I’m so excited to welcome Susan back! She has graciously agreed to update us on her writing life and tell us about her third book in the Noble Legacy collection.
Welcome back, Susie. Please tell us about your book "Finding Stefanie."
Finding Stefanie is the story of a woman who finds herself suddenly wondering where her dreams went. She’s a rancher and sacrificed her future to stay home and take care of the family ranch. However, with her brothers (Nick and Rafe) helping out now on the ranch, suddenly, she is wondering where she fits in. Add to that her new next door neighbor, Hollywood Heartthrob Lincoln Cash, who seems to be intent on bringing tinsel town to her small Montana town, and she’s pretty sure she’s a relic from days gone by. But Lincoln is hiding a secret, and Stefanie just might be the only one who can help him. And, well, vice-versa. Maybe, through Lincoln
’s eyes, Stefanie will finally discover the woman God has designed her to be. With elements of suspense all back-dropped against the Big Montana Sky, it’s the conclusion to the Noble Legacy collection, and a story that women will (I hope!) relate to.
The earlier two books in the series were about Stefanie’s brothers, ("Reclaiming Nick" and "Taming Rafe"). Would you say it was easier or harder/more fun or less fun writing about Stefanie as compared to say, Rafe (her twin brother)? What were the challenges (or perks) of being mostly in the POV of a male for books one and two, as compared to mostly being in a female POV for "Finding Stefanie"?
Well, both Rafe and Nick had pretty strong heroines, but Stefanie was the strongest by far, so getting into her skin was an adventure. I loved how strong she was – in fact, finding a hero for her was a real challenge. She didn’t need a “strong” man, because, well, Stef is pretty tough. But she did need a special kind of man, one who saw through her rawhide exterior to the beautiful woman inside, and of course, he alone could see who she really was. In Stefanie, I let out all the cowgirl inside me and freed her to wander about the page, to train horses and help the children and ultimately to save the world’s hero. I love writing male pov also, however – my biggest challenge is to make him sound like a guy. Because, usually, romantic heroes are a whole lot more talkative and vulnerable than our real heroes…so making those situations realistic in the book sort of involves me following my husband or teens around the house and asking, “would a guy…?” I have to say, I love writing both povs….