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Courageous Versions of Myself
Silver Lady follows a luxury houseboat pilot post-Great Collapse as she navigates downriver, her journey turning into something far beyond a delivery job. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
I’ve often written about characters who are more courageous versions of myself. Like many, the pandemic made me feel claustrophobic and anxious. I thought about where I would go and what I would do, had I the means to escape the confines of my home. For a few years, I’d been thinking about taking a houseboat ride down the Mississippi river. My adult daughter—to this day—never leaves her home unless she’s wearing a mask. I wanted to show her how it would be possible to take a vacation even if society were collapsing at an alarming rate.
Cassie is an older protagonist whose strength comes from observation rather than heroics. What drew you to telling this story through her perspective?
Since Cassie’s world is full of the magical and dreamlike, I thought it important to make her as realistic as possible. Seeing the world she encounters through my eyes was a little easier for me to suspend disbelief than if I’d created a main character from scratch. I kept thinking about what it would be like if I was a houseboat captain and my probable reactions to others, as well as to the ever-shifting world. In many ways, writing this book was like controlled dreaming.
Despite the backdrop of societal collapse, the novel never feels entirely bleak. How important was it for you to leave room for beauty, kindness, and wonder amid the uncertainty?
Through most of my life’s difficulties, I’ve always been an optimist. Seeing beauty and kindness, and feeling a sense of awe or wonder, is as natural for me as breathing. Not always, but most of the time.
If readers finish Silver Lady carrying one idea or emotion with them, what do you hope lingers after they reach the final page?
Hope! My message for readers is to not give up on life, even when feeling out of control and like the nightmarish aspects of life are getting the upper hand. I’ve just finished writing a sequel about Cassie’s return trip upstream. Its message will be a little different, but Cassie will still be at the helm!
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A few years into the future, society is unraveling. Violence is rising. The aftermath of a devastating pandemic still lingers. And across the country, a phenomenon known only as the Vanishing is causing people and works of art to disappear without explanation.
Cassie Navrone, a widowed retired teacher with silver braids and a restless spirit, takes a job piloting a luxury houseboat called the Silver Lady downriver to its owner. What begins as a long-awaited escape soon becomes something stranger: a journey through a world tilting out of balance.
On board are five fellow travelers—artists, poets, lovers, and drifters—each carrying private griefs, secrets, and reasons for boarding the boat. As the river unfolds, so do eerie landscapes, dreamlike encounters, unsettling towns, pirates, storms, and glimpses of another reality just beyond the visible one.
But as the voyage grows more surreal, Cassie must do more than keep the boat afloat. She must hold together a fragile crew, face the life she left behind, and decide whether the river is carrying them toward safety, transformation…or something they may never fully understand.
Lyrical, strange, and deeply human, Silver Lady is a magical realism novel about survival, reinvention, art, and the mystery waiting around the next bend.
“Sage has crafted a unique near-future, post-pandemic world where Art is vanishing and the world is chaotic. The Silver Lady drifts downriver in a dreamlike state, slipping through time and reality, past and present, in a world with ever-changing rules, making you question what is real…” —Lena Gibson, author of The Edge of Life: Love and Survival During the Apocalypse
Silver Lady: Travels Along the River Road
Silver Lady, by Susan E. Sage, is a literary work of magical realism with dystopian and protopian elements, following Cassie Navrone as she pilots a luxury houseboat downriver in the near future after the Great Collapse and the mysterious Vanishing. Art, people, places, and memory itself seem unstable, and Cassie’s journey with a small group of passengers becomes far more than a delivery job. It turns into a strange, searching voyage through grief, fear, beauty, connection, and the question of what is worth saving when the world no longer follows familiar rules.
What I appreciated most about the book is how personal it feels. Cassie’s voice has a warm, wandering quality, and I often felt as if I were sitting across from her while she tried to make sense of each odd bend in the river. The captain’s log format works well because it lets the story move between daily details and larger reflections without feeling stiff. A meal, a storm, a disappearing poem, a troubling town, a strange animal encounter, and a memory of love can all sit beside each other in the same current. That looseness may not appeal to readers who want a tight, plot-driven dystopian novel, but for me, it gave the book its emotional texture. It feels less like a race toward answers and more like drifting through a world where answers keep changing shape.
Sage makes some bold choices, especially in the way she blends social collapse with wonder. The book is candid about violence, isolation, illness, and cultural fear, but it does not sink into despair. That is where the protopian side of the story comes through. Cassie isn’t trying to save the world in some grand, heroic way. She’s simply refusing to look away. She notices people. She mourns what disappears. She keeps moving. I liked that the magical realism is not treated as a puzzle to be solved neatly. The sentience of the Silver Lady, the unstable towns, the vanishing art, and the river’s almost spiritual pull all ask the reader to accept mystery as part of the experience. The book is about living when the ground, or in this case, the water, refuses to stay still.
I would recommend Silver Lady to readers who enjoy reflective literary fiction, magical realism, and softer dystopian stories that care more about inner change than spectacle. It will especially appeal to those who like character-driven journeys, older protagonists, symbolic landscapes, and books that leave room for wonder. This is a thoughtful novel that stays engaging because its strange moments and underlying tension give the journey real weight.
Pages: 235 | ASIN : B0DH9CJGXM
Their Tragic Passion
In Dancing in the Ring, you highlighted the story of a couple in 1920s and 30s Detroit who became known for their fierce commitment to social justice as they gained fame in dance halls and the boxing ring. What inspired you to write this story?
The story of my great aunt and uncle was one that my father shared quite often when I was growing up. Every time I heard it, or some part of it, I was amazed by these two relatives whom I had never met. While my father wasn’t the best storyteller, he talked about them with such passion that I could easily envision them. When I was younger, I probably romanticized Kate and Bob—their tragic passion. My father always encouraged me to write about them. I never thought I would until a few years ago. At that time, I had several vivid dreams about them, as well as my paternal grandparents. This was before I gave serious thought to writing the book. I guess you could say, the dreams inspired me, as well. As I was doing research for the book I was struck by their commitment to social justice and knew I wanted to incorporate it into the book. I didn’t want it to be simply their romantic courtship followed by their difficult marriage. Their lives were so much more than that. I was also inspired because I felt a need to honor their short lives.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
I did a fair amount of research. I spent several months poring through family notes, photos, a few newspaper articles, and my father’s written account. I had a fair amount of information about my great uncle, but less about my aunt. There was very little I could find online, though I did find a few photos, as well as her college yearbook and some about his boxing career. While most of the characters were based on real people, some were not. I had no choice but to fill in the gaps with my imagination. Researching Detroit history online, as well as in a few books, helped me visualize the era. I spent close to a year on research, and almost two years writing the book. I worked from extensive notes and more of an outline than I usually do.
Were there any characters that you especially enjoyed writing for?
I especially enjoyed writing about Bob because I had more information about the Sage side of the family. Piecing it together made me feel like a sleuth. And yet I loved imagining what Kate must have been like, too. Since her family members were completely fictitious, I worried that it would be obvious. I wasn’t sure I could effectively fill in all the gaps. From the feedback I’ve received, I think I managed to do so. Another character I had a lot of fun writing about was Nana, Bob’s mother, who was my great-grandmother.
Can we look forward to more historical fiction from you soon? What are you currently working on?
This was my first attempt at writing historical fiction. I do have an idea for another one, but I’ve only written preliminary notes. My latest book will be published by Black Rose Writing this December. It’s a madcap river trip set in the 2030s. Magic Realism/Dystopian fiction probably best describes the novel’s genre. I’m currently working on a sequel.
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Dancing in the Ring
Dancing in the Ring, by Susan E. Sage, is a captivating historical fiction novel that draws inspiration from the true story of the author’s great aunt and uncle. Sage skillfully fills in the gaps of historical records with imaginative fiction, creating a rich tapestry that merges the gritty world of 1920s and 30s Detroit with an intimate family saga. Her meticulous research and vivid storytelling vividly bring this era to life, highlighting the economic struggles and societal challenges of the Great Depression while delving into the multifaceted lives of her characters. The protagonist, Catherine McIntosh, is a bright and determined young woman with aspirations in the legal field. Unwilling to conform to the traditional roles of wife and mother, she falls for the charismatic Bob Sage, who is funding his law school education through boxing winnings.
Sage’s strength as a writer shines through in her character development. Writing about real people, she portrays them with authentic flaws, making them deeply intriguing and relatable. Catherine’s ambition and sharp intellect are counterbalanced by her inner turmoil, while Robert’s caring and passionate nature is often marred by his volatile temper. Their relationship is a rollercoaster as they chase their careers and indulge in the excesses of the 1920s, only to confront the harsh realities of the Depression.
This book is not just a love story about two imperfectly perfect individuals; it also serves as a poignant social commentary on the lives of women during that era. Sage addresses issues such as employment and education discrimination, birth control, financial independence, and gender double standards. Her thorough research also allows her to explore the prevalent racial discrimination against black people and the persecution of the LGBTQ+ community during that time.
Dancing in the Ring is a masterfully written novel that offers both an engaging narrative and a thoughtful exploration of the societal issues of the early 20th century. Sage’s ability to intertwine historical context with deeply personal stories makes this book a must-read for fans of historical fiction and anyone interested in the complexities of human relationships and social justice.
Pages: 351 | ASIN : B0C2BC9CF2
