Hemingway said, “All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse, and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.”
A large part of Seeking Sara Summers is set in Italy. Florence and Siena to be exact, and the Tuscan countryside. I was fortunate enough to go to this region of Italy while I was writing the book. I was very aware, while I was walking the landscape in Italy, that this was where Sara’s story took place and I consciously tried to see it through her eyes. In other words, I soaked it in for the two of us.
So I’ve really enjoyed the feedback I’ve been getting from readers who say they feel like they’ve been to Italy after they’ve finished. Readers have commented:
“Things I loved, especially - ‘seeing’ Tuscany vividly.”
“I laughed and cried and felt warmed by the Tuscan sun.”
“What a journey! I felt like I had been to Italy with Sara but even more vividly, I shared her journey of the heart.”
These are huge compliments to a writer. If someone can breathe the Tuscan air with this character and drink the Tuscan wine, and experience even a little bit of the beauty that region of the world offers, then I am pleased.
Talk about a Stay-cation! Think of all the money on gas you will save by simply reading really good books.
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Harry predicts that you have a best seller on your hands (at chapter 20). He grabbed it up the minute it arrived. Then he adds, “you just don’t want to put it down, it is so well written.” While I sit here and drool, waiting my turn.
Thank you, Harry!