1--What is the title of your latest release?
LETTERS FROM STRANGERS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Jane’s memories of her father are shattered when she finds letters from a mistress who may have had his child. But her father was not the only one hiding something, and her search for the truth forces her to confront deeply held secrets from her own past.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The book is based on true events from my childhood, so I set it in the places where (and the time periods when) those events took place. I grew up in Massachusetts in the 80’s then moved to California, so the story goes from one to the other and back again!
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Well, I kind of am my protagonist, since the book is based not only the events of my life, but some of the personal struggles I’ve worked through, so ... um … I guess so? Because who wouldn’t want to hang out with their younger self!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
wounded, determined, brave
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
My other five books are thrillers. I learned that creating emotional jeopardy is very similar to creating life and death jeopardy, because someone breaking your heart can be almost as deadly as someone shooting a bullet through it. And also, that all writing (including fiction) can be an amazing way to work through trauma.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I edit as I go. I find my brain can’t create a new chapter until I am absolutely certain the chapter before is working. I tried to push through once with my second book. It was the first time I was on deadline, and I was super nervous about finishing on time. So I plowed through to the end just to have a first draft. It was a disaster. I had to throw out everything past chapter 10! I learn about the characters as I go, and if I try to force them into a preconceived plot point it never rings true. As I got to know more thriller writers, I was surprised to learn most of them make it up as they go. The author Laura Dave told me her writing process is like a car with headlights, she never tries to write beyond what she sees just in front of her. I’m the same.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Coffee. I drink it all day long. And every variety – hot, cold, with cream milk, whipped cream, caramel, chocolate, whatever is available. I’m sure my stomach lining looks like Swiss cheese, but I can’t stop!
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have the best room in the house! My desk is in the corner. I keep it tidy, because my brain doesn’t work if my surroundings are messy. I have twin bookcases with all my favorite books and photos, a fireplace, and a super comfy couch for naps … which somehow, I am able to take even with all that coffee!
10--Who is an author you admire?
Oh there are so many! There are the ones I admire but have never met – Taylor Jenkins Reid for her incredible character work, David Ellis for his intricate plotting, Tana French for her exquisite prose. And the are all the authors who I have met and have been so kind to me. Wendy Walker, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Gary Goldstein, Dr. Judy Melinek and her husband T.J. Mitchell have gone above and beyond to help me find my way, and I’m as inspired by their talent as I am grateful for their help.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I’m going to wayyyy back and say “Are You There, G? IT’S ME, MARGARET because I grew up in a house where we didn’t talk about a lot of things, and without Margaret, I would have felt very scared and alone.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Well, first I had to find an agent. My manuscript was done in March 2020, so I started blind querying – that’s when you send emails to random agents and pray they will open them (they rarely open them). I did this for about a month. Then I got smart and asked some friends who produced movies to make introductions, and that changed everything! I found my dream agent in Laura Dail. She was joyful and enthusiastic and so, so smart – everything I wanted in a partner and advocate. She sent the book out and after a handful of passes, we got a hit! She put me in touch and I talked to Chris Werner at Lake Union, the man who would become my very first editor. I was over the moon! There was other interest in the book, and Laura wanted to set up calls with the other interested parties. I remember being so afraid if I didn’t accept Chris’s offer he would go away. But he didn’t. And I did five books with that imprint!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I love a smart, character-driven thriller. Anything by Lisa Jewell or Laura Lippman!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
This is not highbrow, but I watch “Pretty Woman” every time it comes on TV, I’ve probably seen it twenty times. My daughter calls it my comfort movie.
15--What is your favorite season?
Winter! I love the snow!
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
At this point I’d rather not lol. But my favorite birthday was last year when my book “Running Cold” came out. My pub date was right before my birthday, so I threw a joint book/birthday party. My audiobook narrator came and read from the book, and we all ate cake, it was awesome!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
“The Night Manager” on Amazon, based on the book by John LeCarre! And there is a new season coming later this year – yay!
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I like spicy Thai food; I would eat it every day if I didn’t have to cook for my family.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
OK, I’m going to be honest. This time of year, all I really do is read, write, and watch Red Sox baseball. I’m a huge baseball fan. Unless my daughters want to hang out. I will drop everything to be with them.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
A locked room mystery called MURDER AT 30,000 FEET. Coming February 2026! (Can you guess what the locked room is? Hint: It has wings …)
From the creator of the 2017 film All I Wish comes the heartbreaking story of two strangers searching for the truth about their families—and discovering a secret that will change their lives forever.
Jane’s father is far from perfect. But his sudden death brings crushing grief. As Jane grapples with her pain, life delivers another blow: a stack of letters pointing to a secret life. A life her father shared with another woman…who may have had his child.
Across the country, sixteen-year-old Adam is self-destructing. His adoptive parents never intended to show him the unsigned letters from his birth mother, but he is desperate for answers, even if they hurt.
Jane and Adam are on a collision course, but not for the reasons we might suspect. Because the letters do not tell the whole story. What is true is that Adam and Jane are both looking for a woman who does not want to be found.
A family saga spanning two decades, this emotional story explores how good things can grow from the ashes of old scars.
Women's Fiction Family Life | Thriller Domestic [Lake Union Publishing, On Sale: May 27, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781662523496 / ]
The winner of the (not terribly) prestigious WIFTS screenwriting award for “All I Wish,” the 2018 film she wrote and directed starring Sharon Stone, Susan Walter has recently added “novelist” to an eclectic resume that includes “failed concert violinist,” “unwatchable TV news reporter,” and “dazed mother to two teenage girls.” Groomed to be alone in a room for hours on end by a childhood spent practicing violin, writing books came naturally to Susan, and her husband is hopeful she will finally have a reason to use her computer for something more productive than watching Red Sox baseball.
A native of Boston, she suppresses her irresistible accent to avoid stink eye from sports fans across Los Angeles, where she now resides.
Susan’s first two suspense-thrillers, “Good as Dead” and “Over Her Dead Body,” were Amazon First Reads editors’ picks, and both hit number one on Audible across all categories. Her September 2023 release, “Lie by the Pool,” a suspense-thriller about a woman who stows away in a Beverly Hills pool house, was an Audible editor’s pick and debuted in the top ten. Her fourth novel, the action-thriller RUNNING COLD, about an Olympic biathlete falsely accused of murder, will be released on 10/8/24. Her fifth book, LETTERS FROM STRANGERS, is based on her shocking discovery that her father had a secret family, and certain people are going to have a lot of questions for her when that comes out in May 2025.
Because she can’t be alone with her thoughts, she also continues to write for TV and film. She has two TV pilots set up at Canadian broadcasters, and her R-rated girls trip comedy “Babymoon” is currently gunning to go into production in early 2025. Read more about Susan on her website or in her self-indulgent guest column for Talkhouse Magazine.
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