. The complete list, as well as all of my voice demos, are located at this link for voice123.com. That’s the best way to get ahold of me if you’re interested in doing a voice project. My rates are reasonable and I’m well experienced in providing a top-shelf finished voice track for my customers.
Acting… well, the fact is that I’ve portrayed everyone from Santa to an evil biker thug in various television commercials and print ads. Somewhere in the middle a Rabbi got thrown in for good measure. And a patient in a psychiatric hospital. And a construction foreman. Etc. I’ve thrown a few headshots in below. Love it or hate it, that’s what I look like.
Thanks for taking the time to peruse this page. I appreciate your reading the blog and hope you’ll come back regularly to see what’s going on around here.
Hi, Joe, this is , Maureen from, the Midway Clinic, I ordered the new book and cannot wait ti read it
if you are having a book signing, please let me know
Prayers and thank you,
Maureen Brown
Joseph,
I’m not sure if this is the correct place to inquire, but it’s the only area I could find to contact you.
I purchased and read The Assault on Saint Agnes about 6 months or so ago. Loved it. I have a question about something I read on page 91 regarding Tawqia. Is it spelled correctly? I have since tried to “Google” it, etc… and I’m coming up with nothing. I have tried to explain the concept to a few of my friends, but I have stopped doing so until or unless I have a more complete understanding and proof that this is in fact “a thing”. Can you help out?
Thank you,
Terri
Terri:
Arabic doesn’t translate well into English characters. I had to pick some way to make it easy on readers. This one is the best one I’ve found: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/taqiyya.aspx
Here’s a link to Wikipedia – it’s actually pretty accurate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiya. Alas, “under duress” is defined by some adherents to the faith that blows up little children as meaning that you might be caught or exposed. Not torture. So, when they start that whole “It’s Islamaphobic” thing, I just laugh at their suicidal urge.
Glad you liked the book, and hope this helps. Here are a few more links:
http://www.muslimfact.com/bm/terror-in-the-name-of-islam/islam-permits-lying-to-deceive-unbelievers-and-bri~print.shtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F4wBeshTsw
I met Joe while coordinating the Marine Reserve Toys for Tots in 1997. Joe volunteered to keep the warehouse straight by driving the forklift and organizing the different kids sections. He eventually became the Santa of choice during my time there, working at the KARE-11 tent. I consider Joe a very close friend and just before my unit deployed to Iraq in 2005, I asked Joe if he could put together some Arabic sayings and phrases to help my folks out. Fluent in both Arabic and German, and being former military himself, Joe whipped out a great deal of information for me. Included in this package were written words and phrases, pictures and voice-over for said words and phrases. I knew I could turn to Joe for this project and get a quick turnaround. He delivered, as he always does and he put his heart and soul into the project.
Thank you, Joe for taking care of me and my folks. We truly appreciated that. God Bless you Brother.
George: As always, you humble me with your kindness. I was honored to do it for your people. Semper Fi, brother.
Just wanted you to see the comment I posted on my blog related to your comment on Callen Courtemanche:
Joseph:
I should also let you know that since this tribute to Callen I have been asked every year to do a class with another Vietnam veteran at Lapeer East High School.
Instead of telling just my story to the class I always bring my high school yearbook, turned to Callen’s photo and I explain to the students the true cost of war. So Callen lives each and every year in my presentation to the class.
I’m glad you found the tribute and each month when I serve on a funeral Honor Guard and firing squad at the National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan I serve in honor of Callen and other Vietnam veterans.
This is something I do nearly every first Friday of each month as a volunteer.
May God Bless you and your family,
Jim