Author’s Choice with Suzanne Stauffer

Please welcome Suzanne to Author’s Choice.

Dear readers, here’s where you get to play along. The author will tell us two truths and one lie (ed comment –I randomized the order). At the end of the questions, we’ll reveal what really happened. Remember, we write crime fiction, so lying is in our nature . . .

Two Truths, One Lie

Truth or Lie? I grew up in a small town in northern Utah and only left after college.

Truth or Lie? My favorite film genre is film noir.

Truth or Lie? I met my husband on an online fan site for the 1960s western “The Big Valley”

Eight Quick Questions

Now for some fun insight into today’s author. Here are eight forced choice questions.

1.               Plotter, pantser, or plantser (that chaotic middle ground)? I suppose “plantser,” but I don’t consider it “chaotic.” I have a mental outline of the plot and I know what the primary nodes or decision points are, but the paths between the nodes … those are often constructed as I go. It might be better to call it a mental flow chart than outline. I know where I’m starting, I know where I’m going, and I know what I need to do to get from here to there. The details are filled in as I go.

2.             Editing as you go, or vomit draft first and fix it later? I’m answering this one because I can answer two-in-one and because it follows on the previous question. Back in the dark ages when I started writing, it was all longhand and it was get it down and edit later. In those days, I literally cut and pasted – well, taped or stapled. Now, though, that I write it all electronically, I edit as I go, usually a paragraph at a time, always a section. If I get stuck, I’ll put in a placed holder – CONVERSATION ABOUT WHATEVER or #### – and come back to it later.

3.              Writing snack: sweet, salty, or "I forget to eat"? None of the above. With my fingers firmly on the keyboard, I’m unable to snack. I also don’t want to get the keyboard dirty or crumby.  The most I might do is have a cold or hot drink (depending on the weather) handy. Which doesn’t mean that I don’t snack when I’m not writing! That would be salty popcorn followed by dark chocolate.

4.              Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home? Back when I first started, it was my sewing table in the bedroom. In our new house, I have my very own office. When the door is closed, woebetide the husband who knocks unless it is a genuine emergency. I would never be able to write in a public space like a coffee shop. I tried the library, but I didn’t like packing everything up and taking it with me whenever I just needed to visit the ladies’ room.

5.               Writer's block: push through, step away, or "it's not real"? Never “push through.” The few times I’ve tried that, what I got was unusable. It went off on tangents or bogged down in extraneous detail. Whether I step away depends on why I’m stuck. As I mentioned above, if it’s a segment that I can write around, I’ll do that, then go back and fill it in when I’m feeling more inspired. I suppose that’s a form of stepping away. If I’ve come to a point where I just don’t know what happens next, then I really do step away. That’s usually, btw, toward the end, where I’m trying to figure out how to wrap everything up without being repetitive.

6.               Social media for authors: necessary evil, genuine fun, or absolutely not? It’s vital, so I try to view it as positively as possible. It can eat up an entire day, but it is the only way to meet other authors and to connect with readers outside of the local area. I have a schedule and try to stick to it, unless something interesting or important happens.

7.               Happy ending, bittersweet, or gut-punch finale? I write historical cozies. Readers expect a happy ending of some kind. So far, they have been bittersweet, but that’s because it’s a series. I need to keep the reader engaged and looking forward to the next volume to see how the romance develops.

8.     Book launch day: celebrate big, feel quiet relief, or hide under the covers? My first book came out shortly after we had moved, so I didn’t hold a book launch. With this next one, we’re going to celebrate big! I now have the release date and I’ve set up a book launch at a local museum. It will include the picnic food from the book. The book signing I did there was the single most successful of all the many signings that I held last year. They are the right audience for my books. I’ve also scheduled an Author Takeover of a Facebook group and a virtual book tour through Great Escapes.

About the Book

Enough about you, let’s turn to three questions about your book.

Q: If your main character in this novel showed up at your door right now, what would be the first thing they'd say to you (and would it be a complaint)?

A. Her first words would be, “Hello, I’m Prudence Bates.” She’s polite that way. After I invited her in, she’d want to know what that movie screen is doing in the living room.

     She’s from 1929. She’s never seen a flat screen t.v.  She’s only vaguely aware of televisions at all. She’d lead up to her big question, which is whether she and Jerry will ever get together.

Q: What's one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

A. That they are dying to read the next one. LOL! That women in the period between the two world wars – the 1920s-30s – had more opportunities and more freedom than they did in the 1950s.

Q: What question did you want me to ask, and what is your answer? 

A. Do Prudence and Jerry ever get together? You’ll have to keep reading to find out.

The Big Reveal

Now let’s see how good a sleuth (or guesser) our readers are. Please reveal all.

The lie is that I grew up in a small town in northern Utah and only left after college. My father was in the military and we left Utah (Salt Lake City) when I was about a year old.

Truth #1 : I write cozies, but my favorite film genre is, indeed, film noir. I love the look of it – that subtle use of light and shadow – and the ambiguity of it. Like real life, nothing is black-and-white. It’s all a spectrum filled mostly with shades of grey. I also love Art Deco and hardboiled mysteries of the Golden Age.

Truth #2 : While I was a grad student at UCLA in 1996, I watched reruns of t.v. westerns on the local station as a break from school. I stumbled across an online fansite for “The Big Valley” (starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck of many great films noir) when looking to see which of the actors was still alive.  I lurked for a while, then started posting on the discussion forums. A few weeks later, “MikeL” from Australia started posting … ten years later, we met in person and six months after that, got married in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel wedding chapel.

Here’s a blurb for and some links where you can find Suzanne's latest:

Book Blurb

When 25-year-old librarian Prudence Bates escapes staid Cleveland in 1929, she’s hoping the Southwest will offer adventure, excitement, and a shot at becoming a Courier for the famed Indian Detours. What she doesn’t expect is to tumble into a whirlwind of Harvey Girls, romance, bootleggers, and a murder at the Castañeda Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico. This historical cozy culinary mystery is served with a large helping of romance and sprinkled liberally with food porn. Includes an updated recipe for Fried Chicken Castañeda.

[Artemesia Publishing]

Want to know more?

For more information about Suzanne Stauffer https://www.southwestwriters.com/suzanne-stauffer