Photo Content from David Bell
David Bell is the author of seven novels from Berkley/Penguin, including BRING HER HOME, SINCE SHE WENT AWAY, SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW, THE FORGOTTEN GIRL, NEVER COME BACK, THE HIDING PLACE, and CEMETERY GIRL. His work has been translated into numerous foreign languages, and in 2013, he won the prestigious Prix Polar International de Cognac for best crime novel by an international author. He is an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky University where he directs the MFA program in creative writing. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he spends his free time rooting for the Reds and Bengals, watching movies, and walking in the cemetery near his house. He lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with his wife, writer Molly McCaffrey.
DEFINING MOMENT DURING YOUR YOUTH WHEN YOU REALIZED YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER.
When I was growing up, I had a vague notion in the back of my mind that I wanted to be a writer. I loved to read, and I loved books. I would look at the photos and bios of authors on the backs of books and try to imagine what it would be like to write books for a living. But it also seemed like writers were distant figures, the kinds of people who lived in New York or Paris or Los Angeles. For a kid like me living in middle-class Ohio, those places seemed light years away from me.
But I held on to that vague notion that I would someday be a writer. I wasn’t particularly good at anything else. I couldn’t sing. I couldn’t draw. I couldn’t play any musical instruments. But there was just one problem with my desire to be a writer—I wasn’t writing anything. I mean, I’d written a few little stories when I was a kid. I wrote a couple of short stories in a creative writing class in high school. But I wasn’t one of those people who was writing all the time, filling notebooks and paper with page after page of my stories. I just wasn’t doing it. Maybe I was afraid. Maybe I was lazy. But I wasn’t producing anything.
Fast forward to the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I was home for the summer, spending my time working my summer job and reading books…and still dreaming about being a writer. And then a realization suddenly popped into my head like an exploding firework: My last year of school is coming up. That means I have to get a job. I have to have a life plan.
Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Why hadn’t I realized that the clock was ticking on my childhood?
And right after that thought popped into my head, another one followed along: Well, what if you tried to have a career as a writer?
That notion stuck. I can trace where I am today, all these years later, to that moment in my childhood bedroom. Little did I know how long it would take, and I’m kind of amazed to see that the decision stuck for so long.
When I was growing up, I had a vague notion in the back of my mind that I wanted to be a writer. I loved to read, and I loved books. I would look at the photos and bios of authors on the backs of books and try to imagine what it would be like to write books for a living. But it also seemed like writers were distant figures, the kinds of people who lived in New York or Paris or Los Angeles. For a kid like me living in middle-class Ohio, those places seemed light years away from me.
But I held on to that vague notion that I would someday be a writer. I wasn’t particularly good at anything else. I couldn’t sing. I couldn’t draw. I couldn’t play any musical instruments. But there was just one problem with my desire to be a writer—I wasn’t writing anything. I mean, I’d written a few little stories when I was a kid. I wrote a couple of short stories in a creative writing class in high school. But I wasn’t one of those people who was writing all the time, filling notebooks and paper with page after page of my stories. I just wasn’t doing it. Maybe I was afraid. Maybe I was lazy. But I wasn’t producing anything.
Fast forward to the summer between my junior and senior year of college. I was home for the summer, spending my time working my summer job and reading books…and still dreaming about being a writer. And then a realization suddenly popped into my head like an exploding firework: My last year of school is coming up. That means I have to get a job. I have to have a life plan.
Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Why hadn’t I realized that the clock was ticking on my childhood?
And right after that thought popped into my head, another one followed along: Well, what if you tried to have a career as a writer?
That notion stuck. I can trace where I am today, all these years later, to that moment in my childhood bedroom. Little did I know how long it would take, and I’m kind of amazed to see that the decision stuck for so long.
In this high concept psychological suspense novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter, a chance meeting with a woman in an airport sends a man on a
pulse-pounding quest for the truth...
Joshua Fields takes the same flights every week for work. His life is a series of departures and arrivals, hotels and airports. During yet another layover, Joshua meets Morgan, a beautiful stranger with whom he feels an immediate connection. When it's time for their flights, Morgan gets up to leave, leans over and passionately kisses Joshua, lamenting that they'll never see each other again.
As Morgan slips away, Joshua is left feeling confused by what just happened between them. That's when he looks up and is shocked to see Morgan's face flashing on a nearby TV screen. He's even more shocked when he learns the reason why--Morgan is a missing person.
What follows is a whirlwind, fast-paced journey filled with lies, deceit, and secrets to discover the truth about why Morgan is on the run. But when he finally thinks every mystery is solved, another rears its head, and Joshua's worst enemy may be his own assumptions about those around him...
Praise for LAYOVER
“Readers will find themselves thoroughly immersed in this riveting thriller….both compelling and surprising. A perfect book to read on a long flight.” —Booklist
“[A] fast-paced thriller….Bell keeps the reader guessing whodunit until the end.” —Publishers Weekly
“You meet someone at an airport and the connection between you is so irresistible you change your flight and chase after them. This killer premise kicks off David Bell’s twisty, breakneck thriller, and has you tearing through the pages to a shattering finale.” —Louise Candlish, international bestselling author of Our House
“David Bell is a top-notch storyteller and Layover is his best book yet. I flew through this twisty, riveting psychological thriller at breakneck speed, hooked from the first page right up through the book’s breathless conclusion.” —Cristina Alger, national bestselling author of The Banker’s Wife
“David Bell once again plunges the Everyman (or woman) into situations both ordinary and extraordinary. Subtle, insightful, and very human, Layover brings to mind the best of James M. Cain.” —Christina Dalcher, national bestselling author of Vox
“In the hands of a master of suspense like Bell, a chance flirtation at an airport leads to a fast-paced novel filled with turbulence. Make sure your belt is fastened and enjoy! Bell is at his best.” —Kaira Rouda, USA Today bestselling author of Best Day Ever
“Layover opens on an ingenious setup: a chance, romantic meeting in an airport with a woman who turns out to be missing. Bell starts with a bang then dials up the suspense to full-throttle, lobbing twist after twist….Smart and highly addictive, this one should come with a warning: don’t start until you’re prepared to read straight through.” —Kimberly Belle, national bestselling author of The Marriage Lie
You can purchase Layover at the following Retailers:
And now, The Giveaways.
Thank you DAVID BELL for making this giveaway possible.
1 Winner will receive a Copy of Layover by David Bell.
"Weirdest experience in an airport of flight?" Changing flights in Newark (I think that was it) circa 1986 when it was the "hub airport" of a then-famous economy airline. It was like the bathroom scene in "Trainspotting"--walking through pens and narrow hallways, crowded, fetid air, rot, decay. It was like a 3rd-world slum. It was horrific.
ReplyDeleteWeirdest experience on a flight was when the plane caught fire and smoke filled the cabin before take off.
ReplyDeleteHaven't had a weird experience....
ReplyDeleteWeird experience...In Bali, the plane wouldn't start. They "fixed" it while we sat on the plane. It wouldn't start again. We were considering getting off after they said they would have to fix it again. But we waited, they said it was "fixed"...sounded awfully weird when it started up, then adjusted itself until it sounded like it was running smoothly. We just looked at each other and crossed ourselves. I'm here...end of story.
ReplyDeleteI haven't flown in over 20 years, and before that, only flew 5 times total in my life. Thankfully, nothing weird.
ReplyDeleteIn 1970, while flying to England, the air conditioning went haywire on flight. Either it was too hot and everyone took off what clothes they could, or it was too cold and the blanket ran out. It was supposed to be an 8 hour red-eye flight. I got no sleep that night, plus there's a time difference. So for awhile, I grabbed a blanket as soon as I got on board a flight, just to make sure I had one.
ReplyDeletePregnant woman threw up on other passengers. o.O Luckily I was in the bathroom & missed it. Her 3 kids were running through the plane.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really had a weird experience on a plane as of yet.
ReplyDelete