Author Interview: Susan Laffoon

Buy Susan Lafoon's book, Can't Buy Forever: Amazon

I recently enjoyed an interview with Susan Laffoon, author of Can't Buy Forever (stay tuned, this is on my "to-read" list...book review coming soon!). Laffoon's author bio shares: "Susan Laffoon knows whereof she writes having been raised in Glens Falls, in upstate New York. There, the Hudson River and the boulders that lie in its path, is Cooper's Cave, a hide-a-way made famous in James Fedimore Cooper's novel, 'Drums Along The Mohawk.' She visited this impressive attraction often growing up and listened to the rushing waters that echoed in the cave. There she decided to one day write romantic adventures. Thus as a young girl, while friends played with dolls, she imagined and scribbled stories of adventure to escape childhood responsibilities and unhappiness. She continued to journal through the years occupied with her husband, Gregg, and seven children. It was discovered her love of storytelling was predisposed from a Scandinavian father who died young, a journalist for the Denver Post, a half century earlier. This passion is being fulfilled by his daughter, since putting aside her stethoscope and career as a registered nurse. "Writing has always been in the shadow of my heart."

My interview with Susan Laffoon below- enjoy!

Tell us a little about yourself...I grew up in Glens Falls, NY, then transplanted to the west in California and then Utah; graduating as an RN while raising seven children with a my husband, Gregg.  I left nursing when I almost died of West Nile virus a few years ago and writing took off.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?  There are forty years of journals in my bookcase.  While I was dealing with this devastating sickness, I started writing a book for my family in case I passed.  They would know who I was and what I believed through the story, my personality.  An uncle called me at that time and told me my father, who died when I was four, was a journalist for the Denver Post.  I discovered why I loved to write stories when a youth into adulthood.

Can you share your journey to becoming a published author?  Not knowing much of the publishing world, and fearing my life out of time, I sent my manuscript to a company in NYC and it was published.

What do you find to be the biggest challenge, as an author?  The journey to tell a story is an adventure, the challenge is to find an audience to go on the adventure with you.

What do you find most rewarding, as an author?  I love the laughs and hugs from those who went on my adventure and felt rewarded for the effort.

Share with us a daily habit of yours, that helps you reach your goals.  I watch people as I am out and about and ask questions.  That's where the true characters are discovered for my stories.

What is one piece of advice you would share with an aspiring author?  Love the story you want to tell.  If you force a story, it is lifeless because you have no personal invested interest in it other than to make money.

Finish these sentences:

I am most grateful for...for the arduous life I've lived.  There is no end to solutions to keep going when life gets stubborn because I've figured out how through personal perseverance.

If I could give my 18 year-old self one piece of advice it would be...trust your intuition.

My favorite thing about being a writer is...going on a journey of my own destination.

My least favorite thing about being a writer is...finding the time to write with a large family.  I don't want to miss out on experiencing their lives.

My goals for the future are...to create memorable characters readers will want to visit again and again and. . .

I love living a creative life because...I see the possibilities for new adventures.

My favorite thing about being a writer is...going on a journey of my own destination.

My least favorite thing about being a writer is...finding the time to write with a large family.  I don't want to miss out on experiencing their lives.

My goals for the future are...to create memorable characters readers will want to visit again and again and. . .

I love living a creative life because...I see the possibilities for new adventures.

The last book I read was...The Name Above the Title by Frank Capra

My favorite book, ever, is...To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Outside of writing, my favorite hobby is...genealogy.

The most important thing to do if you want to achieve your goals is...keep company with positive people.

A few more questions...

Do you have any New Years Resolutions for 2017?  I've never made one.  It's one way to create negativity if you fail.  .

Tell us about your books (genre, where we can find them, etc.)  So far all three are mystery/love stories with a touch of the whimsy.

Where can readers find you (i.e. website, social media, etc.)?  https://twitter.com/LaffoonSusan

Anything else you'd like to add...so much it would fill a book!  I hope I am fulfilling a dream of my father's to write, who was a spring leaf that fell to earth.

What is the book about?

In the early 1950s, Odessa Drake (Dessa) is rescued from a bleak existence with a single mother. She takes a chance on the unknown to work in a boarding house owned by a widowed great aunt in Mineville, New York. Dessa is devoted to Aunt Flo and especially a young man, Nicholas, who appears and takes shelter in the attic, the only available space. Four years pass. She looks forward to each day because of his presence, in spite of the tedious work. Dessa is now eighteen and knows little more of Nicholas than the day he arrived to work the mines. She knows only he is a remarkable man

who has a limp and she trusts Nicholas explicitly. There is a familiarity both recognize and an unshakeable bond develops. Nicholas has reasons to keep his past buried. Dangers loom and become evident when Nicholas gets too close and exposes their bond. What is the mystery behind this threat? To discover the answer, they escape by railway heading West, colliding with treachery and uncovering secrets, mile by mile. Their journey is impossible, but, they are supported by friends who risk their lives to make sure a great love and lineage is preserved. Or is it? None will forget their odyssey as they proceed to their destiny farther than they imagined.

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Stacey Ritz is a bestselling author and award winning writer. An empathetic and compassionate storyteller, Ritz wrote for a plethora of local and national news outlets, magazines, blogs, and websites (copywriter), prior to becoming a novelist. Her book, Covered in Pet Fur  has gained attention from RIVA Media and Animal Planet. She is the Executive Director and co-founder of Advocates 4 Animals, Inc. – a 501(c)3 non-profit animal welfare organization that has saved more than 11,000 lives (and counting). She currently resides in Ohio. Ritz is published through Rockville Publishing. You can interact with Stacey online via Stacey's Book Blog, on Pinterest, andInstagram.

Ritz writes the following genres:
Non-Fiction:
Motivation/Inspiration
Writing/Publishing
Animal Welfare
Fiction:
Romance/Thrillers

Click here to view Stacey's fiction books.

Click here to view Stacey's non-fiction books