Tuesday, June 19, 2012

#TuesdayswithTaryn with Sylvia May, Author of The Unraveling of Abby Settel

Tuesdays with Taryn
Sylvia May

Please help me in welcoming fellow Turquoise Morning Press author, Sylvia May to Tuesdays with Taryn~

What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?
It’s difficult for me to identify one book that has most influenced me. Every book that I read informs my writing in some way, whether it is the way the story unfolds, or the characters, or an interesting plot device. I read various genres and have done so since I was a child. As for my early reading, Lucy Maud Montgomery showed me that stories can be made out of ordinary lives; Phyllis A. Whtiney introduced me to the idea of mystery and adventure. In adulthood, books by Jane Urquhart, Jodi Picoult, Peter Robinson, Rohinton Mistry, Isabel Huggan, Louise Penny, Elizabeth Berg, Alice Munro…ach there are too many to mention.

What book do you read over and over again?
Who has time to read a book over and over again? There are just too many books and too little time. But I will say that if I absolutely love a book, it becomes a “keeper,” meaning I retain possession of it rather than passing it on. I have shelves full of “keepers” that, perhaps when I’m old and stuck in an armchair, I may just read again.

Tuesday Trio-
1)      Movie- The Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
2)      Music- Dancing in the Moonlight performed by Van Morrison (it’s my ringtone)
3)      Decadent Dessert- Anything with chocolate or lemon or real cream (I am a dessert addict!)

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?
Rather than a bit of trivia, this shocking story comes immediately to mind. Recently, while researching poison for the cozy mystery series that I coauthor (as Lucy Arlington), I happened upon a news report where fifth-grade students put rat poison in their teacher’s coffee and cupcake frosting. What is the world coming to when elementary school students try to poison their teachers?

Novel on your Nightstand:
Who/what are you currently reading?
            At present I’m reading a book that I never would have picked up if a friend hadn’t given it to me, since “horror” is a genre I don’t read (till now, lol). It is Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, a collection of four novellas. Surprisingly to me, I was hooked from the first couple of pages.

Whom would you cast as your Hero & Heroine if your book became a movie?
This is a tough question since I don’t watch a lot of movies and thus am not familiar with many actors. However, I recently saw a TV show with a mature Ashley Judd, and I think she’d make a great Abby. If not her, then Sandra Bullock. And I think Kevin Spacey would be a good Peter, or perhaps Scott Bakula.

THE UNRAVELING OF ABBY SETTEL

Abby's well-ordered life is falling apart. Her son’s behavior is worrying, her aging parents are deteriorating, and her husband loses his job.  His new position compels them to move hundreds of miles away, where Abby is plagued by guilt and loneliness. When she discovers a group of women facing the similar challenges, together they seek a way out of their unhappiness. This is a story of mid-life reinvention, letting go to embrace the present, and the importance of friends.

            The Unraveling of Abby Settel received an Honorable Mention from the  2011 Reader Views Literary Awards.

 (click book cover image to the left to purchase from Amazon)



You can find out more about Sylvia at her
AND
You can also find The Unraveling of Abby Settel at

2 comments:

Unknown said...

The book looks terrific Sylvia. My kind of read. I'll be looking for it when it comes out!

Sylvia May said...

Thanks, Una. The book is already out so you can get it already.