Featured Interview With Susan Quilty
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello! I’ve been told some readers like to get to know an author by reading between the lines of his or her work. As I prefer a more direct route, I’m happy to simply tell you a little about myself. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, and I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for nearly all of my adult life. In my current town, I enjoy taking part in local events, though that has been harder during the pandemic. When I’m not writing, I practice and teach yoga and meditation. I also dabble in knitting, drawing, and playing the piano.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
One of my earliest memories involves tracing people-shaped magnets onto paper and asking my mom to help me write the words to a story about them. I was around four at the time. Since then, writing has always been a part of my life in one way or another. During my brief career in the tech world, the margins of my meeting notes were often filled with snippets of stories or poems. During my years as a freelance writer, my stories took a backseat to the articles I wrote for clients, but they slowly filled my laptop. In 2016, I shifted my focus to writing fiction and completed my first novel, The Insistence of Memory. By the end of 2020, I had published five books, which may seem like a lot in a short time, but those books were years in the making!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My reading habits are fairly eclectic. I likely read more fiction than non-fiction, but I do love books on neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. When it comes to novels, I tend toward character-driven stories over a lot of action, though complicated time-travel plots will always draw me in! Just a few of the writers who inspire me include Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Neil Gaiman, William Somerset Maugham, and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
The books I write tend to be grounded in reality but have science-fiction, fantasy, or psychological twists. My latest book is a sort of ode to that style, as well as being a much needed, fun project in the midst of this pandemic! The book is called Audrey and Esther Geekify Greenville, and will hopefully be the first in what I’m calling my Twist Your Fiction Storybook series.
Instead of being a novel, this is a choose-your-ending gamebook. Yet in this book, your choices can also change the genre of your story, leading you through sci-fi, fantasy, or rom-com twists! It was a lot of fun to write, and I love hearing from readers who are enjoying its many turns. The book includes 22 possible endings, so it can be read and reread to find multiple stories.
You can read a portion of Audrey & Esther Geekify Greenville on my website (below), with a chance to find a few endings. It’s a lighthearted read that is much sillier than my novels, but I think the world could use a bit more silliness right now!
My site also tells you more about my other books, including The Psychic Traveler Society series, which is a fantasy adventure series written for both young adult and adult readers. (The first two books are now available, and I’m currently writing the third.)
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