Guest Author: Susan Stephens
It
was back in 2013 in Freemantle when I first met USA Today Bestselling author,
Susan Stephens, who writes fabulous romances for Presents line (including the
bestselling Blood and Thunder Series). I then met up with her and my recent
guest, Carole Mortimer, again in New Orleans at the Romantic Times Convention
in 2014 and had a few very interesting conversations about romance writing.
Highly
successful, Susan has written over fifty books with global sales of over 10
million books, in 26 languages and across 109 countries!!
I
particularly love Susan’s personal story that she met your husband in Malta on
a Monday, was engaged on Friday and married three months later. It lends so
much credibility to the stories we write where true love can strike hard and
fast!
Thanks
for joining me today for the quick author quizzing, Susan.
Would
you please tell us about your latest release and whether or not your characters
or their story posed any particular challenges for you?
Thank
you so much for inviting me to do this, Alyssa!
My
latest release Pregnant By
The Desert King features Lucy, a feisty young woman who played a small part
in my previous book, The Sheikh’s Shock Child. I couldn’t
get Lucy out of my mind. I knew she must have her own story, as well as one of
the fabulously wealthy and impossibly sexy Sapphire Sheikhs—so called because
between them these titans of the desert own the world’s largest sapphire mines.
I love Lucy because she is a hands’ on type
of gal, as happy mending a machine as she is taking on a sizzling hot hero. And
also because we seem to have a lot in common...‘She was the woman targeted by
slimming magazines who always planned to lose weight. And she would, just as soon as chocolate was written
out of history.’
Plus, there’s
nothing I love more than bringing a strong man to his knees for love!
I
know you were once a professional singer. What drew you to romance writing?
I
was lucky enough to meet the fabulous Penny Jordan at a Pride and Prejudice
ball, where we were all in full costume. There was an auction after dinner, to which
Penny had generously offered a day of her precious time as one of the prizes.
My husband bought this for me, and the rest is history. Hearing about my
personal life, as well as my career on the stage, Penny persuaded me to try my
hand at writing a romance, and was always behind me, urging me on through many
attempts and many rejections. I miss her more than I can say, and owe
everything to Penny’s unflagging belief in me.
I was never fortunate enough to meet Penny, but I have many of her titles on my bookshelves and it is sad to know there won't be another one joining them. How wonderful for you to have had Penny as your mentor. She evidently had an eye for spotting your talent, too!
You’ve
recently moved home. How have you settled in and did you take your menagerie
with you?
I’m
still settling in! To be polite, let’s just say that this house has more
problems than we could ever have anticipated. BUT, it is in the same street as
my youngest and her new baby, so I couldn’t be happier. As for the water
pouring through the ceiling the first time we ran a bath, the gas leak, the
live electrical wire hanging loose in the bedroom, and the central heating we
can’t turn off in a heatwave if we want hot water, lets just say that it will
all get fixed in the fullness of time!
And
yes, not only have I brought my animals with me, but I have somehow acquired my
daughter’s two cats. I guess the cuisine is more to their liking over this side
of the road ☺
The grass is always greener...or perhaps in this case it's the fish that's more appealing!!
Of
all the books you’ve written, is there one couple who have resonated with you
more than others?
I
love all my heroes and heroines, and believe passionately in their right to
their own particular ‘Happy Ever After’.
If I do have a type, it’s a swarthy male with stubble and attitude, just crying
out to be loved fiercely and forever by a strong woman! Typically, my heroines
might not have much in the way of worldly possessions, or even beauty, but they
all possess strength – even if it sometimes takes them time to find that
strength—as well as that indefinable something
that makes them irresistible to the hero.
Irresistible to the hero and very appealing to the reader too. As readers we cheer your heroines on as we turn the pages.
What’s
next for you as an author?
I’m
just written a book set in Spain, which is where I started with A
Spanish Inheritance, so every story set in Spain has a special
resonance for me. It doesn’t have a title yet as I’m waiting right now to hear
my editor’s verdict, but while I’m waiting I’ve started a new book set in
Greece, with a betrayed bride trying to rebuild her life, and a billionaire who
doesn’t believe in love, but who badly needs an heir.
Thank
you for joining me today, Susan. I hope I’ll be able to catch up with you again
somewhere in the world! (And to the left is a memory from RT New Orleans - Susan Stephens, Alyssa J. Montgomery and Carole Mortimer)
My
great pleasure Alyssa! Who knows, next time we might meet up in London...
Susan
xx
I do find myself in London from time to time so I'll definitely let you know when I'm planning my next trip there. If it's not this December/January we'll have to wait a couple of years until after my youngest has finished her last two torturous but all-important years of high school!
For
more information about Susan, please visit her website at susanstephens.net
Thank you for visiting the blog today. I hope you'll visit next Saturday for my next guest romance author, Lori Foster. Until then, Happy Reading!
Best wishes,
Alyssa J. Montgomery
http://www.alyssajmontgomery.com/
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About the Blogger:
Alyssa J. Montgomery is an Australian contemporary romance author who is published by Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises, Australia). She also
writes medieval romance as Alyssa James,
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