Featured Author: Amy Suzanne

[Tawdra Kandle]

Tell us about your latest book.

My latest book, Bond of Love is about a picturesque mother and wife, forty-one year old Avery Richards who seems to have it all. Married to a successful veterinarian named Noah and mother   to a spunky daughter named Kara, her life is far from awful but she is stuck. With the recent move of their daughter, who has just flown the coop for college, this story examines the deep and often-tumultuous bond between mother and child and the lengths we are willing to go to, as         mothers, to sacrifice our own happiness for the ones we love.            

As we watch Avery walk through her ‘new’ way of daily life, without her ambitious and stubborn child around to mother any longer, we are given a very unique opportunity to tip toe in the front row of their lives, from three very separate views. We will see life as it plays out through her mature and motherly eyes, through Kara’s young and sheltered heart, and then through ‘someone else’s eyes’ that has a vested interest in them both.

As Avery’s well-hidden web of lies come crashing down in an unexpected way, her secrets that she’s safeguarded for years will threaten to rip her peaceful world apart, as well as the world of the ones she loves most. As readers, we will watch how ONE single choice can alter everything. Each character will then be forced to examine what the true meaning of love and             forgiveness means to them.

Every gamut of emotion will be explored: humor, sadness, love, joy, betrayal, hate, and forgiveness. Bond of Love will leave you pondering the age-old question: How well do YOU actually know the ones you love most?

 Where did the idea for the book come from? 

The idea for Bond of Love came from my head! Simple, right? Just kidding. Honestly, I don’t know where it came  from; it just came to me in bits and pieces very quickly. Parts of my characters personalities I have developed from my own life and my own  personality, others from people I know now, people and stories I’ve read about in the news, and even bits from people who I’ve known in my past. With that said though, this is a fictional novel, not based on my life or on anyone I know. Bits and pieces of it have happened to people I know, but the story in totality is not from one certain event or person. It’s chunks here and there, carefully mended together with a thin needle and thread. The setting of the book takes place in  two main places that I happen to know very well, so those parts came from knowing the actual areas. I know them like the back of my own hand, so the details were easy to pull from and very real to me. I knew I wanted to write some sort of a story about the often tangled relationships between mothers and their children, so as I wrote out my outline, the characters and plot seemed to just come to me. It’s like the whole story was sitting up there in my brain, just scratching at my cranium, fighting to come out. And now it’s here. Wha ‘la!

Who and what inspire you to write?

I get my inspiration for my writing from  events and stories that I hear about in the news and in movies, and from my  own life, and in the lives of people I know and love, that touch me deeply. I am  very tenderhearted and when I encounter something deeply touching, either personally or by afar, I feel it. Then the stories consume me and I want to write about them. I love writing. Everyone and everything in life inspires me to write.

Each author has his or her own inspiring journey. How did you begin writing?             

I have been writing and filling journals since I was about ten years old. There  was always no better gift to receive, than a diary. So I guess you could say that  writing has always just been in my blood. It’s a part of me. I went all the way through school loving my literature classes. I graduated from college with a BA in Liberal Studies, with my major in English, my minor in art, and went on to receive my teaching credential as well. I love to both read and write in my free time.

What has been the most pleasant surprise about writing? How about an unexpected down side? 

There are several positive and negatives sides to writing a book that others will read. It’s different than just writing in my journal.   Journal writing is peaceful and always non-threatening. I write what I want, I say  EXACTLY how I feel, and I close my journal feeling lighter. Writing a book that will be published however is a whole different ball game. The positive side of  writing is that I find it exciting and peaceful at the same time. When I write, I  fully emerge myself into the character’s lives and I love this. I get so sucked in, it’s sometimes hard for me to stop. With three young girls still at home to take care of, they often need my time and attention, so it’s a struggle to find that balance. The actual writing process, when writing an actual book is very methodical, planned out, organized, detail oriented, and a bit stressful. As the author, I want my readers to LOVE what I write. I want them to feel my characters, to fall into their lives and want to keep turning the page, and I need nothing less than perfection in its end product. I feel immense pressure to have my writing absolutely flawless! That’s why I have re-read it a 100 times before Ieven sent it off to an editor, then I re-read it 100 more times before it went off to the publisher, just to make sure it was absolutely perfect in my mind. So that part is VERY stressful. I am a type A personality anyways, so perfection is always something I strive for. I don’t know if I always succeed, but I do put in 110% trying to make it so. Also, another unexpected side of writing that I felt to be difficult is letting go. My story is my baby. I have poured a year of time,   emotion, research, thought, and love into developing each character and the story line, so giving it to others to read has been very scary for me.   Unfortunately, I finally had to just STOP and let it go. I have NEVER let anyone  read a story I’ve written, but I’ve always been told, by my friends and family, that I should be a writer because my letters and correspondences to all of them have always stirred a lot of praise. It’s very humbling and makes me anxious at the same time. This is not a diary; it’s a REAL published book! 

 Do you have any writing rituals?  

Yes, actually I do. It’s what people always want to know about too, which I find kind-of humorous. I never really think of it as a ritual, but it most definitely is. As I mentioned, being married, having four daughters, one already out of the house, and three still left here at home, it is very challenging to find the actual time to write. Our three girls here at home are extremely busy creatures and they take up A LOT of my time. Plus, I like to pretend that I am Mrs. Beaver-Cleaver, so I like everything done “just so,” for them. They are involved in dance, cross country, swim, and art, and I am constantly driving them here and there, helping out at their school, sitting backstage at a dance competition or Nutcracker performance, or on the side-line with my husband at their outdoor sporting events. So, back to the main question- my writing ritual...it revolves around them! After getting the girls all ready and off to three separate schools every morning (elementary, junior high,and high school) I do all my chores around the house and run all my errands for the day, before I give myself permission to write. (I like things clean, especial with kids and animals). Knowing I get to write though makes the monotonous routine of doing dishes, laundry, and animal care, go much faster. Usually by midmorning and early afternoon, after everything else is done, I do the bulk of my writing. I sit at my schoolhouse desks (old fashioned ones), with my laptop,coffee, printer, dictionary, thesaurus, and endless notes, and I write. This is the time I feel full of creativity and purpose, beyond what everyone else always        “needs” from me. All of my animals congregate around me as I do this. There is usually a cat snuggled next to our Cocker Spaniel in the dog bed beside me, our other dog by my feet, and a cat on my lap. I write until I have to leave, to begin my three pick-ups at school. Sometimes it is extremely hard to stop, but my children and family come first. Usually, then later in the evening, after all the sports are over, after dinner has been made and cleaned up, and when the kids             are prayed with and tucked into bed, I write again. I only usually write for a short time at night though because that is also the only time I really get to spend time  with my husband. My brain always wants to be writing, but I have to remember that writing is not my only priority. It’s a tough balance. It takes a lot of organization to give myself this time to write.

 Do you write your books in order? 

I start at the beginning and go to the end, however, the end changed dramatically from my original plan in Bond of Love. As I wrote, I seemed to sway away from my methodically mapped out story that  was neatly pined-up on index cards on a huge corkboard. I knew as the characters evolved, the way I wanted it to flow had to be changed.

What is on your writing playlist for this book?

I write in complete silence. No  TV, no music. So, thinking of what music would go with this is hard. Maybe I  don’t understand this question though. Not sure.

 Any favorite writing snacks?

I like to eat baked potato with butter, cheese, and sour cream. Normally I don’t eat when I write though. I’m too busy thinking. I forget about food.

 What advice would you give writers who aspire to be published? 

I would say be prepared to put your whole heart and soul into the process. Besides writing       the book, there is so much more that goes into it. Finding an editor, finding a graphic artist so that your cover jumps out and is formatted correctly, finding a  publisher, and immersing yourself into advertising your book in some shape or form. It is a long process, an exciting process, but it can also be stressful, especially when you are trying to do other things in your life at the same time. You need to be prepared to shell out some money to get it moving down the       right track too. You CAN do it all on your own, for free, but remember…as my friend who is also an author once told me, what you put out there will be judged.  You want a smooth, flawless, inviting book to pull your readers in. Not one that is choppy, full of mistakes, and looks like doo-doo. People WILL judge your book by your cover, so make sure it’s a good one! The writing part I LOVED…pushing my book onto my friends and family, and into the public through “many” different  means of advertising, has not been my favorite part.

 Are you working on anything new right now? 

A month ago, when I was on a long flight to New York City with my husband a new story came to me out of the blue. For three hours I hunched over that mini-sized tray table, and wrote an entire outline for a new book! So yes, I have an outline but have only written very little on it because I am still too immersed in getting Bond of Love out there.

 Who is your favorite character in your current book? 

I like “several” of my characters for different reasons, but my two favorites are Kara and Avery. I can relate to both of their lives and put myself in their shoes easily.

What is your favorite book of all time? 

My favorite book of all time is Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah.

 Tell us in one sentence why we should read your book. 

You should read my book because it will make you laugh, cry, gasp, fill you with suspense, as well as making you question personally, what love and forgiveness really means to you. 

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