Author Name: Kate Anderson

Book Title: Here Lies Olive

Book Genre: YA speculative

Release Date: 10/24/23

Publisher: Flux

Welcome, Kate! Please tell us a bit about Here Lies Olive.

When sixteen-year-old Olive summons a ghost to answer her questions about the afterlife, she accidentally unleashes a malevolent spirit that threatens everyone she loves. 

How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you do any research?

I started writing the first version of Olive in 2014! It went through quite a few drafts before I started sending it out, but the heart of the story and Olive’s voice remained the same. 

What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?

I love coming up with whole worlds and societies and settings that feel like a character. But the hardest part of writing is… the writing lol. 

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

I hope Here Lies Olive will help readers come to their own conclusions about death and the purpose of life. There’s a little bit of angsty teen inside all of us!

What are your interests outside of writing and reading?

I live in Utah, which might be the most beautiful place on earth. I love hiking to waterfalls, making wildflower bouquets, floating on my back in mountain lakes, and camping in my restored vintage camp trailer. I also love to travel, specifically to weird roadside attractions.

Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.

My second book will also be published by Flux in October of 2024! Lonely Places is a YA folk horror about a sixteen-year-old girl whose family has made a lifestyle out of running from hard conversations. But when they move into an isolated fire lookout, she must face her past in order to save her younger sister from a supernatural threat. 

Where can readers find you?

Find me on Instagram @kateanderwrites. My linktree also has the most up to date info: https://linktree/kateanderwrites

Growing up in the dark tourism capital of the United States, sixteen-year-old Olive should be comfortable with death. But ever since an allergic reaction almost sent her to the wrong side of the grass, she’s been terrified that there is no afterlife. And after the death of her surrogate grandmother, Olive has kept everyone at arm’s length because if there’s Nothing after we die, relationships and love can only end in sorrow.

When she summons a spirit to answer her questions about death, Olive meets Jay, a hitchhiking ghost trapped in the woods behind the poorhouse where he died. Olive agrees to help Jay find his unmarked grave in exchange for answers about the other side and what comes next.

Meanwhile, someone–or something–is targeting Olive’s classmates, and the longer Jay lingers, the more serious the attacks become. Blaming herself for having brought Jay back, Olive teams up with maybe-nemesis, maybe-crush Maren, ex-best friend Davis, and new girl Vanessa to free Jay’s spirit before he’s trapped as a malevolent shade and the attacks turn deadly. But in doing so, Olive must face her fear of death and risk losing another person she loves to the Nothing.