Three Times A Charm with N.W. Harris

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love meeting new authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the children’s publishing industry and sharing their careers with my readers.

Today’s guest is author, N.W. Harris. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Neil. Tell us a little about you, please.

I was born at the end of the Vietnam War and raised on a horse farm near a small town in North Georgia, my imagination evolved under the swaying pines surrounding my family’s log home. On summer days that were too hot, winter days that were too cold, and every night into the wee morning hours, I read books.
In addition to writing, I traveled the world as a submariner in the Navy, worked as a nurse, and then started a property management company. My studies have included biology and anthropology at U.C. Santa Barbara and medicine at SUNY Buffalo. I live in sunny Southern California with my wife and two children. I write like I reads, constantly.

I’m currently reading your book, Joshua’s Tree. So far I’m really enjoying it. Can you tell us more about it?

Joshua’s Tree by N.W. Harris

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.

I recommend my book to readers who like:

Rick Riordan’s books (Percy Jackson series), The Maze Runner series (James Dashner), and Divergent (Veronica Roth’s books)

Readers, now it’s your turn. Neil wants to know your top 3 responses to:

What motivates you to buy most of your books? Is it the cover, reviews, what your friends recommend?

Can’t wait to hear how readers respond. Now, for the Threes. Share with us your top 3’s to help us know you a little better.

• Top 3 tools of the trade you couldn’t live without.

1.      A good computer. I love laptops and have burned through many over the years. A good computer with a great battery life makes my work all the more pleasant. I’ve recently converted to Mac (Macbook Air) and am wondering why I didn’t leave the sadist world of the PC much sooner.

2.      A good cup of coffee. People think I’m generally a friendly guy, but I wake up each day as a horned demon from the netherworld. If it weren’t for coffee, instead of writing novels I’d likely wander the streets in my underware drooling and snarling at people.

3.      Spellcheck. I’m a horrible speller, so much so that I always hated writing in the days prior to spellcheck. This little function really liberated me and allowed me to use words I freely use in conversation in my writing.

• Top 3 skills to hone for people just starting in your business.

1.      Social media skills. A writer needs to create a cool looking blog, facebook site, etc. and needs to gather followers to have a selling platform. Most book marketing is viral, a friend reads it and tells another friend to buy it and so forth. It is critical that a writer has enough friends who get excited about their book to start and nuture that process.

2.      Mulitasking skills. There are a billion things to do as a writer, and if you are a father of two and run a separate business to help pay the bills, well then you have got to be able to juggle. And not tenis balls, I’m talking burning-hatchets juggle.

3.      Social skills. I know this sounds like number one, but I’m talking about networking in the real world. The more real world friends you have, those that you see face-to-face on a regular basis, the better off your are. Join the local SCBWI, cylcing club, reading groups—anything to help you meet more people. This will also give you artilery for creating your characters.

• Top 3 leisure activities.

1.      Reading

2.      Tae kwon do

3.      Running (you can see excersize is important to me. Being physically fit helps your brain be the best it can be, which helps everything else)

Neil, where can our readers find you online and buy your book?

Website/blog:       www.nwharrisbooks.com

Facebook Author Page:            https://www.facebook.com/AuthorN.W.Harris

Email: nwharrisbooks@aol.com

Link to Joshua’s Tree on Amazon.com:            http://www.amazon.com/Joshuas-Tree-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00DOH8VR0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1373485674&sr=1-1&keywords=joshua%27s+tree+n.w.+harris

Thanks for charming us on this week’s Three Times A Charm, Neil. Best of luck to you and Joshua’s Tree.

THANKS!

GUESTS WELCOME!  I am always looking for guests for Three Times A Charm. If you are an author, illustrator or book reviewer, an agent or an editor. If you have something related to children’s publishing that you’d like people to know about, feel free to contact me about a future appearance.