The Story She Had to Tell by Sarah Tauber ~ GIVEAWAY ~ INTERVIEW

 

The Story She Had to Tell

by Sarah Tauber

Sarah Tauber will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. Those locations may be found here. 

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Interview: 

Crystal: Today I have the pleasure of hosting Sarah Tauber. Welcome Sarah! I'm so excited to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Sarah: I published my first book in December 2013, a memoir, “For Dear Life.” It covers two years that I lived in Tehran, Iran in the 1970s and faced the biggest challenge of my life. I retired from the corporate world in 2011 and am enjoying retirement more than I could have imagined. I have two grown sons and seven grandsons! I live in San Diego County with my husband of eleven years. When I am not writing, I am riding my horse, Ruby.

Crystal:  Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Sarah: Here is one of them.

I remember thinking to myself as I walked through his home, Mina, you really don’t know this man. But strangely enough, I was not frightened. There was a quality about him that made him familiar. He no longer felt like an exotic stranger, more like a new friend. I was beginning to really like him, and it felt reciprocated. I was smiling on the outside and on the inside.
“Are you hungry? My chef has prepared a wonderful Cuban dinner for us, which we can eat out on the patio. It’s such a beautiful night I thought it would be nice to dine outside.”
“Yes, that’s a lovely idea.”
There was music playing inside the house that we could hear while we were eating. The dining experience left nothing to be desired, nothing. After dinner, he invited me back inside to listen to the lovely Cuban music. “Care to dance?” I gave him my hand, and we started moving to the rhythm. It was all so perfect, so romantic. “My house feels like a home again for the first time in a long while. Thank you for agreeing to stay after you learned it was not a restaurant. I think you are an extraordinary woman, Madeleine, with style, intelligence and grace. I am privileged to have you here.”
And then he kissed me. This time it was not on the cheek. He kissed me firmly on the mouth. Tender at first and then with passion. It both thrilled and scared me a little. What have I gotten myself into?

Crystal:  Where did you come up with the idea for “The Story She Had to Tell?”

Sarah: First I decided to write a novel but had no idea what it would be about. I awoke one morning with a working title in my head, “A life lived well.” That grew into the story of an old woman who wanted to share her past with the world before she died. I envisioned a ghost writer coming to live with her, interviewing her and creating the book. When I sat down to write it, I remembered that my mother had taken a trip to Havana, Cuba in the late 1930s before she married my father. Stupidly I never asked her about the trip. I decided that would be my storyline but then I had to create the story!

Crystal:  What are you currently working on?

Sarah: Other than my weekly website blog, not much. I did a travelogue in exchange for a trip this summer and have been offered to do more. I enjoyed it tremendously. I am certain there is another book inside of me but it hasn’t reached the front of my mind yet.

Crystal:  Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Sarah: I am not the kind of writer who can sit down at the computer every day and create.  I wait until my head is bursting with words or ideas that beg to be written and then I sit down and start typing. When I am inspired I usually type anywhere from 2-3,000 words at one sitting. Because this is my routine, I rarely encounter “writer’s block”.

Crystal:  Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Sarah: For my first book, because it was a memoir, there was little to no research. With the novel, I was writing about rural Liberty, Maine in the 1930s and Havana, Cuba in the early 1950s. There was definitely a great deal of research to be done. Learning about Havana during that time period was very interesting, from the involvement of the mob in the casinos to the political instability in the country at that time.  There is a fun fact about the book, though. Aside from the factual content relative to the time period, the book is sprinkled with things that actually happened in my life. Only my family would recognize them, however.

Crystal:  Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Sarah: They are quite varied. I really enjoyed Joan Didion’s memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking.” I also liked Matt Samet’s memoir, “Death Trap.” I loved Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender is the Night.” I am currently reading “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville and I am completely enthralled. Years ago I read and loved Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “Gift from the Sea.”  I guess you could say I have favorite books rather than favorite authors.

Crystal:  Is there a genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Sarah: I have written and published a short story, travelogue, journal, memoir and a novel. I think my next book will be a novel only because there is tremendous freedom in it. Your limitation is only as great as your imagination, and I have a big one!

Thank you so much for this opportunity! I enjoyed answering your questions.


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BLURB:

Madeleine had a secret, a story that happened over fifty years ago in Havana, Cuba. Before she died, she wanted to share her story with the world. 

After growing up on a farm in Maine and graduating college, this intelligent but naive young woman traveled to Havana with a girlfriend, looking for adventure. What happened there changed Madeleine’s life forever. From the moment she laid eyes on Carlos, she was turning over her fate to a man she barely knew. 

This is a heart-wrenching love story that promises to stay with you long after the book is finished.

GENRE: Romance

Amazon Buy Link

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EXCERPT:

I remember thinking to myself as I walked through his home, Mina, you really don’t know this man. But strangely enough, I was not frightened. There was a quality about him that made him familiar. He no longer felt like an exotic stranger, more like a new friend. I was beginning to really like him, and it felt reciprocated. I was smiling on the outside and on the inside.

“Are you hungry? My chef has prepared a wonderful Cuban dinner for us, which we can eat out on the patio. It’s such a beautiful night I thought it would be nice to dine outside.”

“Yes, that’s a lovely idea.”

There was music playing inside the house that we could hear while we were eating. The dining experience left nothing to be desired, nothing. After dinner, he invited me back inside to listen to the lovely Cuban music. “Care to dance?” I gave him my hand, and we started moving to the rhythm. It was all so perfect, so romantic. “My house feels like a home again for the first time in a long while. Thank you for agreeing to stay after you learned it was not a restaurant. I think you are an extraordinary woman, Madeleine, with style, intelligence and grace. I am privileged to have you here.”

And then he kissed me. This time it was not on the cheek. He kissed me firmly on the mouth. Tender at first and then with passion. It both thrilled and scared me a little. What have I gotten myself into?

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sarah Tauber is a world traveler who retired three years ago from a corporate job to pursue her passions of dressage riding and writing. Her first book, “For Dear Life”, is a memoir covering two years she lived in Tehran, Iran in the 1970’s. It is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Xlibris.com.    “The Story She had to Tell” is her first novel. Sarah lives in San Diego County with her husband of ten years.
Her blog and website can be found at sarahtauber.com. She can also be reached on Facebook and LinkedIn.

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.tauber.77?ref=br_rs

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7782773.Sarah_Tauber

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