Susan was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, then her parents moved her and her two sisters to Anchorage, Alaska when she was two years old.  She has fond memories of that beautiful amazing state, including licking an iceberg, eating wild rose petals, imagining a castle in the wooded area behind her house, roaming through fields of fireweed and wildflowers, camping and fishing with her parents.  A not-so-fond memory is that of the great Alaskan Earthquake, the most powerful recorded earthquake in US history.  Luckily, her family escaped any serious damage but aftershocks from that earthquake kept disturbing their sleep for months.

Soon after the great earthquake, Susan and her parents moved to Southern California where she completed her education.  She earned a BA in English and French from California State University, Dominguez Hills and a Masters in Library Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.  She also earned an MBA from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. 

Susan’s grandfather and great grandfather were pastors in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.  She was brought up in the church but, as often happens in adulthood, drifted away from her Lord.  She met and married a wonderful man, experiencing her own romance when she had just about given up hope of ever doing so.  She was blessed with a beautiful son.  It wasn't until she suffered herpes zoster while pregnant with her second child that Susan's faith was reignited.  Susan had a healthy, beautiful daughter but the disease resulted in facial scarring and chronic pain from which she still suffers.  She came to know in a deeper, more intimate way the love and presence of the Lord in her life.  She learned to trust in her Lord and lean not on her own understanding, regardless of her feelings or circumstances.  The lessons the Lord has taught her through the pain and suffering she endures inform her writing. 

Susan currently works full-time as the associate dean of the library in a private arts college while pursuing her passion for writing Christian romance novels in her spare time.  She is an avid reader of Christian romantic fiction and enjoys an occasional fantasy novel as well.  She is a big fan of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's mostly vegan diet (see his web site:  http://www.drfuhrman.com/), which she credits with helping to restore her health.

Some of her favorite books (just in the order she happened to remember them): 

• Redeeming Love and the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers
• Freefall and the Michelli Family Series by Kristen Heitzman
• Bride Most Begrudging and Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
• Legends of the Guardian King series by Karen Hancock
• The Gifted series by Lisa Tawn Bergren
• Fountain Creek Chronicles series by Tamera Alexander
• Refiner’s Fire series by Lynn Austin
• Crossroads of Grace series by Alice Pittman