Deborah Raney's "Almost Forever"

We're happy to have Deborah Raney with us today talking about her book, Almost Forever. To learn more about Deborah and her book, read on!

1) How did this story come to you?
My husband is always clipping stories out of the newspaper that he thinks I’ll find interesting––that he thinks might hold the seed of an idea for a future novel. One day he placed the story of nine heroic firefighters who were killed in a fire in Charleston, SC. That story and the career of my firefighter nephew, got me thinking about the lives of the survivors and how they find the will to go on after such a tragedy. The Hanover Falls novels explore the questions I encountered that day.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Because of the reception the Clayburn novels series had, we decided to do another series with the locale being the thread that tied the three books together. The Hanover Falls novels are a little more closely entwined plot-wise than the Clayburn novels were. Each one stands alone, but the Hanover Falls novels are best read in order: Almost Forever, Forever After, After All. Books 2 will release in January 2011 and Book 3 in September 2011.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. Though I’m usually a very cheerful, upbeat person, I do tend to have a bit of a temper. I have it pretty well under control these days (thank you, Lord!) but I’ve been known to kick a cabinet or two in my younger years.
2. I was a debate champion in high school and I still love to practice the craft on my husband and kids.
3. I play the piano by ear…not very well, but enough that it’s great therapy to bang out a tune or two when my temper flares.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m digging in to write the first draft of After All, Book 3 in the Hanover Falls series. My substantive edit for Forever After will come one of these days and I’ll have to put everything aside to work on that, but for now, I’m happily playing with the characters from this new story. After that I have a stand-alone book contracted, also with Howard/Simon & Schuster, and another two-book contract to announce soon.

5) Parting comments?
Thanks so much for inviting me to your blog! I’ll try to stop by and visit with your readers soon!
6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.deborahraney.com/
http://novelgarden.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/authordebraney
http://snipurl.com/facebookreaderspage