Guest Blogger, Susan Kearney

Please join me in welcoming bestseller author Susan Kearney as the special guest blogger here today at Thoughts in Progress.

Susan is beginning a Blog Tour today for her latest release, “Jordan.” The tour will conclude on Friday, March 5.

Thanks to Susan and the Hachette Book Group, I have five copies of Susan’s latest release to give away. The giveaway will deadline on Friday, March 5. To enter, simply send me an e-mail with “Win Jordan” in the subject line and include her name and address in the body of the e-mail. The giveaway is only open to U.S. and Canadian residents and no post office boxes will be accepted.

Susan joins us here today to talk about the authors and books that inspired her to become a writer.

I was always a reader. I stole books from my mother’s nightstand and put them back after devouring them in a day. I took Playboy Magazines from my dad’s stash and secretly read them (and probably ruined my eyesight reading by a nightlight). I grew up reading science fiction, Asimov, Heinlein, Clark, EE Doc Smith, and to me a library was heaven.

But I never considered being a writer—not even after my grandmother gave me my first romance and I started devouring them. I didn’t like English. Didn’t like reading the classics and graduated the University of Michigan with a degree in business.

After I’d had children and they were on a swim team, I continued readings during practice. I read a book by Johanna Lyndsay, Warrior’s Woman, a futuristic romance set on another world and loved it. She’d combined my two favorite genres, science fiction and romance. And I wanted to read more books like it . . . only there weren’t any. So I decided to write one.

I knew nothing. My first book had no commas. It was six hundred pages and had no chapters. I didn’t know how to type. And every thought was in
quotes. No it didn’t sell—at least not then but THE CHALLENGE was my 38th book published. My road to publication was a little sidetracked by the market. I couldn’t sell my first love—futuristic romance. There simply wasn’t a publisher buying them back then—not unless the writer was famous already.

But I was bitten by the writing bug and sold romantic suspense for a few years, then contemporary romance, even a Star Trek, book but finally, finally, finally, I got to write what I love. 

And JORDAN is one of my all time favorite books. It’s one of my best covers, too. But it’s the characters who I love. A warrior who’s lived for centuries. Men and women who can shift into dragons. And lots of adventure and romance. 

All of my books stand alone. You won’t be lost if you haven’t read Lucan and Rion before you read Jordan. Oh . . . did I mention the stories are tied to Arthurian legends?  If you’d like to read an excerpt they are posted on my site at www.susankearney.com

Susan thanks so much for joining us today. It seems funny for you to talk about a book with no commas and no chapters. I’m glad to know that you did finally get your first book published.

Susan’s 50-plus books include contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, futuristic, science fiction, paranormal novels. She resides in a suburb of Tampa with her husband, kids, Boston terriers and iguana. Currently Susan is plotting her way through her 52nd work of ficton.

Here a brief synopsis of “Jordan” - Vivianne Blackstone devotes herself to her career, putting her love life on hold. Her latest project is a spaceship designed to protect Earth from the deadly Tribes. But its engineer, the alluring Jordan McArthur, now threatens both her job and her wary heart . . .

Jordan's past goes back to King Arthur, and he must find the ancient artifact that can save the galaxy. Vivianne's ship is his best hope, but convincing the fiercely independent beauty won't be easy. Especially when the passion flaring between them burns through their defenses - and love is the last thing they need to survive.