Welcome to my bookshelf
J. A. Halley enjoys creating characters that one can relate to, empathize with and care about. She wants you to feel the development as it happens and envision what you would do yourself in certain scenarios.
Inspiration often strikes at night, and Halley has been known to write down ideas on the Notes app on her phone. While she doesn't use AI to write any of her stories, she does like to create images of the characters in her mind with the tool. When she is writing in different perspectives, she likes to have the character on one screen so she can feel their vibes, personality and opinions as she writes, allowing the characters true voice to shine through.
About the Author
J. A. Halley is a Canadian author living in British Columbia, Canada. She is a mother to three girls she shares with her husband. When not reading, writing or mothering, she enjoys hiking, baking sourdough and watching shows.
RELEASING SEPTEMBER 1ST 2026 - Good On Paper
Jemma Towsend needs a reason to keep going.
One year after a devastating accident shatters her family, she’s barely surviving—until an unexpected opportunity gives her something she thought she’d lost: purpose.
As a life-changing decision is made, maybe too quickly, Jemma begins to emerge from the grief that has consumed her. While she struggles to keep tabs on her teenage son who might not be thriving as well as she thought, Jemma finds herself caught up in the whirlwind of her new commitment alongside blurred lines and questionable feelings.
Despite her efforts, Jemma can’t ignore that more than one thing in her life seems off. Maybe too late, she realizes that people can be masters at painting a beautiful picture with just the right words.
She, of all people, should know.
Because sometimes what’s shown as perfect is anything but. Sometimes it just looks Good on Paper.
The Other Side
Brianna hasn't been back to the island in ten years—not since her summers with Grandma ended so abruptly. When an unfortunate situation arises across the water, Brianna's busy mother turns to her for help. She nervously agrees to return, thinking it'll be no time before she's back to the sweet, easy summer days spent with her two best friends, drifting between life after high school and before whatever came next.
Once there, in Grandma's unchanged home, the island awakens buried memories and even deeper buried curiosities, along with a quiet guilt that leaves Brianna wishing things hadn't ended the way that they did. Through chance encounters and small moments with the island's friendly locals, she begins to find a life she hadn't realized she was ready for.
As the past mingles with the present, Brianna learns the island holds more than memories—it offers discoveries in more than one way, and new beginnings waiting for her on The Other Side.
Part 1
Take Me Away
Sex, drugs and alcohol are usually the three main things a parent is concerned about with their teenager, but not for Marissa Nickel. Her mom only cares about what she eats... and more importantly, what she doesn't share with the world around her. As Marissa learns about her family's well-kept secrets and her own bizarre truths, she questions her past and opens not only her mind, but her heart, to new possibilities
Part 2
Let Me Go
When Marissa escapes reality for an innocent weekend with her friends, she unintentionally learns a different side to a story that leaves her no alternative but to probe her past. Before she has time to come to terms with horrible truths and new troubles, Marissa finds herself feeling completely out of control of her life. While not always making the right decisions, Marissa buckles down to really figure out what to do with herself emotionally and physically. Does Marissa allow new beginnings to blossom or is she too undeserving because of her wicked past?
Take Me Away and Let Me Go are a two-part series that J. A. Halley wrote from ages 15 to 17! This young-adult fantasy fiction novel follows a young girl named Marissa Nickel along her journey of discovering there is more than meets the eye about her own self.