Author Interview _ Susan Page Davis, Revisited

Susan Page Davis is a native of Maine and author of romantic suspense, historical romance, and children’s novels. She’s a mother of six, all home schooled until college, and grandmother of five. Most recently she has been writing romantic suspense for Harvest House and Love Inspired Suspense. With her daughter, Megan Elaine Davis, she writes the Blue Heron Lake cozy mystery series for Heartsong Presents: Mysteries




What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

My romantic suspense book, Just Cause came out January 1. It’s the story of a woman accused of murdering her husband. Laurel has faced a jury once, but that ended in a mistrial. Now she has to go to court again. An idealistic police officer is determined to prove her innocence, but Laurel is being stalked, and they must elude the criminals before they can clear her name.

Writing this story took me into some new territory. My research included interviewing trial attorneys and police officers, to make sure I had it right.


Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.

I began seriously writing fiction in 1999. It was four years before I sold my first book (Protecting Amy, a historical romance published by Heartsong in 2004. It’s being repacked with my later sequels in the one-volume Wyoming Brides this spring).

When Jim Peterson called me and told me they were buying the book, I was just about wrung out with relief. It was such a long struggle. It had been 18 months since I first submitted that manuscript, and I’d rewritten it twice to make it a better story and meet the Heartsong guidelines. It was such a feeling of accomplishment! My whole family was elated, and we thanked God.

My husband sometimes says we should thank God for something He gives us for as long as we prayed to get that thing. I’ve thanked Him for a lot longer than 18 months for allowing me to sell that first book (and the ones that have followed).


Homicide at Blue Heron Lake is part of a series. Tell us a little about it.

My daughter, Megan Elaine Davis, and I are writing a three-book series for Heartsong Presents: Mysteries. This cozy mystery trilogy takes place in a tiny (fictional) town in Maine, on the shores of Blue Heron Lake. The first book, Homicide at Blue Heron Lake, releases Jan. 18. It’s Megan’s first published novel (though she’s published articles and poems), and my thirteenth.

Is writing a series more difficult than writing a stand-alone novel?

In some ways it is—you need a system that will help you remember the details of Book 1 when you write the sequels. Personally, I like making a note card for each character—name, relatives, hair and eye color, other distinguishing characteristics, pets, car make and color, etc.

But I think the biggest challenge for us in writing this series was working together. Megan and I decided to write alternate chapters, and that has worked fairly well for us. However, Megan is much closer in age to our main characters than I am. She and our heroine are both 25 right now.

As a result, sometimes Megan’s chapters sound more genuine and youthful than mine. We’ve tried to adjust our voices a little so that the readers can’t see a big difference in our chapters. I think the end product will please our readers. Writing Book 2 (Treasure at Blue Heron Lake) was a little easier in that respect, though the plot gave us more headaches. Book 3 (Impostors at Blue Heron Lake) is due on the editor’s desk the day before Megan’s wedding. But we love the plot, so we shouldn’t have any problem finishing it before then!

Is planning a mystery (let alone a series!) hard? What do you do to simplify the task?

Nowadays, I do a detailed synopsis and make sure the crimes and revelation of clues works. I wrote six mysteries before I discovered that writing a synopsis FIRST can actually help you (even if you have to change it as you write). I find that I write myself into corners less often now.

I also use old calendars to block out the major events of a mystery story. I jot the event and chapter number on a calendar square. For instance, Saturday, June 1, Jane arrives in Oakland; body discovered (ch 1). Sunday, June 2, Sam and Jane attend church, Andrew arrives, murder weapon found (ch 2). Wednesday, June 5, second corpse found, Jane interviews Sgt. Smith (ch 5). This helps me to avoid “losing days,” and reminds me to include Sundays and holidays in my characters’ lives, even if they’re not emphasized. For instance, Jane can’t go to the bank on Sunday. The post office closes at noon on Saturday, etc.

Do you experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Often. I’ve sold about 18 books, but I still get rejections, for many reasons. I always wonder if I can measure up, and if I’ll ever be able to write another book as good as... (fill in the blank). The hardest part for me is getting a rejection with no explanation. I want to grab that editor and say, “Why? What specifically made you stop reading? What should I change?” But you usually don’t get to do that.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

At first I sent out my own manuscripts before they were ready. Of course, I thought they were ready. Big grin. And I was afraid to ask an editor anything. I would wait six months, sometimes up to a year. If it went a year, I’d work up my courage and ask, but that usually meant I’d get a package back with a “No thanks.” I didn’t attend my first writers’ conference until after I had sold my first book. I had no idea how helpful they can be.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Treat your writing seriously, as a business, and be persistent. Write every day.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

Why don’t you just self-publish that novel?

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

ACFW rocks! (American Christian Fiction Writers)

What are a few of your favorite books?

Mrs. Mike, by Nancy and Benedict Freedman; To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; For Kicks, by Dick Francis. My list of “favorites” changes constantly.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

The Prisoner’s Wife delighted me on several levels. Historians have read it and found it to be accurate and entertaining. The judges at the IRCC and ACFW’s Book of the Year both gave it first place in their short historical categories. And I’m still getting reader feedback from people whose lives were touched by the story.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

Yes, I’ll send one manuscript off to the editor, immerse myself in writing the next one, and wham, the first editor wants me to do a revision. It yanks me out of my own story. But that’s life. People ask me how I bounce back and forth from historicals to contemporaries. It happens all the time—more often than they know.

Take us through your process of writing a novel briefly—from conception to revision.

That’s changed since I started selling books. Nowadays, here’s what happens:
I get an idea. I let it sit for a while. If I STILL think it’s a good idea, I’ll run it by a few people—maybe my agent and critique partners. If they love it, too, I work up a synopsis. Then I let Chip try to sell it. If he finds an editor who loves it as much as I do, we contract and I start writing. I hand it in and go on to the next really good idea. After a while I do a revision at the editor’s request (usually—not always). Of course, somewhere in there we agonize over cover art, title, etc. Then I get the galleys. When the author’s copies come, we celebrate. That’s when I know it’s really done.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?

Yes, I’d love to publish a series of trade book mysteries.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?

Of course. Many, many times, until after I sold my second book. But not any more.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?

Favorite—Knowing other people love my stories.
Least Favorite—Time constraints. So many ideas, so little time!

How much marketing/publicity do you do? Any advice in this area?

I’m really bad at marketing, but I do whatever comes my way. I do signings, I speak, I send out notices and do interviews. But I always feel as though I should be doing more.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response?

My book Frasier Island is about a small Navy installation in an isolated area. I got email from a woman telling me she had a book club of 10 Navy wives whose husbands were stationed at a small base in an isolated area. And they were reading Frasier Island and loving it! I was tickled pink and sent them some background information on how I wrote the story, along with a book to use as a door prize at their next meeting.

Parting words?

My next release will be something new—a collaboration with my daughter Megan, age 25. We have contracted a trilogy of cozy mysteries with Heartsong Presents: Mysteries. It’s called the Mainely Murder Series. Our first book, Homicide at Blue Heron Lake, releases January 18, 2008. We’ve written book 2, Treasure at Blue Heron Lake, and it will release in September. Book 3, Imposters at Blue Heron Lake, will come out in 2009. It’s been a journey of discovery for Megan and me as we shared the responsibility and the joy.