Susan, Welcome to my blog.
Susan: Thank you. I love your enthusiasm!
Nicole: First off, I completely fell in love with Raoul in Sweet Spot. What inspired you to bring him back?
Susan: I was about halfway through SWEET SPOT when I realized that Raoul would have to have his own book someday. He is such a special character. He pretty much raised himself, and he did a great job of it. He has a finely developed sense of right and wrong. Which is not to say that he never did anything wrong – in fact, SWEET SPOT starts with him breaking the law. I won’t say more than that in case your visitors haven’t read the book.
Raoul grew up to be an amazing man. As FINDING PERFECT starts, he has left the NFL and started a camp for inner city kids in the hills outside Fool’s Gold. He wants to reach out to help teens who don’t have a lot of positive role models in their lives. He wants to inspire them, to show them that they can decide their own fate, just as he decided his own. They are not limited by the circumstances of their birth.
Nicole: Where do you get your ideas for each new series?
Susan: Ideas come from everywhere. In the case of Fool’s Gold, I was reading a story about the census, which was a couple years away at the time. This article was talking about all the things that a city learns about itself when the census numbers come in. Not just the overall population, but the makeup of the population. I started to think about embarrassing things a town might discover. “Ooo,” I thought. “What if there weren’t enough men?” So Fool’s Gold and the man shortage were born.
Nicole: Do you have a favorite character from any of your books, if so whom?
Susan: My favorite changes over time. My current favorite is Pia, the heroine of FINDING PERFECT. Pia was a rich snob in high school, a mean girl who made all the other girls cry. She was very proud of her status, and she lorded it over her classmates. But then that status was ripped away from her very painfully, and she learned some hard lessons in humility. Her father became the town scandal because he was caught embezzling. Pia’s mother ran away.
Pia could have run away, too, but some of the people in Fool’s Gold showed her more kindness than she deserved. That forged in her an unbreakable loyalty to the town. The whole experience also made her think about who she wanted to be. She’s still a fun-loving party girl, but she no longer makes fun of people. She’s kind, unfailingly upbeat, and one of the most generous people you’ll ever meet.
Nicole: Have you thought about writing anything other than contemporary?
Susan: Contemporary stories keep me really busy these days, but I’m always open to the idea. I love reading historical fiction. Especially World War II era stories. Oooh, they always get me going!
Nicole: Can you tell us about your next project?
Susan: I’m working on three more Fool’s Gold books for 2011, stories for the Hendrix triplets. The triplets are slightly disturbed that their mother wants to start dating. Always uncomfortable, which makes it so fun for me!
If you have not had picked up your copy of FINDING PERFECT, you definitely need to. You can find my review of it here.
2 comments:
I love Fool's Gold! I was so happy to hear that was more to come... You can find my review for Finding Perfect here.
I've only JUST discovered Susan Mallery. I happened upon "Sweet Talk" while on vacation...it was in the condo we rented. I really liked it. Of course, I had to know what happened with the other sisters. I've since picked up "Sweet Spot" and even though I enjoyed the romance, Raoul stole the book for me. I was wondering what would happen to him, where he'd end up, if I'd see him again....and now I know! I'm so excited!
Dingo Baby
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