WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD: INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SUSAN CRANDALL AND A GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
WHISTLING PAST

THE GRAVEYARD

BY SUSAN CRANDALL

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old spitfire Starla Claudelle runs away from her strict grandmother’s Mississippi home. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three—that’s when Lulu left for Nashville to become a famous singer. Starla’s daddy works on an oil rig in the Gulf, so Mamie, with her tsk-tsk sounds and her bitter refrain of “Lord, give me strength,” is the nearest thing to family Starla has. After being put on restriction yet again for her sassy mouth, Starla is caught sneaking out for the Fourth of July parade. She fears Mamie will make good on her threat to send Starla to reform school, so Starla walks to the outskirts of town, and just keeps walking. . . . If she can get to Nashville and find her momma, then all that she promised will come true: Lulu will be a star. Daddy will come to live in Nashville, too. And her family will be whole and perfect. Walking a lonely country road, Starla accepts a ride from Eula, a black woman traveling alone with a white baby. The trio embarks on a road trip that will change Starla’s life forever. She sees for the first time life as it really is—as she reaches for a dream of how it could one day be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susan Crandall is an award-winning women’s fiction, suspense, romance, and mystery author. Her first book, Back Roads, won the RITA award for best first book, as well as two National Reader’s Choice awards. She has released eight more critically acclaimed and award-winning novels. Susan lives in Indiana. To read more about Susan Crandall, visit her website "Bio" HERE. 

PRAISE FOR WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD:

“A coming-of-age story as well as a luminous portrait of courage and the bonds of friendship. . . Susan Crandall tells young Starla’s story with pitch-perfect tone, evoking 1963 Mississippi and its struggles with a deft hand. I laughed and cried at Starla’s keen observances of life and family and the sometimes blurred edges of justice. Like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Whistling Past the Graveyard is destined to become a classic.”– New York Times bestselling author Karen White
   
“A luminous portrait of courage and the bonds of friendship, this coming of age story is as endearing and spirited as they come.”– Shape Magazine
   
“It’s not easy to keep such a young narrator convincing for more than 300 pages... Readers will take to Starla and be caught up in her story.”– Mary Ellen Quinn, Booklist
   
“Crandall delivers big with a coming-of-age story set in Mississippi in 1963 and narrated by a precocious 9-year-old…Young Starla is an endearing character whose spirited observations propel this nicely crafted story.”– Kirkus
   
“Starla’s fiery independence makes her a likable narrator.”– Publishers Weekly
   
“Crandall threads historical detail throughout the book as the struggles of the civil rights movement are vividly portrayed…Crandall’s young narrator captures the reader’s heart.”– Library Journal
   
“WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD is a multi-layered saga that can be enjoyed by teens and adults alike. It has a cinematic quality that will make readers wish for a screen version. And you can’t say better than that.”– BookReporter.com 

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SUSAN CRANDALL:

It is with great honor and joy that I am able to post an interview with Susan Crandall, author of this amazing book, WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD. I want to thank Susan for being kind enough to do this for my blog. I first asked if there was any personal or general information about Susan that I could share with my readers. You can find so much information on Susan’s website at www.susancrandall.net but she also shared this information:
Susan grew up in a small Indiana town, married a guy from that town, and then moved to Chicago for a while. She is pleased to say that she has been back in her hometown for many years and plans to stay. She and her husband have two grown children, a beautiful granddaughter and some dogs.

1. Where did you get the inspiration or idea for this book?
I’ve always loved writing the youthful secondary characters in my previous books, so decided to write one focused solely on a child narrator.  Once I had my mind headed in that direction, Starla began to whisper in my ear. Her fiery personality is the antithesis of my own (I’m a born people pleaser) and came through from those first lines. My intention had been to write a child-in-jeopardy story, but this morphed into so much more—coming-of-age, snapshot in time, adventure and road trip, an examination into a child’s basic need for maternal love. I’m so glad I allowed myself to follow the natural flow of this story as I wrote; if I’d stuck to my original plan, this wouldn’t be half the book it now is.

2.How did the title of your book come about?
When I began writing, I had no title.  Truthfully, titles and synopses are the bane of my writing existence. However, when I wrote the first line of Chapter 8, it clicked: “That’s the title!” This was followed by a happy dance around my office. I could not have come up with a more perfect title had I committed my full brain power to it for a month. It encapsulates so very many aspects of this story…don’t know why it didn’t occur to me earlier!

3.Do you see yourself in your characters? Which characters are easiest or more difficult to write?
Most of my preparation before I begin the writing process is building and getting to know my characters. I supposed there’s a little bit of me in all my characters…some certainly more than others. As odd as it sounds, Starla (my polar opposite) was easy to write. Maybe it was that attitude of hers that pushed right on past me and onto the page; it’s almost like she bypassed me completely and went directly to the reader.

I don’t care for cruelty in any form, so the characters who were harsh, mean or violent were the most difficult for me to write. (And there are many in this book.)

4. What books would you say have made the biggest impression on you, especially starting out? What are you currently reading?
I’ve always been a very eclectic reader. I love beautiful writing. I love sparse powerful writing. I love a well told story. That said, the list is long. When it comes to child narrators both The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird are right up there.

Right now I’m just about to finish, Robert Goolrick’s, Heading Out to Wonderful. Up next, Neil Gaiman’s, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

5. What is the next or current book/project you are working on?
I’ve just begun writing an untitled novel (no surprise there) set in the 1920s. It’s the story of three displaced people, a teenage orphan of German immigrant parents, a daring debutant whose family has lost their fortune, and a WWI veteran pilot. They unite to form a barnstorming act and crisscross the country rubbing elbows with farmers and tycoons, tent revivalists and bootleggers. Each are searching for a place in a rapidly changing world. I’m not sure yet who will find their peace and who will falter. The adventure of writing will tell!

6. What is something about you that you would want people to know about you that we probably don’t know?
I would love to be a farmer. No joke. The crop raising kind.

7. What is your best advice to anyone, including young people, who want to be writers?
Stay strong and persevere. Work to improve whatever skills will lead to your dream being fulfilled. If it comes easy, you’re not reaching high enough.

Thanks so much, Bingo, for the opportunity to share with your readers,

Susan

AND thanks again to Susan for this interview!

It is easy for me to see why I am loving reading her book right now!  

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO STEPHANIE AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT GALLERY BOOKS WITH SIMON & SCHUSTER,

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