Fantastic Fives on Susan Lyons

Five words and/or phrases that describe you:

· Neurotic. I’m a writer – it goes with the territory.
· Creative. Not just with writing, but also photography.
· Organized. I’m a true mix of right brain and left brain.
· Way too busy. I really push myself to do a lot, but I also value and defend my reading time!
· A good friend.

Five people and/or things that inspire you:

· Other writers. They’re amazing people who somehow manage to write through all the neuroses (I swear, all writers are neurotic) and create memorable characters and thoughtful stories that inspire me.
· Family, friends and colleagues. Writing is a lonely life, and love and support are so important.
· Nature. I love its beauty and its strength.
· The voices in my head. All those characters and stories that are clamouring to get out.
· Real-life heroines and heroes. Whether they’re out there making the world a better place or just facing their own personal issues with quiet courage, they’re an inspiration.

Five of your favorite authors:

Barbara Samuel,
Kristin Hannah,
Luanne Rice,
Karen White,
Susan Wiggs.
They each write women’s fiction that’s on the romantic side. They create compelling, memorable characters and they all have a lovely writing style. Their work has given me so much pleasure over the years.

Describe five of your heroes/heroines through your eyes:

· I love writing about transition points in life. In real life, transitions may be triggered by external events or personal issues (like health), but often they happen because of meeting another person. That’s how it happens in my books. Women who think they know what they want meet guys who make them take a second look – and vice versa.
· Suzanne, the heroine of the first Awesome Foursome book (Champagne Rules, Feb 2006), wants a career but her priority is definitely home and family. So, I just had to team her up with Jaxon, child of an immigrant mom, who is all about career achievement.
· Jenny, heroine of the second book (Hot in Here, Aug 2006), respects her traditional Chinese-Canadian family yet wants to be a modern Western girl. She was juggling her worlds quite well, so I had to shake her up by sending her Scott, a sexy Caucasian firefighter – a man she can never take home to her parents.
· Ann, in the third book (Touch Me, Sept 2007), is the daughter of an uber-feminist mom and she’s so driven and stressed that her body’s in pain. Enter Greek God masseur, Adonis, who’s into balance, a healthy life and, oh yeah, tantric sex.
· Rina, the fourth heroine (She’s on Top, April 2008), has body-image issues that are so bad she’ll only make love in the dark. I had to pair her with a man who’s determined to bring her into the light and help her love her own body.
· Then there’s Tash, the heroine of my “Hot Down Under” novella (The Firefighter, Feb 2007), who travels to Australia to babysit her grandmother, and finds that the two of them aren’t the same women they were back home. Not after they meet two hot Australian men!

Five reasons to read your books:

· The heroines are quirky, fun and gutsy and the heroes are to die for.
· There’s always something to laugh over, plus a touch of poignancy.
· When my characters make it into bed, they have lots of fun and so will you (women readers tell me their guys are very happy when their women read my books ).
· You’ll see characters who are faced with challenges and have the courage to grow and change – and you’ll root for them and maybe it’ll help you find the courage to deal with some of your own challenges.
· I love writing and want to keep doing it, which means I need kind readers to buy my books and tell their friends!

Susan Lyons

www.susanlyons.ca

If you have questions,Susan will be here throughout the day,ask away.

Extra!Extra! For Susan's contest,you've got to do a little work. Sign up for Susan's website contest and make sure to put in your entry, that I sent you. Good luck everyone.