SUSAN LUTE

Stories For Today's Woman

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do. -Denzel Washington

You write your first draft with your heart, and you rewrite with your head. -William Forrester (from Finding Forrester)

Activities? Reading, photography and walking.

Color? This is a toss up, because I really love purples, blues and greens.

Place? Manhattan. There is so much alive energy there.

Plant? Any rose.

Clothing? Jewelry.

Food? Besides dark chocolate? Spaghetti.

Children? Teenagers.

Magazine? MORE.

Holiday? Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Occasionally, I'll cook

INSTANT COCOA

In a large bowl mix thoroughly with wooden spoon:

1 - 14 qt box dry milk 6 cups Nestlé's Quick 1 large jar coffee creamer 1 - 1 lb package of powdered milk

Place 1/3 cup of instant cocoa mix in a cup. Add boiling water. Stir. Drink.

On those cold, stormy nights, or for brainstorming sessions with your writing buddies, add a dollop of Irish Country Cream for a touch of inspiration and decadence.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. I married my high school sweetheart and have three grown children - who are the best thing I’ve done with my life. I also share my life with two cats, Larry and Curly.

I’m fascinated by ancient history, love to read, garden, take black-and-white photos and travel. Race walking is my favorite activity, baseball is the best spectator sport I know. One day I plan to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

When not writing, I am a Reiki practitioner and work as a Nurse in Women’s Health. As the oldest child of a military family I’ve traveled a lot, and over the years have become an ardent student of human nature. I love the ridiculous and unusual, and probably collect way too much useless information. Fortunately that comes in handy when cooking up plots for a story.

Mostly I love to write, spinning tales that will change lives forever. My favorite stories are about women, and how we come to understand our own strengths. I also love to write stories about the click of instant recognition that happens when a man and woman fall irrevocably in love. Lost in the hurdles littered in my character's paths, I can’t live without chocolate and a steady diet of vanilla lattes.

When I wrote OOPS...WE’RE MARRIED? I wanted to see what would happen when I threw Dillon Stone (a widower with a young son, who wanted a wife he would be comfortable with, but never have to take the risk of loving) together with Eleanor Rose (a Corporate Librarian who had not a domestic bone in her body). If they ended up married through no fault of their own...how much fun would that be? Well, it turned out to be a lot of fun for me, and ultimately worked for them as well.

OOPS...WE’RE MARRIED? is a dream come true for me. I hope your dreams are as spectacular.

Enjoy!

Su