- Read the review of A Changing Marriage here
- Read the review of The Good Life here
Me: Hello Susan. Welcome to my blog. It's such a pleasure and honor to have you here. Please briefly tell us about your latest release, A Changing Marriage.
Susan: A Changing Marriage is about Karen Spears and Bob Parsons, who meet and date in college and marry shortly after graduation. At first their married life resembles their dating life. But their relationship begins to shift after the arrival of their children; Karen feels unappreciated as a stay-at-home mother, and Bob’s focus on his career clouds his judgment on family matters.
Me: Your books are of contemporary genre and focuses on family and relationships. How would your define a perfect family or a perfect relationship, in your own terms? Since you mostly write about the flaws in marriages and families.
Susan: I’m not sure there is such a thing as a perfect family or a perfect relationship! But communication and compromise are essential to the success of any long-term partnership. And a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt either.
Me: So you too have a perfect family? And did you get inspired by your life to write about these inspiring stories?
Susan:
People often ask me where I get the ideas for my books. Are these works
of fiction really cleverly-disguised accounts of the events of my life?
And the answer is yes – and no. It’s yes because some of the events in
my books do reflect things that have happened in my life. Most writers,
it turns out, write about what they know. They write about what they
have experienced. And the answer is no because I’m not writing about my
life in particular. Let me give you an example: In my first novel, The
Good Life, I write about a middle-aged woman, who lives in the Midwest
and is married to the CEO of a chemical company. Well, I’m middle aged. I
lived in the Midwest for six years. And my husband worked for a
chemical company. He was not, unfortunately, the CEO! Good fiction, the
fiction I like to read, is real. It’s believable. It’s something that
you can relate to – even if it’s outside the realm of your personal
experience.
Me: Perfection doesn't come without a price! So why in A Changing Marriage, you showed us with a broken marriage and in The Good Family you gave us a flawed family which ultimately becomes a perfect one in the end? Do you want to imply that no matter how hard we try a broken marriage cannot be repaired?
Susan: I think some marriages are not meant to last fifty or sixty years. I think others have a chance of lasting a lifetime – but only with good communication and a willingness to compromise.
Me: Your stories are way too inspiring, tasteful, so realistic and very enlightening! Even your writing is so simple, filled with passion and emotions that captures the mood of the readers right into the story. So why did you choose to write inspiring family dramas rather than writing a hassle-free crime pot-boiler?
Susan: I write about what I’m interested in exploring. And I write the kind of books I like to read. I’d consider writing books about crime if I had the courage. Whenever I watch suspenseful television, I have to peek through my fingers!
Me: Was it always your one-true dream to be an author?
Susan: I
have been writing fiction for a long time. And I suspected that if I
worked at it long enough and hard enough, I would get published. It’s
not easy – and I had my fair share of rejection. But I continued
writing, and that – the writing – is the important thing.
Me: Is writing your sole profession? Or do you also have some other passion apart from writing books?
Susan: I am also a grant writer for a maritime history museum, which is a good balance to writing fiction. Other passions? Being with my family, getting some exercise, and good food!
Me: And what's next up on your writing sleeves? Please tell us briefly about it.
Susan: My third novel, The Summer Cottage, comes out in May 2015. It’s a family story that takes place over the course of two summers 30 years apart. The Thompsons spend July and August at a beach cottage on the Connecticut shoreline. Helen, the youngest of the children, is the caretaker for her cancer-riddled mother, Claire, a former Olympic-quality swimmer, whose keen sense of competition has driven her children from home, as well as from one another. After the untimely death of Claire’s husband and the return of her dormant breast cancer, the one thing that keeps Claire going is the possible reunion and reconciliation of her children.
Me: In 2013- The Good Life released, just one year later, A Changing Marriage released. So you finish writing a book within just a year. Tell me how do you unwind yourself after a long days work?
Susan: In the winter, my favorite way to unwind is by reading a book in front of a fireplace fire.
Me: Thank You so much Susan. I'm so grateful to you for sparing time to have this interview session with me. I can only wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.
Susan: Thank you, Aditi! And congratulations to you on your blog!
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Susan's Bio:
Although The Good Life is Susan Kietzman’s first novel, she has been writing fiction for years, fitting it in and around raising her children, working various jobs, and enjoying life. When her boys were young, she wrote early in the morning. And she still does, although she allows more time for fiction now that the boys are mostly elsewhere. She graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in English and from Boston University with an M.S. in journalism. She has written for magazines, newspapers, and corporate websites, and taught English composition as an adjunct instructor at two community colleges. When she is not writing at home, she is writing grant proposals for Mystic Seaport Museum. And when she is not writing she enjoys the outdoors, mostly by hiking, biking, and walking, and reading in her living room in front of a fire.
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