Wanderlust & Books is excited to be part of Rockstar Book Tours' "Dig Too Deep" Blog Tour this month! Check out Amy Allgeyer's exclusive interview and enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of Dig Too Deep (US only).
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Hi Amy!
Where did you get the inspiration to write this book? That’s a good question, because it seems like I set out to write a book about mountaintop removal mining, right? But this novel actually started life as a short story about a girl taking care of her sick granny. My own mother died of cancer when I was twenty-eight, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. I wanted – needed—to put that experience on paper. And after that short story won a publication contract, my critique group encouraged me to expand it into a novel. |
What's your favorite scene in the novel, and why?
The scene where Granny tells Liberty the starfish scene is pretty powerful. But I also like the scene where Liberty and Cole argue in the cafeteria. Because Cole totally deserved that.
Tell us something about the main character, what difficulties does she face in the novel?
Liberty’s dealing with a lot. Her mom’s in prison, she has to move to a new town and start a new school, and her Granny’s sick. Their water is bright orange. They don’t have enough money or enough to eat. And when Lib starts asking questions about the water, she makes a lot of enemies fast. It’s a pretty lonely existence for her.
When did you decide to become a writer, and turn your passion into a career?
I don’t know that I’ve turned writing into a career. My day job as an architect pays my bills. Writing is still my passion. I guess, in some ways, I don’t want writing to become a career. I’d rather it always be my escape—something I do for joy to feed my soul. Don’t get me wrong—I definitely want to sell more books and I take my writing very seriously. But I don’t think I’d like it to feel like a ‘job.’
Do you ever get Writer's Block? If yes, how do you overcome it?
ARGH, yes. I think we all do. The only way I’ve found to get past it, is to write and write and write. It doesn’t have to be good. It doesn’t even have to make sense. But eventually, a phrase or an idea floats out of my subconscious onto the page and I’m like, “That’s it!” It’s like the key that opens the door to the next chapters.
What are you working on right now and what are your writing plans for the future?
I’m working on a new contemporary YA which we’ll submit to my publisher sometime in the next few months. They have an option on my next book, so hopefully they’ll decide they like it enough to snap it up!
How can readers find you?
Web | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads| Amazon
The scene where Granny tells Liberty the starfish scene is pretty powerful. But I also like the scene where Liberty and Cole argue in the cafeteria. Because Cole totally deserved that.
Tell us something about the main character, what difficulties does she face in the novel?
Liberty’s dealing with a lot. Her mom’s in prison, she has to move to a new town and start a new school, and her Granny’s sick. Their water is bright orange. They don’t have enough money or enough to eat. And when Lib starts asking questions about the water, she makes a lot of enemies fast. It’s a pretty lonely existence for her.
When did you decide to become a writer, and turn your passion into a career?
I don’t know that I’ve turned writing into a career. My day job as an architect pays my bills. Writing is still my passion. I guess, in some ways, I don’t want writing to become a career. I’d rather it always be my escape—something I do for joy to feed my soul. Don’t get me wrong—I definitely want to sell more books and I take my writing very seriously. But I don’t think I’d like it to feel like a ‘job.’
Do you ever get Writer's Block? If yes, how do you overcome it?
ARGH, yes. I think we all do. The only way I’ve found to get past it, is to write and write and write. It doesn’t have to be good. It doesn’t even have to make sense. But eventually, a phrase or an idea floats out of my subconscious onto the page and I’m like, “That’s it!” It’s like the key that opens the door to the next chapters.
What are you working on right now and what are your writing plans for the future?
I’m working on a new contemporary YA which we’ll submit to my publisher sometime in the next few months. They have an option on my next book, so hopefully they’ll decide they like it enough to snap it up!
How can readers find you?
Web | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads| Amazon
Thank you so much Amy for this interview. Good luck!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: DIG TOO DEEP
Author: Amy Allgeyer
Release Date: April 1, 2016
Pages: 272
Publisher: AW Teen
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
With her mother facing prison time for a violent political protest, seventeen-year-old Liberty Briscoe has no choice but to leave her Washington, DC, apartment and take a bus to Ebbottsville, Kentucky, to live with her granny. There she can at least finish high school and put some distance between herself and her mother--or her former mother, as she calls her. But Ebbottsville isn't the same as Liberty remembers, and it's not just because the top of Tanner's Peak has been blown away to mine for coal. Half the county is out of work, an awful lot of people in town seem to be sick, and the tap water is bright orange--the same water that officials claim is safe. And when Granny's lingering cold turns out to be something much worse, Liberty wonders if somebody at the mine is hiding the truth about the water. She starts to investigate and is soon plunged into a world of secrets, lies, threats, and danger. Her searches for answers and justice lead to even tougher questions--should she turn to violence and end up like her mother? Give up her quest for the sake of keeping the peace? Or keep fighting until the mine is shut down for good?
Author: Amy Allgeyer
Release Date: April 1, 2016
Pages: 272
Publisher: AW Teen
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
With her mother facing prison time for a violent political protest, seventeen-year-old Liberty Briscoe has no choice but to leave her Washington, DC, apartment and take a bus to Ebbottsville, Kentucky, to live with her granny. There she can at least finish high school and put some distance between herself and her mother--or her former mother, as she calls her. But Ebbottsville isn't the same as Liberty remembers, and it's not just because the top of Tanner's Peak has been blown away to mine for coal. Half the county is out of work, an awful lot of people in town seem to be sick, and the tap water is bright orange--the same water that officials claim is safe. And when Granny's lingering cold turns out to be something much worse, Liberty wonders if somebody at the mine is hiding the truth about the water. She starts to investigate and is soon plunged into a world of secrets, lies, threats, and danger. Her searches for answers and justice lead to even tougher questions--should she turn to violence and end up like her mother? Give up her quest for the sake of keeping the peace? Or keep fighting until the mine is shut down for good?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The youngest of seven kids, Amy has been writing stories since she first learned to make her letters face the right way. Her work has appeared in Family Fun, A Fly in Amber and Stories for Children. As an architect, she spends her days restoring hundred-year-old homes in Boise where she lives with her son, a feral house cat, and a fake owl named Alan. She hates chocolate, but loves vegetables. She also loves travelling to foreign lands and the smell of honeysuckle on humid Southern nights.
Amy is represented by the lovely and amazing Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Amy is represented by the lovely and amazing Danielle Chiotti of Upstart Crow Literary.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY
2 winners will receive a signed ARC of DIG TOO DEEP, and a silver starfish bookmark, magnet, button, and "Make Your Own mini-protest sign" kit, US Only.