This episode of Big Blend Radio's "Toast to The Arts" Podcast welcomes back debut novelist Tara Badstubner as her first novel, Every Room Remembers, arrives on September 25, 2026 from Sibylline Press. Watch the episode above on YouTube or listen and download the audio version on Podbean.
Tara shares the three experiences that sparked the story of SJ, a widow, and the ghost of her husband, Wyatt; how she wrote an imperfect marriage with a light touch; the animal signs that appear at pivotal moments; and the bluebird that keeps tapping at her own windows. She also reads a passage from the book and talks about book clubs, favorite rereads, writing habits, and advice for first-time novelists.
New to Tara? Meet her in our Getting to Know You interview.
About Every Room Remembers
Every Room Remembers follows SJ Monroe, an interior designer left grieving after the sudden death of her husband, Wyatt, and Wyatt himself, a ghost in a liminal state who must watch in silence as she mourns everything left unresolved in their marriage. The story begins in Sleepy Hollow, New York, then carries SJ home to Beaufort, South Carolina, where, with the company of Wyatt's dog, she takes on the restoration of the Osprey House, a beloved old relic of the town in sad decline. Grief, an imperfect marriage, and signs from the natural world, including a black snake, a fox, green beetles, and a Carolina wren, arrive at pivotal moments as both SJ and the house begin to change.
For fans of Remarkably Bright Creatures and the film A Ghost Story, Every Room Remembers (Sibylline Press, literary fiction) is out September 25, 2026 and is available for pre-order now. Paperback: $22.00 (ISBN 9798897409167). Ebook: $5.99 (ISBN 9798897409150). Tara wrote the book club discussion questions in the back of the book herself.
Praise for Every Room Remembers
One of the beauties of Tara Badstubner's deeply felt first novel is the author's trust in the tenacity of the human heart, even when it feels irredeemably broken.
This luminous debut is masterfully built and beautifully detailed, echoing with the fullness of life, the dark moments as well as the glorious light.
What does it take to move forward? Where does the strength to move past loss come from? This is a true-to-life story many readers will relate to. It is easy to read and hard to put down.
Conversation Highlights
Where the story began: Three experiences coincided: anxiety about losing loved ones during COVID, an accident across the street that took a young man's life and drew the whole town to mourn, and an extraordinary haunting while visiting a house in upstate New York with a group of writers.
Grief that rings true: The feedback that means the most to Tara comes from readers who have known extraordinary grief and say the book is true to their experience. Grief, she says, calls for treading lightly.
Novel vs. personal essay: Personal essay is harder, Tara says, because you can't hide behind a fictitious character. Her mentor Kate Moses puts it this way: no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
An imperfect marriage: SJ and Wyatt are in their forties. SJ has always wanted children, and Wyatt's struggle with severe mental illness creates deep tension between them. Tara wishes there were more conversation around mental illness, and it was a natural part of the story for her.
Signs, animals, and a bluebird: Tara researched how cultures around the world read animal symbolism. The first sign, a black snake, appears on page two. Then she tells the story of the bluebird that kept tapping at her windows at home and again at a lake house in North Carolina. She has her own interpretation.
The Osprey House and Beaufort: Tara researched Beaufort's historic architecture and its rum runner history, and she enjoyed the deep dive as much as SJ's restoration project.
Is it autobiographical? No, says Tara. SJ is a vehicle for exploring some tough emotions she was working through, and she was pleasantly surprised by where the writing led her.
A reading from the book: Tara reads a passage in which SJ recalls the night after meeting her newborn niece, when her hope of starting a family collides with Wyatt's fears.
Book clubs and reading through grief: Tara hopes book clubs will use her discussion questions. For grieving readers, she says, a book "demands nothing of you."
Rereads and a bookworm childhood: Tara's favorites include A.S. Byatt's Possession, Leif Enger, George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo, and Jane Austen's Persuasion around Christmas. As a child she found companionship in Eloise and Anne of Green Gables.
Writing habits and advice: Tara warms up with lyrical music, jots down a problem by her bedside and trusts her subconscious to work on it overnight, and made her biggest gains after finding a writing community that is serious about the work and kind in its critiques.
Connect with Tara Badstubner
Website: https://www.tarabadstubner.com/
Instagram: @tarabadstubner
Getting to Know You interview: Getting to Know Debut Novelist Tara Badstubner
About Tara Badstubner
Tara Badstubner lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, children, grandbabies, and several silly dogs, and is busy creating her next novel. Every Room Remembers, published by Sibylline Press, is her debut novel. A former Artist-in-Residence for Bookgardan, she comes from a family of women with a deep love of interior design, which shows in the settings she builds. When she steps away from the keyboard, she enjoys exploring new cities, bookstores, and art museums, cooking, and going to the ballet.