Karen Neches

Karen Neches was single for over twenty years. She used to tell people she was in the “hospice stage” of being single as she never expected to recover. Then at the age of forty-three she finally met her soul mate. Earthly Pleasures is dedicated to him.

Neches also writes under the name Karin Gillespie (www.karingillespie.com) and is the national bestselling author of The Sweet Potato Queen’s First Big-Ass Novel with Jill Conner Browne and three novels in the critically acclaimed Bottom Dollar Girl series.

She’s founder of the forty author virtual tour The Girlfriend Circuit as well as the grog for Southern authors, A Good Blog is Hard to Find. She is a former lifestyle columnist for the Augusta Chronicle.
She travels with an author tour group called the Dixie Divas.


You can reach her at nechespublicity@knology.net

Q and A about Earthly Pleasures

Q. Your new novel, Earthly Pleasures, is set partly in heaven, partly on earth. What inspired you to write this “celestial” comedy?

A. I was attracted to the challenge of building a non-stereotypical Heaven, and having Earth seen through the eyes of an innocent, i.e. a brand new soul.

Q. This book joins a long list of cherished novels and movies about the afterlife – Heaven Can Wait, The Lovely Bones, Defending Your Life, Ghost, Death Takes a Holiday – were you at all intimidated venturing into this fictional territory?

A. Everyone’s idea of Heaven is different. I’ve always thought of Earth as a school, but a rough-tough school similar to boot camp or Outward Bound. I wanted my Heaven to be a frivolous, touristy place, almost like Disney World. People in Heaven are, for the most part, on a constant holiday. The real work is done on Earth.

Q. Did you have any particular influences among the heaven and earth stories that have come before yours?

A. Not especially. I haven’t seen any Heaven movies. I read Lovely Bones, which I loved but that’s a much more serious story than Earthly Pleasures.

Q. Paradise, as you depict it, is filled with all sorts of clever touches. How did you come up with your particular version of heaven?

A. I chose the characteristics I’d like to see in Heaven so that’s why there are bathtubs that fill up with Perrier and rose petals, an unlimited supply of nonfattening chocolate and champagne without consequences. It’s a hedonist’s paradise, and yet, the heaven dwellers still crave a little gritty drama, which they get by watching mortals on Earth via the TV station “Earthly Pleasures.”

Q. Not surprisingly, heaven is a pretty nifty place. Is there a contrasting vision of hell in the book?

A. To my main character Skye Sebring, Earth is Hell. She has no desire to go to such a chaotic place but ends up having no choice but to live her first life.

Q. Although Earthly Pleasures centers primarily on a young woman, Skye, you also give important roles to a thirteen-year-old girl and an eighty-something nursing home resident. Why this multigenerational approach?

A. Old people and young people have such different perspectives on life. It creates a sharp contrast that creates all kinds of conflict

I also wanted a character who is essentially waiting to die, that’s why I created eighty-something Caroline. She regains her zest for living when she gets a young comatose roommate. She’s develops affection for the woman and wants to help her.

Chelsea, the thirteen year old girl, dies far too early in a skating boarding accident. She’s one of the youngest people in Heaven and like most teenagers she finds the most spectacular place in the Universe to be a bit dull.


Q. How do you, as a writer, make these very different generations so believable?

A. It’s very easy to remember what my son and his friends were like at thirteen. I also spent a lot of time in nursing homes when my grandmother was a resident.

Q. Why did you make the Supreme Being a woman (and one who sounds like Bette Midler, to boot)?

A. I am writing women’s fiction so it’s logical that a woman would be God. I also wanted a God who doesn’t take Herself too seriously and is larger-than-life, hence the Bette Midler persona.

Skye learns that everything one needs to know for a successful life on earth is contained in the lyrics of five Beatles songs – what are those songs and their lessons?

“Let it Be”—Don’t struggle against life and its circumstances.

“Help!”—Ask and you shall receive

“I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends.” You’re never alone in your life.

“Do You Want to Know a Secret?”—Listen to you’re wise, quiet voice.

“Love is All You Need.”—Make love-based decisions.

Q. Why did you choose to make the character Ryan the famous son of a former U.S. President rather than just a “regular” guy?

A. Ryan is a celebrity in Heaven. Heaven dwellers only follow the most glamorous mortals. But Ryan is a regular guy in many respects. He’s clumsy, vulnerable and desperate to do the right thing. He just happened to born to a very famous father.

Q. You have essentially written a comedy about a traditionally sad topic – death. Is Earthly Pleasure intended just as entertainment, or are you trying to convey a deeper message of hope?

A. My main goal as a novelist is to entertain my reader and temporarily lift them out of their lives and plunge them into my fictional world. If they feel hopeful or uplifted after reading Earthly Pleasures, that’s a bonus. I have a positive outlook on life and likely that creeps into my prose.

Q. In your mind, does the book have religious undertones?

A. It’s hard to write a book about Heaven without religious overtones, especially when God is a supporting character. But I’m not hoping to save anyone. I’ll be happy if I make them smile or better yet laugh out loud.

Q. Who is the ideal reader of Earthly Pleasures?

A. Anyone who wants a birds-eye view into a very untraditional celestial world.