Description: "Denizens of the shadows who live outside the law--from the desolate meth labs of the Ozark Mountains to the dog-fighting rings of Detroit to the lavish Los Angeles hotels where the famous run wild--the characters in [this book] all thirst for something seemingly just beyond their reach. Some are on the run, pursued by the law or propelled relentlessly forward by a dangerous past that is disturbingly close. Others are searching for a semblance of peace and stability, and even love, in a fractured world defined by seething violence and ruthless desperation"--
Brief description:
Jordan Harper was born and educated in Missouri. He has been a music journalist, film critic, and TV writer. He lives in Los Angeles.
Review Quotes:
"To be blunt, there really isn't a misstep in the entire bunch." - Lit Reactor
"What sets Harper apart is his ability to deliver genuine literary epiphanies...Harper delivers tension, action, black humor, sex, and violence-but, above all, characters we quickly know, understand, and still remember even after their brains have painted the walls." - Booklist
"A beautifully-written ride through America's inner darkness." - Roger Hobbs, author of Ghostman
"With Love and Other Wounds, Jordan Harper achieves the rarest of literary feats: an economy of language that manages to both concentrate and expand. His starkly beautiful take on the wide-eyed and downtrodden stabs at the heart of the American Dream." - Joe Clifford, author of Junkie Love and Lamentation
"Jordan Harper is one of the best short story writers of this generation." - Todd Robinson
"His words hit with the impact of a shotgun blast and tear at any sense of security like an angry Rottweiler." - Los Angeles Magazine
"Each one of the stories in Harper's slim debut collection goes off like a shotgun blast of crime fiction tropes... the entire collection is a tight, tough parcel of pulpy, high-octane tales." - Publishers Weekly
"Raw, gritty, and unsettling... VERDICT: As he runs, John's mouth 'felt full of hot pennies, ' and every story here is a hot penny worth much more. For fans of Cormac McCarthy, Daniel Woodrell, and Bruce Machart." - Library Journal
"Bottom-line survival competes hard against issues of loyalty, friendship, and family in this disturbing, sometimes-ugly version of reality." - Kirkus Reviews
"With his first collection of short stories, Love and Other Wounds, Missouri-native Jordan Harper kicks the door of crime fiction off its splintered frame." - Publishers Weekly
A gritty collection of short stories about people with murder on their minds. Why we're reading: Harper's unforgettable characters, who include a jewel thief, a Hollywood fixer, and a man who escapes his own grave." - Esquire.com
"[A] young writer that will probably only remain under the radar for a short time... Jordan Harper's Love and Other Wounds hits you like the smooth burn of a shot of whiskey, awakens your senses, and is an all-around, visceral tour de force." - Huffington Post
"Harper brings his own skewed eye and ear to what he calls 'that country-grit subculture'... Harper's stories are relentlessly violent, but he seasons the violence with compassion for his characters' fates." - Shelf Awareness