Live for Today, Author Interview

 

 

Live for Today-Spring Island Trilogy Book Two is the second book written and published by Author Sandra Steiner. The first is Cherish the Past-Spring Island Trilogy Book One and both novels can be read alone or as part of the trilogy.  Both novels were released in the summer of 2014.

1. Describe the storyline for Live for Today?

Lily, the main character, is searching for answers, and feels she needs to find her birth family in order to move on in life. She is tortured with nightmares and a constant sense of some unknown terror from her past. It is a story of loss, love, and discovery. The novel is written to be suitable for teen through adult.

2. What do you want readers to take away from the novel?

Readers will understand that anything is possible if they want it bad enough. Persistence in the search for information will pay off.

3. Is Live for Today based on someone’s real life?

It is loosely based on the life of an individual who told me their story of the search they were on for their birth family. This individual was haunted with questions about why they were given up. She was plagued with nightmares that needed to be resolved.

4. Where is Spring Island?

Spring Island is a fictional place. About four years ago I moved to Vancouver Island and loved the atmosphere. The calming effect of the ocean is also included. The island in my opinion is a melting pot of people from all over. It is a place of peace and harmony. To me the name Spring Island means hope, renewal, and new beginnings.

5. Why do you write inspirational novels?

My life has had several major incidents that made me a stronger woman. I got through some of it by reading inspirational material. I want to inspire others in the same way.

EXCERPT FROM LIVE FOR TODAY

PROLOGUE

Lily looked over her shoulder and, seeing no one, began to relax. It was just her imagination. It had to be, didn’t it? She could not remember a time when she did not feel as though someone was watching her.

Sitting on the beach and watching the calm water always seemed to help ease the panic. The waves were gently lapping against the driftwood on the beach. The sound of the seagulls was soothing. The smell of the salty ocean air was comforting. So why couldn’t she just relax? Today, it did not seem to be working.

Last night the dreams had kept her awake through most of the night. If only she knew what they meant. She was so tired of them. They had plagued her for her entire life—or for as long as she could remember anyhow. Today was a day filled with questions, and she just wanted answers. All her life she had worked at blocking memories. Maybe it was time for her to lay her past to rest. The idea of it terrified her, and she really wasn’t sure why. She wanted to move forward in her life. It was time.

In the past few months, she had begun to see a counsellor on the mainland, trying to recover memories that may never return. It was exhausting, but it seemed that she was making headway, having a few glimmers of recurring events in the dreams. Lily had been a great patient and had listened to everything the counsellor had to say. She had practised the techniques and was always willing to trysomething new. Perhaps that was why she was making such good progress.

She had been working on a dream journal for a while. There were things that were now noticeable recurrences in the dreams. The counsellor felt that these probably pointed to true memories, but of course, there were no guarantees.

Nights like last night where she was running scared and full of terror were one of the most common themes. Miles away and many years ago, she had started running and started a new life. Since then, moments of serenity had been hers, but many moments of terror had overshadowed the peace. She had started over in new places a few times but always seemed to come back to the same position—scared, alone.

Thinking back to try to remember her childhood was hard. It made her feel anxious, afraid, and she did not like it—mostly because she did not know why. Her earliest clear memories were after her ninth birthday. She had a few vague memories of earlier, but nothing solid.

Lily made the decision to seek some help to recover the lost memories and lay them to rest and to deal with her past so she could enjoy her life in peace. She had been working really hard with her therapist for months now.

They had used a variety of techniques to help Lily remember. She now had enough information to try to discover what her mind had forgotten. It was time to go back to Rollingway, the town in her dreams.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sandra Steiner lives in Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island with her husband and fur babies.  She is an avid reader of all genres and loves to listen to life stories.  Sandra has now published two inspirational romance novels and is looking forward to publishing more in the fall of 2014.  She loves connecting with other readers and authors, and encourages this connection through Facebook, twitter, and or goodreads, the links are included.

 

My links:

www.facebook.com/steinerwrite

www.facebook.com/sandrasteiner.21

www.facebook.com/sandrasteiner.22

@healing_love

Cherish the Past-Spring Island Trilogy Book One

http://www.amazon.com/Cherish-Past-Spring-Island-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00LCRF28U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408341839&sr=8-2&keywords=Sandra+Steiner

Live for Today-Spring Island Trilogy Book Two

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Today-Spring-Island-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00MIHIICK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1408341897&sr=8-1