Barbara Linn Probst Introduces THE SOUND BETWEEN THE NOTES
By WU Advertiser | April 18, 2021 |
Dear WU community,
I’m so happy to share my new book with all of you, a book that’s had quite a journey …
The Sound Between the Notes is the story of a woman’s struggle with timeless questions—Who am I? Where do I belong?— told through the unique perspective of a musician. It’s also the story of an adoptee searching for what it means to be a daughter, a mother, and a sister.
I’m all these things. A mother by adoption. A daughter. A “serious amateur” pianist. But it took me several tries, over several years, to create a novel that would capture these powerful themes with the love, understanding, and respect they deserved. Although the book is launching after my debut, Queen of the Owls, it was written (and rewritten) before I wrote Queen of the Owls, and then rewritten again. What, finally, enabled me to write The Sound Between the Notes in the way it needed to be written? The secret: I had to become a better musician. I had to understand music more deeply before I could make the protagonist, Susannah, the person you’ll meet on the pages of the book.
I hope you’ll see what I mean when you read the book for yourself!
With gratitude,
Barbara
THE SOUND BETWEEN THE NOTES
What if you had a second chance at the very thing you thought you’d renounced forever?
Susannah’s career as a pianist has been on hold for sixteen years, ever since her son was born. But now, suddenly, she has a second chance. There’s just one problem: somewhere along the way, she lost the power and the magic. She needs to get them back. Now.
As her now-or-never concert draws near, Susannah is catapulted back to memories she’s never been able to purge—and forward, to choices she never thought she’d have to make.
Praise for The Sound Between the Notes
“The characters are well-drawn and the tight plot is just one agonizing twist after another … a tour de force steeped in suspense … A sensitive, astute exploration of artistic passion, family, and perseverance.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A great story that had me turning the pages nonstop, a tale of passion, identity, and art . . . The Sound Between the Notes is so beautiful, so lyrical, so musical that it was hard to put down …This is a wonderful story from a skillful writer, one that appeals strongly to the heart. It features awesome characters, a twisty plot, and gorgeous writing.” —Readers’ Favorite Reviews
“In her second novel, Barbara Linn Probst delivers yet another powerful story, balancing lyrical language with a skillfully paced plot to build a sensory-rich world that will delight those who loved Queen of the Owls and win countless new readers.” —Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author of Perennials
“Beautifully told, The Sound Between the Notes is a story of tragedy and triumph, of the push and pull of family, of the responsibility we feel to ourselves and those we love. Once I started the book, I couldn’t put it down until I reached the last gorgeously written note.” —Loretta Nyhan, author of The Other Family and Amazon charts bestseller Digging In
“In this spellbinding novel, Barbara Linn Probst examines how the truth of love transcends genetics even as strands of biology grip us. Once you begin this story, suffused with the majesty of music and the reveries of creation, the ‘gotta know’ will carry you all the way to the final note.” —Randy Susan Meyers, international best-selling author of Waisted, The Comfort of Lies, and Accidents of Marriage
“As soaring as the music it so lovingly describes, poignantly human, and relatable to anyone who’s ever wondered if it’s too late for their dream, The Sound Between the Notes is an exploration of our vulnerability to life’s timing and chance occurrences that influence our decisions, for better or worse. Probst creates her trademark intelligent suspense as Susannah, an adoptee trying for a mid-life resurrection of an abandoned music career, confronts lifelong questions of who she is.” —Ellen Notbohm, award-winning author of The River by Starlight
Listen to the opening page of The Sound Between the Notes below or—for our email readers—on YouTube.
Connect with me … I’d love to hear from you!
image courtesy Pixabay’s Alexas_Fotos
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Congratulations, Barbara. I’m looking forward to reading!!
Thanks, Susan! I hope you enjoy it!
This is wonderful, Barbara. Lifting up a first novel into its highest place shows your passion for the inspiration. It looks to me as if you are hitting all the right notes.
This is wonderful, Barbara. Lifting up a first novel to its highest place shows your passion for that original inspiration. It looks to me as if you are hitting all the right notes.
(I apologize if this comment appears twice. The first ‘submit’ vanished. Then again, a great day deserves many cheers.)
Thank you so much for your kind words—and you can say them as many times as you like!
Congratulations for a huge job well done. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Thank you so, so much! What a great community this is!
Congratulations! I’ll have to put that into my queue.
Thank you, Elizabeth! I hope you love it!
Big congratulations Barbara! Is that your voice on the video? Sounds good.
Yep, it is my voice! It was fun to make a few audiograms … there’s one more on Instagram, and another yet to come. And thank you so much for your kind words!