Frequently Asked Questions

How can I contact you?
You can reach me by email by going to the contact page on this website, or snail-mail me at:

Susan Rosson Spain
c/o Marshall Cavendish
99 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, NY, 10591-9901

Make sure you include a SASE—that’s a self-addressed, stamped envelope—so that I can reply!

How do you get your ideas?

I get ideas everywhere: from newspapers and magazines, song lyrics, television, and things I see on my daily walks or in other public places. I’ve even dreamed ideas for my stories. Then I take it a step further by asking myself, what if?

What are you writing now?

I've just finished my second novel for young adults, entitled VEGAN RULES. Andie Park, a confident scuba diver and self-assured vegan, is confronted with a crisis so deeply personal that she must reexamine her every conviction, and ultimately, her deepest sense of self.

How can I become a better writer?

• Read. Keep reading until you think you’ve read enough to be a good writer. Then read some more. You don't do this to steal ideas from other writers; you do it to train your brain to feel the rhythm of language, to feel the heartbeat of a good story, and to see how other writers handle things like structure and pacing. Amongst writers, it's widely said that you should read 1000 books of the type you wish to write before you write your own. I think that's great advice. It's difficult to do, of course; but it's great advice all the same. Even when writing comes easy for you, you can never tell yourself that you've learned all you can learn. There will always be more. Always.
• Keep a journal or an idea book, or even a blog. Entries can be long ramblings about what’s on your mind that day, or they can be a few words that seem special to you somehow. Re-read your journal often; sometimes words mean one thing to you one day and something different to you the next. It's important to see what you've written from as many perspectives as you can.
• Take classes for writers and attend writing conferences whenever you can. There will always be more to learn, and discussing the craft with other writers has a way of feeding one's muse.
• Be prepared with pen and paper at all times. I carry a small spiral notebook everywhere I go. You can never tell when something you overhear is going to be just the phrase you've been looking for; and it's amazing how fast ideas that were magic just a few moments before will evaporate. Keep a pad and paper next to you while you watch TV, and even on your nightstand by your bed. You really never know when an idea will strike; three or four times while writing THE DEEP CUT, I woke in the middle of the night with just the solution I needed to a plotting problem.
• Write every day. Try for two pages, but even two sentences is better than nothing. You can not call yourself a writer if you do not write. I do consider times when I'm thinking about my story, or researching an idea, writing. But I make myself jot notes about my thoughts or findings, even if they're just more questions. This is another place where a journal is of great value. Writing is a process, and by definition, a process is "a continuing activity or function." So I'll say it again: Write every day.
• Improve your vocabulary. Reading a lot helps, of course, but you can further develop vocabulary through working crossword puzzles, visiting Word-of-the-Day websites like the one at www.merriam-webster.com, or playing other word games online. One vocabulary-boosting site which I highly recommend helps to feed the hungry around the world as you play, through the United Nations World Food Program. Every correct answer you select earns twenty grains of rice! Click here to check it out: