Time is the Longest Distance

THE BOOK: Time Is the Longest Distance

PUBLISHED IN: December 2018

THE AUTHOR: Janet Clare

THE PUBLISHER: Vine Leaves Press, Australia

SUMMARY: Set in the harsh desert of the Australian outback, Time Is the Longest Distance is a moral story of immorality in a place where “night comes on like a door slamming shut.”

Lilly, a 45-year-old New Yorker, is persuaded by her newly found father, Cameron, to take on the Canning Stock Route, the most difficult outback track in the country. Crossing the dead heart of the Great Sandy and Gibson deserts, she is joined by her half-brother, Grant, and his twenty-something daughter, Jen.

Like a moon walker far from her life, Lilly becomes entangled in an unlikely love affair and a witness to an unsavory death. The hard days and long nights provide time and space for Lilly to recall the years with her ex-husband, Stephen, artist and all-around drunk—the greatest love and disappointment in her life—forcing her to examine her own imperfections as she learns, first-hand, about the power and destruction of secrets, sexual taboos, and the thrill of transgression.

THE BACK STORY: Years ago, I heard about a man who, having spent most of his life in the United States, returned home to Australia for his father’s funeral only to find he had a whole other family living on the other side of the country. It started me thinking about that vast land, and all the spaces where we hide ourselves. How separate we can be from people–often family and those we love—who we see every day. And, too, the longing for those lost from our lives.

WHY THIS TITLE: “I didn’t go to the moon. I went much further—for time is the longest distance between two places.” Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie.

WHY SOMEONE WOULD WANT TO READ IT: If you enjoy reading about a place far away and mysterious with an added touch of danger and romance, dive in.

REVIEW COMMENTS: “…Loved the structure and love Clare’s depiction of Australia’s outback. Lots of themes running through this book–mothers/daughters, lost love–and also a taboo subject you rarely read about. You’ll have to read the book to find out.” Barbara de Marco Barrett, Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM.

How could you not love a novel set against the Australian outback? About fierce love, endless longing, ravenous desire, and the secrets that derail us and ruin others. A phenomenally moving experience (it’s so much more than a novel), Clare’s debut shows a complex web of relationships that shifts as much as a desert itself—and is just as gorgeous.” Caroline Leavitt, author of Cruel Beautiful World and the New York Times bestsellers Is this Tomorrow and Pictures of You.

“In deft, clear prose that reminds of both Cheryl Strayed and Michael Ondaatje, Janet Clare’s debut explores—in riveting, unflinching detail—a woman’s search for connection and meaning. In Lilly’s journey, with unfamiliar family in unfamiliar territory, we have a protagonist wanting in the ways we are all wanting: to find that thing that will make us complete. There are depths in these characters and I loved every word.” — Christian Kiefer, author of The Animals, Phantoms

AUTHOR PROFILE: Originally from New York, Janet Clare lives in Los Angeles with her husband. She studied at UC Berkeley and UCLA and she’s had short fiction and essays published in literary journals online and anthologized. Her first novel, Time Is the Longest Distance was published December 2018 by a small press out of Australia, where the story is set.

AUTHOR COMMENTS: All any writer could hope for is to have readers want to turn the page, so I hope you enjoy Time Is the Longest Distance, and if you do, I would greatly appreciate your posting a review.

SAMPLE CHAPTER: https://janetclare.com/excerpt-time-is-the-longest-distance/

LOCAL OUTLETS: Ask for it at your favorite Indie.

WHERE ELSE TO BUY IT: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Longest-Distance-Janet-Clare/dp/1925417824 audio and kindle available.

PRICE: Paperback: $14.99, Audio: $13.97 Kindle: $2.99

CONTACT THE AUTHOR: @janetclare1 Janetclare.com