About the author

Born in Mexico City in 1972, Joseph Kopel's parents were an English teacher and an accountant, a US Marine.

A mishap during his infancy caused him to lose some hearing, which had a lasting impact, and he found solace in his grandfather's books within a world of both silence and sound. At the young age of eight, he began reading the Spanish version of Dante's The Divine Comedy and has done so ever since.

At age eleven, after reading the English version of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, he wrote his first draft, which was just fifty pages long.

He didn't stop reading in English and Spanish, and he kept composing his preliminary drafts. Over time, the  sole focus has been on Sci-Fi. Once he discovered Latin American authors and Magic Realism, he changed direction and started practicing other genres.

He remained dedicated to Sci-Fi, penning his most significant narrative of the 1990s, a decade-long endeavor that laid the foundation for The Nehel Series. He titled that story Empire’s Stars, a Space Opera.

Around the same time, he was working on other significant drafts, including Forza Catastrofe, which would later become Catastrophe’s Children.  Beyond the Paradise, Marisol, and Costa Cisneros were drafts he plans  to publish.

During the early 2000s, he was a participant in the Spanish Minotauro Prize.

His move to Florida exposed him to Fantasy, which he hadn't experienced until then, due to his half-brother's knowledge. It gave him access to Game of Thrones and briefly corresponded with Christie Golden, the author of World of Warcraft books.

Following a brief period in the Caribbean and Mexico, he settled permanently in Missouri, and he still lives there now.

While he was unmarried and living alone, he created several additional drafts that he hopes to publish later.

After self-publishing  two unedited and substandard books, one in English and another in Spanish, as an experiment he carried out, he learned about the demanding quality standards of the self-publishing world. This occurred in 2017, and he then understood his goals would take more time to achieve.

In 2023, he reworked his initial drafts of The Empress’ Journey, transforming it from a Space Opera into a Fantasy story, and began a trilogy with the publication of The Empress’ Palace, with the final installment anticipated in 2026.

Furthermore, in August 2025, he published Catastrophe’s Children, a historical thriller for adult audiences that was adapted from Forza Catastrofe, a manuscript he wrote in the 1990s.

In September 2025, he released his translation of The Empress’ Journey in Spanish as El Viaje de la Emperatriz.

At the moment, he is penning the third book in The Nehel Series.

After leaving his worlds, he spends time with family and pets in Northwest Missouri.