Susan Stoker
Author of the “Beyond Reality Series” :
Outback Hearts
Flaming Hearts
&
Frozen Hearts
Susan has provided me with some “teasers” for you from each of her new books followed with a wonderful interview I look forward to sharing with you!
Outback Hearts
by SUSAN STOKER
Photo Credit:
Beau Coup Publishing
Flaming Hearts
by Susan Stoker
Photo Credit:
Beau Coup Publishing
Frozen Hearts
by Susan Stoker
Photo Credit :Chris Mackey of AURA Design Group
The third book is FROZEN HEARTS: “The Alaskan reality show is camera operator Jonathan’s last gig before he goes to work in security with his brother. The shoot would be completely miserable except the one woman in the world who was meant to be his is also a camera operator on the show. He doesn’t know how he’ll manage it, but he has to win her heart and convince her to move to Arizona to be with him.”
Now that you had a “little” sampling of each book in the Beyond Reality Series, here’s my interview with Author Susan Stoker:
1. VICKI: Susan, as an author, how do you go about choosing topics you’d like to write about, and what inspires these topics and the characters that will bring your story “to life”?
SUSAN: “Well Vicki, I write about what I like to read about. I admit to being a fan of the “knight in shining armor” romance. I know women are independent, and yes, I know that most of the time we don’t need a man. I think I must have watched too many Disney movies growing up, but there’s just something about a man being there when you need him most that I just love to read about.
So taking that into account, pretty much anything can inspire me. I’ve always loved a man in uniform, so that is an “easy” topic to write about that fits my knight in shining armor writing very well.”
2. VICKI: Once chosen, how do you bring your selected subject matter into a story “Book” format?
SUSAN: “I’m probably very different than “traditional” authors in regards to this. Typically I will write the “intense” scene first. Once I have the meat of the conflict written, or what I imagine in my head, I go back and fill in the blanks. Writing the beginnings and endings of my books are always the hardest part for me.”
3. VICKI: Well it all certainly pulls together very well in your books, Susan. In what mediums will your three Beyond Reality books be available to the public? I purchased mine as an e-book (Kindle), but will other options be available?
SUSAN: “Right now they will be on Amazon-e-book format, but in the near future also in paperback from Amazon. The books are a part of Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited program that they can be “borrowed” for free if members sign up for the program.”
4. VICKI: Will any of your characters in the Beyond Realty series make cameo appearances” in all of the three books?
SUSAN: “Yes they will. Eddie, the producer, is in all three books. Kina (the camerawoman) is in all three books, and she gets her own story in the third book. Sam and Alex (from the first book) will make a cameo appearance in the second book, and then they, along with Becky and Dean from the second book, show up in the third book as well.”
5. VICKI: I really liked that! It’s fun to see characters show up in the different stories. Will the series be based on different reality show themes?
SUSAN: “Yes. The first book OUTBACK HEARTS is a “bachelor” reality show format. The second, FLAMING HEARTS, is a bachelorette format, but there are TWO women competing for the men. The third, FROZEN HEARTS, is in Alaska and is a reality show with men competing to become the “Alaskan tough man” title, but the focus is on two of the camera operators, and not the contestants.”
6. VICKI: The continuity in your Beyond Reality Series is exceptional! Is that a challenging process with all of the other things you need to deal with when writing a series?
SUSAN: “Writing a series is much harder than writing a stand-alone book. While my books all have “Happy Ever After” endings, it can be tough to remember all the details about characters that carry over from one book to another. I just try to keep notes on the little things as I write so I can remember them in the later books and chapters.”
7. VICKI: In your bio, readers will learn about your attraction to writing at a very early age. How do you feel, now, as a professional writer getting great reviews for your work, and being part of the profession you always desired?
SUSAN: “It’s still very weird for me honestly. I always just wrote for me. I wrote what I liked, and I’d go back and re-read my work from time to time. Now, others are reading what I’ve written. While I know that I can’t ever please everyone, all I hope to do is entertain people for a few hours.”
8. VICKI: Can you give us a hint about your next project or upcoming series?
SUSAN: I’m so excited to get my next series out in the world for others to read. It’s a military series based on a team of Navy SEALs. I know, I know, there has been a ton of SEAL books written, but there’s something so sexy about strong, muscular, brave men, and the women they meet that they’d do anything for. The series will include seven books in all.
VICKI: The Navy SEALs , Wow! I sure look forward to that series, and I know all your fans will, too. All the best, Susan, and thank you so much for taking the time for this interview!
ABOUT SUSAN:
•“Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives but this all American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She is quite the romantic and even met the love of her life on “Hotmail classified” before online dating and sites like match.com even existed!”
•“Susan has been reading romance novels since middle school and once crossed out the names of the main characters in a book and changed them to her own and to the name of her crush. She’s been writing scenes for years, developing her unique writing style.”
• “Susan loves writing but her true passion is adopting dogs from rescue groups and shelters. Susan and her husband have had a total of nine “rescued” dogs since 2000 including a variety of basset hounds and bloodhounds. She has recently branched out and adopted a basset/terrier mix who acts more like a terrier than a basset (i.e. digging, eating a couch and being hyper).”
Author Susan Stoker enjoys a wonderful day with her husband Patrick, “the love of her life”, along with their family of adopted shelter and rescue dogs (left to right): Henry (bloodhound), Annie, Ozzie, and Rosie
•“If you love romance and want to help her support adopting great dogs, be sure to check out her work listed below.
The first series, Beyond Reality, is a trilogy, with all three books in the series having Happily Ever After endings with no cliffhanger.“
Susan snuggles with her adopted rescue dog, Annie
Here’s where you’ll be able to purchase the trio of books in Susan Stoker’s Beyond Reality Series:
OUTBACK HEARTS:
Amazon-US:
http://www.amazon.com/Outback-Hearts-Beyond-Reality-Book-ebook/dp/B00KEYID8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410367491&sr=8-1&keywords=susan+stoker
FLAMING HEARTS:
Amazon-US:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=susan%20stoker%20flaming%20hearts
FROZEN HEARTS:
Amazon-US:
http://amzn.to/1qiEODB
I gave 5-Stars to all three books in Susan’s Beyond Reality Trilogy! Do I have a favorite? YES… All three of them!! They are each packed with the elements of adventure, emotions, and real life situations. Susan’s style of writing has characters return throughout the trilogy in a way that lets each book maintain its story, but provides great interaction and flow that truly ties the whole series together!
Here’s what readers are saying about OUTBACK HEARTS:
•“It was a beautiful story that was unusual in concept and perfectly written.” (-So many books, so little time)
•“This book will have you up all night! You will never want it to end!” (-Elizabeth)
•“This is truly one of the best books that I have read this summer. Everyone should read this book.” (-Laurie)
•“My favorite part was the ending. It wasn’t what I was suspecting, but it was even better.” (-Diane)
Reviews for FLAMING HEARTS:
•”This is a great clean romance book, in a time when so many books go straight for the strong sexy to sell them. “ (-Cynthia)
•“I loved that this book was written as a man falling for the girl instead of the other way around. So many authors make women look completely pitiful because she’ll do anything for him, but this book is the exact opposite.” (Books and Beyond Fifty Shades)
• “Somewhat darker than the first book, but worth it all the same, with a twist that will leave your heart pounding! I LOVE how Stoker did not make Becky a victim, but rather a heroine.” (-Michele)
Take a moment to visit, like and enjoy Susan Stoker’s Social Media Sites:
www.facebook.com/authorsstoker
www.facebook.com/authorsusanstoker
www.twitter.com/Susan_Stoker
www.goodreads.com/Susanstoker
IT’S ALWAYS FUN TO CLOSE AN ARTICLE WITH A SURPRISE!!
ONE LUCKY WINNER will win an e-copy of the first book in the BEYOND REALITY series… OUTBACK HEARTS! In October go to http://www.itsaglamthing.com and look for the OUTBACK HEARTS giveaway! You can enter daily! Winners will be notified in November. Good luck!!
(Any Quoted or Paraphrased information in this article was obtained by provided information from Ms. Stoker, and our interview. Any personal commentary was my own opinion from reading the Beyond Reality Series by Susan Stoker. Much gratitude to Susan for all of her time, commentary, images, and wonderful interview. Thanks to Beau Coup Publishing, Sarah Werner Photography, Chris Mackey of AURA Design Group, and Susan Stoker for the use of their images in this article.)