Susan Mallery
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
Author I draw inspiration from: I find Debbie Macomber to be very inspiring, and she gave me one of the most impactful pieces of writing advice I’ve ever received. She told me to write a series about a town. Up until then, I’d been writing series about families—the Marcellis, the Buchanans, the Bakery Sisters, the Lone Star Sisters. I loved them, but they were intrinsically finite. There are only so many people in a family. But a town! A series about a town could go on for years. That led to my Fool’s Gold, Happily Inc, Mischief Bay and Blackberry Island, the setting of Sisters by Choice.
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
Favorite place to read a book: At home with my feet up on the sofa and a cat in my lap.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I’m going to go with Jason Bourne because we wouldn’t be stuck for long. He would kick open the trap door, climb up the shaft, and save me.
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: While I was in college, I took an evening continuing education course titled How to Write a Romance Novel. It was a very impractical class because it had nothing to do with my major (accounting) and wasn’t even for credit. I took it while carrying a full courseload of for-credit classes, and I was a newlywed, so I really didn’t have time for impracticality. But I’d been an avid reader since I could recognize letters, and this class was just too tempting to resist.
It was an eight-week class. By week six, I knew I wanted to be a writer. It’s been the joy of my life.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: I love them all! Mostly I use ebooks when I’m traveling because of convenience. At home, I read print—either hardcover or paperback, whichever format was the book’s original release. I listen to audiobooks in the car.
The last book I read: Postmodern Winemaking by Clark Smith. It’s research for the book I’m working on now. My heroine, Mackenzie, is the winemaker at a family winery. The only problem is, it’s not her family—it’s her husband, and there’s trouble in the marriage. Getting a divorce would mean giving up her connection to the land and the people she loves to the very core of her soul.
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
Pen & paper or computer: Computer. I type somewhere around 120 words per minute, so I can keep up with my thoughts a lot better that way.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I’m currently reading The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, and I think I’d be friends with Margery, the leader of a group of packhorse librarians (which are just what they sound like). Although I wouldn’t want to go back to live in that time and place, I respect Margery’s strength and independence, and I especially love that she rebelled against the mores of her time to live the life she wanted to live.
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: An unfulfilled accountant. That writing class saved me from a life of tedium. (Nothing against accountants—I have great respect for them. I have just learned that I would not have been happy with that life.)
Favorite decade in fashion history: I love fashion now because while there are still trends, there are no rules. People celebrated for expressing themselves, and I think that’s fabulous.
Place I’d most like to travel: I’d love to visit Australia someday, if only the flight weren’t so long!
My signature drink: For daytime Susan, it’s Starbucks Latte. For nighttime Susan, red wine.
Favorite artist: Dale Chihuly
Number one on my bucket list: I don’t know that I have a bucket list. I’m very fortunate that my writing career has given me the freedom to pursue my interests. There’s nothing I can think of that I would regret not having done if I were to die tomorrow. I’m blessed, and so grateful.
Author Interview - Susan Mallery
