During his virtual
book tour, Gareth will be awarding a $50
Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn
winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use
the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit
his other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Gareth Frank is
a former union organizer and administrator. He received a Master's Degree at
the University of Wisconsin and later studied at the Writer’s Center in
Bethesda, Maryland. The Moment Between is his first published novel. His short
stories have been published in various journals and have been nominated for the
Pushcart Prize as well as the Silver Pen Write Well Award.
Please tell us a little about your new release.
After four
years of mourning, Doctor Hackett Metzger is determined to stop letting his
wife's death control his life. He is finally beginning to live again, but his
recovery leads to an unexpected fight for his own survival and startling
revelations about what happens to all of us in The Moment Between.Hackett, a brilliant neurologist, is a skeptic. He doesn't believe he will one day be reunited with Jean, or dwell with God in heaven. What he does believe is that he should have seen the warning signs of her heart attack; he should have saved her. He also cannot accept the possibility that his clinical study of near death experiences could prove the existence of a conscious afterlife. When Hackett falls for the mother of a patient, grief finally begins to fade. But he has no idea his new love is hiding her dangerous past. Will Hackett's damaged spirit endure another heartbreak?
What inspired you to write this book?
The oddest
Christmas card ever. A few years back I received a Christmas card from a good
friend. As she did every year, she included a long type written letter. You
know the kind: "We had a great year in 20--. In the spring we got a new
puppy. In June, our daughter graduated high school, etc. These cards seldom
shock you, but I was about to be knocked off my feet. She announced that her
brother in-law died, then came a cryptic line suggesting that he was murdered
by his wife. Wow, I don't ever think I'll get a card like that again.
Excerpt from The Moment Between:
The gravelly voice scratched Hackett’s memory, banging,
scraping and popping just as it had that snowy night outside the hospital. Once
again, he felt the force of the man’s knee on his neck. His heart pounded. He
looked around the garage, thought first of finding a hammer or wrench on the
work bench, but his eyes registered nothing within easy reach. He briefly
thought of taking the man down with a chainsaw, as if he were in a scene from a
Quentin Tarantino movie. He felt the uncomfortable hiccup of a laugh bubble up
inside of him. Without thinking, he grabbed and felt a cool, wooden handle
among the garden tools.
Careful not to make a noise he lifted the pitchfork up and
stared at it. In that moment, Hackett thought about all the times he had cut
into human flesh. He had seen blood, he had seen death, but as a doctor, he had
always strived to save life, not take it. Now, holding the pitchfork, he tried
to convince himself this would be no different. He watched his hand shake, like
a ninety-year-old patient holding a coffee cup. Could he do this? He wasn’t so
sure. Noise within the house drew Hackett’s attention.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I am almost
finished with my third novel, though I am sure that I will still be editing and
re-writing for months. Although it will be similar in style to The Moment Between, I have added a
dollop of magic realism to give the story an extra kick.
Torn Skin (working title) is the story of Jonny
Pirpal, a punkrockin, freight train hoppin loner with a history of ego and
anger issues. Back in the nineties, he achieved rock and roll fame but his
world fell apart and he lost everything in a single day. Syierra (pronounced
sigh-ear-ah) is a mystic who quite literally saves the lives of strangers, but
couldn't protect her own family. After years of dedicating herself to others,
she, too, has become a lonely traveler. Their paths cross as Jonny's history is
about to catch up with him.
One of the
things that I have genuinely enjoyed about writing Torn Skin has been the
opportunity to write lyrics for Jonny's songs, both as a young punk rocker and
an older vagrant. The title, Torn Skin,
comes from one of his punk rock songs and also relates to his problems with
love and the scar above his right eye.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
I have a fairly
high bar for that. I was writing full-time for about four years before I was comfortable
referring to myself as a writer.
My day has
changed a lot in the months before the publication of The Moment Between. It used to be that I'd write Monday through
Friday, anywhere from two to eight hours a day. Now, I am sad to say that daily
writing has fallen by the wayside, replaced by publishing and marketing chores.
I still write, but not as much as I'd like.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I can't write
unless I am comfortable. I write on the couch. I write on my bed. I never write
in a chair at a table or desk. My posture is terrible. I know I should change. Also,
my son says that I like to write the word "ass". If you count, you will
see, I wrote it four times in the excerpt above.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
To paraphrase
Cyndi Lauper, boys just wanna have fun. I was active nearly every second of my
childhood, riding my bike, playing sports, shooting sling shots, jumping off cliffs
at a local quarry, even making homemade fireworks. I didn't care about being an
adult. I dreamt of the present and lived
my dreams. Childhood was an incredible gift. Thanks Mom and Dad for making it
possible.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
To write a good
novel, I think you not only have to find an inspiring plot idea, you also need
to build the story around an overarching theme that captures the reader's
interest. I am fascinated with near death experiences and incorporated that
into The Moment Between, a
psychological thriller that brings death to life through the story of Doctor
Hackett Metzger, a neurosurgeon still recovering from the passing of his wife
when he becomes involved in a medical study of near-death experiences, and
falls for a woman with a dangerous past. Hackett, a likable and brilliant
doctor, is also a bit of an awkward nerd. He agrees to support the study even
though his heart and mind tell him that death is final. Research and life are
about to collide.
It is a story
about the death of a spouse and the grief that follows. It is a story about
recovery and finding your way. It's a story about the danger of falling in love
with the absolutely wrong person, but most of all The Moment Between takes an authentic look at the mystery of life
after death and the equally big mystery — what is consciousness?
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