Giveaway: Never Gone and interview with author Laurel Garver

Never Gone by Laurel Garver

Days after her father’s death, fifteen-year-old Dani Deane begins seeing him all around New York — wading through discarded sketches in her room, roaming the halls at church, socializing at his post-funeral reception. Is grief making her crazy? Or could her dad really be lingering between this world and the next, trying to contact her?
Dani desperately longs for his help. Without him keeping the peace, Dani’s relationship with her mother is deteriorating fast. Soon Mum ships her off to rural England with Dad’s relatives for a visit that Dani fears will become a permanent stay. But she won’t let her arty, urban life slip away without a fight, especially when daily phone calls with her lab partner Theo become her lifeline.
To find her way home, Dani must somehow reconnect with Mum. But as she seeks advice from relatives and insights from old letters, she uncovers family secrets that shake her to the core. Convinced that Dad’s ghost alone can help her, she sets out on a dangerous journey to contact him one last time.

-1 ebook copy, open internationally
-Fill out Rafflecopter to enter
-Ends on 3/9/2013 11:59 pm EST
-Make sure to check out and comment on our interview below for an extra entry
-If you win a review on your blog and/or amazon is appreciated but not required.

*If, for whatever reason, the Rafflecopter widget does not appear, you can click on the link and it will show up, sorry for the inconvenience.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Laurel Garver, author of Never Gone

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

Never Gone: An artistic teen who believes she’s being haunted seeks help from her dead father to reconcile with her estranged mother.

--How did you get the idea for the story?

The idea of a parental presence lingering to help a child fascinated me, especially when it’s unclear why it’s happening (is it supernatural or psychological?). Parental haunting is a pretty old idea: Shakespeare uses it in Hamlet, for example. I also was inspired by the TV show Providence (1999-2002), in which a young woman moves home after her mother’s death, and often has long heart-to-heart talks and arguments with her mother’s ghost.

After losing my own father, I began reading about grief experiences and how varied and confusing they can be, especially for kids. I got thinking about other circumstances that might make grieving more of a pressure cooker—like being left with the parent you’re alienated from, having a family culture that frowns on expressing negative emotions, and coming from a faith tradition that tends to emphasize the joys the departed gains in the afterlife. The question of “how do I cope without my loved one?” will be more urgently felt in circumstances like that.

--Which books are your book’s “cousin”? (Similar set-up or style)

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, and Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr.

-- Do you still have much time to read? What are some of your favorite books?

I read a tremendous amount at my job as a scholarly journal editor, but it’s all highly technical literary criticism. What really feeds my mind is realistic fiction. Some favorites are Wild Roses by Deb Caletti, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, and The Wonder Worker by Susan Howatch

-- Are there any songs on your playlist--songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

Tears for Fears’ first album, The Hurting, was a CD I played lots while writing Never Gone. The mix of anger, sadness, longing that come with grief are so palpable in it.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy watching quirky independent films, playing board games, doing crafts with my daughter, hiking in the park near my house, and teaching the high school class at my church.

--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

I will be publishing a poetry collection, Muddy-fingered Midnights, later this winter. I hope to release a nonfiction writing resource book on deep characterization in the fall. I also have a companion novel to Never Gone in the works.

--What is one thing you would tell your 15-year-old self?

Please keep a journal, would you? Every heartache you suffer now will look quite different in retrospect.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

While Never Gone has a ghost, it is not a spooky horror story. Rather, it’s fast paced, character-driven novel that gives an authentic picture of the struggles and triumphs of a Christian teen trying to rebuild her life after losing a parent. Check out the links to learn more.

Links:

Blog: http://laurelgarver.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLaurelGarver

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurelGarver

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4109111.Laurel_Garver

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/embed/JY0gSZ3-nU4

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Never-Gone-Laurel-Garver/dp/1479205079

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/never-gone-laurel-garver/1112775142

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229715