A Tatterdemalion's Testimony by Sarah Vigue

11/14/2025

One Woman’s Story of Surviving Trauma to Discover Faith and Redemption

Debut author, Sarah Vigue introduces us to her testimony about being abused as a child, her involvement with magic and New Age practices, and how God rescued her from generational curses:
"There are things I need to tell you—or rather, things I’m not supposed to tell you."

Battered by trauma and surrounded by mental illness, Sarah didn’t expect God to come for her. Then He did. This unflinching Christian memoir traces a gritty path from skepticism to surrender—and the healing that followed.

In this gritty yet grace-filled testimony, Sarah shares her reluctant journey into faith. Skeptical of the church and terrified of the unseen, she steps into a spiritual world she never imagined—one that challenges her doubts, identity, and sense of belonging. Along the way, she discovers the God who sees, heals, and redeems even the most shattered places.

What You’ll Experience in A Tatterdemalion’s Testimony:

An honest account of trauma and mental illness that doesn’t minimize pain or hope.

A raw, unfiltered story of survival and the search for meaning.
How faith walked with, not around, the hardest moments.
A vulnerable journey from skepticism to belief, showing that doubts can be transformed.
A reminder that no one is too far gone to be remade by God’s grace.
Hope for anyone who has ever felt on the outside looking in.
Practical glimpses of healing, community, and God’s nearness in the dark.

This memoir is not a pretty picture to start. It is full of gritty details about the author's childhood and the extreme abuses she suffered throughout her life.
Her rescue and redemption began with a whisper that God is really good, not the killjoy so many think He is. The author shares many of her spiritual struggles in breaking free from the black magic embedded in the deceptive practices of New Age thought. We witness her defeats and victories that lead to her experiencing the abundant life promised in the Holy Bible to all.
The victory Sarah experiences is available to all.

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Tatterdemalions-Testimony-Surviving-Discover-Redemption
https://www.goodreads.com/-a-tatterdemalion-s-testimony-by-sarah-vigue
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/a-tatterdemalions-testimony-sarah-vigue

You can connect with the author:
https://sarahvigue.com
https://x.com/sarahlaceyvigue
https://www.facebook.com/sarahlvigue
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlvigue/
https://www.pinterest.com/slv1982
https://www.instagram.com/sarahvigue
http://www.tiktok.com/@sarahlvigue
https://www.youtube.com/@sarahvigue

Copyright © 2025 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

50 Comments

Sarah Vigue link

11/17/2025 10:33:46 am

Excellent review, thank you!

Mark

11/17/2025 10:50:32 am

Your story moved me quite a bit. Your journey into our Heavenly Father's heart is very powerful.

First question.

Please tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

11/17/2025 11:32:17 am

I first published a short story, very short, in 4th grade and learned that I could write at that point. Even though I loved reading and listening to books, writing nestled right along with them. Throughout school, writing speeches became how I would win big chunks of prize money and eventually scholarships.

After my school days were over, I worked at a place called Helium where I started digital marketing and sort of mentoring beginner writers. Really interesting, a lot of inmates had so much time on their hands they started writing in which resulted in a lot of content production about prison. The writing was really limited in form but highly entertaining as I learned how to smuggle not packs but cartons of cigarettes on someone’s person, how to smoke in prison, and even how to make prison wine. Hopefully I’ll never find myself incarcerated but if I do, I think I might be able to make it through!

Helping A.D.D. and autistic writers is also something that I have volunteered to do in the past with Inventive Labs and in church because I can understand how their minds work while realigning their focus where needed. Being part of a community is so helpful and enjoyable whether you’re serving or receiving.

While I enjoy my full-time job as a marketer, I’m glad I can choose to write stories in my free time because it can bring together my passion for helping others, making positive changes in the world, and focusing on subjects deep in my heart like loving on kids who have been through trauma.

11/17/2025 12:23:23 pm

The fourth grade is very cool! You were bit by the writing bug pretty early. Helping people to learn to write is wonderful also.

I learned to read when I was 5. A retired teacher lived behind us and I think she was grateful to have one more student. It didn't take long before I was reading simple books. My mom taught me to use a dictionary and I never stopped reading.

New questions.

What are your three favorite genres to read for pleasure?

Has writing changed the pleasure of reading for you?

11/17/2025 12:49:08 pm

What are your three favorite genres to read for pleasure?

Fiction, Memoir then Romance are my genres, but I’ll read anything good. I read a lot of Christian fiction, but I can’t pass up a good memoir and love stories are a precious part of my life and not just the zeitgeist.

Has writing changed the pleasure of reading for you?

No, I don't think so because I’m a reader first and foremost. I studied English and Comparative Literature in school, and it wasn’t enough to just major in them. I had to get two Bachelor’s because I simply love literature and storytelling. The only time reading has not been a pleasure was when I was so burnt out from my education that I couldn’t read anything for 6 months after. With working two full-time jobs in the summer, part-time during school and going for dual Bachelor’s degrees, that’s a time where I needed a break after.

Writing and studying writing have made me appreciate good storytelling all the more. Maybe I would be more critical if I didn’t have a brain affected by trauma and Inattentive A.D.D, but these challenges mean that I see things in a different way and that type of writing is my own style, so I look at others’ writing to see their style.

There’s a pondering that happens there more than a criticism, for me. There are books that I don’t prefer, I guess I just try to see their beauty or significance in some way. Some books are meant to be chewed only, some are meant to be swallowed, some are meant to be digested so each book has their place.

11/17/2025 02:20:10 pm

Some authors have told me that they find themselves analyzing whatever book they read, often without planning to do so. I certainly understand that. Like you, I am a reader first, but the spelling errors jump off the page at me. If I look long enough at a passage I begin to see other errors also. At my normal reading speed, only the spelling errors make themselves known blatantly.

Two degrees! Congratulations. I never finished college because I couldn't bring myself to take out loans. I tried for many years but gave up in my late forties. By then, I had two journeyman licenses in building trades. Each required years of classes in specialized knowledge.

I have my favorite genres also. There are books I avoid as well. Each book leaves an impression on me. Some for good and some otherwise.

New questions.

What did you believe about writing in the past that you now know is false?

Who was the first person to inspire you to write something to publish?

11/17/2025 02:36:12 pm

What did you believe about writing in the past that you now know is false?

I believed that you could write a book, submit it to an agent and get traditionally published without having to be entrepreneurial. So, I thought you could be just an artist/writer but you really need to be a marketer, advertiser, and have the mindset of a small business owner. You have to make it happen yourself because there’s such little money in book writing that you have to invest in yourself.

Who was the first person to inspire you to write something to publish?

For this book, it was Tim Tebow. I wrote a thank you letter to Tim for his influence in my life. When I realized it was long-form and that I couldn’t tell him why his impact was so positive without showing him where I had been and what my origins were, I did two things: I struggled with God (realized I was rebelling against His support of this project and stopped) and decided to create a book length version for Tim. After that project, I felt like I had the ability to write a public facing book. A few rewrites later and you have, “A Tatterdemalion’s Testimony.”

I think publishing before this like with short stories, which I also love, came from an internal desire coupled with teachers/professors offering encouragement. Getting encouragement from someone “in the know” is so powerful. If THEY think you have talent, maybe you just might!

11/17/2025 05:28:10 pm

That was a rude awakening from a romantic dream that nearly every first-time author experiences. It is very discouraging and many authors give up writing when they hit that wall. There are many other authors that persist. They don't give up and submit their book to many agents or publishers dozens of times or even more. Then there are those who realize that if their book is going to be published it is up to them.

You are correct. A self-published author is the proud owner of a small business. Truth be told, almost every author is a small business owner. The traditional or small publisher will do very little to promote the book in nearly every instance unless the author is famous like King, Rowlilng or Patterson. The traditional publishing market has been contracting for years, there are only four or five big publishers left in America. Operating on the slimmest of margins, most publishers are only one or two failure-to-sell books from bankruptcy.

I have recommended to writers that short story writing contests, especially those that provide feedback from the judges, can help a writer improve their writing skills. I do have a warning, there are a lot of shady contests out there. Some want to extract as much as they can from your wallet, others want to steal your intellectual property. Here is a copy-and-paste link about those things: Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests. You can also use the search box below to find the link. There are other blogs I have links to on my Highly Regarded Blogs page.

New questions.

Will you keep writing in the memoir genre or will you branch out?

Have you ever seen a UFO or UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

11/18/2025 03:18:12 pm

Will you keep writing in the memoir genre or will you branch out?

I will keep writing memoir but for the next book God has put on my heart, I think it will be fiction and a love story. I'm 1/3 through a Christian pinocchio type of story but I may put that fantasy fiction down for the love story because the love story is really tugging at my heart.

Have you ever seen a UFO or UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

Well there's a lot of things I can't identify that I see haha! Yes I've seen some of these weird type things but I don't chalk it up to alien activity but something demonic trying to do something negative.

11/18/2025 04:10:48 pm

Keep writing. The Holy Spirit will guide you.

I think a lot of the UFO stuff is demonic in nature. Dr. Clifford Wilson wrote an excellent book covering that angle, "Crash Go The Chariots."

New questions.

Have you ever seen a cryptid, an animal unknown to modern zoologists, or found evidence of one?

How many drafts did your book go through before publishing?

11/19/2025 10:06:24 am

Have you ever seen a cryptid, an animal unknown to modern zoologists, or found evidence of one?
No, I don’t think so but that would certainly be interesting! I think horseshoe crabs are pretty amazing looking.

How many drafts did your book go through before publishing?
Ah ha ha SO many! I had the draft that I wrote to Tim Tebow that I bound in a hardcover and made a gate panel with a chain and padlock on the cover, we will count that as 1 even though that was so organic and had drafts. After that I realized what I had could be a book and submitted it to an editor so there were a couple drafts there. She wasn’t a developmental editor but more of a copyeditor it turns out so after her, I needed to get another editor. That editor gave me a critique that was cruel and so hurtful and damaging I put the book away for a few years even though I tried to sift through her nasty comments to complete a draft. She wrote things like, “You seem like an awful human being. I feel slimed having to read your writing. You’re a mean girl. The meanest of mean. It seems like you are bragging about all the men who hit on you but are saying it’s sexual harassment. It’s not that I don’t believe you’ve experienced trauma but…” It took some counselors, prayer and healing to start writing again and then I trudged through another draft or two so I would say the book you have before you, A Tatterdemalion’s Testimony, is the 3rd book I’ve written though there are countless drafts.

11/19/2025 10:51:42 am

Yes, horseshoe crabs look quite alien.

Those comments were anything but helpful. The spirit behind those comments sounds more like they were trying to derail you from telling your story. Your readers are glad you persevered.

New questions.

Is there anything unconventional about your writing technique?

Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a copy-and-paste link if appropriate.

11/19/2025 11:09:03 am

Thank you for your encouragement! I find I still need that because the criticism was so harsh. It’s one thing when someone gives you constructive or even a little harsh criticism, but when it’s outright brutal it’s too much to handle. And when it’s woven throughout an editing job, you can’t avoid the nasty parts, but stumble upon them and get wounded again so THANK YOU for saying that.

For your other questions:

Is there anything unconventional about my writing technique?

Yes, I write what I feel is not just in my heart but in my spirit which is why the next book will be what I work on instead of the book that’s 1/3 written. I do know the market and keep my finger on the zeitgeist pulse it’s just that in the end I write out of a sense of purpose and good storytelling as opposed to making money. I want to touch hearts and share that bond with people.

The other unconventional thing is I pray before writing and it’s usually a connected prayer where I can feel it though sometimes it’s just short and sweet because I need God’s help. However, I need the Jesus’s Holy Spirit as my writing partner so when I am not doing a good job writing from my own self, He is covering me.

Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a copy-and-paste link if appropriate.

https://damonza.com/ did my cover but they are expensive and I’ve heard and see equally good results from getcovers.com and a few others so don’t feel you have to shell out big bucks your first go round. Fiction especially can be cheaper than the path I took. I was doing a lot of research on what memoir covers needed to look like and what was on trend so I could follow the trend but also stick out of the norm, as well and send sample of covers I liked and what I liked about them. Then I send kind of a design brief, what I was hoping to get and that makes all the difference so if you go with an individual designer, that’s okay just come prepared and that will help. Oh and pray over the process!

11/19/2025 01:32:34 pm

You are welcome.

Your writing process and undergirding it with prayer makes a lot of sense to me. We have responsibilties as Followers of Jesus to represent the Father on earth. We are now the body of Jesus on earth and the Holy Spirit keeps us connected to the Father's heart and mind. Our lives are supposed to be a living gospel of Heavenly Truth but most of us don't get the opportunity to display so many different aspects of our lives including the good and the bad. You have done exemplary and are worthy of the Father's pride.

I love the cover! Watercolors have been a favorite medium of artistic expression for many years.

New questions.

How many drafts did the cover go through?

At first glance, the cover seems obvious, but I frequently miss a detail or two. What do the elements on the cover represent?

11/19/2025 03:34:58 pm

Thank you and yes I like the watercolors too. That’s exactly why I didn’t have to have more than two rounds of the cover draft because I received the first draft, which supplied 2 different options, and said to create something similar but more grown up and possibly using watercolors to bring in an artistic flare. I love working with designers.

The profile of the woman is great because it’s feminine but there’s no detail so you can pinpoint who it is. The alternative cover option for it was the picture of a woman but the hard part about memoir is that you either want the author then or you maybe want to go with a childhood photo or a symbol of the author’s life. The silhouette works perfectly for representing my story without having to show my picture, a no-name, non-celebrity.

The nature in the scene is perfect because I’m a big nature girl and the expansive, colorful shot of nature I think brings out a natural and spiritual element to the book. There’s a kind of solitude in it too as there are no people figures in the frame. I really love the cover!

11/19/2025 04:33:29 pm

The cover is pretty unique. I don't recall seeing one very similar anytime recently. Thank you for explaining all the parts.

New questions.

Was it hard to come up with the title?

What was the process?

11/19/2025 05:46:14 pm

The title changed with each iteration. For the longest time, the title was "Lost and Found" and remained that way with the subtitle as "A Tatterdemalion's Testimony" because I felt like I had been something discarded in the Lost & Found. An agent told me that she has already signed a book with that name and that it might seem too much like fiction so I went back to the drawing board.

A tatterdemalion is such a unique word. I'm such a unique person. Kids were always telling me how weird I was growing up, especially since I moved a lot from one very different place to another so I've learned to try and love weird things plus having Inattentive A.D.D. attracts me to unique things...add in a love of words and naturally I would develop an affinity for the word "tatterdemalion."

Yes it's hard to spell and long to type but I think it really captures the essence of the ragamuffin I write about in my Christian testimony. Faith based books don't have to be oversimplified, but can challenge the norm so hopefully my title does that.

11/19/2025 06:54:35 pm

I was surprised when I saw the title of your book because I hadn't seen that lovely word in years. It doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as insalubrious morass but it is a wonderful word nonetheless. The Ts give the word a hard edge and that hints at the meaning in a sly way.

Your life was hard in ways obvious and inobvious. The spiritual side was devastating until you found your savior.

You mentioned inattentive ADD. I had to look that up and I am glad I did because it presents itself differently for women than men. I took a test online more than 20 years ago and it said I had ADHD. I participated in a study testing if the drugs for kids would help adults. It didn't help me at all. I am thankful for that because I think it might have affected my ability to hyper-focus on proofreading and things like that.

New questions.

Did you use real names of the people in your life for your memoir?

If you didn't, how did you pick the substitute names? Don't reveal anything that shouldn't be revealed.

11/19/2025 09:29:34 pm

I did use substitute names for a while, and I even used a pen name for myself. However, I was told by experts that you really just need to use real names because nowadays anyone can find out who you are. So I scrap all the names that I had created to symbolize people and went with their real names.

I find it an honor that people trusted me with their stories but I did also try to focus on telling other peoples’ stories only as they intertwine with my own, leaving them the ability to tell their own stories when, and if, they choose.

11/20/2025 10:37:48 am

That makes sense. Many authors use pen names for different reasons.

New questions.

Had you written and published any short stories before writing your book?

Which did you publish first, short stories or novels?

11/20/2025 10:40:14 am

Yes I started off with speeches, poetry, short stories. I think I prefer those actually!

11/20/2025 02:11:41 pm

Short stories are a great way to improve writing skill. Contests are useful on multiple levels. I have recommended to writers that short story writing contests, especially those that provide feedback from the judges, can help a writer improve their writing skills. I do have a warning, there are a lot of shady contests out there. Some want to extract as much as they can from your wallet, others want to steal your intellectual property. Here is a copy-and-paste link about those things: Beware Bogus Writing Contests! Look for These 8 Red Flags. https://annerallen.com/2019/05/beware-bogus-writing-contests. You can also use the search box below to find the link. There are other blogs I have links to on my Highly Regarded Blogs page.

New question.

If so, how long had you been writing before the first short story was published?

11/20/2025 03:36:18 pm

A few years and I was still in school. I've been writing for a looooong time. :-) I absolutely love the idea of people writing short stories though because it is a way to tighten up your long form writing and it's so enjoyable to read short stories.

11/20/2025 04:41:37 pm

You are right about short stories on both counts. They can be very satisfying to read.

New question.

What marketing strategy, if any, has had an immediate impact on your daily sales?

Will that strategy work again?

11/21/2025 10:38:08 am

I think taking advantage of promotional opportunities has been the most effective. My goal for this book is exposure and getting free copies into as many hands as possible. I'm hoping I'll have many people reading the book and writing reviews as a result of promotional opportunities. I think that strategy is repeatable, it's just not ideal for actual sales. Don't give away things for free if you want actual sales BUT I'm looking at this book as an investment in my writing future. So I think this strategy works for now.

11/21/2025 01:02:36 pm

Marketing and promoting your book are essential in the current publishing environment. Amazon publishes upwards of two million books a year. It takes a lot of marketing work for people to notice your book amid the flood.

Giving a book away can stimulate interest as an introduction to your writing. It might be more effective when you have more than one book on the shelf.

One of my favorite blogs is about pursuing the local author angle. How to be a marketing star right where you live. A copy-and-paste link or search the title in the search box below: https://annerallen.com/2019/08/hometown-book-marketing/

I would add a few tips, seek out literature teachers at the high school and college level to share in their class and there might be a club in the school. Local newspapers are a good resource for an interview as well as local cable access. There might also be a broadcast arts curriculum and/or a club at the high school and college level. Have some questions ready to hand the interviewer if they seem uncertain.

Senior centers are another good possibility and they usually welcome any sort of activity like that. Contact the events director.

If there are tourist destinations try and place your books with the local author angle. Museums, gift stores, motels, hotels, tourist attractions are all possibilities. Keep a box of books in your trunk. Get a counter-top holder for a few books, paste a picture of the cover on the holder behind the books and put re-ordering information on the back of the holder.

Consider renting a table at a comic convention, county fair, farmer's market or a flea market. Have free swag to hand out such as a bookmark and sell mugs or posters. There are so many ways to be the 'local author' I doubt I have exhausted the list of possibilities.

New questions.

Is there a marketing strategy you have tried and it failed?

Do you know why it failed?

11/21/2025 10:20:34 pm

The only marketing strategy that I tried and felt failed is the tactic of using King Sumo. Giving away free books to my social media following did not pan out very well. It didn’t matter if it was a giveaway about something, Christian and angelic or memoir related, people were not interested. I’m not really sure why it didn’t work, but people didn’t really want hardcover books I guess.

11/22/2025 08:25:44 am

Some people love physical books, others prefer ebooks. I fall into the latter category for practical reasons. I have moved several times in the last 5 years and I don't have room for very many physical books any more. I love them but practicality wins.

New questions.

Have you done any ghostwriting?

If not, would you try it if someone wanted to hire you?

11/22/2025 01:16:39 pm

I have done some ghost writing when I worked for helium.com which is now defunct. We would write excerpts and articles for different authors, and even for some celebrities. For example, Michael Jordan had a book coming out that was a recipe book, and he needed to fill it with recipes that he liked. So I came up with one that I thought he might pick and tied in some possible family memories that could connect to it. I don’t know if my recipe got picked or not I can’t remember because the way the system was for that project was different for that the standard ranking and select system because it was for a celebrity.

I like it because it’s interesting work. When I do fundraising marketing, I feel like I’m doing ghost writing, because you are often taking a pre-existing story and re-purposing the content for different channels and adding onto it, so you can have enough long-form content with which to work. It takes an imagination while still being anchored in the truth.

11/22/2025 02:59:53 pm

Quite interesting. That is a side of ghost writing I didn't think about.

When I think about ghost writing I think about a celebrity's story and the subtitle might be "As Told to...". That way the ghost writer gets some recognition.

New questions.

How does an author create a ghostwriting business?

How hard is it to find clients?

11/22/2025 03:59:12 pm

I think to start a ghost writing business, you have to be very entrepreneurial and not mind doing a lot of consulting work and writing for freelance. You need to be able to get yourself out there that way people know to look for you, so I think you have to also be an editor and a bit of a self promoting person.

11/22/2025 04:13:05 pm

A person would certainly have to be a self-starter and have the skills and attributes you mentioned.

On my X page, I have lists of people I have found on X who offer different services to authors. Ghost writing is one of the least populated lists, if I recall correctly.

Sometimes a writer has to wear several hats to have income flowing in and ghost writing is one possiblility. Here is another copy-and-paste link about alternate writing careers or hit the search box at the bottom of the page.
https://www.writingforward.com/creative-writing/creative-writing-careers

New questions.

Have you ever written any fan fiction?

If so, what storyline were you mimicking or following?

11/22/2025 04:32:49 pm

No, but I did see some issues with Pinocchio and decided to write a Christian version of it. But it’s turned into an entirely different storyline that really has no comparison to Pinocchio. I guess I just have to write where the story leads me.

11/22/2025 05:11:06 pm

Inspiration can come from so many different places in real life or imaginary life. Sometimes all it takes is a glance from a stranger or a bit from a conversation.

New questions.

What do you think of the current controversy regarding AI, Artificial Intelligence and books?

Did you use AI in any of your planning, writing or editing for your books? I am not including research in this question because most of the major search engines have embedded AI in the browser.

11/22/2025 06:13:28 pm

I can see why AI is so controversial. There was no AI used in my book not even for editing, because at the beginning of the year, the AI wasn’t good enough to do the editing. I will continue to use a professional editor, but I can see maybe using AI for research or for marketing purposes. I know a lot of books on Amazon are written by AI now. I don’t like that because there’s no heart and soul into that writing. I guess if someone use AI, I wanted to make sure that it’s accurate information and that it’s not plagiarized. How do you think you have to be so careful with AI right now. Even though I write memoir, and I don’t know how you could use AI to write that because it would be an outright lie to use AI in that situation, I think it’s kind of iffy to use it for fiction as well. Maybe in the future, it can be used with a lot of editing… that’s tough.

11/22/2025 06:38:08 pm

Research and putting together marketing ideas are good uses for AI, probably. If the research is critical in some way then it needs to be verified apart from AI because AI has been known to give incorrect information. It can lie or even hallucinate.

I want to find one of the AI-written books on Amazon. I want to read it and see how bad it is. I also expect to find lots of errors because 95% of the books published on Amazon have spelling errors. I know because I find spelling errors in nearly every book I read from Amazon.

New questions.

Have you encountered a troll reviewing one of your books?

How did you handle it?

11/22/2025 07:35:45 pm

Yes, actually I had a troll before I publish the book “A Tatterdemalion’s Testimony.” On Goodreads, there was a one star review before the book was even released. Goodreads allows that, and you’re not supposed to contact them, the reviewer, for any reason. Goodreads highly recommends you do not contact them even to ask why they gave you the rating. Seems unfair but there’s really nothing you can do about it. I guess everyone has trolls, right?

11/22/2025 07:54:47 pm

Trolls are very common. Most of the time they seem to be troublemakers, happy to make another person feel bad. Occasionally, the person might be a competitor or another author hoping to gain a benfit for their book. I think no contact is best in most cases. When they leave an actual review, it is obvious to average people, most of the time, that the troll didn't even read the book. The troll looks silly in the eyes of normal people.

I tell authors that the bad review validates the good reviews. The bad review proves that the good reviews are not just from family and friends.

New questions.

What was the first paying job you worked as a kid?

How old were you?

11/22/2025 08:07:59 pm

I babysat when I was younger like 12 for cash, but the first official job besides working with hay on a farm, berry picking or babysitting was walking at a McDonald’s when I was 16 & 17. There was so much grease on the floor that the grease actually ate a hole through the rubber of my sneaker soles. From there I went to work as a waitress at a Friendly’s restaurant where I also directed traffic during the summertime at concert venues. I like working in marketing much more!

11/23/2025 08:21:49 am

We have some of those jopbs in common. I watched the three young children of a neighbor when I was 12 also. I had a Red Cross certificate in first aid for children. I graduated to picking strawberries and beans in the summertime. That is where my early job experiences diverge from yours. I never worked in fast food.

I found retail to be interesting, I liked helping people solve their problems by finding what met their need the best.

New questions.

Have you done any public speaking?

If so, will you be doing more in the future?

11/23/2025 01:04:48 pm

Recently, I spoke at my church before I did the book launch where I wrote and read a 15 minute my testimony. I absolutely love helping people, but public speaking is very difficult for me. I am such a fast talker and it’s hard for me to stop that. Even when I read it’s very fast so the feedback was very good, but I need to slow down when talking to an older audience. Haha! Story of my life.

I do need to find some book reviewers and media outlets who want me to do some public speaking and some more interviews it’s just that I have a full-time job and my mom has a terminal illness (though she’s doing well, miraculously) so I’m trying to squeeze in learning how to promote a book while doing normal life.

I appreciate this interview so much because I feel like it’s a good healthy transition into doing more book promotion work. Plus it’s Thanksgiving time and Christmas will be here soon so it is a very busy season, isn’t it?!

11/23/2025 02:11:23 pm

When you are nervous I bet you talk even faster. Stage fright can make that happen easily.

I never thought my speech impediment would be useful. All during my public school years I stammered a lot. It was worse when I was nervous, which was almost all the time. After high school, I learned that I could eliminate the stammer before it started if I talked slower because I could feel the tension building up in my mouth and tongue. Sometimes a long pause of several seconds was necessary to let the tension dissolve. I trained myself over years to talk slower. I have spoken in public a number of times and it has gone well. I still get nervous or excited but I channel that energy into passion when speaking before a group. I still talk slower than normal but my speaking has been successful each time. Especially if you measure success because people aren't shouting at you to talk faster! ;-) Seriously, people will wait, they will. If they want to hear what you have to say, they will wait.

I have lists of people who provide services to authors on my X page. Click on the three dots under the banner picture to find the lists. Book reviewers and book promoters are included among other services.

I have asked many authors these questions and you might find some of their answers useful.

I am glad to hear your mother is experiencing miracles.

New questions.

Have you entered any writing contests?

Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

11/23/2025 02:18:12 pm

Recently, I entered a writing contest for a short story, and I made it to the final round, but did not win. It had a special battle process to it, and so I made it to the final battle but it’s hard to describe what that means in terms of success. I looked at it as something positive because it’s a short story, 900 words in fact. I guess it’s kind of like when your teacher gives you a B or B+.

When I enter speech writing contests or essays, I place very well in those, but I tend to not do that because I’m usually busy working and writing for my full-time job. Other than 900 word short story, I have not entered any writing competitions or contests recently.

And thank you yes, I will check out your website for resources!

11/23/2025 03:08:51 pm

That is definitely a win. Congratulations. Real life does inhibit our virtual life at times. First things first.

I do have lots of resources for authors on my website with guest blogs, blog links and more than 200 author interviews. I was referring to my X page for the lists of book reviewers and book promoters. Check their requirements carefully as some only do certain genres.

New questions.

Among present or past family members and friends, how many are or have been writers or authors?

Is there anyone you know, who might claim you as their inspiration for writing?

11/23/2025 05:03:57 pm

Very few of my friends are actual writer of books. I have worked with actual writers who are copywriters and they’re very good at writing but most of them have not written full length books. In my family, there are no real writers and no one who has studied the craft of writing. At my father’s funeral, my brother did a wonderful job at writing his eulogy, as did my sister, but my brother has some latent abilities he lets out on the rare occasion.

A few people have come out to me since the publishing of ”A Tatterdemalion’s Testimony and said that they want to write a book, but i’m sure I’m not inspiring anyone because I tell them to really consider that. It’s so hard to write a good book, you have to shell out some money for an editor and you need to pick out some good editors at that! It’s not an intuitive process and if you turn around and write memoir like I did it has its own studying that you need to do and you need to be careful not to tell too much of other people’s stories. You do it because you want to help people and because you want to tell a good story, you know like you do it for the love of the game. Otherwise, I would say, just journal or write something and don’t publish just have it bound & pass it around to loved ones. There is just so much for the average person to consider. It’s not that I don’t want to motivate people, I just want to protect them from making mistakes or being taken advantage of. I mean, just to open an LLC in Massachusetts cost $500 so that you don’t get harassed by copyright trolls and that’s apparently something needed even when you already have a copyright for your book. There is writing for pleasure and then there is writing for business…

11/24/2025 01:12:16 pm

You gave them good advice. I am glad you didn't sugarcoat it.

A book that is easy to read is the result of a lot of hard writing. Every writer knows that.

Millions of people dream of getting rich by writing a book without any idea how to write. Some of them even start writing, but most of them don't get past a chapter or two, especially if they don't have a clear picture of the story in their mind.

Last questions.

I noticed that your book is in Kindle Unlimited. How is that working out for you?

Why did you choose that exclusive venue?

11/24/2025 01:18:38 pm

This is my first full-length book and my first foray into this world so I wanted to keep it simple. Baby steps to test the waters and keep from getting overwhelmed. I don't mind that since there's enough going on in my life, as it is.

11/24/2025 07:20:36 pm

That makes a lot of sense. You will be bouncing back and forth from running to baby steps over and over because there are so many different avenues to explore to market and promote your book and the future books also. Some things like Amazon or Facebook ads you have to keep a close eye on because the major sales platforms keep adjusting the algorithms and your results will vary a lot. The platform will always make money. As soon as you can, start selling your books on your website to avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket.

Sarah, I am so grateful that you hired me to promote your book. It's a powerful story and quite well written. I have enjoyed our chat tremendously.

Until next time, keep on writing.

Sarah Vigur link

11/24/2025 07:47:10 pm

Thank you so much for your help. You’ve been helpful and entertaining while sharing wisdom infused guidance so I’m grateful! Blessings to you and your family and thank you for your willingness to do this!

A Tatterdemalion's Testimony by Sarah Vigue

One Woman’s Story of Surviving Trauma to Discover Faith and Redemption

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