Touching The Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
Release Date: October 30th 2012 by Simon Pulse
Life altering mistakes are meant to alter lives…
When Elliot dies for the third time, she knows this is her last shot. There are no fourth-timers in this afterlife, so one more chance is all she has to get things right. But before she can move on to her next life, Elliot will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed… and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the mistakes of her past, Elliot must earn the forgiveness of her best friend and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
When Elliot dies for the third time, she knows this is her last shot. There are no fourth-timers in this afterlife, so one more chance is all she has to get things right. But before she can move on to her next life, Elliot will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed… and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the mistakes of her past, Elliot must earn the forgiveness of her best friend and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
Patrick-What inspired you to write Touching the Surface?
Kimberly-About seven and a half years ago my dad died. I really needed an outlet for my emotions, but even more importantly, I wanted to honor him by being a stronger, healthier person. Standing up and having a voice was something we both struggled with so I decided to rise to my own occasion. Additionally, I felt as if my dad passed on, leaving some unfinished business in his planner. Oh, who am I kidding--neither one of us was organized enough for a planner. LOL! Anyway, it didn't seem right to me that I was going to be working so hard to challenge myself and he'd just move on, especially since we both still had a lot of the same weaknesses to over come. Was dying a kind of pass go and collect $200? That didn't resonate with me. I started to try and figure out what made sense and I tried to imagine where it was that I felt comfortable picturing him. That is how the Obmil was born.
Patrick-A Quote.
Kim-"Be yourself. Have an opinion. Tell the world." By K.L. Going
Kim-Clothing Brand.
I'm not a brand person. I gravitate towards what works for me. It could be something high end or it could come from the $2 bin in Walmart--it just needs to make me feel good when I wear it.
Patrick-A Current YA Read[and what you thought]
Kim-My favorite YA read in 2012 so far is THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green. I was moved and forever changed for having read it and I can't ask for more than that from a book and an author. I aspire to leave that much honesty and heart in what I write.
Patrick-What were the hardest and easiest part of writing Touching the Surface?
Kim-The hardest part of writing TOUCHING THE SURFACE was that I was a newbie goober when I started. I was learning EVERYTHING along the way. I think I have eight million drafts of this book. You have to find the right amount of hubris and humility to navigate this process. You need to understand that you KNOW NOTHING and that you must be open to growth, change, rejection, wrong turns and dead ends. At the exact same time, you also have to believe in yourself with 100% conviction. Some days it seems impossible. The way that I found this balance was to believe, that I would have a book on the shelf some day, but I didn't give myself an end date in which to make this happen. I figured that if I was willing to work hard and unwilling to walk away from the process, than eventually I would learn what I needed to know to be a success. Either that, or everyone would just get tired of getting query letters from me and publish me to shut me up. :o)
Patrick-How did you come up with the title?
Kim- Titles are EXTREMELY important to me. I don't think I could write a book without first having the title. It's the thread with which I weave the deeper meaning of the story--it ties it all together. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll just say that TOUCHING THE SURFACE is layered throughout the story in many different ways--or at least that was my intention. Hopefully the readers will find that to be true.
Patrick-Tell Me in Twitter Style [140 words or less] about Touching The Surface!
Kim-Life altering mistakes are meant to alter lives. #daretodelve
Patrick-Do you have a playlist for Touching The Surface while writing it?
Kim-Absolutely!!! One song even made it into the book LITTLE BIRD by Annie Lenox.
Patrick-If you had the chance to be immortal who you take it? Why or Why not?
Kim-I kind of already think that there is a part of us that is immortal. In my humble opinion, we can not even comprehend the magnitude and complexity of the place where our soul lives. And I find this oddly comforting.
Quick Round!
Pie or Cake?
Kim-Cake!!!! Chocolate. Just sayin.
M-Day or Night?
Kim-Night
M-Dog or Cat?
Kim-Cat
M-YA or Adult, what you read.
Kim-A all the way!!!
Thanks Kimberly!
Patrick, thank you so much for having me over to your blog. It was so much fun and I really hope that you make a connection with TOUCHING THE SURFACE.
Hope you guys enjoyed the review and pick up Touching the Surface soon! :D
