Sara Stamey Novels | Sara Stamey

November 2021:

Pause — Women’s Fiction

Book View Cafe Publishing

First Place, Somerset Award for Women’s Fiction

A Pulpwood Queens International Book Club selection

Dear Diary,
Shall we pause to take stock?
Female (liberated, at least from fraught marriage). Age 52, height 5’5”, weight 120, bone density excellent, minimal cellulite, maximal hot flashes. One and ¾ breasts.
Months since sex: 27

Lindsey Friedland, former river-rafting guide and avid outdoorswoman, has hit the worst stretch of water she’s ever faced: divorce from an abuser, breast cancer, menopause symptoms that her friends seem to have paddled serenely by. And she’s lost sight of her dream of becoming an environmental journalist.

Lindsey needs to get her spark back.

Dear Diary, Disastrous blind dates so far: The walking cologne bottle. The “really want a gal to give me babies” guy. The pushy past-life reintegration facilitator.

Will Lindsey make it past the rocky shoals of family upheavals, job crises, sexism, and ageism… not to mention toxic love traps? Does “happily ever after” now mean settling for occasional (but hot!) sex with Mr. Maybe? Can she reclaim her journalism dream?

Dear Diary, I’m tired of being tragic. I’m sending off my article about the bulldozers versus the baby owls.

***

Reviews

“Stamey’s lovely, inspiring, often funny novel… will touch the hearts of readers…. Stamey’s achievement is the realistic, down-to-earth, eminently relatable Lindsey and all she offers contemporary readers.”
Publishers Weekly Booklife Review

“Sara Stamey does for fiction what Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert did for memoir—Pause gives a voice to women who are too often invisible in contemporary books. The unforgettable Lindsey Friedland weaves together humor and passion against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty, using her unique voice to deliver a must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.”
USA Today Bestselling author Mindy Klasky

“Stamey’s book is incredibly hard to put down. Her characters are real people you come to care about. Most highly recommended.”
Readers’ Favorite review, 5-star rating

“Sara Stamey’s novel PAUSE–whose heroine is a feisty, determined, middle-aged woman endeavoring to restart her love life and a career in journalism–is filled with lyrical prose and pure, thought-provoking joy.”
IndieReader review, 5 stars

“A triumph of a novel.”
Paul Piper, author of The Wolves of Mirr

“Lindsey’s banter with her best friends as well as her complex family dynamics feel extremely realistic…. Lindsey herself is an appealing and capable hero, both intelligent and relatable. A solid, engaging tale about the importance of self-knowledge.”
Kirkus Reviews

Order Pause

Trade paperback 6×9″ ISBN 978-1-61138-964-7 $17.95
ebook ISBN 978-1-61138-963-0 $3.99

Available from:

IngramSpark (wholesale)
Book View Cafe
Amazon
Kobo
B&N

The Ariadne Connection

A Journey to the Crossroads of Science and Myth.

The Ariadne Connection, a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?

Grand Prize, Chanticleer Global Thriller

First Place, Cygnus Awards for Speculative Fiction

First Place, Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction

* * *

Reviews

“Beyond the physical characteristics of place, Stamey creates a convincingly chaotic dystopia with populations of desperate players.The Ariadne Connection is an ambitious effort that draws connections between humanity’s moral compass and the well-being of the planet we live on.”
The Bookmonger, Barbara Lloyd McMichael

“Sara Stamey’s near-future novel The Ariadne Connection is a rocket-paced thrill ride that delivers complex, engaging characters in a laser-sharp plot. [It] takes the reader on a visual feast through the azure waters and rugged Mediterranean landscape of the Greek islands while tapping into the deep roots of mythological tradition.”
Chanticleer Reviews

5-Star Readers’ Favorites review: “It’s a fast paced, thrilling journey into the future that will leave readers breathless and wondering what will happen to the very end. A great read.”
Readers’ Favorite review, 5-star rating

“Pulses with admirable energy.”
William Dietrich, New York Times bestselling author

Order The Ariadne Connection

Trade paperback 6×9″ ISBN 978-1611384536

Available from:

IngramSpark (wholesale)
Book View Cafe (epub or Mobi ebook)
Amazon (print)
Amazon Kindle
Kobo
B&N

And stay tuned for the upcoming sequel: The Ariadne Disconnect

Islands

A romantic suspense novel set in the Caribbean, spiced with a psychic twist.

“Welcome to Paradise,” archeologist Susan Dunne hears on arrival at the Caribbean island to research petroglyphs and unravel the mystery of her brother’s drowning. Was it murder? This sunny tourist mecca conceals shadowy secrets — violent native unrest, a sunken treasure ship guarded by legendary Jumbies, and a bloodthirsty cult. Can Susan resist her attraction to her number one suspect, unpredictable combat vet Vic Manden? The most disturbing secrets she must explore are the ones hidden in her disturbing psychic visions, clues that challenge her notions of truth and reality.

Fiction Finalist, ForeWord Book of the Year

A Chanticleer Paranormal Suspense Winner

A Hollywood Book Festival Genre Award Winner

Updated eBook edition from Book View Cafe, available in formats for both Kindle and epub devices.

* * *

Reviews

“A contemporary thriller that combines the lure of the Caribbean with gritty reality.” _{^{read more…}}
Chanticleer Reviews, 5 stars

“A superior mystery and suspense novel with solid characters, some very spooky goings-on, and lots of wonderful writing… An intellectual thriller? Absolutely. But don’t let that make you think there is anything even vaguely dull or pretentious about ‘Islands.’ It’s a fast read, a stomping, vivid ride, the work of a woman who is passionate about lots of things.”
Dan Hays, Statesman Journal

“A highly palatable soup of a novel… She galvanizes considerable interest from the reader.”
Edward Bryant, Locus Magazine

“Intense and gripping… you’ll be caught up in this one.”
Don D’Ammassa, Chronicle Magazine

“A passionate writer, Stamey has concocted a mystery here that is a page turner from intriguing beginning to end.”
Ara Taylor, Bellingham Herald

Order Islands

Paperback ISBN 978-1401015602
ebook ISBN 9781611383751

Available from:

Order an autographed trade paperback copy of Islands.
320 pgs., $10, free shipping in continental U.S.

Other Books by Sara Stamey

Sara Stamey – Award-winning novelist, freelance editor, and creative writing instructor for Western Washington University – has returned to her Pacific Northwest roots after years of wanderlust. Her journeys have included teaching scuba-diving in the Caribbean and Honduran islands, trekking around Greece and South America, operating a nuclear reactor at Hanford, and owning a farm in southern Chile. Her Islands research included petroglyph treks in the Caribbean and Washington State.

Stamey’s earlier novels with Berkley/Putnam Publishing of New York earned praise from Publishers Weekly, Locus Magazine, Twilight Zone, and others. New audiobook editions–with exciting new cover art!–are now available on Amazon.com, as well as ebook editions with Bookviewcafe.com

“Will I pick up and read Sara Stamey’s next novel? Better believe it!” –Ed Bryant, Twilight Zone Magazine