We're bringing something a bit different to Writing in the Modern Age today. Awhile back, I had an idea for a new feature so I reached out to some author colleagues to see if they'd like to participate. I thought it might be nice to show readers a few books that have inspired authors. You might find it enlightening, and at least be able to answer the age old question, "What the heck do authors read?"
Writers are readers too! Most authors love to collect books for their vast personal libraries. The written word is fascinating to us, and many newer authors as well as those in the past have helped to shape who we are today.
Without further ado, our guest today is Susanne Matthews, a romance author of various sub-genres. Won't it be interesting to hear about a few books that have inspired Susanne on her writing and publishing journey?
Sounds pretty awesome to me. So, take it away, Susanne!
Hello and thank you for allowing me
to appear on the Writing in the Modern Age blog! It’s an honor to be part of
this new feature as well. Being asked to provide a list of five, maybe six books
by other authors that I'd recommend seemed simple enough at the onset, but
then, when I thought of actually narrowing my list of books to five, the task
took on all the proportions of a diplodocus, one of the largest dinosaurs.
I narrowed my list several times
before I finally pared it down to the six books I’d like to recommend today.
Most people, readers included, often fail to realize that there are some
excellent authors out there with fantastic stories to share, because, sadly,
those authors don’t have a lot of big money promotional power behind them. The
books I’ve chosen to present today, come from lesser known authors with small
publishers or independent authors.
If you like a story that goes on and
gets more involved and intricate, then I recommend you start with The
Arrangement, Book One of the
Russian Guns series. I didn’t know what to expect, but within the first few
pages I was caught. The sex is hot, and the story sizzles. If you’re like me,
you’ll fall for Bethany-Kris’s writing style, and need to read the rest of the
books in this series.
Rick Auterson’s, The
Yellowwood Tree isn’t a romance; it’s a poignant, gut-wrenching
tale of a young girl's struggle to keep herself and those she loves safe at what
is probably one of the darkest periods in Indiana history. The author's
combination of live action scene and narrative prose works well. He made me
laugh, he made me cry, but once I started the book, I couldn't put it down.
Alienne Mine, by Deborah O’Neill
Cordes, is the prequel to Dragon Dawn.
Humans have long been preoccupied with the idea we might not be alone in the
galaxy, but most of us think Star Trek
and primarily humanoid aliens. Even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan, you’ll be
intrigued with the concept of an alternate universe, one where the dinosaurs
didn’t die out but evolved into sentient beings. Believe it or not, it’s a love story. Read it for yourself and see.
For my fourth book, I decided to offer
you another book that isn’t really a romance. The Boogeyman by Lillie J. Roberts is a psychological thriller that preys on every
parent’s fear—that the child you created, raised, loved, and nurtured in your
heart is never coming home again. Using multiple points of view, you not only
know what the killer is thinking, but you get inside the heads of those he
terrorizes as well as the parents. The plot rivals anything I've seen on Criminal Minds.
My fifth book is the work of
Romanian author, Melinda De Ross, and is The
Plot, in which she
successfully tackles a number of sensitive, controversial issues, not the least
of which include human trafficking. The world can be an ugly place, filled with
liars and deceivers, and it takes a special person to rise above them. De Ross
handles the disastrous effects of modern-day human slavery in a believable,
sensible fashion, and manages to include a touching romance. Revenge can be
sweet.
For my sixth book, I wanted to
introduce you to an author who began writing at the same time I did. While I’ve
stayed with adult novels, Christy Newton’s Breaking Free is an inspirational novel about one young girl's determination to stop
being a victim. Abusive relationships are destructive—not just the bruises and
the aches inflicted by words, but the fear that never leaves no matter how far
away the abuser is, and when the abuser is a lawman, well, desperate times call
for desperate measure. Ms. Newton has dealt with a controversial topic in a
respectful and sensitive manner.
Well, I hope you consider my reading
selections. There were many other books I enjoyed and perhaps I’ll get to share
with you again one day.
If you like a story that goes on and
gets more involved and intricate, then I recommend you start with The
Arrangement, Book One of the
Russian Guns series. I didn’t know what to expect, but within the first few
pages I was caught. The sex is hot, and the story sizzles. If you’re like me,
you’ll fall for Bethany-Kris’s writing style, and need to read the rest of the
books in this series. Rick Auterson’s, The
Yellowwood Tree isn’t a romance; it’s a poignant, gut-wrenching
tale of a young girl's struggle to keep herself and those she loves safe at what
is probably one of the darkest periods in Indiana history. The author's
combination of live action scene and narrative prose works well. He made me
laugh, he made me cry, but once I started the book, I couldn't put it down. Alienne Mine, by Deborah O’Neill
Cordes, is the prequel to Dragon Dawn.
Humans have long been preoccupied with the idea we might not be alone in the
galaxy, but most of us think Star Trek
and primarily humanoid aliens. Even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan, you’ll be
intrigued with the concept of an alternate universe, one where the dinosaurs
didn’t die out but evolved into sentient beings. Believe it or not, it’s a love story. Read it for yourself and see.My fifth book is the work of
Romanian author, Melinda De Ross, and is The
Plot, in which she
successfully tackles a number of sensitive, controversial issues, not the least
of which include human trafficking. The world can be an ugly place, filled with
liars and deceivers, and it takes a special person to rise above them. De Ross
handles the disastrous effects of modern-day human slavery in a believable,
sensible fashion, and manages to include a touching romance. Revenge can be
sweet.For my sixth book, I wanted to
introduce you to an author who began writing at the same time I did. While I’ve
stayed with adult novels, Christy Newton’s Breaking Free is an inspirational novel about one young girl's determination to stop
being a victim. Abusive relationships are destructive—not just the bruises and
the aches inflicted by words, but the fear that never leaves no matter how far
away the abuser is, and when the abuser is a lawman, well, desperate times call
for desperate measure. Ms. Newton has dealt with a controversial topic in a
respectful and sensitive manner. Perfect! Thank you, Susanne! Please tell us about one of your books...
My newest release, which came out on
February 8th, is The
White Iris, the last book in the Harvester series. The White Carnation, book one, starts the search for the madman
terrorizing Boston. In Book two, The
White Lily, they get closer, but the madman remains just out of reach, but
in book three…
Book Blurb:
Time’s running out for Special Agent
Trevor Clark and his FBI task force. They’re no closer to uncovering the
identity of the Prophet, a dangerous serial killer who has been murdering new
mothers and vanishing with their infants. If Trevor can’t unlock the clues, the
killer’s threats to unleash what the FBI suspects is biological warfare could
mean death for all of them. His only recourse is to swallow his pride and reach
out to his former fiancée, the CDC’s renowned virologist, Dr. Julie Swift.
Two years ago, Julie ended their
engagement after Trevor abandoned her when she needed him most. Now, faced with
the possibility of the greatest epidemic since the Spanish flu, she has to put
her faith and her safety, as well as that of countless others, into the hands
of a man she doesn’t trust. Can they set aside their differences to stop the
Prophet, and in doing so, will they find the love they lost?
From the streets of Boston to the
wilds of Alaska, this thrilling conclusion to the Harvester Series takes
several turns you won’t see coming!
Sensuality Level: Sensual
Here is an excerpt.
Stretching
her neck and rolling her shoulders, Dr. E.J. Swift, Julie to friends
and family, eased her stiff muscles. As a virologist, she studied
pathogens that invaded the body, altering cells, sometimes for only a
few days but at others for a lifetime. Curing a viral disease was good;
eliminating and preventing it, even better.
Leaning back in her office chair, she released the clip that held up her long, auburn hair and ran her hands through the messy, tumbling curls, rubbing the sore spot at the back of her head.
I should get it all cut off. It spends more time yanked up and tied than down.
Reaching for the mouse, she scrolled to the top of the document she’d just finished, and sighed. This brief had taken forever to complete—not that it was complicated, but she felt unsettled today, the way she had when she’d suffered a case of the heebie-jeebies prior to those vicious Colorado snowstorms of her youth.
As if there’s a storm anywhere near here.
The last thing she should be doing this gorgeous late July afternoon was sitting in an office, writing an information brief on the effectiveness of last year’s flu vaccine, but her cousin Ellie was up to her elbows in virulent mosquitoes, and the prospect of an afternoon at the pool alone, waiting for Ellie to finish for the day, didn’t appeal. Julie had gone up there on Wednesday night, and the newest creep in 3B had hit on her endlessly. That apartment belonged to some export company, and the tenants changed regularly—all of them the same basic version of jerk. When she’d finally told him she wasn’t interested, the muscle-bound asshole had made a nasty comment before moving on to the new woman in 4C.
And she’s welcome to him.
It wasn’t that Bozo-Bob wasn’t attractive. Julie simply wasn’t interested. He reminded her too much of Trevor, her ex-fiancé who’d trampled her heart to bits.
Face it, girl. Everyone reminds you of Trevor.
In the two years since their breakup, they hadn’t spoken, not even after she’d returned the sapphire engagement ring he’d given her and asked him to contact her so they could discuss what had gone wrong between them. He’d signed for the package, but he hadn’t called.
Trevor knew she needed to compartmentalize—talk things to death, as he put it—but that was just the way she was. If a new recipe for lasagna required a three-paragraph analysis and review, why wouldn’t a failed relationship? You needed to know what went wrong to avoid making the same mistake. Every good researcher knew that.
Hell, she couldn’t even bring herself to cut her damn hair without making a pros and cons list, shifting points from one side to the other, and evaluating everything in the light of her hypothesis. Everything was about process. If you did things in the proper order, you succeeded—if you didn’t, you failed.
Try as she might, she couldn’t close that chapter of her life, which was ridiculous because Trevor certainly had
- See more at: http://www.crimsonromance.com/romantic-suspense-novels/the-white-iris/#sthash.1TcRe6p0.dpuf
Leaning back in her office chair, she released the clip that held up her long, auburn hair and ran her hands through the messy, tumbling curls, rubbing the sore spot at the back of her head.
I should get it all cut off. It spends more time yanked up and tied than down.
Reaching for the mouse, she scrolled to the top of the document she’d just finished, and sighed. This brief had taken forever to complete—not that it was complicated, but she felt unsettled today, the way she had when she’d suffered a case of the heebie-jeebies prior to those vicious Colorado snowstorms of her youth.
As if there’s a storm anywhere near here.
The last thing she should be doing this gorgeous late July afternoon was sitting in an office, writing an information brief on the effectiveness of last year’s flu vaccine, but her cousin Ellie was up to her elbows in virulent mosquitoes, and the prospect of an afternoon at the pool alone, waiting for Ellie to finish for the day, didn’t appeal. Julie had gone up there on Wednesday night, and the newest creep in 3B had hit on her endlessly. That apartment belonged to some export company, and the tenants changed regularly—all of them the same basic version of jerk. When she’d finally told him she wasn’t interested, the muscle-bound asshole had made a nasty comment before moving on to the new woman in 4C.
And she’s welcome to him.
It wasn’t that Bozo-Bob wasn’t attractive. Julie simply wasn’t interested. He reminded her too much of Trevor, her ex-fiancé who’d trampled her heart to bits.
Face it, girl. Everyone reminds you of Trevor.
In the two years since their breakup, they hadn’t spoken, not even after she’d returned the sapphire engagement ring he’d given her and asked him to contact her so they could discuss what had gone wrong between them. He’d signed for the package, but he hadn’t called.
Trevor knew she needed to compartmentalize—talk things to death, as he put it—but that was just the way she was. If a new recipe for lasagna required a three-paragraph analysis and review, why wouldn’t a failed relationship? You needed to know what went wrong to avoid making the same mistake. Every good researcher knew that.
Hell, she couldn’t even bring herself to cut her damn hair without making a pros and cons list, shifting points from one side to the other, and evaluating everything in the light of her hypothesis. Everything was about process. If you did things in the proper order, you succeeded—if you didn’t, you failed.
Try as she might, she couldn’t close that chapter of her life, which was ridiculous because Trevor certainly had
- See more at: http://www.crimsonromance.com/romantic-suspense-novels/the-white-iris/#sthash.1TcRe6p0.dpuf
Stretching her neck and rolling her
shoulders, Dr. E.J. Swift, Julie to friends and family, eased her stiff
muscles. As a virologist, she studied pathogens that invaded the body, altering
cells, sometimes for only a few days but at others for a lifetime. Curing a
viral disease was good; eliminating and preventing it, even better.
Leaning back in her office chair, she
released the clip that held up her long, auburn hair and ran her hands through
the messy, tumbling curls, rubbing the sore spot at the back of her head.
I should get it all cut off. It spends
more time yanked up and tied than down.
Reaching for the mouse, she scrolled to
the top of the document she’d just finished, and sighed. This brief had taken
forever to complete—not that it was complicated, but she felt unsettled today,
the way she had when she’d suffered a case of the heebie-jeebies prior to those
vicious Colorado snowstorms of her youth.
As if there’s a storm anywhere near
here.
The last thing she should be doing this
gorgeous late July afternoon was sitting in an office, writing an information
brief on the effectiveness of last year’s flu vaccine, but her cousin Ellie was
up to her elbows in virulent mosquitoes, and the prospect of an afternoon at
the pool alone, waiting for Ellie to finish for the day, didn’t appeal. Julie
had gone up there on Wednesday night, and the newest creep in 3B had hit on her
endlessly. That apartment belonged to some export company, and the tenants
changed regularly—all of them the same basic version of jerk. When she’d
finally told him she wasn’t interested, the muscle-bound asshole had made a
nasty comment before moving on to the new woman in 4C.
And she’s welcome to him.
It wasn’t that Bozo-Bob wasn’t
attractive. Julie simply wasn’t interested. He reminded her too much of Trevor,
her ex-fiancé who’d trampled her heart to bits.
Face it, girl. Everyone reminds you of
Trevor.
In the two years since their breakup,
they hadn’t spoken, not even after she’d returned the sapphire engagement ring
he’d given her and asked him to contact her so they could discuss what had gone
wrong between them. He’d signed for the package, but he hadn’t called.
Trevor knew she needed to compartmentalize—talk
things to death, as he put it—but that was just the way she was. If a new
recipe for lasagna required a three-paragraph analysis and review, why wouldn’t
a failed relationship? You needed to know what went wrong to avoid making the
same mistake. Every good researcher knew that.
Hell, she couldn’t even bring herself
to cut her damn hair without making a pros and cons list, shifting points from
one side to the other, and evaluating everything in the light of her
hypothesis. Everything was about process. If you did things in the proper
order, you succeeded—if you didn’t, you failed.
Try as she might, she couldn’t close
that chapter of her life, which was ridiculous because Trevor certainly had.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Purchase Links:
Amazon Universal link: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B01AOH6LCE
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-white-iris-susanne-matthews/1123273304
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-white-iris
Publisher: http://www.crimsonromance.com/romantic-suspense-novels/the-white-iris/
Fascinating! Thank you for stopping by to give us a glimpse of your bookshelf, Susanne! :)
About the Author:
A former high school teacher, Susanne Matthews lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, the inspiration for all her heroes. When she’s not writing, she enjoys camping in summer and romantic getaways in winter.
Author Links:
Website/Blog: www.mhsusannematthews.ca/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+SusanneMatthews/posts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jandsmatt
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Susanne Matthews/e/B00DJCKRP4/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7009276.Susanne_MatthewsGoogle+: https://plus.google.com/+SusanneMatthews/posts
Thank you so much for having me here today. It was fun!
ReplyDeleteHappy to have you!
DeleteHello Susanne!!! (and a lot of great authors)!! Thanks so much for including The Boogeyman on your bookshelf!! If you have tried Susanne's The Harvester Series, you're missing out on some suspenseful, entrapping tales wrapped up in a romance!! Pick them up!
ReplyDeleteDottie/Lillie
Thanks so much for stopping by, Dottie!
DeleteDear Susanne, Thank you so much for your kind words about Dragon Dawn and Alienne Mine. It's an honor to be included with such wonderful authors. I look forward to reading your Harvester series. It sounds quite compelling! May you have much success and many sales!
ReplyDelete