Susan Blexrud Relaxes with Quilts and Vampires!

Welcome Susan Blexrud, quilter and author of vampire stories!
Amber: What stresses you about your writing? Susan: Writing is hard work, no doubt aboutit.  To do it well requires focus, andI'm most stressed when the words don't come. My shoulders tense, and my neck aches. That's when I know it's time to take a break.
Amber: What keeps you a relaxed creative writer?Or brings you back when stress takes over? Susan: I exercise…a lot, but because my sewingmachine is just three steps from my computer, sometimes the best relaxation isto leave the screen and turn my attention to whatever quilting project I haveunderway.
Amber: How does quilting relax you? Would youcall it meditative? Susan: Because I'm the type of person who has tobe busy ALL THE TIME, quilting relaxes me by providing a sense ofaccomplishment.  As a writer, there aredays when the words simply won't coalesce, and on those days, I turn to mysewing machine.
Amber: Do you enter shows or give quilts tofriends and family? Susan: I don't enter shows, but I do make quiltsfor friends and family.  A large quiltcan take me six months to make, but projects like quilted table runners orpillows make great gifts and are much less time-consuming.
Amber: Do they ever reflect your writing?Susan: I'm intending to fashion a Civil Warquilt once I get my current WIP finished. Speaking of which, here's an...
excerpt from The Gettysburg Vampire Malcolm leaned back in his chair.  He was aware of his heartbeat, which wasodd.  It typically beat so slowly thatany doctor would have declared him dead. Of course, he was dead.  Feelingthe thrum of his heart was disquieting, yet exciting.  He stared at the door Abby had just closedand listened to her footsteps fade down the hall.  Humans wouldn't have heard the soft pad ofher boots on carpet, but he had no problem detecting each step.  The fact that she was stomping helped.  He pinched the bridge of his nose.  Had he remembered her?  How could he forget?She'd always sat in the front row ofhis class, glued to him with those soulful hazel eyes.  Other coeds regarded him lustfully, but shehung on his words.  She seemed genuinely interestedin what he was trying to convey, not simply entranced by his veneer.  He knew she was special, which is why he'davoided her.  The last thing he neededwas human entanglement.  Once she leftthe college after her graduation, he thought he was safe from the lure of her.  He'd repressed the image of her pert nose,peachy skin, and bouncy breasts.   Butdamn if she didn't come back to Gettysburg to teach, and inadvertently, tohaunt him.And now he had no choice; he had torescue her.  He'd been unable to saveSarah those many years ago, but he could keep Abby out of harm's way.  She'd probably go to that Goth club deckedout like a fangbanger with no idea of the danger she was in.  So, there'd be no compartmentalizing thistime.  He'd have to see her again.  And then what?  Act in her play?  He could feel his resolve melting like theNovember snow.  For the first time sinceSarah died, he seriously considered the prospect of companionship…andpassion.  Now his heart was beating inhis ears.*** Amber: What advice can you offer writers? 
Susan: If you're a writer, you can't NOT write. Ifind that when I've completed a writing project, I feel bereft until anotherstory starts brewing, and sometimes, taking a break through quilting can be theperfect medicine for getting those writing juices flowing.

Amber: Since fiction is filled with conflict,what do your characters do to release stress? 
Susan: Ha! Well, my vampire hero, John Wright, relaxes on an inversionmachine.  I suppose hanging upside downis comfortable for him since that's how bats sleep, and my vampires frequentlyresort to bat form when they need to escape or just want to cruise the nightskies.
Thanks for letting me share a bit about myquilting…and my writing, Amber.I love to hear from readers and writers…andquilters.  You can contact me through myblog… www.embracetheshadows.wordpress.comor via Facebook or Twitter.
My books are available at All Romance E-Booksand Fictionwise, as well as on Nook and Kindle.
Hugs,Susan



Susan Blexrud grew up in Orlando, Florida, and nowdivides her time between Orlando and Asheville, North Carolina, with herhusband of 25 years, John, who proposed to her on New Year's Eve 1985 on theVenice-Simplon Orient Express, halfway between Paris and Vienna.  Theirson Chris is a graduate student, and daughter Allison is a college sophomore.Susan has a Chihuahua named Baby (who figures prominently in her stories) and acockatiel named Romeo. She is an avid reader, walker, biker, and Yogaenthusiast. She enjoys sewing quilts and bird watching (loves hummingbirds),and most of all, writing her next story.