NEW RELEASE - WHEN THE ROLLER COASTER STOPS BY SUSAN TARR

WHEN THE ROLLER COASTER STOPS

Bethany, recently returned from Europe, seeks medical advice for a stomach upset. Because of her mixed parentage, she has inherited a specific gene, which has made her a candidate for colorectal cancer. She challenges her diagnosis; she is too young for this kind of condition and she has too much life to live. And so she sets off on a whole new journey of discovery, taking her eclectic group of friends with her.

In this story, I hope I’m showing readers what receiving a diagnosis of bowel cancer is often about, using language and situations everyone can understand. I wanted an angle different from any other books I have read on this subject.

The protagonist is loosely based on my daughter, Anna, who is similar in age to Bethany. Anna was twice diagnosed with Grade 4 cancer. This story is in part about how she processed that information and what she did with it.

There is no right or wrong way.

Bethany is a thirty-year-old woman struggling to accept she has colorectal bowel cancer. We follow her diagnosis and the current recommended medical procedures. I have written for anybody (male or female) connected to someone with this diagnosis in the hope they may appreciate how each individual’s reaction and mental process in these circumstances is different.

It’s about Bethany’s courage in the face of her medical minefield. Recently returned from Europe with what she thinks is a runny gut, she eventually seeks medical advice. However she is not at all convinced with the diagnosis of bowel cancer; she’s too young: she has too much life to live: she’s financially secure and loves her job, almost as much as she loves her friends. Besides, bowel cancer is – well, so not nice.

Initially, Bethany chooses to ignore her condition and refuses to confide in family or friends. But she does employ a housekeeper.

So we now have Bethany and Kate under the same roof; two women who are opposites in every way. Whilst Bethany is just shy of phobic about housekeeping, Kate is diligent. Bethany is gorgeous. Kate is homely. Bethany is extravagant. Kate is cautious. Yet a bond develops between this unlikely pair that will endure though the trials and heartaches the following year may hold.

While one woman has lost control of her life another finds her purpose.

What people are left with when they’ve read this is that it’s a love story between Bethany and Kate. That Bethany has bowel cancer is the least important thing about Bethany. That unassuming Kate is her caregiver is the least important thing about Kate.

It’s a simple love/drama about several very different people who meet in highly unusual circumstances. It’s also a story about dealing with a medical condition when you don’t understand half of the words used.

I’ve written it with a lot of humor. It’s not a depressing book, although the subject matter might seem a bit off-putting. And because of that there had to be a lot of levity in it.

In this story I often cross the genres.

Perhaps more than some I write a completely different book every time. It’s about feeling that what I do has some value. And it’s very hard as a writer not to feel anxious about what you put out. It’s not enough to put out a good book. You have to put out the best book you’ve ever written. I think this is mine.

SUSAN TARR

I’ve been writing for over 25 years (and doesn’t that sound better than 27.38years?).

Let’s take a chunk of me from the late 70s when I arrived on the coast of Kenya, East Africa in a 28ft yacht, still heaving my gut out. And if that didn’t cure me of the sea life, I was crew on an old Baltic Trader, where my job was to caulk the 80ft teak decks. I got that job because I was the one who ran fastest, backward, in a straight line. So boiling up tar in the galley, combing out hemp, and using a specially made blunt chisel thing was my lot. Then I was promoted to applying linseed oil and some other stuff to the bowsprit. Because of the shark cruising below me, a safety net was set in place. So 28 coats of linseed oil and other stuff later, I was all set to make my mark on the fancy water line. One row in white, the other in red.

Did I get over being seasick? No! I started my morning with a cup of tea, some stale bread and a seasick tablet. I’d already tried the chewing gum from Europe, but sailing gave me the munchies, and it’s hard to eat stale bread and dried cheese with a wad of gum in one cheek. Next was the patch behind my ear; that caused me to hallucinate. So mostly I was an anchor-bound sailor. Yet ask me to repair a sail, sew a flag, plug a hole using a chunk off the broomstick, or take part in a quiz about sailing terms or nautical safety, and I’d blitz it.

I’ve yet to finalize my book on my Kenyan escapades but one day…

My girls were born in Kenya. Both emergency caesarians, one without anesthetic (eek!). When we eventually returned to New Zealand (we flew) after a couple of coups, we settled into tourism in the Bay of Island via a yacht charter and mobile home business with lots of international travel.

I have always written in some form or other, and when I’m not writing I’m happily editing or proofreading for other authors.

OTHER BOOKS BY SUSAN TARR

PHENOMENA the Lost and Forgotten Children http://goo.gl/M659oU

MIRANDA BAY http://goo.gl/5L1yY4

JACK just an ordinary dog in the dog house http://goo.gl/rdlXzb

Facebook Author Page: http://goo.gl/dToB4X
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Tarr/e/B00I0I3M9U/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7154859.Susan_Tarr
My Webpage: http://susan-tarr-author.webnode.com/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Inspiration for When the ROLLER COASTER Stops comes from a whole lot of living and loving, from personal and shared experiences of family, workmates and friends: from managing a tourist resort in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand; from working in psychiatric hospitals, extensive travel, sailing internationally, and from starting my wee family in Kenya, East Africa. I draw from everyone and everything in order to present a montage of quirky but realistic characters. But mainly I draw from my daughter, Anna.

I would like to acknowledge the value and insight into this medical condition provided by the NZ Cancer Society, Dr Tannis Laidlaw, and Dr Dan & Linda Wilson.



To my family

I could not have attempted Bethany’s story if it weren’t for the love and friendship my daughter, Anna, and I share. This story is yet another intertwining of both our lives.

And I am forever grateful to my husband, Michael, for revealing the mysteries of my computer to me.