Guest Post! Author Kimberly G. Garnick


Parted by death. Tethered by love.
Lainey Bloom’s high school senior year is a complete disaster. The popular clique, led by mean girl Wynter Woods, bullies her constantly. The principal threatens not to let her graduate with the class of 1997 unless she completes a major research project. And everyone blames her for the death of Wynter’s boyfriend, Danny Obregon.
Danny, a gorgeous musician, stole Lainey’s heart when he stole a kiss at a concert. But a week later, he was run down on a dangerous stretch of road. When he dies in her arms, she fears she’ll never know if he really would have broken up with Wynter to be with her.
Then his ghost shows up, begging her to solve his murder. Horrified by the dismal fate that awaits him if he never crosses over, Lainey seeks the dark truth amidst small town secrets, family strife, and divided loyalties. But every step she takes toward discovering what really happened the night Danny died pulls her further away from the beautiful boy she can never touch again.


Kimberly G. Giarratano, a forever Jersey girl, now lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with her
husband and small children. A former teacher and YA librarian, Kimberly adores Etsy, Jon Stewart, The Afghan Whigs, ’90s nostalgia, and (of course) everything YA. She also speaks Spanish, but is woefully out of practice.
Kimberly always dreamed of being a published author. Her other dream is to live in Key West, Florida where she can write in a small studio, just like Hemingway.
 You can visit her blog at kimberlyggiarratano.com or tweet her @KGGiarratano.
 http://redadeptpublishing.com/kimberly-g-giarratano/


A deleted scene from Grunge Gods and Graveyards


Rather than write another blog post about the 90s, I thought it would be fun to share with you a deleted scene from Grunge Gods and Graveyards. In this particular scene, Lainey and Danny go to City Hall to retrieve a document they hope will help solve Danny’s murder.

*Since this is a deleted scene, it hasn’t had the editorial treatment. Please forgive any glaring grammatical errors.*

****

Ash didn’t really have its own courthouse. It had a city hall which held a small court in the basement. What could also be found there was a tiny little records office and a short, middle-aged woman with a permanent sour expression manning the desk. Her name tag read Marjorie Bell.

The office was set to close in five minutes.

“I would like to request a document,” I asked out of breath. I had run here from school.

“We’re closed,” Marjorie said.

I pointed to the sign on the window. “Not for another five minutes. Please. It’s only one document.” Then I added, “It’s for homework. Due Monday.”

Marjorie shook her head in disbelief. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression about procrastination?”

Danny laughed behind me. “You don’t think she means the expression that compares procrastination to masturbation, does she?”

My cheeks reddened as I tried to focus my attention back to Marjorie. “I’m so sorry, but my teacher just assigned it today.”

“Funny,” Marjorie said as she put on her reading glasses. “I haven’t had many students come to my window requesting documents today. Are you in a class all by yourself?”

“Say yes, say yes,” Danny cried.

Marjorie didn’t wait for me to answer. Instead she said, “Here fill out this form. I’ll see what I can do.”

I jumped and grabbed a pen from the chipped mug that sat on the counter, except the pen was tied to ceramic handle and the mug tipped over, forcing pens to the floor. I scrambled to pick them up before saying, “Oops. Sorry.” I quickly scribbled down the information on the form and slid it back to Marjorie.
She narrowed her eyes and read the form. “You want a copy of a will?”

“For my law class. It’s an elective,” I said reaching.Marjorie shrugged and walked away.

Danny nodded at the mug of pens I had hastily turned over. There in blue letters read, ‘Someday is not a day of the week.’ “I guess that’s the saying she was referring to.”

A minute later, Marjorie came into view holding a business-size envelope in her plump fingers. I reached out for it, but she held it back. “It will be $2 for the photocopy and processing.”

Danny scoffed, “What a rip-off.”

I sighed and fished into my backpack. Even with an after-school job, I never had cash on me. I felt around for a bundle of quarters I had collected from doing my dad’s laundry and slapped them on the counter. They clinked against the formica.

Marjorie rolled her eyes and slid the change into a drawer underneath the counter. Then she mumbled a “you’re welcome” before flipping the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed.’

Danny and I hurried outside. The sun was making its way to the horizon, casting a twilight glow about town. An autumn chill could be felt and somewhere I smelled burning leaves. I used to love this time of year, but now I was barely able to notice it. At least it was quiet. The streets seemed to be eerily deserted, all the better to chat with a ghost about another dead person’s assets.

“That woman is a nightmare who hates her job,” Danny said.

“Probably, but she did us a favor,” I said. Then I sat down on a nearby bench and opened the envelope.

****
While this scene is funny, it was deleted because there were changes in the plot that made this scene unnecessary. So it goes. I will miss Marjorie. She could be a whole book on her own.
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Grunge Gods Tour


July 7 – July 25


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July 7: Guest Post on ZigZag Timeline


July 10: Review & Guest Post on The Caffeinated Diva


July 10: Guest Post on Big Al’s Books & Pals


July 12: Review & Guest Post on Cubicle Blindness Book Reviews


July 14: Interview on The Gal in the Blue Mask


July 15: Review on The Gal in the Blue Mask


July 16: Review on Big Al’s Books & Pals


July 16: Interview on Pandora’s Books


July 17: Review on Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews


July 17: Review on The Story Goes…


July 18: Guest Post on Observation Desk


July 20: Review on Mama’s Reading Break


July 20: Interview on Elizabeth Corrigan, Author


July 20: Interview on The IndieView


July 21: Guest Post on The Story Goes…


July 22: Guest Post on Book Lovers Life


July 23: Guest Post on Wag the Fox


July 24: Review on Angela’s Library


July 25: Guest Post on Manuscripts Burn


July 25: Interview on KBoards





Review:

This is definitely a book that I would recommend to my friends. It has fun (and funny) characters, adventure and a scare factor. Wilder was by far my favorite character, strong, determined and loyal. When it came to Lainey and the way she took on a protective roll in the beginning of the story really shows their bond, I really admired her.

The story was full of twists and started off in a place that really got me hooked to the story. We get to know the whole town of Ash as the story goes into the tragedy that occurred and how they suffered from the loss.  A ghost pushes Lainey to answer all of her questions about the death and help them heal.

I had a lot of fun reading the story, the setting, pacing and characters are very well done. I didn't want to have to put the book down and read through it very fast. It was very entertaining and I would recommend it to those that love a great supernatural mystery.

5 stars

Comments

  1. I love deleted scenes! Possibly because they show such insight into the process of creating what we usually just see as a finished product.

    (I've totally run into my share of Marjories, too!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marjorie was fun to write in that she felt very real. I modeled her after clerks I've dealt with in real life.

      Delete
  2. Kimberly, so glad I came across this article. Your book sounds intriguing and I can't wait to read it!!! Thanks to Krista, and other blogs on this tour, I'm learning about RAP and books that I never knew existed.

    ReplyDelete

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