Susan’s Comments (group member since Apr 03, 2015)

Susan’s comments from the Penryn and the End of Days Re-Read group.

Thanks, everyone! I can't wait to share End of Days with you! I hope you LOVE it!

Mail wrote: "If you had wings yourself what would they look like?"

Okay, one last one. Iridescent pretty wings with retractable claws at the edges! Yeah, baby!

It was super fun, everyone! Thanks for inviting me and saying hello! And thanks to the lovely people at Hodder and Goodreads for hosting this Q&A. :)

Michelle wrote: "Tweedledum and Tweedledee (ah gasp)What happens to them? Do they go on living or not? And more importantly will you write a series about them? I mean, comeone, everyone loves them."

How funny that I was just thinking about them. You'll have to read to learn what happens with them. (You knew that would be the answer! :)

So glad they have their fans. I won't tell them, though. It'll go straight to their heads.

Somebody here asked which one was my favorite character to write, but I can't find the question now. I think it's the twins. I know they're two characters, but they're both equally fun to write. They make me laugh as I'm writing their banter because they're so outrageous sometimes.

Birgit wrote: "Greetings from Germany."

Hi Birgit! Thanks for stopping and saying hello. :)

Ileana wrote: "If you were tied to a chair and threatened and you only way out would be to say what your most favorite scene was from WA and AF, which scene would you choose?"

Um...the scene where I wiggle my hands out of the knot and bust my way out like 007?

Mel wrote: "Raffe would definitely award you "warrior status". It's late here in the UK so I am off to bed. Sending creative vibes and hugs to you. Please come to the UK again! I missed you last time you we..."

Goodnight, Mel. And thanks for being with me from the early days.

Also, I think it's not all that different from what teenagers go through, especially teen girls. Big changes, lots of peer pressure, lots of searching for who you really are.

So you can just think of us writers as teenagers. :)

Mel wrote: "...But we reader can be a little selfish and greedy! So stay true to how you want to write and when you want to write ...... We can be patient and loyal too! Xxx "

You readers are seriously AMAZING. I love you guys and all your awesomeness. I LOVE that you talk about the books and tell all your friends and write reviews. The pressure doesn't come from you. It comes from the writer's head. I think it's a right of passage for many writers, but I just didn't know that. I'm glad I'm past it. :)

Whew! I needed a moment after that. :) I had no idea how much courage it takes to be a writer.

I now have a fortune cookie taped to my writing computer that says, "Stay close to your inner self. You will benefit in many ways."

Mel wrote: "When you were writing the first two books did you ever get stuck /have writers block. If so how did you get back into Penryn's head?

Whoa, Mel, you took me down a rabbit hole with that question! :)

I don’t believe in writers block. But I did get stuck, not because I couldn’t find the story—the stories are endless and all you have to do is reach out—but because I was terrified to put any of it in writing.

I wrote Angelfall in private. I wrote it for me and hoped that a few might somehow discover it and share my love for the adventures of Penryn & Raffe. It was a quiet and private time when no one even knew I was writing a novel.

Then Angelfall launched, and it was a big hit thanks to you guys. At first, I was THRILLED that Penryn had found her tribe. The few people who discovered it LOVED the story and were telling their friends about it.

When the readership quickly grew, I was awed.

Then I was overwhelmed.

Then I froze in terror.

It was a kind of stage fright where I became too aware of just how many people were watching. I went from quietly writing alone to having thousands—tens of thousands—of people tugging at my consciousness as I wrote.

Everyone had an opinion, and I wanted to please everybody. But Raffe and Penryn aren’t about pleasing people. They had their own stories to tell, and it was dark and gritty and sometimes hard to swallow. I was scared to put it out there, but I refused to force my characters to suddenly become popularity contestants.

In the meantime, everybody was expecting the next story. The pressure was intense.

I got through it by a combination of strategies. I told my editor that I didn’t want a deadline. This is super unusual. Every pro writer works on a deadline. To her credit, she agreed. I took the time I needed to get past my own emotional turmoil so that I could be true to the story again.

At my lowest point, I was alone in the kitchen, crying because I couldn’t make it happen. It was so important to me to tell the story the way it should be told. My subconscious pulled up a song that repeated in my head, so I found it on the net and paced around the kitchen while listening to it over and over and over again. This was the turning point for me.

After that, I found my true north again and wrote World After and End of Days.

I just listened to the song, remembering that time. Here it is

Thanks for your patience, and thanks for believing in me.

Mail wrote: "How do you make your writing so impactful and memorable?"

That's a big question. Thank you for the tremendous compliment. A major factor is that you--the reader--breathes life into the story. Your experiences, your emotions, your triumphs, your tragedies. My job is to invite you in and facilitate the connection between you and my characters.

anushka wrote: "Hello Susan!!!

Do you take How to be very Funny classes? Because pateod is just hilarious c:

Hugs from India"

What? There are funny bits in my story??? It’s a post-apocalyptic monster fest, you guys! You’re supposed to be all, you know, post-apocalyptic.

(Hugs back!)

Mae wrote: "...will you be one of the authors attending the Bay Area Book Festival in June?"

Oh, I want to! I think my publisher's PR person contacted them per my request, but I haven't heard anything. So I guess I'm not going. I'm pretty sure I have more readers in Istanbul than I do in the Bay Area. Maybe it's because I keep destroying their towns and raining monsters on them? :)

Saba wrote: "I'm glad End Of Days is being released on May 12 because that's the same day I have my AP government exam...Can we expect more Pooky Bear scenes? "

Yes! Good luck on your AP exam! I'm sure you'll ace it because my readers are brilliant like that. :)

Xeniya wrote: "Will you be selling them on line? Dallas is a bit too far for me :D"

It takes too much time away from writing to sell stuff one at a time and mail them out. But I think we're going to have an international giveaway where the winners will get these bookmarks along with the tattoos and maybe something else. Stay tuned.

Kiara wrote: "Hi everyone!

I was wondering if Pooky Bear will ever show Penryn the kiss, I'm dying to read about it..."

I tried getting Pooky to do it! I started that scene thinking that's what we were going to see. But PB had other ideas, as she so often does.

Haley wrote: "If you're in Dallas, or going to the RT Convention in a couple of weeks..."

I'm planning to be there!"

Oh, yay! Stop by any of my panels or signing and say hi. I'll have the new bookmarks and stick-on tattoos for anyone who wants them!

HurrikanKathrina wrote: "What is something that surprised you in the story as you discovered it? Anything you hadn't expected?"

So many things, HK! Dee and Dum were a surprise. I remember thinking, who are these people who just barged into my story? :D

That's so like them...