Barrios Books

J.A. Barrios is the award-winning creator of Tenebris: The Unholy Darkness and Ravings of an Unsettled Mind. Coming from a family of movie buffs, J.A. had always found an especial connection with Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror. Obsessed with movies like Star Wars, Conan The Barbarian, and The Dark Crystal, his imagination ran wild creating many creatures that would lurk in his mind.

Back in a time when VHS was at its prime, his brother roped J.A. into making home movies. They had a blast making super low budget films inspired by Godzilla and the Mortal Kombat video games. They even had a gangster series influenced by the Coppola classic, The Godfather. J.A. loved making these movies, even started making some of his own with his toys, but as his imagination grew, he realized a little kid with a camera and no budget could ever create the things that fluttered around in his mind.

So, he began to write.

J.A.'s debut novel, The Unholy Darkness, first had its inception back in kindergarten starting as a recess game where he and three friends pretended to be these cobra inspired demons that came to Earth to fight "evil" demons who wanted to take over the world. The components for this backstory would brew in his head, laying in bed at night over many years until he began to write a more professional version after his father passed away in 2008. It wouldn't be until October of 2022 that his debut would launch nationally, winning third place at the 2023 Book Fest Awards for best Fantasy - Epic.

For many years, J.A. has battled grief, fully taking him over after the loss of a best friend in 2014. Unfortunately he would lose many more loved ones over the next few years, changing his perspective of the world and further submerging him into darkness. Sick of feeling haunted, J.A. took his demons and turned them into the stories of Ravings, in the hopes to connect with others struggling with similar issues. He was filled with gratitude to learn his collection became a finalist for the Feathered Quill Awards in 2025.

With a combination for his love of epic tales and his passion for mental health, J.A. is proud to bring forth the next installment in his Tenebris series with, The Unholy Quest. Picking up from the ending of the previous book, Sectoraus and his companions attempt to stop the bloodlust from Lucifer's Dark Army, while having to battle some internal struggles. The way the characters have taken a life of their own, J.A. cannot wait for the quest to be in readers' hands.

J.A. Barrios is a first generation Guatemalan-American residing in Northern, Virginia. He loves the outdoors and is grateful for the many parks his area has to offer and can often be found exploring the Potomac Heritage trail or haunting the cemetery across the street from his home. When he isn't on an adventure (beit physical or literary) J.A. loves to create music, playing his bass guitar and singing in his decade-long musical duo Cigar Etiquette.