THE MANICURIST

Get Lost in a Story Readers, today I’m pleased to bring you a second introduction of a fellow Bell Bridge author who is making the world stand up and take notice of her wonderful novel, THE MANICURIST.

THE MANICURIST, is part of Amazon's BIG DEAL (March 17 through 31). Want to know why it's a big deal? Read on . . .

In The Manicurist, Tessa's premonitions have the potential to resolve the past . . .or they may destroy her family's future. . . .

Tessa and Walter have, by all appearances, the perfect marriage. And they seem to be ideal parents for their somewhat rebellions teenage daughter, Regina. Without warning, however, their comfortable lives are thrown into chaos when a disturbing customer comes into the salon where Tessa works as a manicurist. Suddenly, Tessa's world is turned upside down as revelations come to light about the mother she thought had abandoned her in childhood and the second sight that she so guardedly seeks to keep from others. A magical novel of secrets revealed and a family in turmoil, searching together for new beginnings.

What people are saying about THE MANICURIST. . . 

Using language that is at once both straightforward and evocative, Schieber has painted a fine portrait of the struggles and challenges of being different in an unforgiving world. Her characters are authentic and touching. You will recognize them and remember them long after you read the last page.

Karen Chase ~ Award-winning author of Kazimierz Square, Bear, Land of Stone, and Jamali-Kamali

~ ~ ~

Phyllis Schieber once again shows how elegant storytelling can be. The Manicurist will remain on a top shelf in my library. This book will stir your emotions, excite you with its twists and delight you to the point of tears. A must-read."

Susan Wingate (Award-winning author of Drowning and Bobby's Diner)

~ ~ ~ 
Welcome to Get Lost in a Story, Phyllis. (sigh) Elegant Storyteller. What an adjective to be saddled with. Well, let's see what else we can learn about you. Time to answer our fun questions.

DONNELL: Do you prefer to live in a big city or in the country?

PHYLLIS: I grew up in Manhattan, so when my family went shopping in Yonkers, a suburb in Westchester County that was no more than thirty minutes away, my father took movie pictures, and my mother packed sandwiches. I now live in Hastings-on-Hudson, a village about 20 minutes from Manhattan and feel as if I live in the country! I love it here, but I think I’ll always be a city girl at heart.

DONNELL: What’s your favorite room in your house?

PHYLLIS: I love my kitchen. We redid it when we bought the house eleven years ago, and it is very much a reflection of my eclectic taste. With that said, I love my office more. We took half of the garage and converted it into an office with a separate entrance. I have floor to ceiling bookcases that are busting at the seams, framed photographs, posters, and memorabilia on my walls (including a postcard from Anne Tyler!), and an odd assortment of statues and boxes that I’ve collected over the years. I love to light incense there and play music—anything from Michael Franti to Pavarotti. The office is my exclusive retreat.

DONNELL: You’re having a dinner party. What character do you hope doesn’t show up?

PHYLLIS: I can be very confrontational, so the character one might expect me to welcome the least might be the one I want to have a few words with if I had the opportunity. Nevertheless, if I had planned a lovely dinner party, I would be disinclined to welcome Althea Jordan, Walter’s sister. Althea is a very weak and narrow-minded woman. I am always disappointed in her.

DONNELL: Based on the title of your book, I would be remiss in not asking. Do you have a perfect manicure?

PHYLLIS: At the moment, my nails are a complete mess! I am, however, planning on getting a manicure today! My “perfect manicure” never lasts more than a few hours.

DONNELL: Do you like to shop?

PHYLLIS: I do, but not often. And I like to shop alone. I also love to prowl sales at my favorite stores on-line. I insist on free shipping, or I refuse to buy anything!

DONNELL: Do you read your reviews?

PHYLLIS: I do, not compulsively, but from time-to-time, I do check Amazon to see if there are any new posts. Some reviews can be so mean-spirited and so off base that it can be disconcerting. Nevertheless, a thick skin is a prerequisite if one wants to survive as a writer.

DONNELL: When writing, do you listen to music? 

PHYLLIS: I do. I love Michael Franti and Spearhead, Adele, Amy Winehouse , Bob Marley and voices from the Sixties—Richie Havens and Bob Dylan. I also intersperse that with lots of opera—my son and his girlfriend are opera singers. I’m trying to hone my taste and my knowledge. Frankly, it’s rough going for me.

DONNELL: Are you superstitious?

PHYLLIS: I am. My mother was very superstitious, and it left its mark on me. I’m aware of my superstitions and while I don’t allow them to dictate my life, they do rear their little heads and often amuse me.

DONNELL: Someone has cut you off in the parking lot. How do you handle it?

PHYLLIS: Not very well. I would curse loudly and fiercely, but that’s about it. Depending on the size of the target of my rage, I would, more than likely, keep the window closed while it spewed out my tirade!

DONNELL: Coffee or Tea? And what’s the one food you can’t resist?

PHYLLIS: Coffee. Bread is irresistible, with or without butter.

DONNELL: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you talk about?

PHYLLIS: Anne Tyler. I am such a fan of her work. I would love to have a leisurely meal with her and take a nice, long walk here on the Aqueduct. I would love to know everything about her writing process, how a story comes to her, what her challenges are, and what she likes to read. I once read an interview she gave in which she lauded the play The Retreat From Moscow by William Nicholson. I had just seen the play and adored it. It was brilliant—touching, funny, sad and close to home in so many ways. I felt such a kinship with Anne Tyler after that.

Great answers, thank you!  

There you have it, readers. Do not forget, for the next TWO WEEKS, THE MANICURIST by Phyllis Shieber is on sale and a deeply discounted price as part of Amazon's BIG DEAL (March 17th through 31st). Don't miss out.

PHYLLIS SCHIEBER
The first great irony of Phyllis’ life was that she was born in a Catholic hospital. Her parents, survivors of the Holocaust, had settled in the South Bronx among other new immigrants. In the mid-fifties, her family moved to Washington Heights, an enclave for German Jews on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, known as“Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson.”

She graduated from high school at sixteen, earned a B.A. in English from Herbert H. Lehman College, an M.A. in Literature from New York University, and later an M.S. as a Developmental Specialist from Yeshiva University.

She lives in Westchester County where she spends her days creating new stories and teaching writing. She is married and the mother of a grown son.

The Manicurist was a finalist in the 2011 Inaugural Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Writer's Conference.

Phyllis Schieber is the author of three other novels, The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, Willing Spirits, and Strictly Personal.

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter (#GetLostStories) or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes.  THIS WEEK on GLIAS: Vanetta Chapman, Jessica Andersen, NEW GLIAS crew member ALEXA BOURNE and the start of DESIRE WEEK. Don't miss it!

(This post originally ran on Saturday, March 17th -- Phyllis may be able to stop by and chat today.)

PHYLLIS to READERS: What is more important to you as reader, the story or the writing? Can you have one without the other and still be satisfied?

Get Lost in a forbidden world of intrigue and sensual delights

A scandal that shocks a nation…A passion that transforms a woman…

At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the modern, the exotic, and the ground-breaking collide as exhibitions from all corners of the globe draw millions of spectators. But Dora Chambers has more pressing matters to consider.

Dora has hopes to begin a long-dreamed-of life of wealth and privilege in Chicago. So she sets out to earn the approval of the local women of high society--the World Fair’s Board of Lady Managers--to appease her socially ambitious, aloof husband. Unimpressed with the young bride from New Orleans, they give her the distasteful task of enforcing proper conduct on the Egyptian belly dancing exhibition.

But Dora's sensibilities are not so easily flustered by the dancers. She finds herself captivated by these exotic women, and by their enigmatic manager, Hossam Farouk, who makes his mistrust of her known--although his lingering glances hint at something else.

As Dora's eyes are opened to the world beyond her own oppressive life of social expectations and quiet servitude, she finds the courage to break free of her self-imposed bondage, and discover the truth about the desire and passion in her own heart.

Getting to know DeAnna Cameron

DeAnna Cameron spends much of her time dreaming up romantic historical adventures featuring feisty heroines destined for passion and fame—an endeavor that was not so useful when she was a newspaper reporter, and even less so when she became a magazine editor. Yet, she managed and did her best to behave like a serious journalist during her 15-year career, which included stints in newsrooms and editorial offices of many fine Southern California publications. Those old storyteller dreams never subsided, however, and once she landed in the thrilling world of fiction, those old habits became very useful indeed. These days, she’s dreaming up stories from her home in Orange County, Calif., where she lives with her family and a ninety-pound chocolate Labrador retriever.

Jillian: How often do you get lost in a story? 

DeAnna: All the time! Isn’t that what writing a story is about? When I’m writing scenes, I do my best to immerse myself in it so I can capture the subtle nuances in the characters’ dialogue and the body language, as well as the details that make the setting come to life. 

Jillian: Where do you read and how often?

DeAnna: During the day, if I’m not writing or revising a manuscript, I’m doing research. One of the things I love about writing historical novels is that there is so much research to do, and most of that boils down to reading. Books, articles, university archive materials, you get the idea.  So that’s how I spend my days, and then at night I almost always have to read something for entertainment to relax my brain so I can get to sleep. 

Jillian: What’s the first book you remember reading?

DeAnna: I’ve been a reader all my life and I can remember reading all kinds of silly stories as a child. But the first memorable book, well, that would be a toss-up between “A Wrinkle In Time” and “Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret.” I read both about the same time, and the experience was like a rite of passage for me. I looked at the world differently after those books, and I guess they were the ones that first showed me how powerful – and how personal – stories can be. 

Jillian: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

DeAnna: I usually do and I’m pretty picky about it. It must be set to a pretty low volume and it has to be either instrumental or have non-English lyrics. Otherwise, I find myself thinking about the lyrics instead of the scene. I also try to pick music that has the same mood I’m trying to evoke in the scene or narrative. In THE BELLY DANCER, I listened to a lot of classical music for the society scenes. When I wrote about the Egyptian belly dancers and musicians, I loaded up my Middle Eastern music collection. That was fun.

Jillian: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?

DeAnna: Yes! The exotic music that accompanies the belly dancers during their performances is such an important part of the story that I wanted readers to be able to get a taste of it. I’ve posted some of my favorites on my website as a suggested playlist, which you can find it here: [http://www.deannacameron.com/TheBellyDancer/TBDReadingGroups.html#Suggested Playlist] From that list, Music of the Ghawazee, ARAF / Aisha Ali is my absolute favorite because it most closely resembles how those Egyptian musicians would have sounded. 

Jillian: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

DeAnna: That I’m a costume geek? I’ve never quite outgrown my childhood love of playing dress-up. I have a couple Victorian gowns, which are my current favorites, and an obscene number of corsets and Victorian-inspired pieces that I mingle in with my everyday clothes. I also have bins filled with Renaissance Faire skirts, bodices and chemises, as well as belly dance costumes, both tribal and cabaret, of course. My newest project is putting together a vintage 1930s or 1940s Hollywood glamour look for a costumer function I’ll be attending later this summer. I’m on the hunt for the perfect black feather fascinator, so if you know where I can find a great one, email me! 

Jillian: If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

DeAnna: Now that I’ve already confessed my dirty little costume secret, it probably won’t surprise anyone that I would love to be a costume designer. I sew—at least I do when I have free time, which isn’t often lately, but nevertheless, I have a lot of fun with it when I can.

Jillian: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

DeAnna: I met my celebrity crush John Cusack. Wait, let me revise that: I MET my CELEBRITY CRUSH! JOHN CUSACK! Yeah, it was kind of a big deal – to me anyway. It was while I was a cub reporter working at a now-defunct community section of the Los Angeles Times and he was in a local neighborhood filming “Grosse Pointe Blank.” Somehow I sold my editor on a story idea so I could get on the set, and I imagined exactly how it would play out. I would be witty, John would be smitten, and we’d live happily ever after. But when the big moment came—and by that I mean I blocked him as he was trying desperately to get past me—I couldn’t think of a single witty word. I barely managed “Can I have your autograph, please?” as I offered up my skinny reporter’s notebook and pen. He was gracious, but quick, and in a flash he was gone. But it was worth it, because you know what? He’s even better looking in person. True story. 

DeAnna has a question for you: Who is your celebrity crush, and how do you imagine that meeting playing out?

One commenter will receive a signed copy of THE BELLY DANCER reissue. And for those who don’t win today’s giveaway, don’t despair! DeAnna is giving away weekly prizes until April 30 and one lucky winner will receive an e-reader grand prize. Stop by www.DeAnnaCameron.com for details. You can also find her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/deanna.m.cameron) and Twitter at (http://www.twitter.com/DeAnnaMCameron)

***Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America  addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Get Lost with Bestselling Author Judith Arnold

To get Judith Arnold’s bio, I went to her web page.  Get Lost in a Story Readers, we don’t have a blog long enough to give credit to all this talented author has written.  MIRA, HCI, Harlequin (American, Superromance, Single Title, Temptation).  Let’s just say if Harlequin had a line for it, Ms. Arnold wrote for it (although now that I think about it, I think I’ve got her.  I didn’t see LUNA on the list).  Several of Ms. Arnold’s books have also been reissued as limited editions. 

And, today, I’m particularly excited because she’s teamed with Bell Bridge Books http://bellebooks.com/ with a new release called, GOODBYE TO ALL THAT.   Please welcome the extraordinarily prolific and talented Judith Arnold.

ABOUT GOODBYE TO ALL THAT

What do women want? Belgian chocolates? A trip to Paris? A bed strewn with rose petals and occupied by Johnny Depp? Lovely fantasies, but what women of a certain age really want is to put themselves first. They want a life in which they can hold the remote control, a life in which they can eat whatever they want, whenever they want. A life in which they take care of no one but themselves.

            At least, that’s what Ruth Bendel wants. For forty-two years, she’s been a wife, mother, homemaker and volunteer. Now she wants a room of her own, a place where she can blast the classical music her husband loathes and not have to scrub his beard shavings out of the sink every morning. She finds an apartment, lands a job as a convenience store clerk and announces her departure to her family.

            But how will her loved ones cope without her?  Husband Richard doesn’t know how the steam iron works, let alone how to ask a woman on a date.  If Ruth and Richard are no longer together, who will take care of son Doug’s children when he and his wife fly off for a romantic week in Nevis?  Should daughter Melissa heed her biological clock and have a baby now that she’s discovered, at age thirty-one, that she’s the child of a broken home?  And how can Jill, the overwhelmed middle child trying to hold the family together, host a Thanksgiving dinner and her own daughter Abbie’s bat mitzvah when the entire Bendel clan is falling apart?

~~  AND NOW GET LOST IN A STORY'S FUN QUESTIONS FOR JUDITH ARNOLD ~~

DONNELL:  Judith, welcome:  Your blurb references Paris.  So here’s our first question.  Have you ever been there?  If so, would you go back?  If not, where’s your favorite place to visit?

JUDITH: No, I’ve never been to Paris.  (Isn’t that a line from a song?)  But I’ll get there someday.  My most recent trip abroad was to Barcelona, which I adored.  And there’s a trip to Hawaii waiting for me a few months from now—I’m counting the days.  I’ve been there before and loved it.  Love the Caribbean.  Love Nova Scotia.  Love Italy.  Love Walt Disney World.  Love Cape Cod.   Honestly, I’m thinking about all the places I’ve visited in my life, and I can’t think of any I didn’t like.

DONNELL:  If you’re not writing, where will we find you?

JUDITH:  On the streets of my town, jogging.  I’m pretty compulsive about it.  I run between 7 and 8 miles every morning, even in rain and snow.  Since I wind up spending the rest of the day sitting at my computer, I crave the exercise and the fresh air I get while jogging.  It helps me clear my head and plan the day’s writing.  And it enables me to indulge my sweet tooth without feeling too guilty.

DONNELL:  What’s in your refrigerator right now?

JUDITH:  Stuff to indulge my sweet tooth. <g>  I’m a serious ice-cream junkie.  Fortunately, I also love fruits and vegetables.  And wine.  There’s usually a bottle chilling in there.

DONNELL:   In your new book, GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, your heroine runs away.  Have you ever ran away in your life?

JUDITH: I’ve lit out for the territories a couple of times, as Huck Finn might put it.  When I was nineteen, I lived on a commune in Nova Scotia for a few months.  No electricity, no indoor plumbing (although there was a clear, painfully cold stream nearby for bathing.)  I had a tent, a cooking pit, a typewriter and a lot of paper.  I wrote my first (not very good) novel there.  When I was twenty-three, I moved to rural Northern California for a couple of years.  I was a native New Yorker; my family was all on the East Coast, as was my then-boyfriend/now-husband.  But I had an interesting job offer, so I stuffed everything I owned into my car and drove across the country.  Two years later, I stuffed everything back into the car and drove home again. 

DONNELL:   Do you bowl? 

JUDITH: Very poorly.  In New England, where I live now, candlepin bowling is popular.  This involves short, squat pins and a ball not much bigger than a softball.  I’m as bad at candlepin bowling as at regular bowling, but at least my thumb doesn’t hurt at the end of the evening.

DONNELL:  What was your favorite subject in school?

JUDITH:  I loved English (all those wonderful books to read, all those writing assignments!)  Also music.  Like the heroine of GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, I majored in music in college, and like her, I fell in love with the music of Arcangelo Corelli.

DONNELL:   You’re in a boat in the middle of the ocean.  It’s sprung a leak.  Fortunately your cell phone is operational.  Who do you call for help?

JUDITH: My husband.  He can fix pretty much anything—and he also was a varsity swimmer and a Red-Cross certified lifeguard, so I imagine he could rescue me if he had to.

DONNELL:  How many hats do you own?

JUDITH: Lots, and I hardly ever wear them.  I have a few favorites in my collection: a big, floppy “hippie” hat, a fedora that was used as a prop in a play I wrote in graduate school, a straw sunhat for the beach, a blue-and-white striped engineer hat that we always haul out of the closet when my husband sets up his electric train set.  (If the question is how many metaphorical hats I wear...the answer is also lots.  Mother, wife, daughter, novelist, friend, cook, crossword puzzle addict...)

DONNELL:    Do you listen to music when you’re writing?

JUDITH:  Never.  Too distracting.  I often listen to music before I start writing, to get me in the mood.  But once I’m writing, I need silence.

DONNELL:  Do you read your reviews?

JUDITH:  I try to read only the good ones.  The bad ones are obviously written by crazy people. <g>  Seriously, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin, so I can read bad reviews if I have to.  But I much prefer reading good reviews.  If anyone wants to write a good review of GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, let me know.  I’ll read it, I promise!

DONNELL:  If you could visit with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be, and what might you chat about?

JUDITH:  I would visit my sister.  She died fourteen years ago, and I miss her every day.  Sometimes I talk to her in my mind, but it would be so much nicer if we could actually hug each other.  Whenever I think about her, I picture her in a peaceful, verdant garden, sitting comfortably, smiling her gorgeous smile.  If I could visit her, I’d sit beside her and we’d talk about all the stuff we always talked about when she was alive—our kids, our husbands, our friends, our work, books, recipes, laundry, faith, memories...all the things, big and small, that defined our lives.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.  THIS IS A QUESTION YOU ASK FOR YOUR FAN AND READERS.

JUDITH:  How about the old desert island question?  If you were stranded on a desert island, what five books would you want to have with you?

Readers, there you have it.  What a challenge.  Can't wait to hear your answers.  Answer the question and/or comment to be entered in a digital giveaway.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter (#GetLostStories) or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Tomorrow join Jillian Stone as she hosts Deanna Cameron and Angi Morgan week when she hosts RITA finalist Jessica Andersen.

PASSION & PRETENSE

PASSION and PRETENSE

Berkley Sensation

ISBN: 0425246981

After four disastrous engagements, Penelope Rastmoor wants nothing but to travel to Egypt. To escape her brother's plan to marry her off, she's determined to find herself such an improper fiancé that he would do anything rather than let her wed. Enter the notoriously unscrupulous Lord Harris Chesterton...

READ THE PASSION

Whispers and scandalized murmurs breezed through the ballroom crowd around her but Penelope could not hear enough to get the gist of things. She could, however, begin to pick out a few words here and there from the loud male voice shouting over the hushed din. Indeed, things were getting more than interesting. She ducked under Lady Davenforth’s enormous bosom and pressed past Sir Douglas MacClinty’s portly abdomen. No one noticed her, so she kept on, moving slowly toward the front of the room. Mamma would surely have a fit, but Mamma hadn’t seen her so far. She could gawk as blatantly as she liked.

“It just isn’t seemly, sir!” the blustering male voice was saying.

“Yes, it seemed a bit unusual to me, too,” another male voice said.

This was a deep voice, a voice with tone and texture that Penelope was certain she’d recognize if she ever heard it again. It was a good voice, warm and amused and certain. She could picture the man it belonged to as smiling while he spoke. She could imagine he had a glint of mischief in his eye.

She could also tell he was more than a little bit drunk.

“But for shame, sir! You had your hand on my wife’s, er . . . arm!” the first voice stormed.

“No sir,” the second man corrected. “I had my hand on your wife’s, er, bosom.”

The crowd gasped. Someone—most likely the blustering gentleman—choked. The man with the warm, amused voice said nothing, despite all the tumult around him. Penelope decided she simply must get a look at this person.

There was a chair against the nearby wall, so she scooted herself to it and hoisted up her skirt. Surely with all the fuss these gentlemen were causing no one would so much as notice a woman with strawberry ringlets standing atop a chair, would they? Of course not. Up she went, steadying herself by grasping onto the nearby fern propped securely—she hoped—on a plaster column.

Ah, now she could see the men. She easily recognized her host, Lord Burlington, and he appeared much as he usually did; red-faced, jowly and, well, blustering. The other man was a different story. She drew in a surprised breath.

For all his cultured tones and textured warmth, the man appeared very unlike his voice. She expected someone dashing and rakish, someone who lived by his wit and reveled in the stimulation of intelligent conversation, among other things. Someone who appreciated fine spirits and looked down his nose at lesser men. A dandy even, who was sought after and used to being admired. That was how he had sounded, at least.

What she saw when her eyes fell upon him was something quite different.

By heavens, but the man was a hermit! He was unkempt, with dirt in his hair and whiskers on his face several days old. His clothes were a disaster. If he had been dressed for mucking a stable or plowing a field, he would have been only slightly overdone. The man was a positive horror!

And now he noticed her. She clutched the fern for support when his eyes locked onto hers. When he smiled she thought she felt the chair shift beneath her feet.

“If you’d let me explain, Burlington,” he said to the blustering man, although his eyes remained fixed on Penelope. “I was trying to tell you that you have reached a hasty conclusion where your wife is concerned. I was walking into the room as she was walking out of the room and we merely collided. There was nothing more than that.”

“But you were alone with her. Your hand was on her . . . Well, don’t think I haven’t heard of your reputation, sir.”

“Yes, yes. I daresay everyone has heard of my reputation and this is hardly going to rectify that, is it? Oh well. I assure you, in this instance, at least, I am innocent.”

“I ought to call you out!” the first man blustered on bravely.

“Well, I suppose I could shoot you on a field of honor if you insist, but I really would so much rather not. My head is going to be bloody ringing enough in the morning, as it is.”

Susan Gee Heino was one of those kids always writing stories and forcing her

parents—and her sisters, teachers, friends, neighbors, and the family dog—to read them. Her stories were about everything from animals and Star Wars to worms and haunted school buses. One thing was constant, though: there was always a happy ending.

Eventually, she took this love of happy endings and coupled it with her love of the English Regency time period. In 2008 she won RWA’s Golden Heart ® Award in the

Regency Historical category and has become a national bestseller. Today she resides in rural Ohio with a menagerie of creatures, her very supportive husband, and her two adorable (and frighteningly creative) children. They are all addicted to happy endings, and that seems to be working out just fine.

NO PRETENSE HERE

ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?

SUSAN: As often as I can! It think it's important therapy for our brains. All of us, not just writers, need time to let our minds wander to happy places and "experiences" we wouldn't otherwise have. I think it makes us smarter, more compassionate, and better problem-solvers. 

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?

SUSAN: The first full-length book I read was a children's biography of Helen Keller. I was in 1st grade and enthralled with the subject--imagine not having your sight or your hearing and still being a woman to make such a difference in the world! It was a real struggle when I started the book. I didn't read that well yet and was sure it would take me years to actually finish it. But once I got lost in that story, my skills increased and I finished in record time. 

ANGI: What’s your favorite “love” word?

SUSAN: Cherish. Gosh, what a beautiful word. If we could all just do that, cherish every day the things we truly hold dear, what a world this would be! 

ANGI: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met?

SUSAN: My husband. Is that too cheesy to say? But I really believe he is a hero. He's not had things come easily in his life, but he never gives up and he just keeps on doing what he knows is right. He is a minister and a law-enforcement chaplain. He's been on hand for suicides, stand-offs, plane crashes, car wrecks, and all manner of death notifications. None of these are things he wants to do, but he goes when he gets the call and he does his duty with compassion and, believe it or not, a sense of humor. 

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

SUSAN: King Thrushbeard. Gosh, I've loved that story since I was a kid. It's basically "Taming of the Shrew", with a snotty, selfish Princess for the heroine and a sneaky, scheming Prince for the hero. And yes, it has a very happy ending. 

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

SUSAN: I'm kind of into Phineas and Ferb right now. I mean, seriously, who can not love a platypus spy and "Squirrels in my Pants"?

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?

SUSAN: I love all the crazy sounds my pets make! Is that weird? I've got a lot of pets, so you can imagine it's pretty noisy around here: cats, dogs, goats, chickens, budgies, rabbits, and even a hedgehog. The goldfish and guppies are pretty quiet, but their tanks bubble. I love it!

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?

SUSAN: Even when I was little, I wrote A LOT. As soon as I learned my alphabet, I would sit at the table while Mom cooked dinner and force her to spell out words for me so I could write "books". One of my early attempts was a story called "The Worm Family" and it chronicled a family's struggle to reform the drugged-out hippy next door. Yes, I drew pictures to accompany the story and, yes, they were actual worms. Wearing clothes. I like to think I was edgy.  

ANGI: Be honest, when reading...do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?

SUSAN: Um, not all the time. I think very often I put myself in the hero's role, for some reason. Maybe it's just that I read a lot of heroines who are way more organized and up-tight than I am. Guess I relate better to the bad-boy hero in those cases! Also, it's fun to do a little role playing every now and then, you know? LOL 

ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?

SUSAN: I want to hear from them! Really, I hope people who read my books enjoy them. Nothing makes my day more than opening up my email or Facebook and finding a note from someone who says my words made them laugh, or sigh, or decide to write their own romance novel. 

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: Hi Susan. I often wonder what attracts us to the Regency period over others in history. Can you share what you like most and how you capture that aspect in your books?

SUSAN’S GOTTA ANSWER: Good question, Angi. We do see statistically that the Regency period tends to outsell others in historical romance, but no one really knows why. The Regency only covers ten years, but was a decade of dramatic social and political change, with wars, civil unrest, economic turmoil and the infancy of Industrial Revolution. Personally, I know exactly what I love about the Regency. The clothes!

I just love those pretty dresses, and we don't have to deal with hoop skirts or powdered wigs. And of course there are those tight gentlemen's breeches. Yum yum! But more than just that, there is the whole social order element. Regency romances generally focus on the well-to-do and the nobility. I love getting to play fancy dress up in my mind, hob-nobbing with dashing dukes and ladies of quality. And of course Regencies are famous for clever dialog. I swoon over witty banter! When you add to the mix how difficult travel was then (hot-blooded couples are forever being forced to take shelter in an abandoned cottage along the road) and there was no mass communication (a desperate heroine can pull off all manner of deception when the truth of her identity is so easy to hide) you do end up with a broad and colorful backdrop for a plethora of passionate stories.

IT’S NO SECRET WHERE YOU CAN FIND SUSAN

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SUSAN will be awarding a copy of her newest release, PASSION AND PRETENSE. Just leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing. Remember to check back to see if you won! Winner will be posted here on Thursday.  

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter (#GetLostStories) or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join me next week when I host RITA finalist Jessica Andersen. And come back tomorrow when Donnell hosts Judith Arnold. ~Angi

ARE YOU PASSIONATE about Regency romances, how did you fall in love with that time period and what elements do you love most?