Debut Author Interview & Giveaway: Getting Somewhere by Beth Neff

Welcome to 2012 Debut Author Beth Neff.

I am a former organic vegetable farmer who lives in southwestern Michigan and enjoys setting my novels in the rural and small town environment in which I live. My first novel, Getting Somewhere (Viking/Penquin – release date Jan. 19, 2012) is the story of four very different girls who serve juvenile crime sentences in an alternative detention program located – guess where? – on an organic farm. When I am not writing, I like to garden, read, play the guitar and piano, quilt, cook and especially catch up with the busy lives of my four kids (ages 18 to 27.)

Links:

Blog:  http://bethneff.com/?page_id=15 

Website:  http://bethneff.com/ 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beth-Neff-author/223638894327387

INTERVIEW

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

I’d go back to the past, all the way to prehistory to visit North American indigenous people and learn about the plants they used and their lifestyles, beliefs, and practices.

If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?

Barack Obama and Afghan president, Hamid Karzai and hopefully get them talking about political and religious issues in the Middle East. Then I’d invite Bono since he might also have something brilliant to add about world peace and then throw in Ellen DeGeneres and Stephen Colbert to lighten up the atmosphere.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?

Fresh water, matches, and a boat.

What is one book everyone should read?

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Yogurt and granola with fresh fruit.

One food you would never eat?

Dog. (I have to whisper that so my dog doesn’t hear.)

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?

I’m working on a book about teenagers involved in class war and another that sets the Sacajawea story in modern times, along with a couple of others. I love to write and like having a bunch of projects going at once.

What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen?

My favorite book was The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, the first in a series by Joan Aiken.

If you could choose only one time period and place to live, when and where would you live and why?

My daughter recently shared the statistic that, if you have food in your refrigerator, a roof over your head and clothes on your back, you’re more fortunate than 75% of the people on earth. We’re so lucky to be born in North America and so I’d have to choose now and here. Things sometimes feel a little shaky for the future but I believe we have the knowledge, resources and opportunity at this moment in time to make them much better.

What is your favorite Quote?

I love the line by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam that goes, “I know that I’m born and I know that I’ll die. The in-between is mine. I am mine.”

When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

I always loved to read and I think, if there had been the job ‘reader,’ that’s what I would have chosen. Then, I discovered that you could not only read books, you could write them! From that point on, I wanted to be a writer.

Hidden talent?

I’m actually a pretty good dancer. It’s a really hidden talent because I rarely dance in front of other people and it embarrasses my kids terribly when I do.

Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is....

Harry Potter

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I love alternative rock music like Audioslave, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

Getting Somewhere by Beth Neff

Sarah, Jenna, Lauren, and Cassie may look like ordinary girls, but they’re not. They’re delinquents whose lives collide when they’re sent to an experimental juvenile detention program on a farm in the middle of nowhere. As the girls face up to the crimes they committed, three of them will heal the wounds of their pasts and discover strengths they never dreamed they had. And one, driven by a deep secret of her own, will seek to destroy everything they’ve all worked so hard for.

Getting Somewhere will be released on Thursday, January 19, 2012


Giveaway Details
1 copy of Getting Somewhere
Open to US only
Ends 2/15/12
Prior to entering this giveaway please be aware this book discusses gritty topics including prostitution, drug addition and same-sex relationships.

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