Julie Clark Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Obsession Collection Books

Julie Clark
Julie Clark, born and raised in Santa Monica, California, grew up reading books on the beach as everybody else surfed.

After she attended college at University of the Pacific, and a short stint working in the athletic department at University of California, Berkeley, she went back home to Santa Monica in order to teach. Julie has wanted to be a writer since she was a young child, but took a long road to get there. She lives there with a golden doodle with poor impulse control and her two sons.

Julie gets inspired to write by reading. She has so many favorite authors that write such inspiring and amazing books. Her favorite authors include Barbara Kingsolver, Jodi Picoult, and Anna Quindlen.

To avoid writer’s block, she tries not to put too much pressure on herself to get anything that’s good down on paper. If she’s really stuck on something, she calls up one of her critique partners and they can talk through a problem. If nobody’s available to talk, she journals out what she is struggling with, kinda have a conversation with herself down on paper, which tends to loosen things up for her to begin writing again.

She was inspired to write “The Ones We Choose” because she wanted to tell a story about a single mom, since she is one herself. She didn’t want to write about somebody single by death or divorce. Julie wanted to write one about somebody that chose single motherhood for herself, and follow her story onward. As more women choose to conceive kids via a sperm donor, making Julie feel like Paige’s is an important voice that needs to be heard.

The original idea came to Julie because one of her friends was thinking about using a sperm donor to conceive. They looked through the donor database together, and it was quite similar to dating sites. The idea just grew from there.

For research on the novel, she began with a lot of reading. Books on ancestry, DNA, heredity, and genetics. Once she got this foundation, she began mapping each of her genetic chapters. She was able to connect with a geneticist at Vanderbilt that happily answered each of the questions that she came up with while working. There were a bunch of “what if” questions, and “is it possible” type questions. He worked with her for the two years she spent working to finish the novel and served as an invaluable sounding board.

While writing, she has a general idea of the major plot points she wants to hit: the midpoint turning point, what launches her characters into their adventure, and the resolution. Other than that, however, she allows her creativity to take over. She outlines after she has a finished draft, so she can see where each of her plot holes are.

She got the idea for “The Last Flight” about halfway through working on her first one. This is about how her story ideas come to her. Just enough for her to get intrigued, so by the time she’s ready to sit down and write, she’s very excited about it.

Julie’s debut novel, called “The Ones We Choose”, was released in the year 2018. Her work is from the mystery genre.

“The Ones We Choose” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2018. A young boy’s desperate to locate his place within this world, the healing power of forgiveness, and a mom coming to terms with her own past.

The powerful forces of family and science collide once Paige Robson, a geneticist, finds her world in upheaval. Miles, her eight year old son, struggles to fit in at his new school and starts asking questions about his biological dad that Paige is unable to answer. Until fate thrusts the anonymous donor that she used into their lives.

Paige’s deliberately built life starts unraveling while the truth of Miles’ paternity threatens to destroy everything that she’s grown to cherish. While Paige slowly opens up— trying to make sense of her absent dad’s unexpected return, by befriending an eccentric mom, and confronting her own deeply buried vulnerabilities—she realizes that breakthroughs aren’t just for the lab. However, tragedy strikes, and Paige has to face the consequences of sharing one secret that only she is aware of.

Science may be fascinating, but solving these intimate mysteries of who we are and where we come from reveals emotions much more complicated than the strands of DNA that shape us.

“The Last Flight” is the second stand alone novel and was released in the year 2020. Two flights. Two women. One final chance to vanish. The story of two women, both scared and both alone. One agonizing choice that’s going to change the trajectory of each of their lives.

Claire Cook’s got a perfect life. Married to the scion from a political dynasty, with a staff of ten and a Manhattan townhouse, her surroundings are elegant, her future is auspicious, and her days are choreographed flawlessly. Nothing is quite as it appears, behind closed doors.

Her perfect husband has a horrible temper that burns just as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track every move Claire makes. Just to make sure she lives up to his impossible standards. What he does not know is that Claire’s worked for months on her plan to disappear.

A chance meeting in the airport bar brings her together with a woman whose situation appears to be equally dire. Together they make a last minute choice to switch tickets, with Eva going to Puerto Rico and Claire taking Eva’s flight off to Oakland. They believe this swap’s going to give each one of them the head start they’ll need to start again some place far way.

However when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it isn’t the head start, but a brand new life entirely. Out of options, cut off, with the news on her death about to explode in the media, Claire’s going to assume Eva’s identity. However, this includes all the secrets that Eva fought so very hard to keep hidden.

3 Responses to “Julie Clark”

1. Liz Smith: 2 years ago

   I couldn’t put this down! Brilliant how you wove the stories of both women all the way to the last chapter! Beautifully written and totally engaging! This would make an incredible movie( only if you could still know what each character was thinking like you wrote it! Thank You!

   Reply
2. Marilyn mullen: 3 years ago

   Loved both novels. When will next book come out ?

   Reply
3. Dee Sayers: 3 years ago

   Thank you!

   Reply