I'm always glad to welcome Susan to my blog.
Susan, God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
Yes, I’ve been mightily blessed the past two or three years with multiple books contracted and released. In addition to this 3-book historical series from Heartsong (New Hampshire Brides), look for more suspense books and more cozy mysteries.
Tell us a little about your family.
My husband, Jim, is a copy editor for a daily newspaper. We have six children, ages 13 to 30. The oldest two are married and have given us five adorable grandchildren. Megan, 25, is getting married this summer. Page, 22, is a college grad like her three older siblings. The two youngest are still home schooling with me (as did the other four).
And still you find time to write a number of books. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
I hate to say it, but I don’t have as much time to read fiction as I used to. However, I still read probably 20 or 30 novels a year. And if I get into a book I like, I just drop everything and finish it. This week I’ve been ill, so I curled up and read books 2, 3, and 4 of Susan Downs and Susan May Warren’s Heirs of Anton series, having read the first book a month or so ago. Worth every minute of vacuuming I missed. I also read more nonfiction now, for research.
What are you working on right now?
Revisions for the second book in daughter Megan’s and my MAINEly Murder series, Treasure at Blue Heron Lake. And I just finished a long suspense book for Harvest House (Inside Story will release next January). Look for more suspense and more cozies in the future.
What outside interests do you have?
I’ve always loved horses, reading, history, and genealogy.
How do you choose your settings for each book?
For this historical series, I was targeting the New Hampshire Brides slot with Heartsong, so that part was easy. But where and when in New Hampshire? My eighth-great-grandfather, Richard Otis, was a blacksmith in Cochecho (now part of Dover), New Hampshire. His garrison house was burned and he was killed during the 1689 massacre there. His daughter Judith Otis (my seventh great-grandmother) was captured by Indians. I first read about this event many years ago while doing genealogical research. A few years ago my sisters and I went to visit Dover and toured the only garrison house of that era still standing. In it we saw artifacts dug up from the site of the Otis Garrison. Seeing those square nails and hinges that our ancestor probably made at his forge solidified my desire to write about that time and that tragedy.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Maybe Judith Otis. I would ask her how she felt when she was captured and what it was like when she returned and saw the town devastated. More than half the residents were killed or captured that night. Judith was one of the fortunate ones who was rescued after only a few weeks.
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
That writers don’t have to be isolated and go it alone. There’s a wonderful writing community out there to support you!
That is so true. Without that community, you and I probably would never met. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?
I am still learning how to follow in humility. Seems like I’ve been on that lesson a long time.
I've had a few lessons like that. Go on forever, it seems. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
1. Don’t give up.
2. Write SOMETHING every day.
3. Define “successful” and keep reminding yourself of what it REALLY means.
Tell us about the featured book.
Return to Love opens with the massacre itself, and with Richard’s family leaving their home in an attempt to reach safety at one of the garrison houses. But they realize the garrison is burning, perhaps with Richard’s younger brother inside. Richard and his father find the parents of his sweetheart, Sarah, murdered. Five years later, Sarah returns with a group of redeemed captives. She has spent years in a primitive Indian village in Canada. Her family is dead, but she hopes Richard and his family will welcome her back. Instead she receives a cold reception and finds herself with two other young women, shuffled off to the pastor’s home until someone figures out what to do with them. Will God change the villagers’ hearts and renew the love Sarah and Richard once knew?
Sounds interesting. How can readers find you on the Internet?
Come see me at http://www.susanpagedavis.com/ . I’m also a host at http://www.keepmeinsuspense.com/, a site for writers of mystery and suspense.
Thank you for spending this time with us today, Susan.
Readers, you'll want to check out both of those web sites. But before you go, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of Return to Love.
