Blog Tour: T-R-U-E Love Story by Willow Aster, Book Review, Author Interview & Giveaway

4.5 Stars!

Book Synopsis:

Sparrow Fisher is transforming. No longer dressed up in antiquated clothes and ideals, she is finally trying on her freedom.

Before she moves to New York City, she meets Ian Sterling, a musician Sparrow has dreamed about since she first saw him. The attraction is instant, but their relationship isn’t so simple.

Over a five year span, Sparrow and Ian run into each other in unusual places. Each time, Sparrow has to decide if she can trust him, if he feels the same for her, and finally, if love is really enough.

My Review:

Sparrow Fisher lives in a happy home with two loving parents and a boy that she has loved for a very long time She is strong, self confident, soulful and exceedingly witty.  She meets Ian Sterling and falls head over heels in love.  Ian Sterling doesn’t know what hit him either – he wants a future with Sparrow but he knows that he needs to take it slow. Ian is ten years older, worldlier and has a past that is bound to catch up with him at some point. At first, his past is something she is resolved to accept until it collides with her present. It strikes her right in the heart and it kills her. Figuratively of course.

In the next five years, Sparrow and Ian cross paths in the most unlikely circumstances. During this passage of time, their love for each other never wanes. Yet they try to move on from one another knowing that the trust that they lost can never be regained.

We’ve seen this plot before – good girl meets bad boy, they fall in love, he becomes a better person. What makes this book so different from the others? Why did I enjoy reading it so much? How did this same old plot lose me in the moment knowing that there were the usual scenarios that could be played out as the story developed?  I think I have the answer.

It’s the author and her writing.

I still have not figured out why I find it more difficult to write about books that I have enjoyed, books that have moved me. I think that it’s mostly because feeling and thinking don’t always make the best of friends.  This is one of those books that leaves me at a loss for words.  Not every book accomplishes this for me. I am glad to say that this one does just that. Leave it to the author to create such an endearing heroine who is honest, strong, introspective but snarky and sarcastic at the same time.

Willow Aster so eloquently brings to light how it feels to find love and lose it and never recover from it.    Ian and Sparrow spent two painful and agonizing years apart. Their sorrow is real and tangible, brought to life by the deep and tender words that reached out and grabbed my heart from within the pages of the book.  The story is told through flashbacks and memories in the most fluent and expressive manner, one can touch their heartache and sadness as if it were taking place here and now. The bittersweet words of Ian’s letters to Sparrow were songs of love that could soothe even the most shattered of spirits.

My heart broke into little pieces each and every single time they parted. Willow Aster gifts us with an endearing glimpse into the soul of a young girl who grows up through the eyes of her love for one man.

“There is a miracle in the way love keeps enduring….across a million miles.”

True Love story tells of the heartbreaking coming of age of two people who find each other both in the wrong place at the right time, and in the right place at the wrong time. It is a story about growing up and falling in love with the same person over and over again. It is about finding a soul mate, that one true love, and believing that the universe will right itself if you trust in it with all your heart. Most of all, it is a story of forgiveness and of the courage to take the leap and leave the past behind, writing your own future in the stars and never looking back.  If you are looking to be engulfed in a sea of emotion even if just for a few worthwhile hours, look no further. True Love Story is the book for you.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

I am so grateful to Willow Aster for taking the time to do this interview with me.  Read on and get to know more about this wonderful author!

BBB: WOW! You’re first book! And what a wonderful one at that!  How does it feel to finally say you’ve done it? Has it even sunk in yet?

 WA: I don’t think it has sunk in yet! I’m so happy to have finished this book!

BBB: Sparrow’s character is so real.  Why do I get the feeling that Sparrow is lot like you?  

 WA: I did give her some of my weirdness :).  And then gave her a healthy dose of her own.

BBB:  Sparrow is an unconventional heroine in so many ways. I have my favorite qualities of hers which I will mention in my review. What are yours?

WA:  I like that she’s happy with who she is.

BBB: What inspired you to write TLS? Was it an idea? A memory?  A point you wanted to get across? Every author has a reason for writing their book. What was it for you?  

WA:  It’s a story of forgiveness. I wanted to tell a story of forgiveness that felt like ‘real time’ … not something that was all wrapped up instantly, but that felt more like real life.

BBB:  Can you walk me through your thought process when creating the main characters?  Why a coming of age story between a bright young girl and an older rock star?  

WA:  This is something I know a little bit about. 🙂

BBB: When starting out to write a book, how do you know what your sequencing will be, i.e., flashback vs. present vs. both? I would imagine it being more difficult to write a story in flashback.  

WA:  It was too hard for me to go back and forth in time, so I wrote the first chapter and then went back in the past and stayed there until I caught up. It’s just what worked easiest for me on this particular book. Scrivener is a great writing program to use if you want to just write and then later switch things around.

BBB:  How long did it take you to write this book?  How did you know that you were done and ready to share it with the world?

 WA:  I think it took around 4 months, but was cooking in my mind for years. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stop tweaking it.

BBB:  Is there a real life Ian?  A Tessa?  Are they that wonderful, spunky and funny?

 WA:  I have a real life Ian and Tessa. They’re even better.

BBB:  Ian’s Love Letters. Wow.  Do you also have an interest in writing song, prose, poetry? Did writing these notes and letters just come easily to you? It does seem like you have an interest in music as well. Can you tell us about it?

WA:   I love writing anything, but especially songs. It’s a whole different process to write a song versus writing a book, and I need both. A song can feel like an immediate release, at times. And a book can be an endurance test. Both are rewarding when you’re finished.

BBB:  So tell me, did you get as emotional while writing the book as I did while reading it? How emotional did you get?

 WA:   🙂 Yes, I probably did. For some reason, though, not until chapter 27.

BBB:  Tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? When and where are your best times to write?

WA:   I’ve always wanted to be a writer—for as long as I can remember, I have been writing. I just didn’t always feel I could deem myself ‘Writer’, but I’ve been playing the part my whole life. Journals, notebooks, scraps of paper, speaking into a recorder, endless documents. I am learning to write anywhere. I prefer the quiet and being alone to write, but sometimes, it has to be in the middle of chaos to actually finish something.

 BBB:  Do you intend to stick with this genre or are you willing to venture out into other types of fiction sometime in the future?

WA:  I have another book that will fall under more of a literary fiction genre.

BBB:  Any new projects we can look forward to in 2013? What three things are you keeping yourself busy with these days?

WA:   I’m not sure if I’ll publish anything besides True Love Story in 2013, but I will continue working on my latest book. I will be going to a couple of signings—hope to see you there! And third … hmm, well, I need to figure out how to balance keeping up with everything else in my life when these characters take over my mind. They sort of make it hard to get anything else done.

BBB:  Last but not least, do you have any advice you can give to us aspiring writers who more often than not, think we might not be good enough and yet have a pretty good story to tell?

WA:  The best advice I can give is to write, write, write. Never think you’re done learning. The more you write, the better you get. You hear these things, but it really is true. I found my first (unpublished) novel yesterday and can attest to this. Now I can see why those query letters were rejected! But if it’s what you love to do, you just have to keep writing no matter who is or isn’t going to read it.

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