Interview with Author Suzie Johnson

Today I welcome to my blog fellow WhiteFire author, Suzie Johnson, whose A Fair to Remember, released on the same day as my second novel. I’m excited to be interviewing Suzie today!

Suzie: Rachelle, thank you so much for inviting me to visit with you and your readers.

It was fun sharing a Release Day with you, Suzie! What were you most thankful for as your Release Day approached?

I’m thankful for a lot of things. For this book in particular, I’m most thankful for my sister, Pam. She really gave me encouragement and love through some difficult times. She also let me bounce ideas off her, and was my first reader. I’m also for the wonderful ladies who helped critique for me: Narelle, Stacy,  Heather, and Marti. And of course, I’m extremely thankful for my amazing editors, Dina, Roseanna, and Wendy. They truly are a talented group of ladies.

And then there’s the excitement of seeing your book in print. There’s nothing quite like it.

Agreed! Especially when our covers come through the talent of Roseanna White Designs. I still haven’t gotten over that (read: I cry every time!). So what have you most enjoyed about the publishing process so far?

This probably sounds silly, but I really enjoy the editing process. There’s something about seeing one or two sentences change and grow into a paragraph or two, or sometimes even an entire scene.

Not silly at all! That is so true! What advice would you give yourself a year ago?

Don’t take on too much. Know what you can and cannot fit into your day.

Excellent advice I think every new author must be told. ;) What first sparked the idea for your novels?

My books were not published in the order I wrote them. My first historical for WhiteFire, Sweet Mountain Music, was the third book published but the first one I wrote. That idea was sparked by a book my father gave me called My Wanderings in South America. It documented a naturalist’s journey as he looked for species he’d never seen. Some of it was icky, but it made me think up a hero who was searching for Sasquatch. My contemporary novel, True North, was inspired by a drawing my son made for me when he was six, and a whale watching trip we took together.

Such fun stories! What is your favorite place to write?

The beach. Water is so soothing to my soul, it’s where I feel closest to God, and that’s where I create the best.

I feel like you kinda covered this above but I love asking this: What advice would you give new authors?

If you think you can remember those brilliant ideas that wake you up in the middle of the night, think again. Write it down before you go back to sleep. I’ve lost more great ideas because I was so sure I’d remember.

Thank you, Rachelle!

Thanks, Suzie!

About the Author

Suzie Johnson’s recent historical romance, A Fair to Remember, is her latest novel from WhiteFire Publishing. Suzie is also the author of two contemporary novels, True North and No Substitute, under the name Susan Diane Johnson and published by The Pelican Book Group. She is a member of the group blog, Inkwell Inspirations, as well as a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Suzie lives in the Pacific Northwest in the perfect spot for writing romantic fiction.

Find Suzie: Facebook // Goodreads // Twitter // Amazon

About A Fair to Remember

Buffalo, NY ~ 1901

A fair that will never be forgotten…

Clara Lambert attended the Pan-American Exposition as a Kodak girl, never dreaming that she would end up photographing the attempted assassination of President McKinley.

James Brinton, a disgraced police officer now working security at the Expo, wants only to redeem his good name…and perhaps earn a new position with the president s security.

When Clara is accused of being involved in the assassination attempt, James has to put aside his own ambitions to try to prove the innocence of the young woman who has captured his heart as surely as her camera captures the world before its lens.

But in the face of investigations, arrests, and mounting danger, they must do the hardest thing that could be asked: forgive.