Interview with Susan Page Davis

I am so happy to introduce the wonderful writer Susan Page Davis. If you have not met her before you are in for a treat.

What was the best gift you have ever received?

That’s a toughie. Of course my salvation, but I think you want a more concrete answer. One thing I truly treasure is a little bottle about 2 or 3 inches tall, round but flattened. My father brought it home from the Philippines in 1945, when he was in the Navy. It is painted on the inside of the glass. One side has a village scene and the other a white horse. This type of “art in a bottle” is supposedly a specialty over there. He brought it home to my mom (his fiancé at the time).

Susan, please tell us a little about Frasier Island.
Frasier Island is, of course, a fictional place. Imagine my surprise to learn after the book was published that there really is a Frasier Island off Australia . That is not my island. This book was started as the result of a challenge from my son Jim. He kept saying he wanted to write a science fiction book. Finally I said, “I’ll write one if you will.” We both started in, and mine turned out to be NOT science fiction. The only thing remotely sci-fi about it is the “firene.” However, I finished my manuscript. Jim did not. And a few years later, I sold my book. Jim did not. So who cares that it is romantic suspense, not science fiction? Not me.

I love that your children are so involved in your writing. I do my best plotting with my eleven year old play basketball. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

Always. I wrote painfully illustrated stories when I was a kid. Titles like “Marooned on an Island ” and “The Mystery at Cavaltran Ski Lodge.” Now I write books with titles like “ Frasier Island ” and “Homicide at Blue Heron Lake.” They’re longer and better written, and I don’t illustrate them, but still, I think I see a pattern here. Childhood title: Lieutenant Annie. Grown-up title: The Oregon Escort. Childhood title: House of the Dead. Grown-up title: On a Killer’s Trail. Hmm. Yup, I knew a long, long time ago. But it took me forty years or so to get up the confidence to think I could actually write stuff people would want to read!

I am glad that you have always written. I understand the confidence factor. i am still working on that. What would you like readers to take away from Frasier Island ?

Both Rachel and George struggle with forgiveness—of each other, of other people, and of themselves. Ultimately they accept God’s forgiveness for themselves and are able to forgive others. No matter what we have done, God will forgive if we repent. And no matter how dark things look, God is still in control.

When you are not writing or marketing your books, what do you do in your spare time?

I like to read and also to get outside and do things. I also enjoy genealogy and logic puzzles. I spend time with my family whenever I can. I have married children with kids of their own in Idaho and South Carolina , so we like to go there to visit when we can. I also try to get together at least once a year with my three sisters for “Sister Weekend,” an annual event for the past 9 years.


I know that you have written Finding Marie (Frasier Island Series #2) which is Pierre and Marie's story are there any other novels coming out in the near future?

Yes, in this series the third book, Inside Story, is scheduled to come out in January 2009. It’s all written and in the editor’s hands. In it you’ll see George, Rachel, Pierre and Marie again, but the “stars” will be Claudia Gillette (Marie and Lisa’s sister) and Bill White (who did advanced training with Rachel in the prologue of Frasier Island ). Look for fireworks between those two when Claudia blunders into Bill’s secret mission. I think it may be my best book yet. I also have several other, shorter books out. Visit my website at http://www.susanpagedavis.com/ to read about them. Right now I’m working on a short romantic book with suspense elements for Heartsong Presents, titled Trail to Justice. It will come out in May 2009. And my daughter Megan and I are working together on our third cozy mystery, Impostors at Blue Heron Lake.

I look forward to the third book in the series. I enjoyed the first two very much. What is the most important resource a new writer should have in your opinion?

A network. Join a local writers group and a larger group such as American Christian Fiction Writers. You will gain a support group of hundreds of other writers who can answer questions about the business, point you to research sources, and alert you to opportunities.

Thank you so much for the interview. Where can readers find you?

http://www.susanpagedavis.com/ Be sure to enter my monthly drawing for a free book. Your name and email address are kept confidential, and it’s easy to enter—no passwords or anything like that. Hey, thanks for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed it.