About Susan Lyons
(also writing as Susan Fox and Savanna Fox)
I’m a resident of the Pacific Northwest, a place where, on any given day, you’d best start your day with both sunglasses and an umbrella in your bag – and where there are flowers in bloom every day of the year. My partner and I are lucky enough to have a condo in the heart of downtown Vancouver, BC, and a country home (a true fixer-upper) outside Victoria with a lovely ocean view, so I get the best of both worlds. (Though, unfortunately, both come with lots of rain…)
I’ve had a variety of careers, including perennial student, grad school dropout (twice), project manager, computer consultant, and legal editor. I’ve studied psychology, sociology, anthropology, counselling, and law. Get the impression it took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do with my life? Yup, true enough.
But I did find my bliss (yes, writing) and that makes me feel very lucky. I’ve been writing fiction for more than fifteen years now.
My first sales were short stories, and I still have a special fondness for them. Before I sold my first book, I had stories published in Canadian literary journals, the American Woman’s World, England’s Woman’s Weekly, Scotland’s The People’s Friend and Australia’s Woman’s Day. Now I have spicy short stories with Harlequin Spice Briefs.
When it comes to book-length fiction, my breakthrough year was 2005. First, my novel Finding Isadora was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart contest, in the category “novel with strong romantic elements.” And then . . . drum roll . . . I got “the call” and was offered a two-book contract with Kensington Aphrodisia. My first published book was Champagne Rules in February 2006.
Since then I’ve sold both novels and novellas to Aphrodisia, Kensington Brava, and Berkley Heat. I’m now up to my 21st contract. I still have trouble believing it. I’m one of the many examples of the importance of persistence. Becoming a published writer is one of the most difficult things in the world. I’m called to the BC Bar and let me tell you, it’s way easier to become a lawyer: work hard, follow the rules, and you’ll get there. But with writing (as with most artistic endeavours), there are no rules. Yes, you have to work hard, hone your craft, keep writing and editing and submitting, deal with rejection (and rejection, and rejection), research the market, always be professional, etc. etc. – but that in itself isn’t enough. In the end, it’s a matter of the right manuscript reaching the right editor at the right time.
And then, after it happens that magical first time, it’s not all that much easier to make it keep happening! Anyhow, I feel blessed to be doing what I’m doing. I’m thrilled that characters I bring to life are sharing their stories with the world.
I’m also totally thrilled each time a reader takes the time to contact me and tell me she’s enjoyed one of my stories.
Be warned, my books are sexy! More than one woman has told me she’s had to put down my book and grab her sweetie – and that he’s grateful for it. But there’s a lot more to my stories. They’re about dealing with tough issues, re-examining values, doing the hard work of confronting issues and growing as a person, the joy of supportive friendship and, most of all, the power of love.
Okay, so what else do I do when I'm not writing?
- Take pictures (see Susan’s Photos page).
- Enjoy my wonderful city, Vancouver.
(Read my personalized tour of Vancouver, Awesome Vancouver.)
- Enjoy Victoria, where I grew up and now make my second home.
- Hang out with my guy, my friends and a great group of fellow writers.
- Grow orchids (and no, I'm not an expert so don't ask for advice!)
