656 ratings | 119 reviews | avg rating:4.26

J.R.’s Year In Books

J.R.’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at J.R.’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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J.R. Alcyone

Goodreads Author

Born

March 03

Twitter

jralcyone

Genre

Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Influences

Hemingway, Muir, London, Eiseley

Member Since

May 2016

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Born of a dream that her words might make a tiny dent in an unfeeling and cold universe, J.R. Alcyone (1980-2025) was known for her affinity for semicolons and stubborn refusal to write marketable fiction. Those who knew her best understood that her work came from a place of fierce love—for truth; beauty; and the messy, complicated business that is being human.

In the end, J.R. Alcyone succumbed to severe OCD, abysmal sales, random “one/two-star reviewitis,” and the realization that peace is underrated and more valuable than having published novels. Her only regret was that her profiles and books could not be completely scrubbed from Goodreads and Amazon; nothing would have made her happier than to vanish into the ether as a testament to her ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What were Alec's religious beliefs if any?

J.R. Alcyone Thank you for the question!

Alec’s parents were Greek Orthodox, but I did not write Alec as having any specific religious beliefs. He is familiar with…moreThank you for the question!

Alec’s parents were Greek Orthodox, but I did not write Alec as having any specific religious beliefs. He is familiar with the Bible and mentions God from time to time, but I viewed Alec as a man with no need for organized religion. Alec’s moral code arises from his mother’s last words to him (“Do good and be good”), and he has cobbled together his own ethical code and views.

Alec is, however, a tolerant and compassionate man, and I could not see Alec as someone who would deny the comfort of religion to others (especially those as sick as Alec’s patients often would be), regardless of his own personal belief in religion, God, an afterlife, or the lack thereof. This aspect of Alec’s character comes out in the scene where Alec dies. Alec’s partner Pete is a practicing Roman Catholic; in Catholicism, suicide is a mortal sin which condemns a person’s soul to eternal damnation. Pete is worried about Alec’s soul and tries to get Alec to ask for forgiveness from God, but Alec will not do so; it’s unclear whether this is from Alec’s non-belief or simply Alec doesn’t think himself worthy of forgiveness. But Alec does not object to Pete’s saying the Act of Contrition; Alec understands doing so will make Pete feel better and this is something which sincerely matters to Pete, and Alec won’t deny his best friend the comfort of his beliefs.

Again, thank you for the question. :) (less)

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I am blown away by Five Fathoms Deep.. so well written and full of medical info. Where and how did your interest in writing books including serious medical scenes start?

J.R. Alcyone Thank you so much for your comment and question! I am so glad you enjoyed Five Fathoms. It's a very dark book but one that is very personal and close …moreThank you so much for your comment and question! I am so glad you enjoyed Five Fathoms. It's a very dark book but one that is very personal and close to my heart.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I in college and cancer about 14 years ago. So I have firsthand experience with being bipolar and have spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals for a while. I came up with the idea for Five Fathoms during a meeting to discuss putting up a suicide barrier on a local bridge. I started reading articles including the poignant account of the mother of a young doctor who took his life after dealing with depression for many years. That led me down the road of researching suicide in doctors. It seemed like a very important topic that there was surprisingly little written about, and I felt like a novel would be a great way to humanize mental illness and suicide.

I ended up deciding to write about a pediatric heart surgeon, and I did so much research about early pediatric congenital heart surgery that didn't make it into Five Fathoms that I ended up writing a prequel about how Alec and his partner, Pete, "invent" the heart-lung machine. If you like, I'd be happy to send you a complimentary copy of that novel. (You can send me a message through Goodreads.)(less)

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Combine Editions
J.R. Alcyone’s books

Average rating: 4.68 · 77 ratings · 59 reviews · 2 distinct works

	The Stars That Govern Us 4.66 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Five Fathoms Beneath 4.69 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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J.R. Alcyone's Blog

Stars is the Historical Fiction Company's 2021 Book of the Year!

I'm proud to announce that my second novel, The Stars That Govern Us, was selected as the 2021 Book of the Year by the Historical Fiction Company. You can read the announcement and the book's review over at the Historical Fiction Company's website. The Stars That Govern Us was also selected as the gold medal winner in the post-World War II fiction category. Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 02, 2022 19:13

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J.R.’s Recent Updates

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J.R.’s Quotes

“The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark night.”
― Nietzsche

tags: suicide

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J.R.’s Groups

Beta Reader Group — 29869 members — last activity 6 hours, 35 min ago
A place to connect writers with beta readers. A cliche is just one of the things to look out for while writing. They can slip in unnoticed and ruin a ...more

Support for Indie Authors — 16662 members — last activity May 19, 2026 02:17PM
Officially 15k Members Strong & Climbing!! Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and le ...more

Goodreads Authors/Readers — 56694 members — last activity 3 hours, 55 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more

Book Cover Reviews — 309 members — last activity May 15, 2026 09:45AM
A place to come for in-depth discussion of your (or anybody else's) book cover designs. Draft DIY covers, final covers, pre-made covers, ebooks, print ...more

BookSirens Book Reviewers — 989 members — last activity Nov 16, 2025 08:43AM
============== | Book Reviewers | ============== Get advance reader copies (ARCs) from top publishers & authors. Read your favorite genres for free. S ...more

Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge — 26945 members — last activity 13 minutes ago
An annual reading challenge to to help you stretch your reading limits and explore new voices, worlds, and genres! The challenge begins in January, bu ...more

World, Writing, Wealth — 4835 members — last activity May 20, 2026 05:53PM
Friends, would you care to partake in a learned discussion of current events, the global economy, writing, selling, film, and reading? Then gift us wi ...more

Writing Historical Fiction — 641 members — last activity Jan 02, 2026 03:59AM
I had trouble locating a group dedicated solely to those of us who love writing historical fiction (but if you love reading historical fiction, you're ...more

The book you like most — 50008 members — last activity 1 hour, 33 min ago
This group (ranked in the TOP 100 most popular groups on Goodreads) is dedicated to the "Vision and Story" project. Additionally, the group THE BOOK ...more

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J.R.’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-2) post a comment »

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message 2: by J.R.

Oct 26, 2018 05:53AM

I followed you back. :)

George wrote: "Hi, Jen !

I hope you will follow the stuff I post on this site.

George

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..."

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message 1: by George (last edited Oct 26, 2018 03:07AM)

Oct 26, 2018 03:06AM

Hi, Jen !

I hope you will follow the stuff I post on this site.

George

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...