An Interview with Susan Palmquist and A Contest!

Please welcome the very talented Susan Palmquist to my blog today!

Alisha: Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood? Favorite memories?

Susan: I grew up in a suburb of London, England. As soon as I could read, every Saturday morning my dad and I would walk to our local library and I’d check out three books, he would get six. I’m an only child so I spent lots of time reading, mostly mysteries by Agatha Christie and the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton. Some of my favorite memories are trips to the heart of London to meet with my maternal grandmother. First of all we’d have lunch at a restaurant across the street from Trafalgar Square. They had a candy store in there too, and you had to weigh your own candy, so that was always a lot of fun. And I used to collect dolls that were dressed in the national costumes from just about every country in the world. The store next to the restaurant sold them so my grandmother always bought me one. And then we’d walk to St. James Park (the very same park that the hero and heroine in A Sterling Affair take a stroll in) and as my grandmother worked in the kitchen of a large hotel, she’d bring old scrapes of bread for me to feed to the ducks on the lake there.


Alisha: What a picture book childhood! Lovely! Tell us about the hero and heroine in your latest release.

Susan: They’re both very headstrong, both…at first, unwilling to admit they’re falling in love. He’s pompous, but very funny and very handsome. She’s just learning to find her place in the world after being just a wife and mother, but no matter how much she denies it, she knows her life won’t be complete without the hero by her side. And, of course, what really complicates the whole thing is he’s been brought back from the dead and they’ve no idea if it’s just a temporary thing.


Alisha: Ooooh, this is MY kind of book! If you were granted three wishes by a genie, what would they be?

Susan: First one, to find a cure for cancer. I lost my dad, aunt and uncle to pancreatic cancer. Last year, my other uncle died from a brain tumor, and right now my mom is battling colon cancer. It’s a disease that’s greatly impacted my life, and I’d like to see it gone forever. Wish number two- that I’d never receive another rejection from any work I submit. Wish number three- that when I’m gone, people will always remember me as someone who did the right thing.

Alisha: I think everyone hopes for a cure from cancer. I'm so sorry for all your loss, Susan. I hope and pray we find a cure for this dreaded disease. If you could go anywhere to tomorrow, where would you go?

Susan: Ireland. My grandmother was from County Cork but I’ve never been there.

Alisha: I'd love to visit Ireland too. If you could see anyone tomorrow (dead or alive), who would it be?

Susan: My dad.

Alisha: Sniff. If you could choose six people to spend one week on a desert island, who would it be and why?

Susan: The first answer that came into my head was my six favorite hunks of all time, but that would seem shallow, right? Okay, so let’s see-

Singer, Michael Buble. I often listen to his music while I’m writing and he can just about sing anything…and just in case we didn’t have a radio or CD player on the island.

Chef Todd English. I love to cook, but I don’t know what my cooking skills would be like on an island without a stove so to be on the safe side, let’s have a professional chef there. And I love all his cookbooks.

Les Stroud otherwise known as Survivorman on the Discovery Channel. I’m a city girl, I don’t know how to start a fire or do any outdoor stuff…and just in case we weren’t rescued after a week, he’d be nice to have close at hand.

Soccer Player Georgie Best…well, that’s assuming I can pick someone who’s no longer living.

The hero from my WIP, and that’s assuming my selection can include imaginary people. Wait a minute, I’m getting into the hunk category here…

Okay, so, actor Jeff Fahey…wait a minute, I really am shallow so I’m have to think of some good reason for this pick. I know he’s now a cast member on Lost and obviously knows a thing or two about being stranded on an island. Phew, got myself out of that one.

Alisha: LOL! Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting hunks on the island. Hunks can be talented and smart too! Oh and I want Michael Buble on my island too! I adore his voice and music! What word or phrase tingles in all the right places for you?

Susan: You can do it.

Alisha: *Grin* If you had one day to spoil yourself, what would you do?

Susan: Sleep in late and then head to a spa for some pampering.

Alisha: Perfect plan. If you could change one incident in your life, what would it be and how would you change it?

Susan: When I was six, a modeling agent approached my mom about having me sign on with her agency to do some commercials, but I was too shy and made sure the agent’s business card went onto the fire. What was I thinking?

Alisha: Wow! Well, maybe that was divine intervention or something. You could have ended up like one of those waifs on crack. I paint a pretty picture, don't I? What’s the sexiest thing a man has ever done for you or said to you or both?

Susan: I’ve always been partial to a back rub and when I first met my husband he always offered to give me one, and yes, without me having to ask. I thought, hey, this man’s a keeper.

Alisha: A keeper for sure! Thanks for being my guest of honor today, Susan! Come back anytime!

Excerpt
Madam, are you afraid of me?”
Deana couldn’t speak, so she just shook her head. But then she got up the courage to answer him.
“Why would you think I’m afraid of you?”
“The fact that I can feel you shake in my hand. That I can see your body trembling.”
“It’s just that I’ve never seen a ghost before,” she said quickly. The shaking wasn’t because she thought he was a ghost, or even spooky for that matter. She was in awe of this magnificent man.
“A ghost. I do not believe that I am a ghost. Ghosts are dead. I believe that I am alive.”
He took her hand and pressed her palm to his chest. She could feel a network of well-defined muscles, and the little mats of curly hair tickled her palm. If he hadn’t come back from the dead, she would have taken a guess he’d been working out a couple of times a day. He moved her hand across to the left side of his body and she suddenly felt his heart pounding against her palm.
“Are you now convinced that I am alive?”
“Yes.”
Deana felt her knees go wobbly again, and it definitely wasn’t because she was standing next to a supposedly dead man. There was only one simple explanation for the way she was feeling. She was attracted to him, and found him, well, the only word she could think of was sexy.
He let go of Deana’s wrist, so she stepped backwards away from him. “The clothes,” she said, holding them out to him again.
He took them with one hand while managing to keep the cushion in place with the other.
“Perhaps you should tell me your name, Madam.”
“I’m Deana Adams, and those are my children, Todd and Amy.”
He looked across the room at them. “Yes, imps who enjoy a lark. And I would very much like to speak with their father as soon as possible. I would like to recommend to him what their punishment should be for this game they have played.”
“That won’t be possible,” said Deana.
He looked back at her.
“And why not?”
“Because I’m a widow, their father is dead.”

CONTEST:
From Susan: One of my favorite TV characters right now, is Dr. Gregory House. House is played by fellow Brit, Hugh Laurie who like the hero in A Sterling Affair has some connection to the Regency period, what's the connection. First person to get the correct answer wins a free e-book of A Sterling Affair. Good luck.