Childhood Escapes by JS Harker + Giveaway

 

Hey there! I’m JS. I’m excited to be on my first ever blog tour for my first book with Dreamspinner. Soul Bond was so much fun to write and I’m thrilled it’s time to share it with everyone. Since Ben and Noah’s romance is filled with magic, I thought I’d talk about how the paranormal genre’s been in my life.

I’ve always loved reading. I was the kid who finished reading the novel for class a week a month-long block about it, who filled out the Pizza Hut program every time, and who always had a novel in her backpack. Going to the bookstore was the greatest thing ever. When I wasn’t reading, I was playing out stories. I spent a full afternoon practicing how to hit the ground, roll, and come up on one knee because I so wanted to be James Bond—which turned out to be really useful a few times when I fell too hard. (I also tried to jump out of a moving van. Despite it only going about five miles an hour, my mother was not happy. Apparently that’s not something nine-year-olds are supposed to do. No matter how slow the car is moving and no matter how many times you’ve seen it in movies.)

I read Anne Rice when I was 12 and Interview with the Vampire was the first rated R movie I ever watched. Queen of the Damned was the first rated R movie I ever bought. I still love the soundtrack. Before I finished high school, I’d abandoned Rice (Memnoch the Devil and Lasher were just too much for me) and moved onto Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series up until I got old enough to realize that hey, there was no good reason Jean-Claude and Asher couldn’t have gotten together books before they did (I was about 19). I was a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, to the point that they were pretty much all I talked about until my second year of college. All my friends were forced into watching Lost Boys at some point. The Craft, too.

Kind of a funny juxtaposition, because there I was, a teenager jumping into some of the craziest things I’d ever read while Harry Potter made its huge splash. I devoured those books too. I had some insomnia, so there was one night where I stayed up and pretty much read the entirety of Prisoner of Azkaban. I learned the meaning of eye strain the next morning when I got on the bus and suddenly letters which were usually clear were fuzzy. (And before it comes up: I’m a Ravenclaw, I totally support casting and fan theories about Harry’s and Hermoine’s non-white races, and I don’t know my Ilver-I-can’t-spell-it-and-if-she’s-not-going-to-apologize-for-stealing-sacred-beliefs-I’m-not-going-to-learn-how house).

More recently I’ve developed a taste for Hellblazer comics. I am stoked for the launch of Sandman Presents and the House of Whispers story by Nalo Hopkinson (Brown Girl in the Ring is an amazing book by her too). I love Rhys Ford’s Dim Sum Asylum and KJ Charles’s Spectred Isle. I used to watch Supernatural but Charlie’s demise was the last straw. I’m a fan of more than paranormal, but it is the genre where just about any premise intrigues me.

I started writing when I was 12, too. I was on a student trip overseas and finished reading Interview with the Vampire. It was a three-week trip and I had two weeks left to go. One of the other students pointed out I should write my own if I was bored on the bus, so I did. And I kept writing. And writing. Then when I got home I kept going.

Writing became an escape for me in high school. I grew up in a small town without terribly much to do, so I read books and wrote stories. I was drawn to writing stories like the ones I had read. More of my stories include elements of magic or science fiction than remain strictly contemporary. My characters tend to introduce themselves, almost stepping out of a fog and plopping down in front of me, and they tend to come with some kind of magic. Ben and Noah did and they were hopeless for each other from the start. Hopefully you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them!

Giveaway: Who casts your favorite spells? Enter in the comments below for your chance to win $10 in the Dreamspinner shop!

 

Check out Soul Bond today!

 

 

Blurb:

Stealing his heart.

As a thief and a warlock, Noah survives by using his wit and charm to prey on the privileged. His dangerous criminal boss wants an enchanted dagger belonging to a family of wealthy mages, including their pampered—but handsome—son, Ben. Failing to complete the job will be hazardous to Noah’s survival.

Noah bumps into Ben at a lavish party, and as soon as they meet, the connection’s undeniable, and it goes much further than ordinary attraction. Their bond reaches into their souls, entwining and changing their magic.

Which Noah thinks he can use to get to the dagger. After all, he isn’t sure this soul bond Ben seems so obsessed with is even real.

He also doesn’t count on being caught red-handed…. Or falling in love.

 

Bio:

JS Harker loves stories. She was one of those kids who always had a book in her hands and spent many hours adventuring with her siblings. These days she wanders into her imaginary worlds and conjures up tales of magic, passion, and happily-ever-afters. She currently lives in the part of the Midwest that makes Tatooine look interesting by comparison (not that she’s ever obsessively thought about becoming a Jedi or anything).

Find me on social media:
www.jsharker.com
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/j_s_harker
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/js.harker.169