Meet Guest Author Susan Crandall …

Today, I’m welcoming author Susan Crandall to the blog.  Susan is an award-winning, multi-published author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction.  Her new book, SLEEP NO MORE,  is on sale this week.

Barbara:  Tell me about your new book?

Susan:  SLEEP NO MORE is the story of Abby Whitman, who was a sleepwalker as a child, setting a fire that destroyed the ancestral home and scarred her younger sister for life.    Abby’s sleepwalking passed with puberty, but the guilt did not.  She lives alone, structuring her life to insure that if her sleepwalking reoccurs no one else will be in harm’s way.

Now Abby’s mother has recently died, her sister is being her usual manipulative self, and her father is showing signs of Alzheimer’s.  And her sleepwalking has returned.

One night Abby awakens behind the wheel of her van at a fatal accident.  Sleepwalking, or more specifically, sleep-driving, is the only explanation she can come up with for her presence at the scene.  But it soon becomes clear that there was a third party involved, and that person begins making threats for Abby not to tell what she saw.  But Abby has no recollection of the accident.  She seeks the help of a family acquaintance and psychiatrist, Jason Coble to try to figure out what happened at the accident and why someone is threatening her.

Abby’s journey toward truth and self-forgiveness uncovers long buried secrets in both her family and her town.  Secrets someone will go to any lengths to protect.

Barbara:  Sounds great … interesting and mysterious …   When did you first begin writing?

Susan:  I didn’t actually begin writing until I was in my thirties.  My younger sister sort of dragged me into it.  She came to me one day with a stack of paper and admitted she’d been writing in secret and wanted me to look over her work.  Being the older sister and an avid reader, naturally I had an opinion.  We worked on some stories together, then she stopped writing, but I was totally hooked.  I could no more stop writing than I could stop reading.  The first novel I wrote solo was RITA and National Readers Choice winner, BACK ROADS.

Barbara: Wow!  Great accolades for your first book.   What is your favorite thing about writing?  What is your least favorite thing?

Susan: I absolutely love the beginning stages of writing a book.  I love the brainstorming, the research, the exploring of possibilities, the laying awake at night pondering “what ifs.”  It’s the stage when everything is possible and you aren’t yet hampered with the reality of making all of the parts work.

My least favorite?  This may sound contradictory, but it’s the blank page, the blinking cursor waiting like a teacher with a tapping foot.  It’s that stage between all of the daydreaming and actually having something concrete to work with.  It’s the place where you have to begin to make the real choices that will chart the course of your character’s journey.  Once I have something started, it’s fun to work with it, expand, delve more deeply into my characters.

Barbara: What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Susan: Because my son is writing his first novel, this is an easy question; I give the same advice on a weekly basis:

1)  Read widely, and read like a writer.  When an author has elicited a particular emotion from you as a reader, take the work apart and figure out how he/she achieved it.  Study the story construction, the pacing.

2) Continually hone your craft.  Learn from workshops, classes, and just chatting with other writers.

3) Learn to trust your writing instincts.  We writers are filled with self-doubt, constantly questioning the quality of our work.  If you’re a writer, there is something special inside you that lead you to it.  Don’t follow every suggestion made by everyone who has glanced at your work.  Carefully evaluate criticism.  It’s a valuable tool, but it must be weighed.

4)  And lastly, put on your armor and send your work out there into the world.  No one is going to come knocking on your door and say, “I heard you’re writing a book.  I’d like to publish it.”  Yes, you’ll probably receive rejections.  That’s all part of the process.

Barbara: I agree with all of the above, especially about not doubting yourself … every writer goes through the doubt during the writing of every book … it’s important not to let the doubts stop you.   So, what’s next for you, Susan?

Susan: Now that SLEEP NO MORE is safely launched, I’m focusing on two novels.  One is a mainstream women’s fiction.  The other is a slow-boil psychological suspense.  I’m having a great time with both of them!

Thanks for visiting, Susan.  The new book sounds great.   If anyone has a question, feel free to ask.  And for more information on Susan’s books, check out her website at http://www.susancrandall.net

Deb Stover’s The Gift …

I had a chance to talk to Deb Stover recently about her new book, THE GIFT, which is in bookstores now!

Barbara:  Tell us about your new book — I love the cover by the way, very spooky and intriguing.

Deb: In my book, THE GIFT, the Dearborn family are born with some variance of an empathic gift.  Beth’s “gift” manifests in a particularly frightening manner by enabling her to experience the final moments of those who’ve died violently. As an adult, she chooses a career as a homicide detective, and–obviously–is very successful. However, the experience of being ”murdered” repeatedly takes a terrible toll and she turns to alcohol for solace. When she hits bottom and seeks treatment for her addiction, she is convinced the only way she can stay sober is to somehow suppress her gift-turned-curse by avoiding places where the spirit of someone who died violently might contact her. She leaves her position and takes one as a nomadic insurance investigator. Her new career keeps her safe and sober for three years. Convinced her gift has faded from lack of use, she finally accepts an assignment involving possible life insurance fraud, which leads her to a small town in eastern Tennessee.

Ty Malone’s wife, Lorilee, disappeared over seven years ago. Though the town and his father-in-law remain convinced she ran away to pursue a career as a painter in Europe, he has always maintained that the only thing that could keep his wife away from her children is death. It’s time to learn the truth, so he petitions the court to have her declared legally dead. The life insurance claim brings investigator Beth Dearborn into his life.

THE GIFT is part mystery, part ghost story, part suspense, part romance, part thriller. The novel also touches on the issue of women and alcoholism on various levels. Beth is a recovering alcoholic, and the reader will also meet a character who is a practicing one. Both Beth and Ty will be forced to face their greatest fears to learn the truth, and to find happiness.

Barbara:  What pulled you into the story and made you think ‘I have to write this’?

Deb: A protagonist always pulls me into a new story. In this case, I “met” Ty’s wife, Lorilee, first. She introduced herself to my muse, and I wrote a scene that appears very late in the book (it would be a spoiler if I told you about it) as a prologue initially. Then I saved it and used it later. From that scene, the entire story evolved. She is the catalyst who brings about all the events.

Barbara: When did you first begin writing?

Deb:  I think I was about eight. My first publication was a letter to the editor of the WICHITA EAGLE at age eleven. I majored in Journalism, thenworked for a newspaper. I wrote my first romance manuscript in 1984. It was a monster of almost 200,000 words. I still need to burn it…. I dabbled for a few more years, then joined RWA and got serious in 1991. I sold my first book in December 1993. SHADES OF ROSE was published by Kensington in 1995.

Barbara:  What is your writing process and where do you write?

Deb:  I prefer to write at my desk, mostly for comfort. Since I have rheumatoid arthritis, ergonomics are extra important. I have a special keyboard, keyboard tray, chair, mouse, etc. I love my laptop, but if I spend too much time on it, I pay the price. I’m typically a very early morning writer—and often wake hours before dawn to work while the rest of the house is sleeping soundly. I love quiet, and rarely listen to music while working–especially in first draft. While editing, I can listen to anything, but in first draft I can’t have any lyrics. They pull me out of the story.

I’m very much a “pantser”–and I have to say I hate that term. I much prefer Jo Beverley’s “writing into the mist” description. I start with a character in a situation, then start writing. Once I have a global idea of the general plot and the cast of characters, I write a narrative synopsis and send it to my agent. Once we go to contract, do any revisions to the proposal, if requested, I plunge ahead. I confess my finished product does not always follow that synopsis verbatim. And I NEVER outline. Perish the thought….

Barbara: What is your favorite thing about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

Deb:  My favorite thing is that it’s my favorite thing. Okay, seriously, I love being able to work in my pajamas. I stagger out of bed in the morning, get my fuzzy slippers and robe, my mug of strong coffee, and plop myself in front of the computer with an adoring dog at my side. Much better than dressing up and fighting traffic on the freeway.  My least favorite thing would have to be worrying about the business side of this, and promotion. In a perfect world, writers could just write and not have to worry about numbers and promo and covers and… ::sigh:

Barbara:  What is your advice to aspiring writers?

Deb:  It’s your book. Trust your instincts. There are no rules. Critique is a smorgasbord–take what you want and leave what you don’t. There are a thousand how-to books, workshops, and know-it-alls out there dying to tell you how to do your job. There is no special handshake. There is no secret potion. There is no magic elixir. You only have yourself, your muse, and the blank screen/Big Chief Tablet/whatever medium you choose. Keep throwing the spaghetti against the wall until something sticks.

Barbara:  What is next for you?

Deb: I am currently at work on the sequel to THE GIFT–working title is THE SECRET. When you read THE GIFT, you will meet Beth’s cousin, Sam Dearborn. His “gift” manifests in a different way. He jokingly refers to himself as a ”psychic errand boy.”

THANKS DEB for sharing your new book with us — I can’t wait to read it!  If anyone has any questions for Deb, feel free to ask away.