Author Cindy C Bennett: Saving Sarah May

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Saving Sarah May

Losing everything doesn’t mean you can’t start over again.

Adventurous Sarah May had everything, the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect future. But when the love of her life is killed in Iraq, it plummets her entire world into darkness. Emily Frost never imagined an end to her abusive marriage. Now divorced, living with her mother, and raising her daughter, she vowed never again to give her heart to anyone. Food critic Kate Berkhill has jumped from bad relationship to bad relationship, and after her boyfriend dumps her for her sister, she’s decided to give up on men altogether. For three friends, a trip to Ireland seemed like the idyllic, carefree break from their troubled lives. Instead, the emerald isle forces each of them to face her demons head on, to discover herself, find healing, and possibly new love.

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S. J. Reisner began writing at the age of ten and never stopped. Because she loves to read everything, picking a genre didn’t come easy. This is why she has four different pen names and writes everything from non-fiction to horror to contemporary romance. Her non-fiction and erotic romances have been bestsellers on Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Under S. J. Reisner she writes general fiction, contemporary romances, adventure fantasy, and YA paranormal stories. This is her first published contemporary romance novel. When she’s not writing you can find her herding cats, wrangling vegetables in the garden, or engaging in one of her many hobbies. She lives along the front range of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and two rescue cats. To learn more visit www.sjreisner.com

~ Author Site ~

Fun Facts about Saving Sarah May

1. The fictional town in Saving Sarah May was based on a real town that I stayed in when I was in Ireland.

2. Figuring out what the characters ate sometimes took longer than writing the actual scene. I know, I know, you wouldn't think scones require hours of research, printing recipes, baking, eating, but it just sounded so delicious!

3. The idea for this story came to me in a dream while I was on vacation in New England.

4. My editors loved the story so much they ganged up on me and told me I needed to write Emily and Kate's stories, too.

5. I often joke that this book is my homage to late Irish novelist, Maeve Binchy, whose work I love.

6. This is the first contemporary romance novel I've written, even though I have ten other novels, numerous novellas and short stories published.

7. My theme song for this book was a cover of Taylor Swift's Blank Space done by the band I Prevail. (Hey, it's only fair I share why I won't share my playlist, that way you can all look it up for yourselves.)

8. When I initially pitched this book to my editor, I didn't have the plot worked out, so it came out something like, "So there are these three friends who have had really bad relationships and problems. One of them, her fiance died horribly. They go to Ireland and find healing and love." And that's literally all I could tell her. I call it my worst. pitch. ever.

9. I used to ride horses a lot, and my first trip to Ireland was a tour on horseback through Western Ireland. That's where Sarah's love of riding comes from.

10. I had to give my family some props in the book. Enter castle O’Conghaile. My maiden name is Connolly and my Irish ancestors (who were actually quite British according to family DNA tests) are from Co. Galway.

11. BONUS FACT - This is the third book I've written set in Ireland. My Castle Sedgebrook series (erotic Paranormal Romance) as Anne O'Connell is set in Ireland, too.