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Check out the GoodReads “most anticipated” Summer Reads list.
Second as of today!
Tell us about yourself.
I've been an artist for most of my life and had dabbled in
writing for many years. When my son was born, I decided to take the craft more
seriously. I wrote the rough draft for my debut novel, Joshua’s Tree, and
joined the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators where I met a
critique group and found the help I needed to take my book to the next level. Fast-forward
six years and stumbling into Query Con on the Unicorn Bell website (last fall).
Query Con helped me to polish my query and put it in front of acquisition
editors from several publishers. Lucky for me, I got requests for manuscript
submissions, resulting in my book being published!
Tell us about your book.
Joshua’s Tree is a young adult science fiction novel. When I
started writing it, I noticed a void in the YA genre for books that would have
a strong appeal for boys as well as girls. I wanted to address some of the
emotions and issues teen boys experience, and my education and love of biology
gave me a wealth of information to draw upon for the science fiction side of
things. Joshua’s Tree is set in a future where a genetic engineering genius and
megalomaniac has driven most of the life on the planet to extinction. The
protagonist, Joshua, must team up with an overbearing warrior princess who
believes he has come to save her people from annihilation, and kill the madman
if he ever hopes to get home.
If you could only have one superpower what would it be?
Ha, good question . . . Um, I suppose I’d want to be super
fast like the Flash Gordon. Being the father of two young children, running my
own business, and being a writer—I never feel like there is enough time in the
day to get everything done. If I could move at the speed of light—maybe I’d
clear my to-do lists a little more often.
Who is your favorite character from one of your books and
why?
Nadia, the overbearing warrior, from Joshua’s Tree is my
favorite character so far. Despite her constant internal struggles, she presents
as a strong and confident girl who never backs down from a fight. In her tribe,
males are usually the warriors, and she manages to prove she is as good as any
of them time and time again, yet she is still feminine when it counts. My
daughter, a real live super-girl in every way, was the inspiration for creating
Nadia.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing edits for The Father, Joshua’s Tree
Book 2, which will be published in December 2013, and I am writing The Truth,
Joshua’s Tree Book 3, the final book in the series, slated to come out June
2014. I've written several other novels over the years that I like to pull out
and tweak from time to time, though I’m not quite ready to reveal any of those.
What’s your favorite movie?
Tough question. I like lots of movies and books, new and old.
I love picking apart the components of a story and figuring out what works. If
I had to select one movie, I’d say ET (you know, Extra Terrestrial, that movie
with Drew Barrymore from the early eighties). I think Spielberg was at the top
of his game with that one, and I’ve watched it like a million times.
What’s your favorite quote?
“Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small
people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can be
come great.” Mark Twain
What genre do you write and why?
So far, I write Young Adult (action adventure, science
fiction, fantasy, etc.). My teenage years were a bit turbulent, though loads of
fun as well. To me, there is no other time in life where the changes, both
physically and mentally, are so dramatic. I enjoy reliving some of those days
through my characters and addressing issues that I think other works in this
genre fall short of doing.
Name five things that are on your desk right now?
Cold cup of coffee, MacBook Air (my baby), crayons, book of
Tae Kwon Do forms (I’m a purple belt), and a big freak’n mess of papers that
should be recycled
Chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, apple pie, or pecan
pie?
Chocolate cake please!!! (followed by pecan pie then the
apple pie—you can have the strawberry shortcake, can’t stand the stuff)
How can readers find you?
The best way to find me is to go to my website/blog at www.nwharrisbooks.com. From there you
can find links to my book, Facebook, etc.
Also, Joshua’s Tree by N.W. Harris is number 2 on the
GoodReads 2013 Summer Reads List, and I love to get a few more votes to push it to number 1.
If you have the time please click this link and vote.
If you have the time please click this link and vote.
Joshua’s Tree Blurb:
When a skateboarding accident hurls 17-year-old Joshua Tyler
into a dismal future overrun by flesh-eating mutants, he taps into the strength
and courage hidden within him and manages to stay alive, only to discover his
horrifying relationship to the scientific genius who brought all life on Earth
to the brink of annihilation.
Aided by Nadia, a beautiful warrior student who believes he
may be the prophesized savior sent to rescue her people, Josh learns to fight
for survival. Terrified by the constant threat of a violent death, Josh wants
nothing more than to get back to his own life. But the longer he survives in
this strange place, the more he learns about its creation. Charged with the job
of assassinating the enemy’s leader, Josh begins to uncover his connection to
the army of cannibalistic monsters—a nightmarish truth that could prevent him
from ever finding his way home.
