Interview with Author Susanne Matthews

 Susanne Matthews

Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

Good morning, Susanne.  Welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors. What have you written? 
That’s a long list. Written and sold under my own name: Fire Angel, In Plain Sight, The Captain’s Promise, Holiday Magic Book One, Second Chance, Book Two, The Perfect Choice, all currently available and Until It’s Over which will be released in June.
Under the pen name Misty Matthews I co-write with another author and we have Coming Home, Book One of Taking a Chance on Love, available now, and Grand Slam which will be released in January. 
I also have two other books currently with publishers.

What is your favorite genre to write?
I write romance, but within that genre, I guess I prefer romance/suspense. 

Favorite food.
Cheesecake—cherry, nothing with nuts or chocolate because I’m allergic to both.

Tea or coffee?
Coffee in the morning, peppermint tea in the evening

Pizza or ice cream? 
Pizza—all dressed

Where would you like to visit? 
I’d love to visit Australia and New Zealand, and while I was there, I’d throw in Tahiti.

Favorite musical artist.
Kenny Rodgers 

Do you listen to music when you write? 
No. I’m afraid I need silence to write—I have to listen to the voices in my head telling me what comes next!
  
What makes you laugh? 
A good joke, some funny movies like Elf, and my grandkids. Children can say the funniest things.

How old were you when you started writing? 
Let me put it this way; I always wanted to be a writer. I dabbled in poetry as a teen. I spent over 30 years as a high school English teacher, so my desire to write was there, but the time wasn’t. I actually started writing seriously at 62. 

Describe your perfect evening.
It really depends on the season. I’m basically a home body. In summer, I like to sit outside on a warm, clear night and admire the stars. We have a fire bowl, and my husband will make a fire.  We’ll sit there with a bottle of wine—just the two of us. We don’t get as much alone-time as I’d like, so I relish the quiet time we have together just talking about stuff.  In winter, we have a fireplace indoors, so I like to sit in front of the fire, and watch a movie or something on the television with him. Friday nights are pizza night, so we have it delivered, and I don’t have to cook.

Where do you get your inspiration? 
I usually get inspired by the world around me, the news, and television programs. Fire Angel was inspired by a series of unsolved arson fires around the city where I live. In Plain Sight came out of a costume I wore in a church Easter pageant. The Captain’s Promise was written specifically for a friend nicknamed Elle. The novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo, which needs to be edited before I submit it to the publisher who’s requested it, was inspired by the place where we had lunch this year on our wedding anniversary. 
  
What do you do when you get a writer's block? 
I go and clean something. Usually the block disappears quite quickly.

Who is your favorite author? 
Nora Roberts

Best book you ever read.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? 
My husband John. He’s the one person who’s been there for me all along. We’ve been married 42 years. He’s always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. When I told him I wanted to write, he told me to go for it, and I haven’t looked back.

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
I think I’d like to sit down with Charles Dickens. He used his writing ability to try and change the conditions of his time. I’d like to know whether or not he felt he’d succeeded in his quest. I wonder how he’d feel knowing his books are still being read and studied long after his passing. Around my house, watching A Christmas Carol is part and parcel of Christmas.

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Don’t give up your dream. I almost did, thinking I was too old to start a second career. Learn all you can about writing—grammar and spelling are important. Finish what you start. Whether you write from an outline or the seat of your pants makes no difference, but don’t leave an unfinished manuscript lying on your desktop. Stories that are finished can be revised, edited, submitted, and sold, those that aren’t, can’t. 

My links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SLMauthor
Website: http://www.mhsusannematthews.ca/

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Susanne-Matthews/e/B00DJCKRP4/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

My blog: http://mhsusannematthews.wordpress.com/

My books are all available in e-book format for download and many are available in print version from Amazon .com