Interview with contemporary romance author Susie Warren

Contemporary author Susie Warren is here today to chat a little bit about her new novel The Convenient Wedding.

During her virtual book tour, Susie will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winner’s choice) to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Susie Warren writes contemporary romance. Besides being an avid reader, she spends much of her free time crafting intense and complex stories about falling in love. When she is not writing, Susie works as an administrator in a small, independent school while caring for three teenagers and keeping tabs on her inventor husband. With the launching of her first book, The Forgotten Heiress, she has begun to gather a robust fan base, now on book four, she has fully emerged as an author to keep an eye on.

Welcome, Susie. Please tell us about your current release.
In The Convenient Wedding, a reluctant socialite is pulled into a scandal and must choose between her families’ reputation and her future happiness.

Lucia Montgomery is from an old and powerful political family in Connecticut and desperately wants to shed her reputation as young and impulsive.

Anderson Adams, a candidate in a contested congressional race, meets Lucia at a fundraising event and the two enjoy a spontaneous evening out. Lucia causes a media frenzy when she is tricked into going to his hotel room the next morning and photographs of them are captured in the hotel. Anderson persuades her to play along with a pretend engagement then an actual wedding to save her reputation and his campaign. The media falls in love with the charismatic couple and they must figure out how to reconcile their public image with their private life.

What inspired you to write this book?
Often my ideas begin with a visual image. After visiting Greenwich, Connecticut and being impressed with the architecture and history, I began to think about possible storylines involving politics. I found a coffee table book with images of loft apartments and decided to make the main character an architect who wanted to get into politics. Next, I decided his love interest should be someone who had political connections but was not very interested in politics. I needed a way to drag her into the story and decided to use her impulsive nature against her. Lucia is interesting because she is full of life and impulsive but also deeply cares about doing the right thing.

Excerpt from The Convenient Wedding:

Anderson Adams watched the graceful, blond girl across the room spin seductively in an effort to show off her gown. She was strikingly beautiful and seemed to spread cheer to those gathered around her. He decided in that moment that he needed a break from the endless political chatter surrounding him.

He politely excused himself from the discussion and asked his campaign manager, Brian Gallagher, “Who is the beauty across the room?”

Brian followed his gaze and said, “Ah, Bella Montgomery. William Montgomery’s granddaughter. I’ve heard that she has relocated to Connecticut and is interested in launching a PR firm. I think she goes by Lucia Montgomery now.”

“Have you spoken with her this evening?” Anderson kept his voice disinterested. He needed a diversion for the evening but had to be careful of his reputation. It wouldn’t help his cause to irritate the former governor. While this campaign may not end in success, he had other political aspirations for the future.

“Not yet. But her grandfather asked that I interview her for a position in the campaign. Apparently, he would like to see her heading up the PR elements. The campaign needs experience and talent not a bored socialite but having a connection to the former governor wouldn’t hurt us.”

Anderson avoided making eye contact with anyone, taking a moment to contemplate his approach. “Connections are important. William Montgomery has the influence and positive record to energize older voters. An association with Ms. Montgomery could prove to be helpful.”

His campaign manager put a hand on his shoulder and guided his view away from Lucia Montgomery. “I wouldn’t seek her out. She is exactly what you don’t need. Young, blond and receptive. You need to be seen having a mature relationship, not chasing a young socialite who may end up having a position in the campaign.”

There was no way he would allow his campaign manager to dictate his choice of companion. Cultivating a veneer of respectability was necessary, but he wouldn’t allow it to command how he lived his life.

Taking a large swallow of whiskey, he handed the empty glass to Brian. “I’ll see what she has to offer the campaign.”

Making his way across the room, he noted her companion abandoned her when she saw him coming towards them.

He stopped within a few feet of her and was captivated by her intense and open stare. He had the sense that she had been waiting for him. The crossover V-neckline in front and back exposed sun-kissed, flawless skin. He had to push away thoughts of her undressing for him. How could she tempt him so easily? He had given up on women in the last few months, instead deciding to slide into a forced celibacy after his last nightmare of a relationship had ended with bitter regrets.

He said, “I don’t think we have met. I’m Anderson Adams.”

What exciting story are you working on next?
The Convenient Wedding is the third and final book in The Rosa Legacy series. I’m back to working on my first series, The Bolles Dynasty. I’ll have the second book, The Secret Heiress, ready to be released in early July. Anna Bolles leaves behind her privileged existence to launch a start-up company and comes into contact with Alistair Martin, a billionaire who invests into new ideas. He insists on overseeing the transformation of the company and she resists letting him take charge.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I began writing stories in high school but when I went to college at seventeen, I worried that a writing career would be too elusive or risky so I gravitated toward more established career paths. I’ve used my writing ability in other pursuits, technical writing and business administration, and wrote reports, speeches, articles and technical documents until finally I decided to take a leap of faith and begin writing fiction. I guess, I’ve always considered myself a writer but I’ve been writing commercial fiction in a disciplined way for the past eight years.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write part-time. I have a full-time job as an administrator in a small school and three growing children who are now teenagers. I get up early to write each day and then spend longer stretches of time on weekends and holidays to push a story forward. I’ve sacrificed most of my free time and quite a bit of sleep in the last five years to pursue a writing career.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have a tendency to write early in the morning as the sun is rising. The house is very quiet at this time and the phone seldom rings. As I get drawn deeper into the story, the house could go up in flames and I may not realize it as I keep putting words on the page. I think my ability to tune everything out is my most interesting writing quirk.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a writer. I knew even than that it was a natural draw for me but in school, teachers would often discourage my day dreaming tendencies and there was very little avenue for creative writing.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I’m very grateful for readers reading. I get a tremendous amount of joy out of knowing that someone may be appreciating a story that I’ve written. As a writer, I’m always trying to improve and find new ways to continue developing my craft.

Links:

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Thank you for stopping by today, Susie!

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