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Thanks so much for joining us, Susan, on Friday Friends!!
Tell us about your July and August and November releases.
Susan: The July and August releases are a “duet” … two connected books to be released back to back. I’m very excited about this as it is my first duet for Harlequin. I’m also kind of excited about them because they are “the housekeeper says I do” books.
Both books have a wonderful fairytale feel as the two heroines, both maids in a company started by the heroine of book 1, Liz Harper. Imagine Liz’s surprise when she arrives at the home of her Friday morning client and discovers it’s her ex-husband!
It’s a fun, funny story that has an emotional center in that Liz had been pregnant and when she lost her baby it ended her marriage.
The august book MAID FOR THE SINGLE DAD chronicles how supersensitive, super alone, Ellie Swanson doesn’t just find her perfect mate, she finds an entire family who needs her. But the road to true love isn’t always smooth and they have a lot of “history” to deal with in terms of his ex-wife and her past.
The November book is a Christmas story. I’m doing a 2-for-1 with Barbara Wallace. This will be Barbara’s debut book! Our stories are about twins who are separated for the first time at Christmas. My heroine, a single mom, is the assistant to a sort of Scrooge who has decided to reopen the family Christmas tree farm. There’s plenty of fun and holiday traditions as the heroine teaches the h
ero the real meaning of Christmas … and, of course, of love!
What kind of research did you have to do? How do you approach someone to interview?
Susan: I do a lot of online research and a lot of online interviewing. I typically find someone who is an expert in the field that puzzles me and I email a list of questions. Most people are happy to answer, happy to be a part of a book!
You have been writing for Silhouette since 2005. Have you ever thought about writing a single title? If not, why?
Susan: Actually I’ve been writing for Harlequin and Silhouette since 1989. I know! I’m old! LOL
But I’m working on a single title right now. I got an idea that was just a tad too big to put into a romance. I tried to turn it into a series (thinking that could help it fit a category line). Instead I ended up with four books! Four single titles. So that’s the single title effort I’ll be making over the next few years! (Writing four single titles is a lot more complicated than four categories!)
How do you overcome writers block?
Susan: I read. I hunt around until I find a new book by a favorite author like Nora Roberts or Gina Showalter and I simply let myself fall into the book. Typically, a good book will have me jumping up from the sofa, thinking about my own story and how I can make it work!
What have you learned to look for while editing your work?
Susan: I have a tendency to over-explain and over-write! So when I go through final edits, I look for places that are dense with explanation!
Tell us about your July and August and November releases.
Susan: The July and August releases are a “duet” … two connected books to be released back to back. I’m very excited about this as it is my first duet for Harlequin. I’m also kind of excited about them because they are “the housekeeper says I do” books.
Both books have a wonderful fairytale feel as the two heroines, both maids in a company started by the heroine of book 1, Liz Harper. Imagine Liz’s surprise when she arrives at the home of her Friday morning client and discovers it’s her ex-husband!
It’s a fun, funny story that has an emotional center in that Liz had been pregnant and when she lost her baby it ended her marriage.
The august book MAID FOR THE SINGLE DAD chronicles how supersensitive, super alone, Ellie Swanson doesn’t just find her perfect mate, she finds an entire family who needs her. But the road to true love isn’t always smooth and they have a lot of “history” to deal with in terms of his ex-wife and her past.
The November book is a Christmas story. I’m doing a 2-for-1 with Barbara Wallace. This will be Barbara’s debut book! Our stories are about twins who are separated for the first time at Christmas. My heroine, a single mom, is the assistant to a sort of Scrooge who has decided to reopen the family Christmas tree farm. There’s plenty of fun and holiday traditions as the heroine teaches the h
ero the real meaning of Christmas … and, of course, of love!What kind of research did you have to do? How do you approach someone to interview?
Susan: I do a lot of online research and a lot of online interviewing. I typically find someone who is an expert in the field that puzzles me and I email a list of questions. Most people are happy to answer, happy to be a part of a book!
You have been writing for Silhouette since 2005. Have you ever thought about writing a single title? If not, why?
Susan: Actually I’ve been writing for Harlequin and Silhouette since 1989. I know! I’m old! LOL
But I’m working on a single title right now. I got an idea that was just a tad too big to put into a romance. I tried to turn it into a series (thinking that could help it fit a category line). Instead I ended up with four books! Four single titles. So that’s the single title effort I’ll be making over the next few years! (Writing four single titles is a lot more complicated than four categories!)
How do you overcome writers block?
Susan: I read. I hunt around until I find a new book by a favorite author like Nora Roberts or Gina Showalter and I simply let myself fall into the book. Typically, a good book will have me jumping up from the sofa, thinking about my own story and how I can make it work!
What have you learned to look for while editing your work?
Susan: I have a tendency to over-explain and over-write! So when I go through final edits, I look for places that are dense with explanation!
Thanks so much for joining us, Susan. Please, come back any time.
Be sure to visit Susan's website at www.susanmeier.com for all of her up to date information.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to our blog! Wow, it sounds like you have a lot going on these days. Good luck with your single title series.
I have a quick question for you...when working with Harlequin/Silhouette, do the stories most often fit into a "sub-theme" (for lack of a better word) like your "housekeeper" books? Are those themes set by the publisher or by the author?
I come up with my own themes and stories. My editor will offer suggestions, but the first round idea is mine.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I came up with the trilogy I'm finishing for 2011. It centers on three brothers finding love while they form a family. They have the same dad but different moms, so when their father dies and leaving them the family shipping conglomerate, they have to become family or lose everything.
it's a lot of fun!
Congratulations on the duet, Susan. I love romances that have that fairytale aspect to it! And you're not old, you're established! :)
ReplyDeleteI like established! I think I'll take that.
ReplyDeleteI love writing romances with a fairytale aspect. I think that's why I stayed close to lines like Silhouette Romance and Harlequin Romance.
susan
I'm impressed by your output, Susan! It takes me all my time to concentrate on a single title!
ReplyDeleteCan you explain how a 2-for-1 works? I can understand it with established writers, but how does a debut writer get involved in this kind of thing?
Thank you for being here today, Susan! I've noticed that shorter romances are very nicely tight. Will you plot or write differently for a longer single title?
ReplyDelete