Thanks to Andy Hall of Asheville’s Mountain Xpress for this nice coverage:

Asheville native Gary E. Carter‘s second book, “Not Dark Yet,” is about two friends facing the reality of a pact made in college coming to fruition.

In the novel, published by Back Nine Books and released late this summer, Henry and Charlie promised each other they would both die on their own terms if faced with a terminal illness.

The title is a reference to the Bob Dylan song of the same name, one of Carter’s favorites: Henry considers a line from the song for his gravestone. The author says music influences a lot of his writing, and he incorporates it into his work often.

The idea for the book stems from a conversation Carter had with a cousin about family members and friends who had passed on. “When that happens, it makes you start thinking about your own mortality and how you’re going to deal with death,” he says. “And I don’t think we do a particularly good job in the American culture — it’s not a subject that people like to deal with.” The novel evolved out of an idea from Buddhist thought that has always resonated with him: “You have to accept that you’re going to die in order to fully live.”

Carter says the book is not only about facing death but also about friendship. “It’s about what we’re willing to do for friends, and also how so many friends fall by the wayside along the way.”