Susan Donovan

Author profile

gender

female

website

http://www.susandonovan.com/

genre

Romance

About this author

edit data

The Author is Born
I grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, Ohio and spent my formative years in the cineplex, the mall, the drive-in, and the convertible MG of some guy named Gary. My mother claims I was destined to be a writer. As a kindergartner, I reported that I’d just seen a giraffe, elephant and rhinoceros at the bus stop. When Mom told me I was a good storyteller, I assured her that it was not a story, but the absolute truth! (See mediocre journalism career summary below…)

The Author Is Catapulted Into the World
I wrote for the school newspaper in high school, but never made it into a position of authority – the journalism adviser told me I was "too spasmodic" to be editor. I also starred in drama club plays and hosted excellen...more The Author is Born
I grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, Ohio and spent my formative years in the cineplex, the mall, the drive-in, and the convertible MG of some guy named Gary. My mother claims I was destined to be a writer. As a kindergartner, I reported that I’d just seen a giraffe, elephant and rhinoceros at the bus stop. When Mom told me I was a good storyteller, I assured her that it was not a story, but the absolute truth! (See mediocre journalism career summary below…)

The Author Is Catapulted Into the World
I wrote for the school newspaper in high school, but never made it into a position of authority – the journalism adviser told me I was "too spasmodic" to be editor. I also starred in drama club plays and hosted excellent cast parties. I earned a scholarship to be a summer foreign exchange student in Japan, then headed off to college at Northwestern University, events that forced me to conclude that there was, in fact, life outside Southwestern Ohio. Why wasn’t I informed? I look back upon my college years in Chicago and marvel that I was able to graduate and still have such a fine time. In 1983, I walked away with a degree in journalism and a minor in Japanese language and sociology, just in time for the recession. Because the only job I could find was at a Chicago phone sex service, I decided to go back for my master’s degree. I know, I know. Hindsight is 20/20.

Very Odd Jobs
My first job out of grad school was as a staff reporter at The Daily Southtown, on Chicago’s Southwest Side. I was a somewhat snobbish, ridiculously enthusiastic young woman promptly put in my place by the mean streets of Bridgeport and Burbank. My sincere thanks go out to the Southtown boys who teased me mercilessly, gave me a nickname that should have resulted in legal action, and showed me how to get along with cops, politicians and city editors – in other words, generally ruined me for polite society thereafter. Thanks guys. I owe you. Next, I did an internship at the Chicago Tribune, where I learned the nasty truth about gender politics and static electricity. I then packed up my red Dodge Omni and my cat and drove cross-country to work for two years at the Albuquerque Tribune. New Mexico is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, and it will always be special to me. But I missed my boyfriend, and moved back to Chicago. (I’m a romantic at heart, right?) I spent the next year working in corporate public relations for a company that has since, shall we say, hit the skids. It was not entirely my fault. When my boyfriend finished medical school, we moved together to Indianapolis for his residency and my job at the now-defunct Indianapolis News (also not my fault.) We got married in September 1989. Unfortunately, Hurricane Hugo destroyed our honeymoon hotel in the Virgin Islands, our luggage got lost somewhere between the US mainland and Puerto Rico, and we spent our wedding night in fleabag motel near the Atlanta airport that housed the overflow from a nearby Army base. This made us pause and ask, "Mmm…is this some kind of omen?" It was.

The Author’s Family Life
My husband joined a small-town medical practice in Maryland about an hour from Baltimore/Washington and I went to work for a member of Congress. In my opinion, there are some things a person simply does not need to know in order to lead a happy life, such as: what really goes on behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol? I ran from that job before delivering my first child. (Okay – I waddled.) My kids – now ages thirteen and eleven – are the most important part of my life. However, I am not strong enough to be a full-time mom and have resorted to a variety of part-time jobs in an effort to stay somewhat sane. These jobs have included fund-raiser for a symphony orchestra, communications consultant, free-lance journalist and painted furniture artist – a creative pursuit I still enjoy.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/susand...(less)

combine editions
Books by Susan Donovan

Average rating: 3.81 · 13,444 ratings · 1,077 reviews · 21 distinct works

	He Loves Lucy 3.84 avg rating — 2,246 ratings — published 2005 — 6 editions	My rating:
	The Kept Woman 3.84 avg rating — 1,116 ratings — published 2006 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Knock Me Off My Feet 3.87 avg rating — 1,058 ratings — published 2002 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Take a Chance on Me 3.83 avg rating — 1,015 ratings — published 2003 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Public Displays of Affection 3.83 avg rating — 889 ratings — published 2004 — 5 editions	My rating:
	The Girl Most Likely To... 3.68 avg rating — 705 ratings — published 2008 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Ain't Too Proud to Beg (Dog Walkers, #1) 3.68 avg rating — 678 ratings — published 2009 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Not That Kind of Girl (Dog Walkers #3) 3.57 avg rating — 314 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	My rating:
	The Night She Got Lucky (Dog Walkers, #2) 3.56 avg rating — 302 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Cheri on Top 3.47 avg rating — 251 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	My rating:

More books by Susan Donovan…

Series by Susan Donovan

Dog Walkers (3 books)
by Susan Donovan

3.62 avg rating — 1,292 ratings

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Susan Donovan

“She'd even violated the only sensible rule of dieting she'd ever run across, the sage advice of the Muppets' Miss Piggy, who recommended never eating anything bigger than your head.”
― Susan Donovan, He Loves Lucy

tags: diet , dieting , miss-piggy , muppets , rules , weight-loss

21 people liked it

“Have you ever met a man who looked so damn delicious that you wanted to sop him up with a hot buttermilk biscuit and inhale him in one gulp?”

“Why, yes, I have,” Doris said.

That was a shocker. “Really? What happened?”

“I married him.”
― Susan Donovan, He Loves Lucy

6 people liked it

“I think we love who we love and there’s not a damn thing that can be done about it.”
― Susan Donovan, He Loves Lucy

5 people liked it

See all Susan Donovan's quotes »

Polls

What Book do you want to read for the October Group Read?

Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery, #2)

Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl

4 votes 40.0%

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

4 votes 40.0%

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves

1 vote 10.0%

Cheri on Top by Susan Donovan

1 vote 10.0%

10 total votes

2 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Romance Readers R...: December - What are you currently reading?	163	145	Dec 31, 2009 07:54am
Romance Book Polls: Contemporary Romance EVER	20	84	Dec 31, 2009 02:19pm
Romance Book Polls: Contemporary Romance (Read in 2009)	13	52	Dec 31, 2009 02:34pm
Random Musings of...: Isis FG's Reading Log (Dec 09)	9	12	Jan 01, 2010 08:29am
Romance Readers R...: February - Pick It For Me! Challenge	355	322	Apr 01, 2010 01:44pm
Romance Readers R...: 2009 A-Z Book Challenge	325	839	Jun 10, 2010 09:03am
Contemporary Romance: Susan Donovan	20	93	Sep 13, 2010 01:02pm
Romance Readers R...: 2010 November Monthly Challenge: Participants' Lists Thread	496	372	Dec 07, 2010 04:02pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Susan to Goodreads.

Susan's Fans (217)