J. Dylan Yates
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Dylan has held several BFA-related jobs, including waitressing, teaching, corporate training, medical/surgical and labor and delivery nursing, interior design, real estate broker, and reluctant housewifery.
Dylan volunteered with Boulder County's Voices for Children program as a CASA for 15 years and the Girls Rising program as a mentor. She is currently a Grief Support Specialist and Thanatologist. |
THE BELIEF IN Angels
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UpMarket/Historical Fiction
*** Winner 2015 THEODOR S. GEISEL AWARD*** A raw and haunting, coming-of-age novel about a courageous young girl and her grandfather who share tragedy, unique survival skills and divine intervention. Growing up in her parents' crazy hippie household on a tiny island off the coast of Boston, Jules's imaginative sense of humor is the weapon she wields as a defense against the chaos of her family's household. Somewhere between routine discipline with horsewhips, gun-waving gambling debt collectors, and LSD-laced breakfast cereal adventures, tragedy strikes a blow from which Jules may never recover. Jules's story alternates with that of her grandfather, Szaja, an Orthodox Jew who survives the murderous Ukranian pogroms of the 1920s, the Majdanek death camp, and the torpedoing of the Mefkura, a ship carrying refugees to Palestine. Unable to deal with the horrors he endures at the camp, Szaja develops a dissociative disorder and takes on the persona of a dead soldier from a burial ditch, using that man's identity to devise a plan to escape to America. While Szaja's and Jules's sorrows are different on the surface, adversity requires them both to find the will to live despite the suffering in their lives--and both encounter, in their darkest moments, what could be explained as serendipity or divine intervention. For Jules and Szaja, these experiences offer the hope they need to come to the rescue of their own fractured lives. *** Winner of the 2015 SAN DIEGO BOOK AWARD *** Finalist 2015 INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD *** 2018 IAN AWARD *** 2018 WISHING SHELF AWARD Finalist *** 2015 IPPY Winner *** 2015 KINDLE BOOK AWARD Finalist *** 2015 LEAPFROG PRESS AWARD Honorable Mention
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THE BELIEF IN Angels - Jules
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YA/Historical Fiction
*** 2018 WISHING SHELF BOOK AWARD *** 2018 IAN BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD *** 2015 IPPY AWARD A raw and haunting, coming-of-age novel about a courageous young girl, her tragedy, unique survival skills, and divine intervention. Growing up in her parents' crazy hippie household on a tiny island off the coast of Boston, Jules's imaginative sense of humor is the weapon she wields as a defense against the chaos of her family's household. Somewhere between routine discipline with horsewhips, gun-waving gambling debt collectors, and LSD-laced breakfast cereal adventures, tragedy strikes a blow from which Jules may never recover. Adversity requires her to find the will to live despite the suffering in her life--and she encounters, in her darkest moments, what could be explained as serendipity or divine intervention. For Jules, this experience offers the hope she needs to come to the rescue of her fractured life. " . . . a young woman growing up in a dysfunctional family ... shaped by experiences of surviving pain through moments of grace. Yates shows much skill in description, characterization, and dialogue . . . insightful about the mental state of abused children . . . vividly evokes time and place. Well-written." -Kirkus Reviews "A family saga . . . explores the darkest side of human nature--and the incontrovertible, uplifting power of hope." -Publishers Weekly *** 2015 KINDLE BOOK FESTIVAL *** 2015 LEAPFROG PRESS AWARD
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Ghost Composer
Poetry
In "Ghost Composer," delve into an achingly beautiful world where life history and death's mystery collide.
This gripping poetic tale follows the journey of a son who has a mysterious overdose, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and unfinished compositions. His haunting and diverse compositions were discovered, compiled, and then enjoyed re-release and original releases, revealing a hidden narrative of love, loss, and redemption.
As the writer navigates the enigmatic legacy of her son, the ghost composer, she uncovers a truth that transcends time and space. This book of prose poetry tells the life story of a son lost to a substance use disorder. This work explores what might have been forgotten through many provocative subjects: the epigenetic and music career challenges of substance disorders, divorce, alternative family lifestyles, parental abandonment, unique intelligence and subsequent isolation, overdose trauma, and hospital protocol at the expense of human emotion and instinct.
Prepare to be immersed in a world that transcends the boundaries of reality, where grief and memories intertwine in a symphony of sorrow, secrets, acceptance, and the hopeful creation of a path to healing.
Pub Date: May 2026
In "Ghost Composer," delve into an achingly beautiful world where life history and death's mystery collide.
This gripping poetic tale follows the journey of a son who has a mysterious overdose, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and unfinished compositions. His haunting and diverse compositions were discovered, compiled, and then enjoyed re-release and original releases, revealing a hidden narrative of love, loss, and redemption.
As the writer navigates the enigmatic legacy of her son, the ghost composer, she uncovers a truth that transcends time and space. This book of prose poetry tells the life story of a son lost to a substance use disorder. This work explores what might have been forgotten through many provocative subjects: the epigenetic and music career challenges of substance disorders, divorce, alternative family lifestyles, parental abandonment, unique intelligence and subsequent isolation, overdose trauma, and hospital protocol at the expense of human emotion and instinct.
Prepare to be immersed in a world that transcends the boundaries of reality, where grief and memories intertwine in a symphony of sorrow, secrets, acceptance, and the hopeful creation of a path to healing.
Pub Date: May 2026
