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5 Star Literary Fiction By Michigan Author Susan E. Sage.
“Surreal Journey Into A Possible And Not Too Distant Future”
Silver Lady: Travels Along The River Road by Susan Sage.
Available for pre-order from Black Rose Writing and Amazon. Release date will be on December 17th. It is best classified as Literary Fiction/Women’s Fiction/Magical Realism.
Book Description: “Sage has crafted a unique near-future, post-pandemic world where Art is vanishing, and the world is chaotic. The Silver Lady drifts downriver in a dreamlike state, slipping through time and reality, past and present, in a world with ever-changing rules, making you question what is real…” -Lena Gibson, author of The Edge of Life: Love and Survival During the Apocalypse
In a world teetering on the brink of collapse, Cassie, an older woman determined to savor a pre-apocalyptic vacation, finds herself at the helm of a luxury houseboat. As the looming shadow of civil war threatens society, Cassie’s journey along the mighty river becomes a transformative odyssey filled with magic, mystery, and self-discovery. To survive, Cassie must navigate the boat along with an eclectic group of fellow travelers.
When the river turns perilous, can Captain Cassie pilot the Silver Lady to its destination? Or does the Silver Lady have a will of her own?
Silver Lady weaves a captivating narrative that resonates with those who enjoy uncanny stories of the inexplicable, as well as connections formed on epic journeys. Will the river reveal its secrets, or will the puzzles confound the crew? Dive into the pages of Silver Lady and experience a magical mystery ride that transcends time and reality.
Editorial Reviews:
“Sage has crafted a unique near-future, post-pandemic world where Art is vanishing, and the world is chaotic. The Silver Lady drifts downriver in a dreamlike state, slipping through time and reality, past and present, in a world with ever-changing rules, making you question what is real…” -Lena Gibson, author of The Edge of Life: Love and Survival During the Apocalypse
“This delightfully enchanting river tale, full of woe and wonder, will keep you guessing what lives around the next bend. I often caught my breath at Susan Sage’s bright, lyrical writing.” -Milana Marsenich, author of Shed Girl
“You can always count on Susan Sage to create characters with a few fascinating flaws, interacting in a setting both realistic and mysterious, to keep you reading late into the night.” -Sandra Sperling, author of The Stash
“An amazing woman’s struggle to make sense of a world gone horribly wrong and a dose of magical realism combine to make a river voyage on the Silver Lady a trip worth taking.” -Gail Ward Olmsted, author of the Miranda Quinn Legal Twist series
“Close the door, turn off the TV, and send the kids to grandmas. Once you board the Silver Lady, you will find yourself on a surreal journey into a possible and not too distant future. Capt. Cassie Navrone skillfully steers us through a world damaged by our recent past in such a way as to give insight and hope. As she navigates the watery River Road, Cassie takes us on a deceptively slow ride on a river full of reflection, mystery, and mystique.” -Gin Coleman, author of Desert Brave
About The Author: Susan Sage has published three other novels. Her novel Dancing in the Ring was a Silver Finalist in the 2023 American Writing Awards. For several years, Susan taught English at an adult-alternative high school and was a reading tutor for at-risk students. She is ever proud of her grown daughter and enjoys exploring small towns she’s never visited before, stargazing, bicycling, and wine tastings. Although a Detroit native, she has resided most of her adult life in Flushing, Michigan with her husband and two cats.
Product Details:
Paperback: 234 Pages
Publisher: Black Rose Writing (December 12, 2024)
Language: English
Fiction (Literary)
Fiction (Women)
Fiction (Magical Realism)
“Will Grab Your Mind And Touch Your Soul”
DANCING IN THE RING by Susan E. Sage.
Detroit in the 1920s proved to be the Paris of the West for many—including Catherine McIntosh and Robert Sage. These two law school students are as passionate about each other as they are their dreams.
From a poor family in the neighborhood of Corktown, Catherine learned early on, the necessity of being resilient. She becomes one of the first women in Detroit to obtain a law degree. Bob, the ‘battling barrister,’ boxes in order to pay for law school. Despite his gruff and tough-boy personality, he is a friend to all: judges, cops, and even a couple members of the notorious Purple Gang. The couple becomes legendary in legal circles for their commitment to social justice causes—as well as notorious in the local speakeasies and dance halls.
At first, their optimism seems boundless, as it had for many following an era of trauma and challenges that included the 1918 flu pandemic. It isn’t long before their passionate courtship turns into a tempestuous marriage. Then the Great Depression hits and their lives are forever changed.
Review by Milana Marsenich, author of The Copper Sky: “…a beautifully-written, moving story that flows seamlessly from beginning to end!”
Review by Faye Turner-Johnson, Author of The Ebony Tongue: “…will grab your mind and touch your soul!”
Product Details:
Paperback: 350 Pages
Publisher: Black Rose Writing (June 22, 2023)
Language: English
Fiction (Historical Biographical)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Ring-Susan-Sage/dp/1685132197/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
A Mentor and Her Muse by Susan Sage.
Under the guise of mentor and muse, a frustrated writer and her ambitious teenage protégé take an illicit summer road trip fraught with racial and sexual tension. This is a compelling psychological novel about social norms, artistic ambition, and obsession. Maggie Barnett works in the media center of a school in Flint, Michigan where she meets Taezha Riverton, an aspiring teenage writer. After discovering that Maggie is also a writer, Taezha turns to her as both mentor and friend. Alone and childless, it’s not enough for Maggie to take Tae to restaurants and poetry slams. Although Tae’s mother has nothing against Maggie, she is less than thrilled when Maggie proposes to take her daughter on a summer road trip. Permission is never explicitly granted, but shortly after school is out for the summer, Maggie and Tae head for the Southeast.
Review by Red Butler: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Haunting tale of Unrequited Time and Love. Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2019. For those of above average intelligence (required here), you’ll enjoy this road trip tale of a white 50ish jaded and lonely female educator that helps a 15-year-old inner city black girl (and herself) escape the economically depressing Flint Michigan summer. Off to Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina, we are taken on an odyssey of self-examination, and mighty revelation awaits both lead characters. This is a highly original work for realism with literary overtones filled with clarity and skilled exposition of characterizations. The lead character Maggie is the big show, a teacher/writer painfully self-aware of all things to the point of depression and hedging madness. She has known great tragedy and loss; thus life seems like a series of events to be endured to some lackluster end. The narrative of Maggie is told with raw visceral terms and some flashbacks that perfectly fill gaps of understanding. The author has a smooth natural style of diction. This is a tale of inner space of emotions dealing with family, love, sex, aging, work, fulfillment, happiness, and having something, someplace we might belong. This is a story of the yearning and sadness and the hope for something better, a cohesion. It is a haunting tale of rescue for the hopeless and rescuing the self from the angst, the complete symphony of disconnection, to go it alone if necessary, and all against the question of time, how much time do we have left? I found the story to be alluring and had to know to the end what would become of these two women. A well-crafted novel of both sadness and measured hope, I found this to be original in style, which is the first and main component of a thinking author. I was emotionally overcome by the ending having a mysterious beauty of untethered iconoclasm.
Review by Susan Rooke: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. GRIPPING AND SATISFYING. Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019. Verified Purchase. Do not make assumptions about this book based on a quick glance at its lovely cover image, nor on its innocent-sounding title. A closer look at the cover will show you the truth of Susan Sage’s disturbing tale of obsession: a brick wall, and in it, a wooden door so crisscrossed with wiry vines that it cannot be opened.
Maggie is middle-aged and white, a writer whose promising career fizzled not long after she produced in her 30s a single, modestly successful novel. Childless and never married after a series of failed relationships, still reeling from the tragic loss of her parents, she takes a job at a school in Flint, Michigan, and soon forms a strong attachment to a black teenage girl named Taezha (or Tae), a gifted student with writerly talent. Maggie hatches an ill-advised plan to mentor Tae, intending to nurture the girl’s writing by taking her on an extended road trip, far away from her chaotic home life. At the same time Maggie hopes to use Tae as a muse to inspire her own writing, which has languished for too long. Though Tae is initially a willing traveling companion, when the trip drags on she becomes increasingly ambivalent and sometimes even fearful, as Maggie’s need to control their relationship begins to isolate the two of them.
The story strongly reminded me of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, perhaps the quintessential tale of obsessive longing, and to my mind, A Mentor and Her Muse is a worthy successor. It’s a gripping book swirling with existentialist undercurrents, and reading it, I began to feel deeply unsettled. Sage reveals Maggie’s self-destructive behaviors in stages, so skillfully that at times the shock took my breath away. Using shifting points of view, the author is also careful to peel back slowly the layers of her other principal characters, so that when their true (and sometimes very unexpected) feelings were exposed, the emotional impact stunned me. I learned that for Maggie, doors are a powerful metaphor, making the door on the book’s cover even more fitting than I had supposed. Ultimately, doors are a means of escape, and can open to new paths and reinvention, all of which left me very satisfied with the book’s conclusion.
Susan Sage’s A Mentor and Her Muse is a compelling story well told, both a riveting psychological study and an accomplished work of literary fiction. Highly recommended.
Review by Kimber: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. This is a thought-provoking read, not to be missed! Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2021. Verified Purchase. Many of us search endlessly for that elusive best version of ourselves, and occasionally we are treated to a tiny spark of what we seek in another. A ‘Mentor and her Muse’ is a study of what could happen if someone were to take on a mentee whom they believe may hold the key to unlock that door of potential.
Maggie is a frustrated fifty-something teacher who has moved home to Michigan after a lifetime of ‘almost there’ success in love as well as in writing, but her life is about to take an interesting turn. Enter Tae, a fifteen-year-old student and aspiring writer with a home life that is less than ideal. Maggie begins to consider the difference she could make for this one pupil by taking her under her wing and nurturing Tae’s natural ability as a wordsmith.
The ensuing rollercoaster of emotion, growth, and self-discovery on the part of the instructor, as well as the apprentice, makes for a thrilling read. Will everything work out as Maggie had envisioned when she takes Tae on a trip across the United States? What they both seek might be waiting for them at the other end of the road…
The prose is artistically written in the stream of consciousness style, and the poetry included is a delight! Susan Sage explores a plethora of complex subject matters with grace and dignity. This is a thought-provoking read, not to be missed!
Review by CS: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Makes me want to hit the road! Where were teachers like this when I needed them? Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2018. Verified Purchase. This is a fast-paced, engrossing novel in which the characters gradually emerge and become real. It gives the reader a glimpse into the pleasures and travails of writers, as well as a good feel for what women struggle with at different stages of the age spectrum. Being from Detroit, I enjoyed the setting. In the interests of full disclosure, I’m proud to say that the author is a good friend. But even without the friendship factor, I would rate this as a work to be savored and appreciated. There are some very nice images, some lovely poetry and a tantalizing hint of mystery. It left me ready to jump in the car and hit the road, notebook in hand.
Review by Sandra Sperling: 5.0 out of 5 Stars, What makes a woman tick? It depends . . . Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2022. Verified Purchase. After learning about Tae’s desire to become an author, Maggie takes the young woman on a road trip, which gradually reveals the similarities and opposing facets of their personalities. Their traits–and how the women react because of them–fired my curiosity from chapter to chapter.
Susan Sage displays her deep understanding of individuals evolving in their friendship from the ‘honeymoon’ stage to the conclusion of the story. I watched the mentor, and the muse delve into themselves as their roles grew and changed, which kept me fascinated, reading to the unexpected conclusion. I give this book a solid five stars!!!
Review by T.P.: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A good character study! Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018. Verified Purchase. A great book! I found the characters believable, and they developed throughout the book; kept me guessing how they would each end up. Good descriptions: it was easy to picture in my mind’s eye. As opposed to some novels I’ve read where the middle third gets slow, “A Mentor and Her Muse” was evenly paced throughout and held my interest. Not a picture-perfect ending either; like I said, realistic character portrayals with all their messiness and foibles. I’ll be looking forward to more from Ms. Sage!
Review by Kevin McLogan: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Road trip to another state of mind. Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2018. Verified Purchase. I really enjoyed this book. The author builds tension as the road trip goes on (although it would drive me nuts to travel just a few hours each day-I would have made that trip in a day). The relationship between the two women doesn’t exactly grow, it evolves. The ending is quite realistic and satisfying. A lot of SE Michigan references throughout, which was a nice touch. Good read, hard to put down.
Review by Avid Reader: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Compelling and intimate. Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023. Compelling and intimate portrayal of a woman searching for her own self under the guise of mentoring a much younger woman, an adolescent, really. Although we read both from the mentor’s and the muse’s viewpoints, Maggie, the 50-ish mentor, drives the story. We get glimpses into her background—an attempted suicide, failed relationships with men, and her dysfunctional family. We discover, too, the struggles of Tae, the young muse, and a startling revelation about her father. Discovering what each of them searches for in the other fascinated me. If you enjoy psychological character-driven novels, you’ll find much to admire in A Mentor and her Muse.
Review by J.G. MacLeod (Author of The Future Bride): 5.0 out of 5 Stars. Insightful Journey. Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019. A Mentor and Her Muse by Susan Sage follows the journey of Maggie, a frustrated writer struggling with her own identity & what seems to be aching loneliness at the beginning. We are also introduced to Tae, a young girl who looks up to Maggie & struggles with her own inner problems. In order to bring the two together, Sage characterizes them over the course of a road trip. This proves to be an effective tool for exploring themes of self-esteem, trauma, & the ever-allusive fragments of hope.
I found the themes of trauma & hope compelling. Sage portrays human frailty & struggle realistically, and leads the reader to question why, as a species, we never stop searching for deeper meaning & purpose.
The book’s cover, and the final image of the door, is thought-provoking in its symbolism. Has Maggie seized each opportunity in her life, or contributed to her own sense of yearning & lack of fulfillment? Is a closed door really such a terrible thing, if one understands the beauty of the wide open & how much can be learned from these unrehearsed experiences?
A Mentor & Her Muse is a soul-searching read that connects with the very essence of what it means to be human. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy psychological tales of introspection.
Review by mmarie: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. A rich, engaging novel Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018.First, let me say “bravo” to Susan Sage. She has written an excellent novel. Her writing is beautiful, crisp, and refreshing. A Mentor and Her Muse courageously explores issues of age, love, race, sex, and freedom. Sage quite naturally shows us the closeness and distance of relationships, and the growth that happens as a result of striving for balance and holding on to others.
Maggie Barnett, a 52-year-old teacher and frustrated writer, works in the media center at a high school in Flint, Michigan. She is a restless spirit, with loss and regrets in her past. In a calculated fashion, she chooses Taezha, a budding teenage writer, to mentor. Their relationship is close, clever, sweet, and, at times, disturbing. Both characters are fully developed and dealing with real issues, some issues that rarely see the light of day in life or literature.
Tae comes from a broken home, filled with secrets and hardship. She is brave and trusting, and full of passion. She adores Maggie and blossoms in the attention that Maggie shows her. Some of that attention though, leaves Tae confused and disoriented. Sage skillfully weaves the dilemmas and questions of a teenager into Tae’s character as Tae grows into a young woman. And Tae has more than a normal bit of wonder and courage.
When Maggie’s mentoring of Tae turns into rescue, I couldn’t help but wonder who Maggie was rescuing: Tae or herself.
A Mentor and Her Muse is a rich emotional experience that is engaging from start to finish. I highly recommend it.
Product Details:
Paperback: 266 Pages
Publisher: Open Books (January 1, 2018)
Language: English
Fiction (Women’s Friendship)
Fiction (Psychological)
Fiction (Contemporary Women)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Mentor-Her-Muse-Susan-Sage/dp/0615722806/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/Mentor-Her-Muse-Susan-Sage-ebook/dp/B078R219DN?ref_=ast_author_dp
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/0615722806/ref=acr_dp_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=five_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar
About The Author: Susan E. Sage, was born (1956) in Detroit, Michigan, to Joyce and Robert Sage. Youngest of three daughters, she received her undergraduate degree in English from Wayne State University in Detroit and has done post-graduate work at the University of Michigan-Flint. She was a recipient of the Tompkin’s Award in Poetry (1981), and has published her poetry in numerous literary magazines. Susan is a multi-genre novelist. A MENTOR AND HER MUSE was published in 2018, and INSOMINY was published in 2010. She is a fan of Historical Fiction, Magic Realism, and Contemporary Fantasy literature. Susan has one daughter (Sarah), loves cats, smooth jazz, blues, art, and poetry.
Amazon Author’s Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Susan-E.-Sage/author/B0044UYRA6?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Website:
https://susansage1.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ssage56
https://www.facebook.com/mentorandhermuse
Twitter:
https://x.com/SusanSage
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/zanna56/
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network:
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/susan-e-sage
