Susan Squires: I got the bug when I was about twelve. I read a book (nameless now, unfortunately) by an eleven year old girl, and thought I was already over the hill. But better late than never, I started an opus told in the first person by my dog, Trina. I think I got about 50 pages on my mother's old Underwood typewriter before my interest faded. By the time I was 16, I definitely wanted to be a writer, but shortly afterward I was distracted by theater. I did quite a bit of acting and directing all through college. I finally decided theater was impractical, and went to work in the real world. I came back to writing in my early thirties during one of my many mid-life crises.

Writerspace: Why did you choose romance as your field for writing fiction? More specifically, why paranormal romance?

Susan Squires: I was a huge fan of Jane Austin and Wuthering Heights. I loved those historical adventure/romances like Thomas B. Costain's BLACK ROSE. When my husband read me a Georgette Heyer book, (THESE OLD SHADES) I saw that it was possible to continue writing in that tradition and I was hooked on romance. I always read voraciously; horror, sci-fi, mysteries, everything. When I came to tell romantic stories, I found I liked mixing in those other genres, especially horror and sci-fi. They allowed me to create situations for my characters more extreme than those in everyday life. The element of the supernatural in the hero or the heroine is really a metaphor for what is special about each of us. Accepting what makes us unique can be frightening, but it also makes you whole.

Writerspace: Please tell us about your current release, SACRAMENT.

Susan Squires: SACRAMENT is the story of a woman, Sarah Ashton, who thinks she is very ordinary, especially in comparison to her beautiful but unbalanced friend, Corina. She has suppressed her own sexuality and thrown herself into saving the debt-ridden estate her father left her. But her life is cast into chaos when the deed to her land is challenged by a man reputed to be the devil himself. Julien Davinoff is capable of anything, perhaps even the string of murders the magistrates are calling the "Vampire Killings". Sarah finds herself strangely drawn to him, but so is Corina. When Corina thinks she is losing Davinoff she takes desperate measures and Sarah is compelled to save the strange man she has come to love. Only then does she realize who, or what, he is. She must find the courage to embrace the darkness in him, and in herself. The sacrament of his love will be the death of her body or the salvation of both their souls.

Writerspace: Susan, you did a terrific job of crafting a hunky, brooding, absolutely fascinating vampire hero, Julien Davinoff, for this novel. I really enjoyed reading his story. Could you please tell us how you came up with his personality?

Susan Squires: You must remember that this is the first novel I wrote (though DANEGELD was published first). I pushed all the heroes I loved into Julien's character. So he is a little bit the Duke of Avon from THESE OLD SHADES, a bit the updated vampire hero of the Frank Langella DRACULA movie, and probably a little bit of Mr. Darcy from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.

Writerspace: What or how did you get the inspiration/idea for this story?

Susan Squires: I was tired of vampires being myths. I wanted them to be real. So I began thinking, during my long commute to work, about what kind of medical condition might make someone into a vampire. That started the story.

Writerspace: What sort of research did you have to do for SACRAMENT and how long did it take you?

Susan Squires: I loved the research for SACRAMENT. My husband and I went to England a couple of times on frequent flyer miles. We explored London and Bath. I went to the costume museum in the Assembly Rooms in Bath and the house in the Royal Crescent that has been restored to Jane Austin's time. I stayed in Laura Place and toured the restorations of the Roman baths. I did NOT take the waters, which have parasites or something. When I got home, I hit the Graduate Research Library at UCLA, my alma mater. I found out how they kept deeds on Rolls and what a mess they were in during the Regency. I found the book, cornered in calf, that was the record of where they were kept, and I handled the little red guidebook called A PICTURE OF LONDON, 1806 that Sarah used to find the Rolls Chapel. I have quite a collection, now, of books of my own about the period. It was great.

But you don't want to know how long it took me to write the book. At that stage I was not on a deadline, just obsessed. I really never expected it to get published. It took me about four years to write and research the book. The first draft was awful, by the way. It was twice as long, and not very polished. I re-wrote it many times as I got better at writing. You'll be able to see out takes on my web-site in the next few weeks, just those scenes most difficult to cut for the final publication.

Writerspace: What sort of formula, if you can call it that, do you take into account when creating your villains?

Susan Squires: Villains are people, too. They need to be a bit complex and have some motivation, some background, some reason for what they do. I tried to do that with Corina by giving her a bit of a twisted history that made her who she is.

Writerspace: To you, what are the three most essential ingredients for writing paranormal romance?

Susan Squires: I think the most essential ingredients for paranormal romance are the same as for any story: characters (no matter how strange!) the reader can identify with and a good story arc that exhibits internal consistency (no matter now strange!) I would add that I personally like some kind of theme to the story. I want to know it was trying to say something, though I don't want to be hit over the head with a didactic diatribe, just something subtle that says the writer had a purpose.

Writerspace: What advice would you give aspiring writers working on paranormal romances?

Susan Squires: There are no limits to stories like these. But you are going to ask a reader to take some really big leaps of faith. What makes that possible for a reader is for the story, no matter how fantastic, to be grounded in very real emotions and characters as complex and real as you can make them.

Writerspace: If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

Susan Squires: Oooh, that's a good one. Of course, I have a day job that pays for my rent and my horse, and makes sure I’m not eating cat food when I am ninety. But since I very nearly went into theater, I guess that would be my second, and equally impractical, choice. I also enjoy teaching and speaking. They are a little bit like performing, too.

Writerspace: What are you working on at present and what can your fans look forward to in the next twenty four months?

Susan Squires: Right now I am writing the sequel to DANEGELD, called DANELAW. The new hero is another Viking and the new heroine just may be the last Druid priestess in England. Alfred the Great plays a more prominent role than he did in DANEGELD. DANELAW will come out in early 2003.

Already in the works for August, 2002 is another very different effort for me. It's called BODY ELECTRIC, the story of a brilliant young programmer who falls in love with the Artificial Intelligence she has created. I really liked this story a lot, and Dorchester came up with a very hot-looking cover. They've done a great job with it.

I have been invited to do a novella for an anthology at Dorchester, and I have the glimmer of an idea I am very excited about for the book that would be out late in 2003. You'll have to wait for more information on that one!