About
Susan
Susan Mallery is the New
York Times bestselling
author of over one hundred
romances and she has yet
to run out of ideas!! She
has written series romances,
as well as single titles,
historicals, contemporaries
and even a lone time travel.
Always reader favorites,
her books have appeared on
the Waldens bestseller list,
along with the USA Today
bestseller list and, of course,
the New York Times list.
She has won awards for everything
from best single title contemporary,
to best Special Edition of
the year and recently took
home the prestigious National
Reader's Choice Award. As
her degree in Accounting
wasn't very helpful in the
writing department, Susan
earned a Masters in Writing
Popular Fiction.
Susan makes
her home in the Pacific Northwest
where, rumor has it, all
that rain helps with creativity.
Susan is married to a fabulous
hero-like husband and has
a six pound toy poodle...who
is possibly the cutest dog
on the planet.

Here are the answers to
some frequently asked questions.
How did you get started
writing?
I'd always read romances-starting
when I was around thirteen.
I'd never thought about writing
one myself because I thought
writers were exotic people
who lived in France, wore
black all the time and talked
about things like dead philosophers
and existentialism. While
I was in college, I saw that
a local adult education center
was offering a class on "How
to Write a Romance Novel."
I signed up for that class
and, the very same day, began
my first book.
The book was awful, but the
class changed my life. It
was 8 weeks long and I knew
by week 6 that this is what
I wanted to do with my life.
I stayed in school to complete
my degree (in Accounting of
all things) then walked away
from a job offer to try my
hand at writing. Fortunately,
I sold fairly quickly. My
first book sold in August,
1990 and was published in
January 1992.
Where do you get your ideas?
Ideas come from everywhere.
Situations I find myself in,
conversations I've overheard,
songs. The sheik books came
about because my editor kept
telling me to write one. Then
a friend of mine started saying
the same thing. I'd always
liked them, so I figured I'd
give it a try. While my friend,
Christina Dodd, and I were
driving back from a conference
in Alabama, we brainstormed
several possible ideas. They
turned out to be the first
three books in the Desert
Rogue series. Wife In Disguise,
my March 2001 release came
about because of a song called
"By The Book" sung by Michael
Peterson.
In it he talks about the
wedding invitations, the photo
album and how if he'd loved
her "by the book" she'd still
be with him today. I loved
that song and played it over
and over. I was in my car
one day, playing it and thinking
about it when I suddenly thought
it would be really hard to
have a relationship with this
guy because he's still in
love with his ex-wife. So
I played with the idea of
the romance with this guy
and another woman. Except
I always felt so bad for her-being
second best. Then I had a
brain flash-what if the new
girlfriend WAS the ex-wife.
Except how was that possible??
Wife in Disguise was born
from that.
How long does it take you
to write a book and do you
write on a schedule?
My series books-the ones
for Silhouette-generally take
about 2-3 months, depending
on how long they are. The
anthologies go much faster.
The single title books take
about 5-6 months from start
to finish. They are longer,
with a lot more characters,
which makes for more writing…and
rewriting. I do have a writing
schedule. I'm slow in the
beginning but after the first
few chapters, I generally
write about 15 pages a day.
And I do plot out the whole
story. I need to know what's
going to happen before I can
comfortably move ahead. This
doesn't mean the characters
don't get a vote. They frequently
surprise me with their actions
and dialogue. Then we all
have to have a meeting and
figure out what happens next!!:)
Because I write for more
than one publisher and write
so many books a year, it's
important for me to have a
plan of what I'll be working
on next, then to stick to
it. Being disciplined is as
difficult as being creative.
Help! I'm looking for an
older, out of print book of
yours. Which one is it and
how do I buy it?
First, check out the detailed
backlist on the web site.
That lists all my books, in
reverse order of publication--meaning
the most current books are
on top. There you can find
hero and heroine names along
with a thumbnail sketch of
the plot line. That should
help you figure out if you've
read the book, or if it's
the one you're looking for.
As to buying older books,
there's the challenge. Generally
the single title books can
be ordered from any bookstore
or at an on-line bookstore.
The series books are more
tricky as they come and go
in about a month. E-Harlequin
will keep them in stock for
about three months. Amazon
and Barnes and Noble are good
for about six months. After
that, you need to start checking
for used copies or some of
the other on-line bookstores.
If the prices for older books
is really high, try e-bay.
They usually have less expensive
used copies.
Why don't you just reissue
your older books so your new
readers can find them?
Would that I could. In truth,
it's not my decision. I bug
my editor all the time about
various reissues, but it's
not her decision, either.
Series books are reissued
through a complex process
at Silhouette and I have no
idea what it is. However,
if you e-mail about a specific
book, be assured I pass that
e-mail along to my editor
and she passes it along, and
so on.
I'm thinking of writing
a romance. How should I get
started?
The best place to go is http://www.rwanational.org/.
This is a terrific organization
for both published and unpublished
romance writers. There are
local chapters, conferences,
contests, plenty of how-to
workshops and seminars.
Writers Digest has a series
of "how to" writing books
that are all excellent. I
highly recommend those. Also,
if you have access to a community
college writing course, that
is a good place to get started.
Do you read your e-mail
yourself and do you answer
it?
Absolutely. Just click on
the "e-mail"
button and a contact form
will appear. I do read them
and answer them. You can always
tell how close I am to my
deadline by how long it takes
me to respond. Usually it's
not longer than a week unless
I'm out of town.
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