Susan Leigh Furlong Interview Published on: 21, Mar 2022

I always wanted to be a teacher. I was told in Junior High that I could not be a mechanic by the guidance counselor, even though that was my aptitude, “because I was a girl,” but that didn’t matter I was going to be a teacher! I taught first grade and fourth grade, and always emphasized creative writing with my students.

I always made up stories as a child – Wrote and directed my first play when I was nine. My parents were not surprised that I write books, but wished me luck in an often difficult field.

For some reason the lives of people from the past always fascinated me. As a child I read all the children’s biography books – the series with the orange covers. Caddie Woodlawn – the story of a pioneer child – was my all-time favorite book. As an adult I am also drawn to historical books – fiction and non-fiction. I love doing historical research even though old books make me cough and sneeze.

I moved around the country a lot as a child, but settled in Ohio after I married. I now live in a small town, and “you couldn’t get me out of here with a crowbar!” I love knowing the people who live here. If I could live anywhere else in the world, it would be Scotland. My heritage is Scottish and I felt drawn to the country when I visited.

Hugh in By Promise Made is a gambler and a ladies-man who hasn’t found his purpose in life. I believe many young people are searching for their purpose, and Hugh found his in Kit and young Queen Mary. As a teacher, I am drawn to “the wounded birds,” the ones who struggle to find direction and need encouragement, so I was “in love” with Hugh from the moment I created him.

Reid Haliburton had a great life, a fine occupation, a happy marriage and five sons, until disease took his wife and two oldest sons. His life now shattered, he searches for new purpose. The death of a spouse is devastating and puts everything off kilter until new direction can be found. Reid found his in Leena Cullane.

In doing random research, I found that King James V of Scotland became king as an infant, but was imprisoned by his step-father until he escaped at age sixteen and regained his throne. He floundered without dependable advice and support. I put my orphaned character, Robin, from Steadfast Will I Be, into a similar situation when he was taken in by Laird Bretane and taught how to be a leader.

My first officially published work was an article written for a children’s magazine entitled “The Dumbest Kid in School.” When my first paycheck arrived, I jumped around for joy, shouting and dancing at the mailbox. The neighbors thought I was crazy!!

Seventeen years ago I was asked by the President of the Women’s Society at our church to prepare a program for their meeting. I said “Yes!” without the faintest idea of what I would do. I got a program together with skits and music based on some of the stories from “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” That was the start of a traveling drama and music group called “LightReaders,” for which I have written and directed hundreds of programs presented at numerous churches and other groups.

I tend to write male characters based on my observations of men’s behavior with a bit of what I’d like to see in the ideal man thrown in. I enjoy writing male characters, probably because in my books I can control them and make them turn out the way I’d want them to be. Doesn’t every woman? Two of my covers feature a shirtless muscular man, and many men have thanked me for using them as the model!

Many historical events come under the category of “You can’t make this stuff up!” These fascinate me. So many unbelievable things have happened in the past, and so many continue to happen today! They inspire my plots and storylines. I am also inspired by family. My characters always come from strong, loving families. That may be because I did not come from such a family as a child, but I can make it so for my characters.

A bookstore is my favorite place in the whole world. I could spend hours there, and I have passed this love of books on to my granddaughter who loves our visits there as much as I do. I read snippets from as many books as I can, and I have to rein myself in to keep from buying all of them. I do the same thing with my e-reader. I probably have several hundred books stored on it, always with 20+ I downloaded and have yet to read. One can never have too many books! (Or too much music!)

I have never collaborated with another author. An author I have read for years I’d like to work with is Jude Deveraux. Her book Velvet Song got me hooked on historical romance a number of years ago when I won a free copy. Another author I’d love to work with is Ken Follet. No one creates the characters who lived in true historical events and settings the way he does.

I am working on my fourth book for The Wild Rose Press entitled Desperate Hope. It is set during the American Revolution and centers around the spy network George Washington created to free New York City from British control. My hero is a former Continental soldier who becomes a double agent, and when his duplicity is discovered by the British, he must escape the city with the woman he loves and her family.

My experience with AllAuthor has been very favorable. I cannot create the photos of my book covers on my own, and using the ones sent by AllAuthor on Facebook or other sites are terrific. I also appreciate the tweets AllAuthor sends on a regular basis about my books. I can also now send out information to my email list through AllAuthor, and the professional style is greatly appreciated. These are a big help to an author on a budget.