GCC Tour: You Had Me at Halo, by Amanda Ashby

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This is one of those 'wish I'd thought of it' premises. It sounds like a riot, and I can't wait to get my copy!

Holly Evans has just seen her own body laid to rest. If it had been up to her, she wouldn’t have chosen that particular polyester dress for the event. Still, she could live with that (so to speak), if it guaranteed a quick jump to Level 3 of the afterlife, which she hopes will feature both reruns of Friends and reunions with long-lost loved ones.

But Holly has some mortal baggage to unload first, starting with the matter of how she died. Yes, she drowned in her bathtub under suspicious circumstances, but she did not kill herself. Holly had too much to live for, from her recent promotion to taking the next big step in her relationship. Okay, her life had a few loose ends, but whose doesn’t?

Holly's heavenly shrink isn’t buying it. He says she has to return to earth to straighten things out. The thing is, she’ll need to borrow someone’s body to do it—and the body in question belongs to none other than computer geek Vince Murphy. Oh, and although Vince was supposed to have vacated the premises, he apparently never got the memo.

Now, Holly has forty-eight hours to resolve her issues while sharing arms, legs, and...other things...with a guy she barely noticed while she was alive. But the real surprise is what life has to offer when you have only two days to live it...

“It’s The Lovely Bones meets Bridget Jones in this fluffy take on what happens after death. It's a fun, witty traipse through the afterlife.” Publisher’s Weekly

“This book has a delightfully quirky concept that develops into a fun and interesting story. Peopled with a fascinating variety of characters, it also has an intriguing mystery and a charmingly different type of interaction between the hero and heroine. Expect a delightful tale with a wonderfully distinctive ending.” 4 ½ stars Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine.

“Drop-dead funny. Readers will fall inlove with Holly Evans – a girl who won’t let a little thing like death keep her from getting everything she wants out of life.” Brenda Scott Royce, Author of Monkey Love

“Who knew the afterlife could be so funny? Dead – it’s the new alive!” Allison Rushby, Author of Friday Night Cocktails

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Ashby was born in Australia and studied English and Journalism at Queensland University. Since graduation she has worked in sales, marketing and travel before discovering that she was no good at any of them and so decided to turn her attention to writing instead. She is married with two young children and has recently returned from the UK to live in New Zealand.

www.amandaashby.com
http://amandaashby.blogspot.com

Here are Amanda's answers to my GCC questions!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL “WRITING DAY”?

A typical writing day normally involves me checking my
emails while my kids are throwing their breakfast all
around the room, then when I hustle them off to school
and nursery I scrape all the food off the walls, check
my emails again, wonder why everyone in the world has
something to write apart from me, check my watch,
check my emails, realize that I have to pick my son up
in fifteen minutes and then I write like the clappers
so that my husband doesn’t think I’m a lazy cow when
he arrives home later that day.

DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS
BOOK?

When I was at my dad’s funeral I kept imagining that
he was still there, commentating on the events – and
it was fair to say that all was not to his liking
(especially my rubbish attempts at cleaning the
house). Also, the idea of creating an afterlife that
would’ve given my dad the giggles, was a big motivator
as well.


PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT
YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT
CHARACTER.
My character Holly and I both have a great fondness
for M&Ms. Actually, apart from that we’re almost the
opposite because Holly says all the things out loud
that I would only ever say in my head. Probably why
writing her was so much fun!!


IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU
RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS
BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH
TO WRITE?

Eek, tough one, but I’d have to go for books because I
was a reader long before I was a writer.



BEER OR WINE?
beer

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
I have to choose??? I have a deep love for both.

WHAT’S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?
Again on the choosing. It’s probably a three way tie
between The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin,
Magician by Raymond E Feist and Arabella by Georgette
Heyer.


.... now go read the book!