Susan Stephens' Writing Diary

I have them- and here's the cure...
DRINK THROUGH A STRAW WITH YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR EARS
OK, now you've got that sorted, have a great weekend!
Love to all, and happy reading!
Susan

Did you know that I was cool? Desirable? In demand?
No?
You're right!
But remember, I have two gorgeous daughters aged almost 17, and 25- one blonde; one brunette.
I have been fielding calls for them both tonight- and gee, those guys are nice.
Yes, I know- I'm merely a conduit- but hey- let's not knock the charm girls- at my age, I take it any way I can get it!
Have a great weekend!
Love to you all!
Susan

Hands up those who find it hard to write when the sun shines.
It's all right for all you lucky people who live in the land of OZ- you probably love writing in air-conditioned splendour because the sun shines so frequently. Here, in the damp North of England, it's almost impossible to resist that trip into the garden on the one day in the year when you don't need thermals to survive to 'do some work'
Right. That would be sun-bathing work, chilled white wine drinking work, and dreaming about all the books I'm going to write instead of writing them work.
Yep, girls, that was me today- working really, really hard.
Let's hope for the sake of my deadlines that it's back to the usual chilly overcast skies tomorrow!
Love to all
Susan

If you remember that one, girls, then you're older than you look!!

I spent today in abject terror as my beloved, and only son, abseiled for charity down the concrete face of a dam.

Yes, he made it, and yes, he looked as if he was riding a horse backwards on the way down... And yes, I blubbed- real tears streaming down my cynical old face- until he made it to a height where I guessed he would survive if he fell- and then I gave him what for- shouted and whooped for all I was worth (and a bit more) Still, for those of you interested in raising money for kidney disease and its cure- he raised a bundle.
Thank you to all the young- and not so young people out there today who put their own fears to one side to raise money to help those whose fears are always with them.

It's people like you who make the difference.

Thank you

Susan

House hunting today has just proved to me that all the work we've done on our beautiful old cottage has been worthwhile- but do I want to have to do it all over again somewhere else? No, I do not.
And where am I going to find such friendly ducks who come to my stream each spring with their babies?
I see little heads bobbing up and down when I'm writing in my study as the ducklings try to leap up the stone steps onto the path in the garden. There are always a couple who can't make it, and then one day they all can, and the whole family parades past my window...

Having finished my first ever fantasy 'men in skirts' project, I am now happily working away on my next book,which involves a protective single mother and a forceful Italian doctor- Yep, sparks will fly!

Happy reading everyone!
(And to those of you who are house-hunting along with me right now- I'm thinking of you, and wishing you luck, a speedy conclusion, and much happiness when everything finally works out)
Susan

OK everyone in Australia and the UK- I'm sorry- you're right... The Italian Prince's Proposal is already out and available on Amazon for you! Thank you for reminding me- and for those great comments too!

And... as some of you have pointed out, yes, it's all very well tantalising you with talk of men in skirts- but what about the gals who get to feel those biceps??
OK, so my first heroine is a kick-butt all action gal who doesn't wait around for anyone to sort out her problems- let alone a man in a skirt! But being a bit on the- shall we say, 'inexperienced' side, it takes our hero to sort her out...

Now then- Hi to my great friends in the Cheshire Chords that fantabulous ladies barbershop choir I've told you about before... Why not join a choir near you, and sing yourself happy?? It works for me...
And a special Hi! to Val- she of the steam cleaner, and a spotless kitchen... and to Brenda- Brenda, all I'm going to say is, 'I'm glad Val put your mind at rest- because now you can stop feeling packages and feel a bicep instead!

Happy bicep squeezing, ladies!
Love Susan

OK, so, where have I been??
I have to tell you girls, I am just bewitched by men in skirts!
Now, we are not talking cross-dressers here- which are fine, I have no problem with that- I'm thinking Brad Pitt in Troy- with, or without the leg double (Heck, if Brad has weedy legs, he still looks good to me)
I just love writing fantasy... bring on those iron broadswords, complete with the massive biceps needed to wield them, natch!
So, that's where I have been- swooning in the writing cave.

Anyway- I've told you all about my great chums at Romance Junkies, and now I want you to take a look at another fabulous site- Cataromance. And of course I'm a little bit biased as BJ, one of their reviewers has just given The Italian Prince's Proposal a five star review.
Thank you, BJ!! Have to confess I love that naughty prince, Alessandro as much as my men in skirts- What Alessandro can't do in a lift ain't worth knowing about, girls...
Out in direct mail US in time for your Christmas stocking- and available through Amazon around the same time, of course- and if you like your romance hot, and your men clued up in the pleasure department, give Alessandro a chance to heat your potato!

Love to everyone
Susan

We- my oldest sprog and I, were just thinking about them as we took our two old doggies for a walk, and we remembered a classic...

Last year she called me from half way down a ski slope where she had become stuck, and was refusing to go an inch further...
I talked her down over the phone- me- who skis like a pregnant duck- and is still only one up on the beginner's class after twenty years at the same resort...
Yes, girls, I got her down that slope- just think what I could do for you-
On second thoughts- don't risk it!!

Love to you all
Susan

It's so exciting. I can hardly believe another fabulous RWA conference is just around the corner.

Every day now I'm receiving mail from far-flung friends, as well as professional contacts in the romance industry, arranging to meet up.

Please don't be shy- come along and see me at the signing- it's what I'm there for, after all- and I love nothing more than meeting new people, as well as greeting old friends.

Love to all, and happy reading as well as writing-
Susan

OK, so it's a normal Sunday- like you guys out there, its cooking, cleaning,ironing, paying bills, and finding time to hug sprogs- even dh, if he's lucky...
Then there's nipping off when no one's looking to write another page or two...

The Mr Fun & Nasty saga is drawing to a close as he is now outed for snogging my chum's female 'friend'...
Yet still she asks: 'But what will I do if we break up?'
Meet someone decent? Just a thought... She certainly deserves to.
Don't take the **** girls, be strong; there's someone out there just waiting for you...

Fist punching air in show of solidarity as I leave you tonight.
Love to you all
Susan

- And that's official.
Today was my eldest sprog's birthday, so we took my most favourite elderly friend in all the world- a gracious lady in her eighties- out to lunch.
What did we eat... why, a great slab of chocolate cake each with real vanilla ice cream. Yum! Plus, of course, that essential extra- a really good bottle of chilled white wine. (Who needs meat and two veg' anyway, we're all far too grown up for that.)

But yes, I did work before we left the house- I am REALLY loving this fantasy world I've created- in fact, I'd quite like to live there myself- it never rains for one thing- and the men are absolutely gorgeous- even if they do wear skirts. Before you shout at me, please, girls, let's think Brad Pitt, OK?

Well, that's it- I'm off to switch on the computer again; fantasy is addictive, and so are those firm, well-muscled thighs...
See ya soon, girls, if I survive the excitement!

Love to all
Susan

OK, come on, fess up- how is your summer diet going??
I was doing really well until I bought a packet of those yummy chocolate caramels that have dark chocolate on the outside and sugary, syrupy, yummy yummy chocolate caramel in the middle.
Of course, I was going to ration myself to one a day- as a reward for watching my diet the rest of the day... so why is there a snowstorm of wrappers in my study right now? Cos they're so good, once I started on one I couldn't stop until I had finished the packet...
Know the feeling??

My very good friends at Romance Junkies have been hit by a worm/hacker/dumkopf from hell - and they are some of the nicest, most hard-working people in the romance industry- or anywhere, for that matter.
The site went down, but now they have destroyed the worm and are up, and hurrying to put everything back together again.
Please, please, please visit their site at www.romancejunkies.com - as a show of support for them, and mutual loathing for the people who like to see others fail when they're deservedly doing so well.

I have finally- OK, so organised I am not- realised that if I file all my different projects with their relevant discs and research papers etc in individual folders, my life is almost manageable again.
I am loving my dive into fantasy, and plunging into historicals is, well... totally historic.

Love to you all

Susan

I have just been basking in a wonderful retrospective of Abba on TV
There have been so many fantastic tributes, most notably by Culture Club, but then a lovely reworking of the great hit song, Chiquitita by the young and adorably cute Irish Singer, Stephen Gately made me think...

Stephen, I noticed, had a backing group of no fewer than 12 singers.
It reminded me how much we, with our own web sites etc, owe to the teams who work so faithfully, so relentlessly, and with such loyalty in the background on our behalf.

So- thank you to my fabulous family, and to my truly wonderful and endlessly supportive friends, and to my publishers, Harlequin Mills & Boon, and to my sparky, and ever thoughtful editor, Kate. And where would I be without my web mistress, the inimitable Wendy Wootton, who draws all my thoughts out of my head and sends them flying through the ether...
And thank you to you- all you wonderful readers and friends out there, who are ever ready with your thought-provoking comments and your encouragement to keep me doing what I do...
Thank you all
With my love
Susan

OK - so hands up all of you who agree with this: sisters get on really well all the time...
You see, I was an only child, so understanding the dynamics of a large family requires a new skill, and even though my oldest daughter is almost 25, I'm still learning.
Let's just say that at a time when my dh and me reckon we should be 'livin it large', we're still ultra-dependent on how the sprogs are feeling at the time... if they're happy, we're happy, and we can start making plans to do something exciting with the 'second half'' of our lives. If they're not happy, we're stuck right here trying to sort them out first before we make a move... Heck- I'm starting to sound like one of those wimpy heroines who never makes it to tell her story in Harlequin Presents!
But we all know that it ain't that easy to cut loose and do our own thing, however much we may want to...
If any of you have true life stories to relate on making that brave step forward- and, hey, the family survived- let me know please... by the usual route.
Love to you all
Susan