Rabbittown, AL in the White Plains community, is home to good neighbors, good food, and Nora Clanton. In the debut novel from Anniston native and romance author, Lauren Evans, Casket Case is a story of loss, love, doubt, grief, over-thinking, and wine drinking.
Casket Case is being published by Penguin Random House and comes out September 10 . It is available now for pre-sale on Amazon as well as other online retailers.
In her book, Evans introduces us to Nora Clanton who finds herself back in her hometown of Rabbittown and running the family casket business after the sudden loss of her parents. She meets and falls for a stranger before discovering that he is a logistics coordinator for Death. Can she accept this truth or will it destroy her chance at love?
Casket Case was longlisted for the Cheshire Novel Prize in 2022 before Evans signed with Penguin Random House in 2023. “I spent a few years writing Casket Case and getting it to a place where I thought it could be ready to publish,” Evans explains. “Navigating the publishing industry as an outsider can be daunting, but as soon as I met with my editor at Dell, I knew my book would be in good hands. They love the characters the same way that I do and were excited to share Casket Case with the world.”
“Debut author Evans’s bittersweet small-town contemporary pairs 30-somethings Nora Clanton and Garrett Bishop, both of whom work in the death care industry because of tragic family losses. Nora has recently inherited her childhood home and family casket-selling business after her parents’ death in a car accident. Returning to her hometown of Rabbittown, Ala., she settles into a routine of selling caskets by day and sipping wine while watching sitcoms from her bed at night. This new normal is disrupted when Garrett, a logistics coordinator working for Death itself, asks Nora for directions, and then on a date. Their initial dates go well, but an anxious Nora is aware Garrett is hiding something from her even as they fall in love. Garrett hopes Nora’s job means she can understand his unusual and difficult vocation, but his secrecy strains their developing relationship. By turns melancholic and sweet, this is a warmhearted tribute to moving forward after loss and the healing power of steadfast love. Evans should win plenty of fans. Agent: Sophie Cudd, Book Group. (Sept.)”
A 2007 graduate of White Plains High School, Evans holds a BA in English from The University of Alabama and an MA in Liberal Studies from The University of North Carolina Wilmington. While working toward her Masters at UNCW, Evans was an Assistant Editor for the Palaver Interdisciplinary Journal.
Evans is the daughter of Cindy Crowe (mother) and Tim and Kathy Evans (father and step-mother), the granddaughter of the late George and Elizabeth Evans and of John and Doris Blair.
A lifelong reader, Evans has always loved books for which she credits her grandparents, George and Elizabeth. Her grandfather was also a writer with an accomplished career in the newspaper business. “My grandparents were always very supportive of my (sometimes obsessive) reading habits,” Evans recalls. “I have fond memories of my nana teaching me how to read at an early age and taking my brother and me to the Oxford Public Library to check out books. My grandpa would tell me all about the books he was reviewing for the Anniston Star and loan me those plus any other books I could find in the house.”
Evans works in the Office of Undergraduate Education at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and writes in her spare time, whenever her beagle Lucy allows. “My eleven-year-old beagle Lucy is kind enough to let me write during her naps and to enforce necessary breaks for walks and regular feeding times. She was next to me for most of the writing of Casket Case and deserves all the credit.”
You can keep up with Lauren and news about her novel by subscribing to her Substack. It’s a free subscription newsletter you will receive by email. You can also follow Lauren on Instagram and watch her website for updates.
SUBSCRIBE TO LAUREN’S SUBSTACK
WEBSITE: laurenbevans.com | INSTAGRAM: @laurenevanswrites
