Writer’s Window–Susan Page Davis
Joining us today for Writer’s Window is romance author Susan Page Davis.
One lucky commenter* will win a signed copy of Susan’s latest release, Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Deadline for leaving a comment to enter the drawing is Friday. To enter the drawing, you must answer the question posed by Susan at the end of the interview. Only one comment per person will count toward the drawing. Please do not include your e-mail address in the body of your comment—just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to leave your comment. The winning name will be drawn next weekend and announced on the next Writer’s Window post. Congratulations to Carla Gade, who won the drawing for last week’s featured book.
- *U.S. residents only, void where prohibited. If you win the drawing, you will be ineligible for the next three drawings, though hopefully you will still come back and join in the discussion.
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Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island, Canada
Prince Edward Island pulls out all the stops to prepare for the visit of Prince Albert Edward (Queen Victoria’s son, later King Edward VII) in 1860. Molly Orland, a farmer’s daughter, is hired as a housemaid at the governor’s mansion, where the prince and his entourage will stay. Peter Stark is sent ahead of the royal party to ensure the arrangements are in order. Though Peter and Molly are attracted to each other, there seems to be no future for them, since Peter must soon leave with his master, the Earl of Washburn, and Molly will lose her job if discovered to be engaging in a flirtation with one of the visitors. However, Molly’s family harbors a secret that connects her family to Washburn’s. Can she and Peter overcome the past and set right a sixty-year-old wrong?
Welcome, Susan!
What do you like best about being a writer?
- I get to make people (that is, my characters) do whatever I want them to do.
What do you like least about being a writer?
- The sporadic nature of my income.
Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what’s your favorite variety?
- Soda, diet Pepsi. I also like cream soda.
What’s your favorite dessert?
- Well, fat is banned for me right now, but with that aside, strawberry-rhubarb pie.
What’s the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you’ve done for a book?
- Scouting a spot from which a sniper could shoot the governor. The really scary thing was that it wasn’t at all hard to find.
What’s your favorite movie from childhood?
- National Velvet
If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you’d become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about?
- I would be the owner of a hotel with all sorts of mysterious and fascinating guests.
What makes you happy?
- Having my family together.
What makes you nervous?
- Deadlines and bills.
What’s your biggest dream for the future?
- Visiting my daughter who lives in England.
Tell us about your newest release and what you’re working on now.
- Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island is set in 1860, when Queen Victoria’s son, Albert Edward, visited what is now Canada. It’s a fun historical romance set against the backdrop of a colorful historical event.
Today I am working on Lady Anne’s Quest, book 2 in my Prairie Dreams series (the first book, The Lady’s Maid, will release in October). Lady Anne is in Oregon looking for her uncle, so she can tell him he is now the Earl of Stoneford. Only, someone wants to stop her.
Where can people find out more about you/connect with you online?
Now it’s your turn to ask the question. What question do you want to ask the commenters to answer?
- What fictional villain to you most love to hate?
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Susan Page Davis is the author of more than thirty novels. She’s the mother of six and grandmother of six. A Maine native, she now lives in western Kentucky with her husband Jim (a freelance editor) and the two youngest of their children. She’s a past winner of the Carol Award and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award.
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
You can tell your characters what to do?! How do you get them to behave?! Mine rarely do :p.
What fictional villian do I love to hate? Wow. I’m having a hard time with this one… I honestly don’t know. Um… Lex Luthor? Or the dumb puppet gal from Twister. She’s not really a villian but she’s in the way of Jo and Bill getting back together. Or Ross. From FRIENDS. I know he’s not a villian, but I don’t like him ;).
Carol
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Sometimes they talk back, Carol, but in the end they go where I tell them. Laughing at your list of villains.
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So glad someone’s characters go where they’re supposed to. I could put mine on a non-stop flight from LA to NYC and they’d end up in Barbados more often than not.
And oo – I thought of one! That better fits the bill! The Wicked Witch of the West ;).
And yet, I still like her better than Ross… huh…
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Oh, I love the witch, too. She’s so much more interesting than Glinda.
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Hey Sue & Kaye!
Of all the desserts in the world, strawberry-rhubard pie is your fav? My mom loves that but I never acquired a taste for it. I’ve got to get LYF PEI to find out how it ends.
Fav villian. Hmm…Hannible Lector? You’ve got to admit he’s unique.
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Hey, Vickie! Yes, I think that’s my fave. Fruit wins the day for me anytime. Ick on Hannibal. Makes me shiver just to think of him. And yes, he’s unique. I’m afraid writing truly bad villains is hard for me.
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Great interview! Ya, know I can just picture you scouting out that sniper spot! (chuckling) Looking forward to reading these books! The way you pump them out I scarcely have time to read them all, never mind crit.
What kind of question is that, girl? LOL!
I love to hate Alec Stoke-d’Urberville from Tess of the d’Urbervilles (especially Hans Matheson’s version of the character). That story is so disturbing it haunts me.
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Thanks, Carla! You know, I never read Tess. I really should, and yet, I’m not sure I want to be haunted.
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Hi Susan, I can know which book you needed a snipper for I did love that book.
Ok which fictional villian do I most love to hate this is so hard. Now I cant remember his name but in Carla capshaws first book the heroines uncle sells her into slavery and had her father killed and then takes her inheritance. I would have loved to see him hung drawn and quartered because it was a love inspired she was unable to kill him in a slow death but he deserved it.
I know I cant enter but love the look of this book.
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Sounds like another book I should read. Thanks, Jenny–always nice to see you hanging out at an interview!
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Hi Susan the book is a LIH called The Gladiator.
its set in Rome when the Chrisitan’s were being persecuted. I think you would like it. Im sure having him die a gruesome death would have been a great addtion to the book too but Carla said the editors at LIH wouldn’t let her do that!
there have been others too but I cant think of which books right now.
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Thanks! I’ll look for it.
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Which villain do I love to hate? Is the sorcerer in Sleeping Beauty or the evil step mother in Cinderella too cliche? What can I say? I love the classics.
This book looks awesome, btw.
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Nothing’s too cliche for this discussion, Naomi! And thanks–I do love my cover for this book.
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Oh I love Strawberry-Rhubarb pie! YUM!!
I read recently Kathi Macias’s People of The Book…and I’d have to say the Muslim Brotherhood…what a scary group! Hope that is ok to say here!
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Yes, I’m pretty sure you can say that here, Maureen. Thanks for coming by.
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Maureen, you should know by now that you can get away with saying pretty much anything here! 🙂
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That’s a hard question, Susan. I usually don’t love to hate villians because I’m antsy for them to get their comeuppance so we can get on with the romance! 🙂
The first villian who came to mind was Mary Connealy’s Wade Sawyer — he was purely villianous in Montana Rose but then Mary went and unvillified him and I was amazed at how she created a compassionate, generous, God-loving hero out of him.
Oh — and what about Charity O’Connor in A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman. She was a piece of work in that book — so much so that when I found out the next one was all about her I determined not to read it. Of course that lasted all of two days and once I started reading A Passion Redeemed I was committed.
Don’t enter me in the draw please because I have Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island on order at my local Christian bookstore. I’m hoping they call me any day now. I’m in Canada and there always seems to be a lag in release dates. Love the cover too — very appealing.
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Isn’t that the truth, Kav? I am amazed sometimes at the way an author can show the growth and transformation of a character. Hey, thanks a bundle for ordering my book at your bookstore. That is one of the nicest things you can do for an author!
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Kav,
I agree I though Wade but then he turned out to be so nice I guess shows how a person can change his life.
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Mrs. Elton in “Emma.” I don’t know if she counts as a villain, but I really love to hate her.
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I have a hard time liking any villains, but if I have to pick one it would be Javert from Les Miserables. I felt sorry for him and Jean ValJean both and wished it could have turned out differently.
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Hi Susan, don’t worry about entering me in the drawing as I’ve laready ordered the book. I can’t wait to read it. I wanted to leave a comment because British Columbia is not that for from where I live, in Centralia Washington. And I simply love historicals set in the 1800’s. sigh. The cover of this book is breathtakingly beautiful, best of luck with it.
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Oh, this sounds like a great story! I’d love to know more about Canada and PEI.
Favorite villain? Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. As they say, forget Kevin Costner’s Robin and go for Rickman’s sheriff. He has the best clothes, the best lines and the most fun. 😀
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Well, I generally try to forget about the villians, but there are a few that just stick w/me.
The one that first comes to mind is Count Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo….what a snake!
And then, a more recent “villian” discovery would be Birgitta Roth–otherwise known as “Stick Woman”–in Stealing Adda by Tamara Leigh. Stick Woman stole a husband and a dog from Adda…although Adda got back at her pretty well in a hair-pulling incident. 🙂 Good reading, for sure!
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Wow, we’ve got quite a list of villains now! I do tend to think of the classics, too. I’m making a list of these contemporary books you all are mentioning. Some of them sound wonderful (if you like villains, of course).
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