The waiting is over...

...because from 1st February 2012, Sarah's eagerly-awaited latest novel, The Two Week Wait (Picador, £12.99), is available nationwide. It's exclusively being sold through Waterstones for one month only, and is 25% off in store, or it's also on sale with free p&p through Waterstones online.

This giant pile is from Waterstones Brighton, where they ordered in 250 for her launch event on February 2nd.

So far reviews have been very favourable and Sarah's keeping her fingers crossed the buzz keeps growing!

Initial critical response and sales of One Moment, One Morning have been good in the USA, and the good news is that Sarah's publishers, St. Martin's Press, have just announced they have also bought her follow up title, The Two Week Wait.

Timings are yet to be confirmed, but the book will probably be published in the USA and Canada at the end of 2012.

Sarah Rayner will be in New York from 3-17 January 2012 to promote One Moment, One Morning. If you are interested in interviewing Sarah or having her at your bookgroup or store, please do get in touch. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today.

Life, moment by moment, in the aftermath of tragedy

By Liz Raftery,

Living Arts; The Boston Globe, 21 Dec 2012

It's fitting that the cover image of "One Moment, One Morning,'' the third novel from British author Sarah Rayner, is five teacups stacked on a saucer in the rain, because that's exactly what the book calls to mind - an intimate chat among girlfriends over a cup of tea on a dreary day.

The novel tells the story of three women bound by tragedy, after the husband of one suffers a massive fatal heart attack on board a morning commuter train to London. The incident causes each of the central characters to reevaluate her own life and come to terms with human fragility, both physical and emotional.

Rayner's spot-on portrayal of the stages of grieving allows readers to experience the emotional roller coaster of loss right along with the three protagonists. There's Karen, who's struggling with losing her husband and trying to stay strong for their two young children; Lou, a lesbian who feels uncomfortable being open about her sexuality with her family and co-workers; and Anna, a successful professional whose home life is often thrown into disarray by her alcoholic boyfriend (this story line is less melodramatic than it sounds). The secondary characters are equally interesting, but it's the three women, and their relationships with each other, that anchor the novel. Tellingly, Rayner has stuck with this main trio for her next book, "The Two Week Wait,'' slated for sale in the United Kingdom in February.

But while "One Moment, One Morning'' - already a bestseller in the United Kingdom, where it was released in 2010 - may find a natural audience with female readers, it exudes a quiet complexity, resisting categorization as chick lit. And contrary to what the unfortunately clichéd, Lifetime movie-esque title might lead readers to believe, Rayner's writing, though heartbreaking at times, never feels histrionic or sappy.

Though the novel spans only a week's time, sectioned by day and time, Rayner's use of flashbacks and subtle yet revealing details offers a textured sense of each woman's personality and invites investment practically from page one, making for a gripping read. It's likely only a matter of time before a film adaptation is in the works.

At the same time, Rayner explores the cruel truth that, even as one person's world collapses, the world around him or her carries on. She touches on workplace politics through Anna and Lou in particular, who prefer to keep their personal and professional lives separate. We're told of Anna that ``[i]f her colleagues think she has been off sick, it is fine by her. [I]t makes it easier. If someone is too kind, she might cry again.'' Rayner also captures the monotony of public transportation, exploring the unseen or unrealized connections between commuters on a busy train. (A minor twist along this theme comes as a surprise early on in the book.)

The book is rife with local color, and although American readers may not be familiar with many of the locales and customs Rayner mentions, the references are not alienating.

"One Moment, One Morning'' is essentially a dissection of the moments, be they life-altering or fleeting, that both define individuals and bind them to others. Rayner not only does a superb job of exploring this theme, but does so through three women who are so relatable and well-defined that it's a shame to part with them on the final page.

BOOK REVIEW

ONE MOMENT, ONE MORNING

By Sarah Rayner

St. Martin's Press

Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company
All Rights Reserved

 Dive into an illuminating novel on female friendship

US Marie Claire (December 2011) has picked One Moment, One Morning as this month's Must Read.

 'In the mood for something delicious?' they say. 'Then look no further than Sarah Rayner's big-hearted, utterly addictive paean to women's friendship.  

Set amid the funky seaside carnival charm of present-day Brighton, the novel (a runaway best seller in England) examines the lives of three very different women who are brought together unexpectedly when the husband of one suffers a fatal heart attack.

But while Rayner faithfully chronicles losing a loved one, she is equally dedicated to illustrating the profound ways in which friends help each other survive. Think Steel Magnolia's for Brits: tender... and  ultimately irresistable.'