Hold the Faith has been published recently, the next book in the series is in draft form. Between the blogs and the website I am 'time poor' on the next book, although I started and my editor 'passed' the draft. Still a long way to go though.
What inspired you to create this book?
An incredible Bible study series on the Apostle John. (Credited in the Thanks section.)
How much research do you do?
One of my complaints... the research takes much, much longer than writing. Because the setting of the book is the first century AD, discovering weather patterns, diet, clothing, homes, how long it took to walk... all these questions took so much time, and sometimes a lot of frustration to discover.
Are you a plotter / planner or do you prefer to dive right in?
Basically, dive right in. In Hold the Faith I had a time frame to fit within... the Holy Days they kept, so I ended up with charts. When they were and what the characters had to do between. I also had diagrams of some of the places in the book... the farm layout where the book commenced and the home of the Apostle John and his family.
How much dialogue do you have with your readers?
An early reader did me a huge favour. He noticed a typo and wrote to me. That was the best favour anyone had done and I ended up with a total revision from deciding I had better re-read it.
What kind of support groups do you have to help get the book across the line?
We are pretty isolated here. I have a couple of 'beta' readers but my husband is my main support.
Do you work with an editor? If so, how much input do they have?
Again my husband is my editor. He has a lot of input. I have the entire story - three and a half books, in my mind. He reminds me where I have forgotten to put it on the pages.
How are you publishing this book? (e.g. Indie, traditional) And why did you chose to go this way?
I chose Indie because my niche (Early Christian fiction) is very narrow.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Trust. Life takes you there. (Hard to believe when you are in the midst of some trauma but it is true.)
Favourite book or film / why?
Favourite book... probably Lord of the Rings because it is very well written and there are no loose ends.
What are you working on now?
The second book of the series is currently in draft form. However, I am taking some time to publicize the book at the moment. Like most authors I find this hard and would rather write the book.
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Susan was born in Peebles, a town in the Scottish borders, but moved to Australia in 1975. She lives in Perth, Western Australia with my husband of twenty-five event filled years.
She has worked as a shop assistant, double loom weaver, trained as a Psychiatric nurse and worked as an After-care Nursing Sister in an outpatient clinic and in the community.
She recently published Hold the Faith and have book two in the series 'Grow in Faith' ready to edit. Book three is only a draft and book four an idea that hasn't made it to her computer pages yet.
Christian history fascinates Susan and a Bible Study on the Apostle John inspired her to set this history down.
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