Unclaimed Baggage by Katie O’Rourke publishes on April 8th with Type Eighteen Books and is described as ‘a reflection on family, grief, and what it truly takes to love.’ Katie is joining me on the blog today with a short guest post and she has also kindly shared an extract for you all to read. I do hope you enjoy!
[ About Unclaimed Baggage ]
2000: This is the year Jenna is supposed to graduate college, become independent, and find true happiness-whatever that looks like. But she is a people pleaser, and when her stepfather’s health deteriorates, she leaves school to help take care of him.
While she struggles to say goodbye to the only father figure she’s ever had, a family secret confirmed by a DNA test drops like a grenade into Jenna’s already complicated life. Amidst the fallout and at the worst possible time, she starts falling for a man who turns out to be the first person in her life who doesn’t want anything from her-only to be with her. As grief and betrayal threaten to tear her family apart, Jenna must decide how to put her own needs first and allow good things into her life when they show up.
[ Guest Post by Katie O’Rourke ]
‘Before I begin writing a novel, one of the first things I have to decide is who is my main character. For my first novel, I probably spent a year thinking about who Riley was before I ever began writing things down.
I was really intimidated when I wrote my first book. At that point, I’d gone from writing poems to writing short stories. The idea of writing something novel length felt almost arrogant. It was so daunting.
Most of my novels are written with multiple narrators. I like the way this allows me to tell a single story from different points of view. The result is a story the reader sees more fully than any one of the characters.
Unclaimed Baggage was the first book I wrote with a single narrator. In a sense, Jenna was the first character I created who could hold the focus of an entire novel.‘
[ Read an Extract ]
Jenna doesn’t tell anyone that she’s coming home and by the time her mother returns from her current trip, there will be nothing to discuss. She gets a job at Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s easy enough since she worked there over the summer. It’s the kind of job she can do without thinking about it, or taking her work home with her. It’s also the kind of job that can be ditched at a moment’s notice in an emergency.
Since the summer, the employees have gotten new uniforms.
Jenna keeps her smock hanging in the back of her car. She takes it home to wash the powder and jelly off of it at the end of the day. She puts it on as she walks inside the building from the parking lot. It’s decidedly unflattering, especially on anyone beyond a size two. Jenna has curves. Her breasts are large and high, something she’s always been somewhat proud of. She figures that will change someday and she’ll grow envious of small-chested older women who can still go braless. But for now, she considers them an asset. She has even come to accept her hips and ass, a bit wider than the supposed ideal, but appealing in their own way. They fill a dress out quite nicely, punctuated by her shapely calves. The uniform, however, doesn’t do her any favors. It’s poop-brown with seaming right under her breasts. The resulting arch of fabric over her belly makes her look as if she’s expecting. In her first week, three customers ask about her due date.
The first time it happens, Jenna flushes red and stammers.
She gets more embarrassed than the stupid woman who asked. There’s no way to smooth out this sort of misunderstanding. The woman pays for her chocolate creams and leaves quickly.
The second time, Jenna gets pissed off. This time it’s a man. “It’s just the smock!” she snaps. He nods, snatches his coffee off the counter, and nearly knocks down another customer on his way out the door.
The third time, Jenna beams. “March,” she says.
“How nice.” The white haired woman is buying a box of munchkins. She wears a chunky beige sweater covered in fall leaves.
“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“I’ve decided to be surprised,” Jenna tells her.
The woman pulls out a dozen or so napkins from the dispenser, smiling. “Back when I had my kids, they weren’t doing those tests so we had no choice but to be surprised. I think it’s better that way.”
Jenna agrees.
Unclaimed Luggage Purchase Links – UK/US
[ Bio ]
Katie O’Rourke is the author of six novels, including Finding Charlie, winner of the 2015 Amazon Kindle Scout competition, as well as Unclaimed Baggage and Reclaimed Baggage, two interconnected novels. She has a degree in gender and sexuality and has spent the last twenty years in Tucson, where she lives with her sweet yellow lab and even sweeter boyfriend.
