Author Interview: Susan Rose

Susan Rose is a writer who lives in the Washington, DC area. Her first novel, Confessions of a Frog Kisser, was very loosely based on her dating adventures. In her other life, she and her sisters own a small graphic design agency, Two Sisters Creative. Susan is the copywriter, specializing in marketing materials. She also co-owns Rejuvenations Massage Therapy with her husband. Although there is nothing creative about massage, it’s an awfully fun business to own. Susan is currently working on her chick lit mystery series starring Public Relations mogul Ellie Holsinger. Here is my interview with Susan:

What are the titles of your books and where can we buy them?
Confessions of a Frog Kisser. It’s currently out of print, but should be available on cafepress soon.

Where do you get your ideas?
From my life. You just can’t make this stuff up! All kidding aside, my work with the design agency puts me in contact with so many people. I’m constantly learning something I can use. For example, the idea for the crime in my work in progress came from one of my clients…they’re food security experts and while we were running through their training sessions, I got the idea for the book.

What is a typical writing day like for you?
My routine is to write for a while in the morning, then leave it and go about my day. I may or may not pick it up in the evening. I find since I write for a living that sometimes my brain just wants a rest!

Why did you choose your current genre?
I’ve always loved mystery novels—Linda Barnes, Sue Grafton, and Marcia Mueller are three of my favorites. I wanted to create a character that would last throughout several books.

What are you currently working on?
Bad Heir Day is my first foray into the mystery world. It’s a lot of fun…and a lot of research!

Do you have any appearances planned?
Not currently

What advice would you like to give to other writers or anyone interested in becoming a writer?
Just sit down and start writing. Don’t worry about the end…if you think about writing a whole novel, you may well get paralyzed with fear. I find that if I just think about it in small pieces, it will all come together. I also use a timer…I set it for 20 minutes. After that, I can stop if I want. Often I’ll keep going, but I don’t have to. I finished Frog Kisser by spending 20 minutes a day on it.

Hope you've enjoyed this interview with Susan Rose. I'll be interviewing more authors in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!


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Making a list and checking it a few thousand times...

I just watched the movie, The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It probably goes without saying that this is one of those movies that makes you sit back and think about life. The movie is about two men who meet while in the hospital receiving treatment for cancer. As time goes on, they become friends and ultimately decide to take the time to complete several tasks on a to do list, affectionately known as the "bucket list." This film is very moving and it will make you cry, so please, make sure you have the tissues nearby when you're watching.
Also, make sure you have a notebook nearby so that you can take a moment and write out your own "bucket list." It's a wonderful thing to do for yourself. It gave me some perspective because years ago I had started a wish list and the things I had wanted to do in my youth have changed significantly over time. I'm amazed at all of the things that I have actually been able to do over the years and grateful that I've had the good fortune to accomplish so many of my personal goals, no matter how small.
For shits and giggles, I decided that I would also try to make a list of things that I never want to do. I didn't come up with much, but here's the short list purely for your amusement:

1. Scuba diving...I hate deep water and I really don't think I could get the hang of the scuba gear.
2. Deep sea diving of any kind...I saw Jaws when I was three and it traumatized me so that I can't even think of putting myself in that perdicament.
3. Base Jumping, Sky Diving or otherwise flinging myself off of something very tall...I'm terrified of heights and of well, falling.
4. Eating squid...I really just can't imagine eating something so slimy and disgusting. That and I'm not a big lover of seafood.
5. Attending or otherwise being in the vicinity of a Clay Aiken, Taylor Hicks or David Cook concert...This really needs no further explanation.

This was pretty much all I could think of aside from a few unmentionables. I will say that if I were ever in a position where I had to swim in deep water or jump off of something to save my daughter from some impending doom, I would definitely have to set my fears aside and take the plunge...so to speak. But these are not things I would ever do on purpose. As for the Aiken, Hicks, and Cook concert thing, I can't ever see any reason why I would have to do anything remotely related to this for any reason.

All in good fun, but seriously, do take the time to make your list and go back to it often. You'd be surprised what you've been able to accomplish.

Until next time...

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