Meet Bonnie Grove…Enter For a Give-Away!

Today I welcome my friend and mentor, Bonnie Grove to the blog. She is the author of several books, including Talking to the Dead which is available for digital readers for $2.99 (a few cents less on Kindle). She agreed to an interview. I think you’ll think she’s pretty amazing.

And check out the super cool give-away at the end of this post (don’t skip the interview, though).

Susie Finkbeiner (SF): 

Hi, there, Bonnie! Thanks for this interview. How about we start with a little bit about Talking to the Dead?

Bonnie Grove (BG): 

Twenty-something Kate Davis can’t seem to get this grieving widow thing right. She’s supposed to put on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she’s camped out on her living room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep—because her husband Kevin keeps talking to her.

Is she losing her mind?

Kate’s attempts to find the source of the voice she hears are both humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an “eclectically spiritual” counselor, then a shrink with a bad toupee, an exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate’s fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past…and Kevin begins to shout.

Will the voice ever stop? Kate must confront her grief to find the grace to go on, in this tender, quirky novel about embracing life.

SF: 

Your main character, Kate Davis, is well crafted. She’s so true. Can you please tell us a little more about her?

BG:

Kate Davis is having the ultimate bad day, and is living out some intensely strange circumstances. My goal was to create a character that reflects real women – messing up, but stronger than she knows. Kate is a fighter deep down in her soul—she just doesn’t know it yet.

She has her own, unique way of navigating through the world. It isn’t an easy way—but it is her way and she owns it. To me, that’s heroic. To bear tremendous loss and heartache, yet remain true to herself to the end.

SF:

Thank you, Bonnie. Do you mind giving us a little insight into who you are? I promise, this relates to your book. 🙂

BG:

I’m a happy Canadian. I’m married to a guy I love, and we have two children who are so well behaved I have to ask for I.D. when they come home from school each day. I just can’t believe they are mine. Our house is usually a mess, and one summer we lost our dog (Poppy the Pomeranian) twice in one day. We found her both times, she’s fine and forgave us.

I think in stories, and have a hard time understanding the world without them. I have recently rediscovered how much I love poetry and am thumbing my nose at all those English teachers who told me I didn’t really understand what the poem meant.

I’ve often thought about getting out of the publishing gig and just going to work for Taco Bell, but I’m too far gone, so write I must.

SF:

Thank you. The reason I ask is, I am curious to know if you put yourself into the characters that you write.

BG:

Wow, I’d love to say no. That I just make it all up based on something I saw on the bus one day.

But.

I recently wrote a list of images and ideas that reoccur in each of my novels. It was a long list that included things like forests, narrow paths, isolation, and mental illness. Cheerful, eh?

At this point, I can’t pretend I’m not working out my issues via story. The plot in Talking to the Dead is fiction, and I’m not Kate Davis, but if there is such a thing as an emotional biography, I think that is what I write.

The other item found in each of my novels? Humour. The day we can’t have a laugh in the middle of it all is the day we’ve just given up.

SF:

Talking to the Dead has a unique premise and it is very well written. I’d love to know how you came up with the idea for this story.

BG:

I’d love to say I was so savvy I plotted and wrote the novel in a few weeks—like those genius writers I hear so much about—but the truth is, I had a question nagging me, and I started writing out that question in story form.

I used to work with at risk families (families that experience a host of social and economic disadvantages) and it dawned on me that I couldn’t judge what a person was trying to accomplish simply by watching their behavior. That, often, what I thought they were doing and what it was they were actually trying to do were very different things. In other words, that behavior doesn’t always match up with intention. So the question was, if behavior isn’t an indication of intention, then what is the best way to truly understand a person?

Did I answer the question? Probably not, but this story is an attempt to explore that question. I’d love to hear from readers and have them tell me if I hit on any sort of answer.

SF:

You did answer my question. Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind, could you please tell me a little about what you’re working on now?

BG:

I’ve recently completed a novel entitled The Season In Between that is now in my agent’s hands. It’s the story of an East Coast island, a dying fishing community that is confronted with the lies of their past.

I’ve started work on another novel, the working title is Trillium, about a woman who stumbles upon a magical town, and must fight to save it.

SF: 

That sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to read it.

Now, I know a lot of my friends are wondering where they can get Talking to the Dead.

BG:

 

Until December 17^th, you can download the e-book version of Talking to the Dead for only $2.99!

Kindle 

Nook 

Sony e-reader 

CBD 

If you’re a fan, like I am, of books made out of paper, you can always order the paperback of Talking to the Dead at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com , or your favorite brick and mortar bookshop.

SF: 

Fantastic. Hey, Bonnie, thank you for sharing with us.

BG:

Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you today!

And now, for the give-away! Leave a comment below to enter for a chance to get a download from yours truly on your digital reader. 2 lucky readers will be announced on Friday. At that point, I need the winners to contact me ASAP for further direction.