Book Stop Corner

Susan: People often ask me where I get the ideas for my books. Are these works of fiction really cleverly-disguised accounts of the events of my life? And the answer is yes – and no. It’s yes because some of the events in my books do reflect things that have happened in my life. Most writers, it turns out, write about what they know. They write about what they have experienced. And the answer is no because I’m not writing about my life in particular. Let me give you an example: In my first novel, The Good Life, I write about a middle-aged woman, who lives in the Midwest and is married to the CEO of a chemical company. Well, I’m middle aged. I lived in the Midwest for six years. And my husband worked for a chemical company. He was not, unfortunately, the CEO! Good fiction, the fiction I like to read, is real. It’s believable. It’s something that you can relate to – even if it’s outside the realm of your personal experience.

Me: Perfection doesn't come without a price! So why in A Changing Marriage, you showed us with a broken marriage and in The Good Family you gave us a flawed family which ultimately becomes a perfect one in the end? Do you want to imply that no matter how hard we try a broken marriage cannot be repaired?

Susan: I think some marriages are not meant to last fifty or sixty years. I think others have a chance of lasting a lifetime – but only with good communication and a willingness to compromise.

Me: Your stories are way too inspiring, tasteful, so realistic and very enlightening! Even your writing is so simple, filled with passion and emotions that captures the mood of the readers right into the story. So why did you choose to write inspiring family dramas rather than writing a hassle-free crime pot-boiler?

Susan: I write about what I’m interested in exploring. And I write the kind of books I like to read. I’d consider writing books about crime if I had the courage. Whenever I watch suspenseful television, I have to peek through my fingers!

Me: Was it always your one-true dream to be an author?

Susan: I have been writing fiction for a long time. And I suspected that if I worked at it long enough and hard enough, I would get published. It’s not easy – and I had my fair share of rejection. But I continued writing, and that – the writing – is the important thing.

Me: Is writing your sole profession? Or do you also have some other passion apart from writing books?

Susan: I am also a grant writer for a maritime history museum, which is a good balance to writing fiction. Other passions? Being with my family, getting some exercise, and good food!

Me: And what's next up on your writing sleeves? Please tell us briefly about it.

Susan: My third novel, The Summer Cottage, comes out in May 2015. It’s a family story that takes place over the course of two summers 30 years apart. The Thompsons spend July and August at a beach cottage on the Connecticut shoreline. Helen, the youngest of the children, is the caretaker for her cancer-riddled mother, Claire, a former Olympic-quality swimmer, whose keen sense of competition has driven her children from home, as well as from one another. After the untimely death of Claire’s husband and the return of her dormant breast cancer, the one thing that keeps Claire going is the possible reunion and reconciliation of her children.