Interview & Giveaway - Words That Bind by Ash Krafton

 Words That Bind

by Ash Krafton 

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BLURB: 

Social worker Tam Kerish can’t keep her cool professionalism when steamy client Mr. Burns kindles a desire for more than a client-therapist relationship—so she drops him. However, they discover she’s the talisman to which Burns, an immortal djinn, has been bound since the days of King Solomon…and that makes it difficult. 

Ethical guidelines are unequivocal when it comes to personal relationships with clients. However, the djinn has a thawing effect on the usually non-emotive Tam, who begins to feel true emotion whenever he is near. Tam has to make a difficult choice: to stay on the outside, forever looking in…or to turn her back on her entire world, just for the chance to finally experience what it means to fall in love. 

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EXCERPT:

“So. You’ve destroyed a stereotype for me. A genie who lives in a library. Different.” 

“When in Rome, no?” He stirred his cup before setting down the spoon with a light clink against the saucer. “Or, I suppose it is more accurate to say when in human form. When I am Burns, I prefer here.” 

“Human form.” It didn’t sound right. Who said things like that, and meant it? “Can you change into anything you want? Any shape at all?” 

He stretched out his legs and cocked his head, sliding his gaze up and away. “I suppose I could. I’m getting old and set in my ways. There’s this…” He swept his hands down the line of his body. 

Her eyes were unable to keep from following, not even when he lingered over his midsection. Even lounging, his shirt was tightly tucked into his beltline. No belly fat there. 

He tilted his head and gave her an upper-teeth smile, nibbling gently at his lower lip. “And apparently this form is pleasing to the eye, so I wear it often. But there are others. Tiger, a favorite. Savage and regal and the colors of flames in the night. Fearsome to behold, but very useful when dealing with physical conditions in which a human form may be outmatched. Plus, I can lash my tail.” 

His voice took a teasing, conspirator’s tone. “I love my tail. You’d love it too, if you saw it.” 

She trained her eyes firmly upon his. No way would she give him the pleasure of checking out his tail.

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Let's learn a little about author Ash Krafton!

What is your writing environment?

ANYWHERE. Really. I carry a notebook or my computer with me everywhere, and whenever I have time to string a sentence together, I’m writing. I wrote my first novel entirely during stolen moments—early in the morning before the kids got up, in the car waiting to pick them up, in the break room at work before starting my shift. So, pretty much everywhere. My favorite place, though, is at the kids’ martial arts class. I don’t know why, but I seem to get major word counts down, despite Sensei’s big scary voice.

 
Who is your perfect hero and why?

My favorite hero of all time is Etienne Navarre from the movie Ladyhawke. Rutger Hauer played the strong, silent, sullen hero and let his vulnerable, soft side only leak through his tough veneer. Makes my heart break every time.

What authors have caught your interest lately and why?

I’ve been taking the time to get to know my fellow Wild Rose Press authors better. I really like what I’ve read from Frances Evesham, Sharon Saracino, Brenda Whiteside, and Tricia Schneider.

What type of book have you always wanted to write?

Something that mixes Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, and timey-wimey stuff all together…which I’m currently attempting in my current project, THE HEARTBEAT THIEF. I love gothic and Victorian and Grim Reapery everything, so I’m doing my best to get it all in there.

 
Top 3 things on your bucket list?

Survive adrenaline stress training, learn how to make decent naan, and meet Geddy Lee.

How did you get the idea for this particular novel?

I usually combat writer’s block by switching gears and writing something random. My sister-in-law is a licensed clinical social worker so I wrote a short passage about a genie who walks into a therapist’s office. Her reply was MORE, PLEASE. I like my sister-in-law a lot so I wrote more. *grin* A lot of research went into it because, not only did I want a realistic heroine, but I wanted to express the respect I have for my sister in her position, as well as the clientele for whom she cares.

What is your favorite scene in your new release?

There is a beach scene where my hot-headed hero tries to apologize for blowing off steam. Maybe my husband will try it someday. (I love to inspire him.) Another favorite scene involves an exotic setting in the desert next to a reflecting pool. It’s my happy place.

What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?

THE HEARTBEAT THIEF is currently in edits. Cover art can be seen at www.ashkrafton.com under the AJ KRAFTON tab. If all goes well, we’ll have an early 2015 release.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Travelling to historical sites: Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Baltimore are family favorites. We also like to hit up Comic Cons (just came back from New York). When I’m on my own, I love watching paranormal shows and movies. Number 1 guilty pleasure is watching hours on end of Ghost Hunters.

What would you consider a perfect date?

Accidentally getting kidnapped by a handsome rogue and being swept up in his rakish adventures, at the end of which I bad-assedly save him from Certain Doom. Or, going for sushi with my husband. That’s fun, too.

 
What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?

That’s a tough one, since my nickname is Miss TMI. How about this one—my day job career is in retail pharmacy. Every once in a frequent while, I forget that I’m at work and answer the phone in an accent other than my own, depending on which character is pre-occupying my thoughts. The last three months[AK1] , I’ve been anything from Irish to Australian. Thank God most of my customers know me and understand. The ones who don’t, well, they are really good sports.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction author from northeastern Pennsylvania. Krafton’s first novel, Bleeding Hearts was published in 2012 as part of an urban fantasy trilogy The Books of the Demimonde (Pink Narcissus Press). An urban fantasy novella, Strangers at the Hell Gate, was published by Wild Rose Press in 2013. Her newest release, Words That Bind, won first place in the HeRA RWA “Show Me the Spark” 2013 competition as well as a Zebulon award in 2014. 

Krafton also writes New Adult speculative fiction novels under the pen name AJ Krafton. Upcoming titles include The Heartbeat Thief, Face of the Enemy, and the award-winning Takin’ It Back. She is part of a YA/NA collective known as the Infinite Ink Authors. 

In addition to novel-length fiction, Krafton enjoys writing poetry and short prose, some of which earned distinctions in various writing competitions. One of her poems was also nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She’s a proud member of Pennwriters, Romance Writers of America, and Pikes Peak Writers. Krafton also writes for the Query Tracker Blog and the Prose and Cons blog. 

She resides with her family in northeast Pennsylvania.

 

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ashkraftonauthor 

Blog: http://ash-krafton.blogspot.com 

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/ashkrafton 

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/Ash_Krafton 

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/demimondeash

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Buy Links:

Amazon

 

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=5847

 

 

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Giveaway:

Ash will be awarding a $25 gift card to Amazon or BN as well as a unique handmade book-inspired keychain to a randomly drawn commenter.  Follow the tour HERE
 

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