Today, we're excited to spotlight
Tracey Garvis Graves's upcoming release
Covet. We (Arlene & Rachel), not only had the chance to meet this amazing author at ALA in Chicago, but we also brought back a signed ARC edition of this novel for one lucky Waves of Fiction follower. So check out our reviews and author interview and be sure to enter our giveaway! Enjoy!
by
Tracey Garvis-Graves (Goodreads Author)
Publication: September 17th 2013
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Purchase Links:
Amazon |
Barnes & Noble |
Indie Bound |
Apple
About the book
From the author of the New York Times bestseller On the Island.
What if the life you wanted, and the woman you fell in love with, belonged to someone else?
Chris and Claire Canton’s marriage is on life support. Downsized during the recession and out of work for a year, Chris copes by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire. When he’s offered a position that will keep him away from home four nights a week, he dismisses Claire’s concern that time apart could be the one thing their fragile union can’t weather. Their suburban life may look idyllic on the outside, but Claire has never felt so disconnected from Chris, or so lonely.
Local police officer Daniel Rush used to have it all, but now he goes home to an empty house every night. He pulls Claire over during a routine traffic stop, and they run into each other again at the 4th of July parade. When Claire is hired to do some graphic design work for the police department, her friendship with Daniel grows, and soon they’re spending hours together.
Claire loves the way Daniel makes her feel, and the way his face lights up when she walks into the room. Daniel knows that Claire’s marital status means their relationship will never be anything other than platonic. But it doesn’t take long before Claire and Daniel are in way over their heads, and skating close to the line that Claire has sworn she’ll never cross.
Arlene's Thoughts
Great story!!
First off, let me point out that I struggled to review this book without being a bit spoilery, so please proceed with caution. I don’t give away the ending, but it’s hard to review this story without giving it the proper insight into several of the events that occurred. I’m typically better at this, but this novel just wouldn’t quit my mind and I had so much to say… So, you’ve been warned…
So now that I’ve got that out of the way, let me just say WOW! Just… WOW! Covetclearly offers a new perspective to Graves’s writing ability from her previous novel On the Island. With Covet, she delivers a poignant and dramatic story that’s both emotional and surreal. This book felt extremely realistic and I came to truly care for the cast of characters as their journey unfolded, and they battled the different issues that were affecting their lives. In Covet, Graves includes a myriad of hard hitting topics such as losing employment, financial struggles, gambling issues, infertility and several other problems people face in today’s day and age; and what impressed me most was how Tracey Garvis Graves covered these topics with care and grace that is signature to her expert writing style. She shot up to the top if my fave authors with her debut novel, but she cemented her standing with Covet.
In this story, we meet Claire who is a wife and mother of two young children that suddenly finds herself without the emotional support of her husband Chris. As the main provider of the family, Chris took a hard hit to his ego and mental stability when he lost his job that was the main source of supporting their comfortable suburban lifestyle. After a year of searching for work, he begins to battle depression and distances himself from Claire. When he finally stumbles upon a job, he throws himself into his work as an attempt to rebuild the stability they once enjoyed.
Despite his new job, Claire can’t seem to shake the feeling that she still doesn’t have her husband back. He continues on with the medication that’s helped him deal with his depression resulting in physical aftereffects, and when he’s not constantly traveling for business, he’s home locked in his office trying to catch up on the demands of his new job.
Unfortunately, it’s Claire’s loneliness that forces her to invest some deep feelings in a friendship that can break her marriage. When she meets Officer Daniel and begins a graphic design project for his unit, they become fast friends, which ultimately leads them to developing feelings for one another. Daniel has his own demons which he battles on a daily basis and spending time with Claire affords them both comfort and emotional strength that they each come to depend on.
There are so many considerations this novel forces you to entertain. Some of the questions I considered as I read Covet were: Can you blame a partner for seeking emotional and psychological support somewhere else when your home becomes an empty nest? If your partner falls in love with another person, is it considered cheating if they never act on it physically? Who’s to blame for a failed marriage when outside factors destroy the security and stability your family depended on? Before this novel, I truly felt I had my own opinions that were set in stone, but when you throw emotions and outliers and people you begin to feel sympathetic for, those answers go flying out the window leaving you conflicted and emotional.
Like I said, this novel had me completely conflicted! As much as I came to care for Daniel and I truly felt Claire’s struggles, I just couldn’t condone a physical or emotional relationship between these two. Don’t get me wrong, Chris was not absolved of his duties as a husband. Part of me was angry with him for not seeing the signs that his family was falling to pieces, but another part was breaking for him because I could just image the pressure and desire he battled with to care for his family. Who was wrong or right in this situation? I have no clue.
In addition, I have to mention that I truly admired Daniel for never taking advantage of the situation. He did not want to be the reason for breaking up Claire’s family, but at the same time, he couldn’t deny the comfort he found in her company. If the situation was different, and I really don’t know what variables would need to change, I would have hoped that Daniel and Claire would have found a way to make their relationship work. But, there were children and a husband involved and I just didn’t want to see that fall apart without a good, honest attempt by Claire and Chris to make it work.
If you think the novel is heavily weighted with Claire and Chris’s issues, let’s not forget that there were three other families and their problems intricately weaved into this surreal portrayal of modern suburban life. The steady drama that unfolded as the novel progressed was constant and kept me at the edge of my seat. This book will stay on my mind for quite some time!
Overall, Tracey Garvis Graves impressed me with Covet because of the unique voice she exercised in this novel. I appreciated the honesty and truth in this story, and I hope she entertains the possibility of revisiting some of the characters she created in Covet. I feel a few are worthy of their own story and I hope to see it come to fruition. Well done Tracey! Well done!
4 Suns
Rachel's Thoughts
Covet was a compelling and engrossing read. It felt like a realistic slice of suburban life complete with all the trying obstacles the average family and married couple face. Parts of this story were very emotional to me, and felt very true to life.
Claire married the love of her life, Chris. Chris feels the same, but unfortunately life gets in the way and being imperfect they don’t deal with it in the best of ways. Chris loses his job and that deals a blow to his family and his marriage. Feelings of inadequacy and doubt in his ability to be a good provider and protector send Chris into a depression. Instead of letting Claire be a support and confidant, as she desperately wants to be, he shuts her out, leaving her lonely and on her own. His despair turns into her despair and feelings of neglect for both her and her kids consume her. For once, she’s not sure their beautiful little family will be able to weather the storm, which breaks her heart and mine. It’s at this vulnerable time that Claire meets Daniel, a sweet, handsome and attentive cop who comes into her life after a traffic stop.
Thanks to some expertly crafted flash backs I was able to see how passionate Claire and Chris’s love was at once, making it so easy to root for them as a married couple. You don’t have something that beautiful and just throw it away. Plus, whenever there are kids involved, I’m always hoping a couple patches things up and sticks together.
With all that said, my heart would sway every time Daniel came into the picture. Very torn, that’s how I felt. Thankfully, Tracey Garvis Graves handles this situation in an expert way so that I still liked each and every character. My understanding of their feelings made it easy to empathize and hope for the best. I will say I held Chris more responsible for the situation they all find themselves in, but I felt a lot for him, too. The feelings of inadequacy overpowered him so much that he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. It made his goal of having a job, no matter how much time it took away from his loved ones, his main passion. Chris shut Claire out when she could’ve been such a help and they could’ve weathered the storm together.
The situation and feelings conveyed in this story were very authentic to me, and I this is coming from a person married for quite some time. I think it captured some of the inevitable lows and the wonderful highs experienced in a marriage.
Covet was an emotional and poignant, but it was also filled with hope, love, and a sweet ending.
4 Suns
Author Interview
Covet has quite a different feel from On the Island in characters and theme. How did you come up with the idea for the novel? Did any real-life experiences inspire you?
My inspiration came from a real-life event. In the fall of 2008 my husband was in danger of being laid off. He was a valued employee and had been with the company for over fifteen years, but the recession was in full-swing and none of that mattered. I was a stay-at-home-mom at the time so the threat of losing our only source of income weighed heavily on my husband and me. Fortunately, he did not lose his job, but we knew many couples who weren’t so lucky. Most of my books start out as a question, and Covet was no different. I wondered, “What if my husband had lost his job? What if he wasn’t able to find another one? What effect would that have had on an otherwise strong marriage? The answers to those questions became the basis for Covet’s storyline. I just had to know what the outcome would be.
The story encompasses several topical issues that many couples face in today’s day and age, such as financial instability, depression, substance abuse, etc. What’s been the initial reaction from your fan base so far? Are they surprised with the storyline and the elements you included in the book?
Early reviews have indicated that Covet is a very relatable story. A few readers have told me that Covet could have easily been their story. For many of them, it was a very emotional read because the issues hit close to home.
Covet is so different from On the Island because the conflict is something that a larger group of readers can probably relate to. Not many of us have been stranded on a desert island, but the concept of marital discord is something that people can often identify with. One of the biggest compliments I received from a reader is that the characters in Covet – despite their circumstances – remain very thoughtful. They don’t react impulsively and there is no singular villain. Readers also seem to be appreciative of the fact that even though Covet is women’s fiction and not contemporary romance, there is a happy, uplifting ending (which will be a staple of any book I write).
Claire and Daniel develop a complicated relationship that can easily be condoned or condemned. What do you hope your readers will come to appreciate about these two characters considering the complicated factors they are faced with?
Men tend to internalize their feelings and withdraw when they’re under pressure. As much as Claire loved her husband and wanted to be supportive, she was extremely vulnerable to an emotional affair because her needs weren’t being met at home. I think there are many, many women walking in Claire’s shoes right now. But as I said above, I hope that readers will be able to see that there is no real villain in Covet. Chris, Claire, and Daniel are three characters whose lives are turned upside down through no real fault of their own. They make choices, good and bad, but the choices are more of a coping mechanism rather than any conscious intent to hurt others. In fact, all three of them are trying hard not to upset their new status quo, which is ultimately problematic.
Out of Claire, Daniel and Chris, which character do you relate to most?
As much as I hate to admit it, it’s probably Chris. Being a writer is not an 8-5 job – it’s 24/7, because I’m either writing or attending to social media. If I’m not actually doing either of those things then I’m thinking about the book I’m working on, and tuning out when I should be listening to people. I spent September through May on deadline for Covet and Uncharted, which required putting a lot of things on hold. Deadlines are inevitable for writers, but my husband and kids have gently (and sometimes not so gently) reminded me that a better work/life balance is beneficial for everyone. And they’re absolutely right. I now have a much better system in place because my family is truly the most important thing to me.
Your main character, Claire, has diabetes and suffers from related issues from this disease. What sort of research did you do to make this part of the storyline feel so accurate and surreal?
I met with a woman who has Type 1 diabetes and wears an insulin pump. She shared her story with me over dinner and really helped me to understand what it’s like to manage the blood sugar highs and lows of the disease. My neighbor, who’s a dietitian, works with people who have diabetes and helps them transition to the insulin pump. She brought home all the equipment and showed me how it worked.
Without being too spoilery, what was the most difficult scene for you to write in this novel?
Wow. Well, I can’t tell you the one that made me ugly cry because it would be too spoilery, but some of the scenes that were difficult were the flashback scenes. The book opens in the present, after Chris has found a new job and started traveling and being away from his family. The flashback scenes show the deteriorating relationship between Chris and Claire when he was unemployed. I wanted to shake Chris and tell him to stop acting the way he did, but I felt that his behavior was realistic and so was Claire’s reaction to it.
There are a few characters that can truly command the stage with their own book. Do you have any plans for a spin-off for any of the secondary characters?
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of writing spinoff novels or sequels; I just really enjoy writing stand-alone books. My premises tend to be plot-driven, versus character driven, so the plot comes first and then the character development happens based on how the characters react to the situations I put them in. And since I like happy endings and epilogues, there’s usually not much more to tell when the book ends. Even if I thought a character could hold their own in a spinoff, I’d still have to come up with the plot of the book, which would feel like coming up with a brand-new book idea. And since I have so many of those anyway, I’m more prone to get excited about digging in to a new plot with new characters.
When I wrote Uncharted, the companion novel to On the Island, I had a good idea of where I could go with the plot based on what I already knew because it was a prequel, of sorts.
I know you said your next novel you would be getting back to a contemporary romance. Can you share any details about it? Is that what you’re working on currently?
Sure! My next book is only in the research and development stage (I’ll start drafting in mid-August, when the kids go back to school), but it’s probably my most ambitious writing project so far. It’s a fast-paced, plot-driven story with an element of mystery. The hero and heroine are in their thirties and the story is set in California. The heroine has a three-year-old son from a previous marriage so there’s a distinct “Jerry McGuire” feel to it that I especially love. I love reading and writing contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Since Covet leans more heavily toward women’s fiction, the time was right to dive back in to another romance. I’m really excited about this story.
Can you tell us a little about your typical day writing? Has writing changed how you live your everyday life?
During the school year I like to get my kids on the bus and my husband out the door before I settle down to write. Ideally a workout would come first, followed by a quick shower and my comfiest writing clothes (yoga pants and a T-shirt or sweatshirt, depending on the weather). I check Facebook and e-mail one last time and then I write until the kids get home from school. But more times than I care to admit I skip the workout and I’m still in my pajamas when the kids walk in the door. I’ve learned not to mess with a good thing when the words are flowing.
The thing that has changed the most about my everyday life is that I now write full-time, which allows our household some nice flexibility (and me a little more sleep). When I wrote On the Island I worked a full-time job, so my writing time was 5:30 -7:00 a.m. Now that I’m home all day, I can run out if my family needs me to do something. If one of the kids is sick I can get them settled on the couch right next to me. I feel very grateful that I can work from home, doing something I love.
About the Author
Tracey Garvis-Graves is the author of On the Island and Covet. She lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. She blogs at
www.traceygarvisgraves.com using colorful language and a snarky sense of humor to write about pop culture, silly television shows, and her suburban neighborhood. You can e-mail her at traceygarvisgraves@yahoo.com. She’d love to hear from you.
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