Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Lots! I started out writing spiritual nonfiction, God’s Dictionary (Tarcher/Putnam)–a new e-edition will be out soon. And lots more since then, Tao for Now et al. From there, I’ve written three romance novels in the Boots & Boas series under the pseudonym Vivienne Hartt Quinn. Butch-femme romances based in Boston about chosen family. I’ve also written ten romantic mysteries, The Mex Mysteries, about high femme intuitive investigator Mexicali Rose Stone. Each one of these takes place around a musical, and the solves are in the lyrics of the shows.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Book(s) really. Ascending Apparition is the third book in the Boots & Boas Butch-Femme Romances. The death of one of the chosen family inspired it, oh, and the need to let go, heal, and move on. The other is Christmas Presence, the tenth mystery novel from The Mex Mysteries. What inspired this one was a deep love of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and the fact that it’s a theatrical cash cow all over the world.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m what’s known as a discovery writer. I start each mystery with a show, a social issue, and who died, but that’s it! The rest comes to me as I write. For Boots & Boas, I start with the couple who will be featured, their story, and what they have to learn. I discover the story as I go. It’s one of the reasons I love to write, and when I look back, I’m amazed at the connections I make–mostly not even consciously.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been reading romance and mystery since I was a kid. Despite the fact that I’m a spiritual teacher and counselor, I found that reading fiction taught me more than self-help books. I’ve now figured out that it’s because fiction applies the lessons. I’m not interested in spiritual theory; I’m interested in spiritual practice. So, Diana Gabaldon, Laurie R. King, Dorothy Gilman, Victoria Vale, Sierra Simone, and, believe it or not, Barbara Cartland.
What are you working on now?
Book 4 of Boots & Boas called Upending Tradition.
Book 11 of The Mex Mysteries called Shrew This!
A deck of cards designed to help you manage your personal energy called the Integrity Spectrum
Oh, and a squillion other ideas that live in the corners of my mind …
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m relatively new at promotion so I’m on a steep learning curve, which is great. I love to learn new things. My websites, which I feel I finally got right, are https://susancorso.com for all my fiction and https://iampersand.org for all my spiritual writing and teaching.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes, just write. Kick your inner critic to the curb, and write what you want to write. All the rest of the work comes later. Keep writing till you get to the end. Then, like Alice, stop.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Collect rave rejections. It just means you’ve weeded out those who won’t get your work anyway.
What are you reading now?
Amateur by Thomas Page McBee about deconstructing masculinity.
The Misadventures Romances about odd couplings.
Castle Shade, the new Laurie R. King Mary Russell Holmes book
and all my research for Shrew and Upending.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The promotion learning curve. Connecting to other writers. Learning FB ads. Lots of pod-guesting. And writing, always writing, the through-line of my life.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh jeez, I’m a Libra with a Gemini Moon. 3 or 4 books? This sounds like a nightmare to me. You know what I’d want to bring is my Kindle! But … I’ll soldier through and try: Diana Gabaldon’s Voyager, Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, my great grandmother’s first edition of Emerson’s Essays, and the Bible.
Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Corso Website
Susan Corso Amazon Profile
Susan Corso’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
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