A VISIT WITH SUSAN SLEEMAN

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a best-selling author of inspirational and clean read romantic suspense books. Awards include Thread of Suspicion-2013 Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Best Book Award, No Way Out, and The Christmas Witness Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence finalists.
 
In addition to writing, Susan also hosts the popular website TheSuspenseZone.com.

She currently lives in Oregon with her husband, but has lived in nine states. They have two daughters, a son-in-law, and an adorable grandson.


A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A ROMANTIC SUSPENSE AUTHOR

The explosion rent the air. Concussive waves rumbled through the ground and a fireball whooshed overhead. In the background, a machine gun’s sharp pings competed for my attention.

A terrorist attack. No. Just a day in the life of a romantic suspense writer.

I’ve always wanted to write stories filled with adventure, excitement, and strong female characters who could hold their own in difficult situations, but my life is far too tame to give me a background for these stories.

Enter the FBI’s Citizen Academy. Six weeks spent with generous agents sharing about their work, all culminating with a day at their firing range to shoot guns and blow things up. With experiences like this one, I feel like I can write stories that let readers hear the explosions, taste the gunpowder after the shot is fired and feel the danger.

As an added bonus, the academy opened doors for me participate in a mock plane crash drill at Portland International Airport. Talk about exciting! Seeing trained emergency workers stream toward a plane crash with only one goal—to save lives.

I so admire these people. They are true heroes and I want to bring characters just like them to life in my next series, First Responders.

This elite six-member First Response Squad includes two hostage negotiators, a sniper, a bomb technician, an EMT, and an intelligence coordinator.

 

 

SILENT NIGHT STANDOFF kicks off the series this month where hostage negotiator Skyler Brennan’s life is on the line when armed robbers strike her bank. Rescue comes from the last person she thought she could count on—her ex-boyfriend who once chose his job over their relationship.

FBI agent Logan Hunter knows how much is resting on this case. The promotion of his dreams…and the safety of the woman he’s never been able to forget. But when an unexpected twist in the case pulls Logan in two separate directions, he’ll have to make an impossible choice. Will he manage to have it all by Christmas—a career and love—or will he lose them both?
The other five books feature one member of the team and will release through in 2015 and 2016. I already love the men and women of the FRS. Their strength and courage. Their willingness to rush into disasters to help victims. They don’t let emergencies fluster them. They do their job and save lives. No matter the toll it takes in their own lives. No matter the peace it steals. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my First Responders as they work to recapture that missing peace and find love. I know you’ll agree, they are what true heroes are made of, and our lives are so much better for the real heroes in the world.
 

Readers can connect with Susan at:
 

Her Website - http://www.susansleeman.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/SusanSleemanBooks
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/susansleeman
Review Site - http://www.TheSuspenseZone.com

If you'd like to win a copy of SILENT NIGHT STANDOFF, please leave a comment, along with your contact information. U.S. only, please.