When Ace leaves home to spend the summer in Cherokee, North Carolina the last thing she expects to find is a boyfriend—until she meets Cherokee Tribe member John Spears. As Ace and John’s friendship blossoms, they find their life experiences mirror each other and they fall in love. Despite hurdles thrown by well-meaning family members and jealous frenemies, the star-crossed lovers remain committed to their mutual belief that the universe has drawn them together. However, when Ace sends John a strange text and then suddenly disappears, the two must rely on their trust in each other to save both their lives and their love.
Purchase Links:
Amazon – UK / US
Author Interview:
1: Tell us a little about yourself and what got you in to writing?
I work in an IT department for a hospital by day. I’m a hipshaker and writer by night, an artist whenever possible, and an Internet addict. My first novel was called “More Trouble for Me.” I was about ten years old and it was complete with thirty penciled pages. In junior high I moved on to screenplays for movies of which I would star. My parents worried about me because I spent so much time alone in my room. I never told them I was writing. I’m sure they’d have been relieved, but I wanted to keep it a secret. Later on, life got in the way and I buried both my writing and acting dreams. I’d nearly forgotten about them entirely when decades later, while purging cutter, I came across my first novel and was inspired to realize my childhood dream.
2: Do you have a favourite time and place where you write?
Between working a fulltime job, dancing two to three nights a week, caring for my teenaged son and two naughty but adorable Cairn Terriers, I squeeze in writing whenever possible. Sometimes that means on a lunch hour or in bed late at night.
3: Where do your ideas come from?
My inspiration comes from places I’ve visited or elements of my life experiences which I twist and meld into fiction. Sometimes both.
For instance, my novel Cherokee Summer was born while visiting the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. My stay prompted a memory of a serious crush I had on a Native American classmate when I was a ‘tween. For the next year I imagined what might have happened had we been older. Once the story came to me, I opened my ever-present laptop and started writing.
4: Do you have a plan in your head of where the story is going before you start writing or do you let it carry you along as you go?
My characters come to me when I’m driving or taking long walks. I play with them in my head for a year or two before I open my laptop. By the time I am ready to write the whole novel has been constructed in my imagination. However, that is not the end-all. Sometimes when I am writing my characters take on a life of their own, hijack the story, and lead me in a different direction.
5: What genre are your books and what drew you to that genre?
I write YA. I love the genre. Young adults love, hate, and play hard in an arena where the world shines new and the future burns wide open. When I’m writing or reading YA, if I dig deep inside, I can recapture those intense, wonderful, and sometimes painful feelings and immerse myself in that world once again through the character’s lives. If adults were as positive and pliable in their thinking as teens, the world would be a kinder and gentler place.
6: What dream cast would you like to see playing the characters in your latest book?
I have some actors in mind, but I prefer not to say. I like the reader to create their own picture.
7: Do you read much and if so who are your favourite authors?
I read whenever possible. I love so many writers it wouldn’t be fair to just name a few.
8: What book/s are you reading at present?
While I usually read YA or Chicklit, I am currently reading Billy Idol’s autobiography. He was my eighties dream boyfriend.
9: What is your favourite book and why?
Egads, another favorite. Even my favorite color changes depending on the circumstances. I like so many books. I can’t possibly choose.
10: What advice would you give for someone thinking about becoming a writer?
Practice, practice, practice and never give up. If you haven’t already, build an online presence today and nurture it. Only a minute number of authors become overnight successes. There are general rules to writing such as the infamous “show and don’t tell.” Take online writing classes. If you study the rules and apply them, you will have a better chance of achieving publication. Join critique groups. Listen to your critics and evaluate the information provided. Take what you like and trash the rest. Though, always keep your mind open and learn to take constructive criticism. My harshest critic helped me the most. After I finished crying over my bruised ego, I realized he was one-hundred percent right. Had I not listened to him, I might not be published today.
11: What are the best Social Media Sites for people to find out about you and your work?
Amazon page: www.amazon.com/Susan-Antony/e/B07N31L812
Twitter: @susanantonycs
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/SusanAntonyCS/?modal=admin_todo_tour
About the Author:
Susan Antony is an IT by day, hip-shaker and writer by night, artist whenever possible, and an internet addict. She lives in the sunny south with her teenage son and two Cairn Terriers. Cherokee Summer placed first in the Missouri Romance Writers of America “Gateway to the Best” contest.
