About the Book

Book: I Can’t Believe They’re Gone

Author: Karen Brough

Genre: Children’s Picture Books

Release Date: June, 2023

The mouse family has lost someone dear.

Come follow each one as Bear helps them understand all they are feeling and how each expresses it in their own unique way. Tiny is so quiet, I wonder if Bear will be able to help him too?

Click here to get you copy!

Author Interview

1. Who would you say inspired you the most in your life?
Wow, where do I begin? Jesus, number one! My Grandma, Primary
School librarian, various teachers, so many people. The common
denominator would be, that were all loving people who I feel/felt safe
with.

2. If you could spend the day with anyone (living or dead), who would it be? Why?
Hmmm…I’d love another day with my Grandma. I’d love to introduce her to my family,
her Great Grandchildren. I’d love to go for a long drive to our favorite beach, grab a fish
and chip lunch, and finish up with a double scoop of ice cream. We’d talk the day away.
I’d ask her what heaven was like. It would be such a gift. She was such a rock in my
childhood, one of those rare jewels. I never felt rushed with her. She had time to listen, to
appreciate, and we had so much fun together. She passed away before I was married.
There’s a lot she doesn’t know, and I’d love to share with her how much her legacy of
love has continued.

3. Do you have a special writing area?
I have several writing areas, but not a specific one. As long as I have
natural sunlight, I am in a very happy writing space.
4. How do you balance writing time with the demands of life/family?
I’m not sure I do that particularly well, but I am getting better. I do
get overwhelmed at times with balancing my writing journey with the
practicalities of family life. I started using a planner called “Productive
Weeks,’ it’s helped me organize my brain. Practically, I see my family
hours begin once the kids get home from school, and I guard that time
and our evenings from the writing side.

5. What kind of research do you do?
I research lots of things. Some of those will never see the light of day
and are just for personal growth. Then there are others like this book,
‘I Can’t Believe They’re Gone,’ where I spent a whole year studying
and being mentored by a psychologist about grief and loss. It was very
rich.

6. How long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I am a pantser type of writer, and as such, planning is in my blind
spot. I don’t have a formula for research, but follow where the passion
takes me.

7. Was there anything you found interesting while researching the topic?
Oh Yes, a LOT! I didn’t have much scaffolding for grief leading up to
this book. I’d experienced many significant, weird, and wacky grief
experiences and always felt quite alone in them. I look around at
others, and didn’t look to be total messes, like I felt. I had so many
BIG emotions and had no idea what to do with them. Through the
research, I developed scaffolding and understanding of what I was
feeling, and found it was normal. I also realized that grief, loss, and
big emotions were largely hidden in the West, and I want to be a small
part of changing that. I wanted to give language for those things that
others find hard. The bottom line, I want to learn and share how to
grieve well, to honor loved ones, and to live richer lives as a result.

8. Do you have any writing quirks?
Many. lol….I guess the main ones would be, I write what I dream. God
gives me ideas, pictures, and answers, and I use these in my writing. I
keep watch for weird things in life, and these often form the base for
stories. I only write when I feel passionate about it (which goes
against others’ writing process). For me, I’ve found that if I'm not in
the zone if it isn’t inspiring my heart, then the writing is flat. A waste
of time for me. As such, I have multiple projects on the go always.
Currently, I have about 15+ stories at various stages. When I am tired
but have time available for writing, I’ll tweak Amazon ads, or catch up
on the admin side of writing.

9. Do you read much?
Yes, absolutely. There was a time when my brain couldn’t absorb words and letters when
I first got autoimmune. Now I have the ability and desire again. I am so incredibly
grateful for that.

10. What is different about writing non-fiction vs fiction? Would you say
one is easier than the other?
Hmm…yes they are different, for me, it depends on what mood I am
in. If I am playful and fun, then fiction is what I’m drawn to. If I feel
like I’ve been given insight or revelation into something really cool,
then it’s non-fiction.

11. Anything else you'd like to share?
I’ve love to say, ‘Thankyou!’ Thank you for reading my work, for leaving reviews, and for the
letters I receive - this touches my heart greatly. I love to connect with, pray for and encourage
my online friends, via my website and encouragement newsletter. karenbrough.com There are
lots of freebies there that I love to share.
Thankyou so much for asking me these thought-provoking questions, it’s been fun to respond.

About the Author

Karen Brough is an award-winning author who calls Australia home. As a wife, mother of three and former teacher, she writes with a teacher’s heart for children. Karen always knew she would write a book about processing loss and grief, so she became a student of the science of grief. When Karen lost a beloved friend in 2022, she turned to writing as part of her grieving process. This story is the result—a hope investment from her heart to yours. She believes it will help others know they are not alone in their loss and reassure those who don’t know what to do with all their big emotions.

More from Karen

This book has been a story of the heart and was written, well before my pen hit a page.

I had a gentle whisper of an idea to study grief, knowing that I would write a book about it at some stage, I began. At the end of my year of study, we sadly had a dear friend, taken from us far too soon. The story came to life as I processed my own grief and its words tended to my own heart.

I wanted to write a book that didn’t focus on the loss itself, but rather, gave children/adults some gentle encouragement and hope, in their own loss. A book that invested hope and reassurance about big emotions in times of loss and
grief.

It has been written in such a way, that the loss is never given a name, so the reader can adopt and relate to the mouse family as part of their own. The readers of ‘I Can’t Believe They’re Gone,’ can download their own grief activity
sheets at www.karenbrough.com/kids/