Garrett Leigh on the Inspiration and Characters of ‘Finding Home’ (author interview and giveaway)

Finding Home by Garrett Leigh
Riptide Publishing
Cover by: G.D. Leigh

Release Date: October 9, 2017

Read an Excerpt/Available for Purchase at Riptide Publishing

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to host Garrett Leigh today on her Finding Home tour.   We have a wonderful interview with the author and a giveaway to enter.  Neither are to be missed!

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~ A Memorable Interview with Garrett Leigh Talking About Writing Finding Home and It’s Characters ~

•  You write so movingly and here there’s the main element of foster children, a gutwrencher of a topic. What prompted this element?

I was actually inspired to write Finding Home by a documentary I saw on BBC3 a few years ago. Ironically, I can’t remember much about it now, but I found the notes it prompted a year later, and the story was still there.

• How much research did you have to do for this story and characters?

Not nearly enough at first. I had the characters down because they were very dear to my heart even in the early stages, but after checking with some sensitivity betas in the foster care system, I realised that I still had a lot of work to do. Assumptions I’d made didn’t ring true anymore, and there was some significant rewriting.

•  Was there ever a time you thought that you were getting too emotional as you wrote or is there such a thing?

There is never such a thing. If I don’t connect with my characters, I’m wasting my time.

• What makes you decide to go down this particular narrative path?

Originally, the story was told entirely from Leo’s POV, but Charlie had far more to say than I realised, so the dual POV came naturally.  

•  Is there something special you would want the readers to know about this story?

I wrote it for my daughter.

• I’m not usually drawn to young adult books but this one calls to me.  What is different about this book from other young adult books?

I think perhaps that it’s told in third person, rather than the first person/present tense we’re used to in YA books. I enjoy books like that, but I wanted this book to be a little more reflective. 

• How old are Leo and Lila when they’re put into foster care?

Fifteen and five, though Lila has turned six by the time we meet her.

•  I get the feeling that Leo’s journey through this book will be heartbreaking.  Will he fight letting Charlie in or welcome it?

Without giving too much away, Leo doesn’t have much left to fight Charlie with. And he doesn’t want to. Charlie is sweet and kind, and wonderful, and despite all Leo has been through—is still going through—he knows what a rare thing a boy like Charlie truly is.

•  Does Charlie have his own darkness to conquer or is he the light to Leo’s dark?

Charlie has his own demons, but he’s had years of stability and love to build his resilience. He had a rough start in life, and he’s quite a shy boy, but he has an emotional confidence that Leo is lacking. You’ll see what I mean when you read it.

About Finding Home

How do you find a home when your heart is in ashes?

With their mum dead and their father on remand for her murder, Leo Hendry and his little sister, Lila, have nothing in the world but each other. Broken and burned, they’re thrust into the foster care system. Leo shields Lila from the fake families and forced affection, until the Poulton household is the only place left to go.

Charlie de Sousa is used to other kids passing through the Poulton home, but there’s never been anyone like his new foster brother. Leo’s physical injuries are plain to see, but it’s the pain in his eyes that draws Charlie in the most.

Day by day, they grow closer, but the darkness inside Leo consumes him. He rejects his foster parents, and when Charlie gets into trouble, Leo’s attempt to protect him turns violent. When Leo loses control, no one can reach him—except Charlie. He desperately needs a family—a home—and only Charlie can show him the way.

Available now from Riptide Publishing. 

About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Fox Love Press.

Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.

Social media:

• Website: http://garrettleigh.com
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighbooks
• Cover art enquiries: blackjazzdesign@gmail.com

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Finding Home, one lucky winner will receive a $20 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 14, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!