INTERVIEW: Patricia Bell - author of The Library of Unfinished Business (Cloud Ink)

The CoffeeBar Kid talks to first time author, Patricia Bell about her highly original novel, a genre-bending read that's so beautifully written and accomplished.

The story follows Maurice, a librarian living in a small town, a safe, constrained life.  Suddenly he's killed, out of the blue, one Monday morning in a fiery car crash. He finds himself in a very unusual and unexpected afterlife – a place populated with many Biblical characters, a drunken barmaid, a karaoke machine, naked people and angels that are alarming in more ways than one. 

Meanwhile, in the real-life Maurice’s snooty teenage daughter Andy is tasked with writing the eulogy for her father – something she struggles with as much his death. 

She begins writing letters to him in order to make sense of the event and get her own feelings into check.  She's always viewed as weak and ineffectual.  How will she reconcile that? 

In the afterlife, Maurice makes friends with Kit - an expert on the afterlife.  And an expert on Andy, too. But they uncover a terrifying plot.  Maurice must decide, for the first time, if he will fight for something even if he risks losing everything. 

The Library of Unfinished Business is a nod to 'The Good Place and Douglas Adams but remains completely original and is both funny and moving at the same time.  It has a real sense of quirky magic about it, too.  At the heart the theme is all about forgiveness and getting and giving a second chance. 

The redemptive power of love, even in death, is immense. This is a superb book. 

Patricia Bell

Aside from her work writing short stories, poetry and non-fiction, Patricia is a freelance editor, proofreader and musical theatre performer.  We have a bit of a chat about the book...

 

Read more about Patricia here: www.patriciabellauthor.com