HI! I'm so glad you came
to visit my site! Feel free to email me. I try to respond
personally to each contact with readers and other writers.
I'm a native of central Maine, and grew
up on a small farm with a wonderful mom and dad, three sisters
and a brother. Most of my books take place in small towns,
many of them in Maine.
My
husband, Jim, and I moved to his birth state, Oregon, for
a while after we were married, but decided to move back to
Maine and be near my family. We're so glad we did. It allowed
our six children to grow up feeling close to their cousins
and grandparents, and some of Jim's family have even moved
to Maine!
Our children are all home-schooled. The two
youngest are still learning at home. Jim recentily retired from his vocation as an editor at a
daily newspaper.
I've
always loved reading, history, and horses. These things come
together in several of my historical books. My young adult
novel, Sarah's Long Ride, also spotlights horses
and the rugged sport of endurance riding, as does the contemporary romance Trail to Justice. I took a vocational
course in horseshoeing after earning a bachelor's degree in
history. I don't shoe horses anymore, but the experience has
come in handy in writing my books.
Another
longtime hobby of mine is genealogy, which has led me down
many fascinating paths. I'm proud to be a DAR
member! Some of Jim's and my quirkier ancestors have inspired
fictional characters.
Our faith is important to us, and we're
active in a small, independent Baptist church. Right now Jim
is a deacon, and I'm the church's financial secretary.
The Lord has blessed us richly through our wonderful church
family.
Jim does freelance editing as well. In addition to his 20 years experience at the newspaper, he's edited all my novels before they go out, and he helped edit Primitive Archer Magazine for several years. He recently edited two novels for Summerside Press. To contact Jim about editing your manuscript, email:
. He also has a side business, Ironwood Archery, for traditional archers. His invention, Reparrows, has caught on. Visit his Website (or Google "Reparrows") to see how clever he is!
For
many years I worked for the Central Maine Morning Sentinel
as a freelancer, covering local government, school board meetings,
business news, fires, auto accidents, and other local events,
including a murder trial. I've also written many profiles
and features for the newspaper and its special sections. This
experience was a great help in developing fictional characters
and writing realistic scenes. I also published nonfiction
articles in several magazines and had several short stories
appear in Woman's World, Grit, and Alfred
Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
2004—named Heartsong Presents Favorite New Author of 2004. Protecting Amy was named second favorite historical book of the year by Heartsong readers.
2006—The Prisoner's Wife was named favorite historical of the year among Heartsong readers.
2007—The Prisoner's Wife won the short historical category of both American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Contest and the Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest, sponsored by the Faith Hope & Love chapter of Romance Writers of America.
2007—Wyoming Hoofbeats placed third in the inspirational category of the More than Magic Contest.
2007—Feather placed third in the general fiction category of American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Contest.
2007—The Lumberjack's Lady was named second favorite historical book of the year by Heartsong Presents readers. Susan was among the top 10 favorite authors.
2007—Frasier Island was the October selection of Books-A-Million's Faithpoint Book Club.
2007—Finding Marie was a selection of the Crossings Book Club.
2008—The Lumberjack's Lady won the short historical category of the Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest sponsored by the Faith Hope & Love chapter of Romance Writers of America.
2008—Sarah's Long Ride was a finalist in the young adult category of American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Contest.
2008—The three books of the White Mountain Brides series (Return to Love, A New Joy, and Abiding Peace) were named editor JoAnne Simmons's favorites of all historical Heartsong Presents books of 2008 on the Edit Café blog.
November, 2008—Snowbound Colorado Christmas, including Susan's novella "Almost Home," was #15 on the Christian Book Distributors top 20 fiction list at www.christianbook.com.
January, 2009—Susan was #5 on the Heartsong readers' list of top ten favorite authors for 2008. A New Joy made the top-10 list of Heartsong readers' favorite historicals of the year, and two of Susan's covers (Return to Love and A New Joy) were among the top 10 favorites.
February, 2009—Inside Story was a selection of the Crossings Book Club.
July, 2009—"Almost Home," in the Snowbound Colorado Christmas collection, placed second in the 2009 Inspirational Readers' Choice Contest, novella category.
August, 2009—Always Ready was named one of editor Joanne Simmons's top five favorite contemporary Heartsongs of the year.
August, 2009—Hearts in the Crosshairs was rated four-and-a-half stars by Romantic Times Book Reviews
December, 2009—The Sheriff’s Surrender was a top pick in inspirational fiction in Romantic Times Book Reviews’ December issue and rated 4-1/2 stars.
January, 2010—Hearts in the Crosshairs was nominated for the Reviewers' Choice Award at Romantic Times Book Reviews.
January, 2010--Susan was named second favorite author of 2009 among Heartsong Presents readers. Two of her covers (Trail to Justice and Always Ready) were also among the favorite covers of the year.
January, 2010—The Sheriff's Surrender received the Coffee Time Reviewer's Recommend Award from Coffee Time Romance & More.
