Join us as we interview prolific author Susie Black and her latest release, The Case of the Croaked Coach #authorinterview #cozymystery #teensleuth #newrelease #booksworthreading
- N. N. Light
- Apr 3
- 15 min read
I’m so excited to have Susie Black back with us for an author interview. She talks about her writing process, what authors inspired her, and her latest release. Join us for this fun interview. Take it away, Susie…
What is your writing process?
SUSIE: The first lesson I learned in writing was to write what you know. I write in the first person because the protagonists in both my series are based on my experiences. Throughout my career as a ladies’ apparel sales exec, I kept a daily journal that chronicled the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I encountered and the crazy situations I got myself into and out of. The journal entries are the main source of my research and the foundation for my award-winning Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. The premise of my new series—The Hannah White Mystery Series- is based on my experiences as a high school newspaper investigative reporter.
In both series, all the main characters and some of the supporting cast are based on people I knew or know now. Basing the plots and characters on my experiences gives my stories high credibility and authenticity, ensuring readers will invest in them.
Do you have any odd writing habits?
SUSIE: Yes. Two. Normally, I am a neat and orderly person. But with my writing, not so much. I have hundreds of scraps of paper scattered across my desk and the office filled with notes to remember to add this scene or revise that one or an idea for a new character or plot twist. Since I also wake up in the middle of the night, thinking of things for stories, I keep a pad and pen on the nightstand and attempt to write the ideas down. Of course, most of the time, I either can’t read my handwriting or what I’ve written is legible but makes no sense, and spend half the morning trying to figure out what I wrote or what I meant.
What book do you wish you could have written?
SUSIE: The Ax by Donald E. Westlake. Mr. Westlake wrote a hilariously tongue-in-cheek but believable story of a disgruntled man who was inexplicably let go from a long-held position and plotted to guarantee his getting another job by killing off the competition. I would have loved to have written this book.
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you?
SUSIE: As a child, the two with the biggest influences were: Carolyn Keene, author of the Nancy Drew Series, & Frank W. Dixon, author of The Hardy Boys Series. As an adult I have many, but if I had to narrow the list down, these are the cream of the crop: Nancy J. Cohen, Carolyn Haines, the late great Joan Hess, the late great Anne George, the late great Donald E. Westlake, and the late great Elmore Leonard.
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
SUSIE: Here is my dream cast:
Hannah White: Sadie Sink
MM: Jenna Ortega
Jodine: Emma Myers
Diane: Millie Bobby Brown
Cindy: McKenzie Foy
Toby: Maddie Ziegler
Donna: Kyla Kenedy
Terry: Anna Kendrick
Nana: Sally Field
Coach Bixby: Paul Rudd
Uncle B: Edward Norton
H.S: Milla Jovovich
Billy: Aaron Paul
Coach Bender: William Levy
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?
SUSIE: Names are critically important to the character development of my stories. Since most of my characters are based on real people I knew, I chose their fictitious names by the meaning. I give the characters names close to the real person’s name or a play upon words. For example, if the real person’s name was Joy, I called her Hope. If the real person’s name was Jill, I called her Joan. If the real last name was Newman, I gave the character the last name of Oldham. I often add a real person’s name to the cast. In The Case of the Croaked Coach, the name of my author colleague, Terry Newman, was added to the cast.
What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
SUSIE: My son Alex.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
SUSIE: On a personal level, living a healthy, safe life on a beachfront property with family and friends and my typewriter close by. On a professional level, giving Janet Evanovich a run for her money on the New York Times bestseller list. (My dad always told me to think large and dream big.)
Have you always liked to write?
SUSIE: The short answer? Yes. My mother read to me daily from infancy and taught me to read as a toddler, so words and stories were an important part of my youth. I have been telling stories since I learned to talk. I loved the magic of getting lost in a story and knew I wanted to create the same magic for others. If I had to pinpoint it, I’d say I knew I wanted to be a writer as early as kindergarten. I’ve been writing for a long time. I wrote my first short story when I was in elementary school.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
SUSIE: Write what you know. If you don’t know it, either do the research and learn it or don’t write it. If you don’t have the creds for what you write, you are toast because readers can spot a phony by the second paragraph and never finish reading your book. Keep writing, no matter what, keep writing. Trust your gut, believe in yourself, never let anyone crush your dream, and never stop asking what if?
If you didn’t like writing books, what would you do for a living?
SUSIE: Stand-up comedienne.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
SUSIE: I am a hybrid author. I plan the beginning and the end, but let my characters lead the way from the middle of the plot that they create to my ending. They have a good deal of leeway but understand that if they don’t do a good job, I will take over. Their middle must mesh and logically feed into my ending. They are not allowed to change the ending in any way. And if I am extremely underwhelmed, there is the risk I will either write them out or kill them off, so they are highly motivated to do a good job.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
SUSIE: I read all my reviews. Sometimes I respond to the good ones, but I never respond to the bad ones. As a sales exec, I was used to rejection and learned you can’t please everyone. Since I write for an audience and not for myself, I would rather have a negative review than no review. The most effective way I deal with negative reviews is to learn something from them that I can use for future stories. If a reader is confused by a plot twist, going forward I am cognizant not to replicate the same twist but revise it. If a reader was confused by a flashback, going forward, I would make the flashback clearer with a declarative phrase so the reader understands some of the action was in the past, and another action is in the present time. My advice on how to deal with the bad reviews is don’t expect to please everyone. Don’t take a bad review too personally; look at it analytically and grow a thick skin. Don’t get angry or hurt as neither serves any good purpose. Instead, if the review has constructive criticism, have an open mind and use it as a learning experience to improve your writing going forward and not repeat the same mistakes.
What is your best marketing tip?
SUSIE: Don’t try to do everything because you’ll never do any one of them well. Get familiar with social media and figure out how it can best help market your brand. Find out who your readers are. Then find where your readers hang out and be there too. Be selective and only do the marketing ploys you like and believe in. If you think X is the silliest thing you’ve ever seen, don’t do it. You won’t be effective. Whatever you do, be consistent, do marketing daily; even for only half an hour, and don’t only say, “buy my book” every single time you market. Let readers get to know you by sharing personal things about you, especially those things that have impacted your writing. Marketing is telling the story behind the story.
What is your least favorite part of the publishing/writing process?
SUSIE: Marketing.
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
SUSIE: Yes. What is it? Animal or child abuse.
Do you have a favorite spot to write? What is it?
SUSIE: Yes, I do.
SUSIE: What is it? I live on a golf course and my home office faces a duck-filled water hazard on the fairway. I love to look up at the duffers swatting at golf balls that invariably go into the drink and make the ducks quack at the golfers. Some of my best written zingers are as a result of watching their guffaws and antics.
Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?
SUSIE: Yes, action scenes. Since I’ve never actually had to escape from a life-threatening situation (thank goodness!), it is challenging to get the pacing right and devise how characters escape (or don’t), not make the scene too over the top and become unrealistic in relationship to the characters involved.
Is this your first book? How many books have you written prior (if any?)
SUSIE: No, The Case of the Croaked Coach is the eighth book I have written.
What are you working on now?
SUSIE: I am juggling several balls in the air. Right now I am writing the first draft of the next Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. It will be the first story in the series where Holly and the Yentas go on the road to Miami to attend a swimwear trade show. I am also plotting the next Hannah White Mystery Series book. I have just finished writing the debut story for a new humorous cozy mystery series set in the California desert that I will submit to my editor soon. Last, but not least, I am doing something I have never done before: I am writing a new paranormal humorous cozy mystery in collaboration with an author colleague. We are combining our mutual main character casts into the story. We take turns writing each chapter and it has been fun but a challenge at the same time.
What is your next project?
SUSIE: I have one new project in the planning stage. It's an historical thriller based on the heroic real-life actions of my maternal grandfather during World War II.
Do you write naked?
SUSIE: I am embarrassed to admit that yes, I have. When a fabulous idea comes to me while in the shower, I’ve run out soaking wet and naked to write the scene while it is fresh in my mind, and while in the zone, I end up writing several chapters in the buff. That doesn’t happen often, but I am a night owl and do admit to writing wearing my pajamas quite a bit.
Have you ever gotten into a fight?
SUSIE: Yes. In the fifth grade, I beat the stuffing out of Phillip De Loria on the playground at Vanalden Elementary School.
Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
SUSIE: When I was in college, I was almost out of gas leaving the university library quite late at night, and was followed from the school parking lot while driving back to my apartment. No matter how many twists and turns I made, I could not shake the tail. I was almost out of gas, but afraid to go home and let the person see where I lived. So, I drove to the nearest police station and ran inside. The police took a report, escorted me to the gas station, then followed me home, and patrolled my neighborhood for the next few nights, but the follower was never caught.
Do you drink? Smoke?
SUSIE: I do not smoke. I tried it once when I was ten years old. My cousin Jane and I stole a pack of my aunt’s cigarettes. We went to the alley behind their house and lit up. I took one big hit, coughed myself sick, threw up, and never did it again. I do not like the taste of hard liquor. But I will drink those “girlie fruity drinks,” as my husband calls them, on vacation. I do like a glass of wine with dinner, and what is Mexican food without a margarita?
What is your biggest fear?
SUSIE: Death. I inherited a genetic trait that is a defense mechanism from my maternal grandmother that candidly is embarrassing at times…When I hear of someone’s death, I laugh. Since I am known for this trait by many, there was no point denying it. So, I decided to embrace it by working it into all my plots in The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. My protagonist, Holly Schlivnik, laughs whenever she discovers a corpse.
What’s your vice?
SUSIE: My vices are pizza, coffee, and chocolate.
What do you want your tombstone to say?
SUSIE: It’s a toss-up between WHODUNIT and The End.
What literary character is most like you?
SUSIE: On a bad day, Stephanie Plum. On a good day, Jessica Fletcher.
Where is one place you want to visit that you haven’t been before?
SUSIE: Antarctica.
If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
SUSIE: My late female springer spaniel dog because NO living creature was more spoiled and pampered than her.
What’s on your bucket list (things to do before you die)?
SUSIE: Professionally: Be a New York Times Best Selling Author; make the Amazon top one hundred list, and be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. Personally: See my son marry and make me a grandma; learn how to scuba dive; attend an LA Dodgers baseball world series game; visit the rock N’ roll hall of fame museum; tour the Holocaust Museum; crew on the America's Cup sailing team; visit the south pole; take an Alaskan cruise; cruise the Fjords; cruise down the Amazon; see the Galapagos Islands; see Stone Henge; go to Israel and Poland.
Do you have any scars?
SUSIE: Yes. I have two.
What are they from?
SUSIE: One from an appendectomy and the other from C-section childbirth.
What were you like as a child?
SUSIE: I was outgoing, curious, asked a zillion questions, nosy, a jokester/class clown, and a tomboy.
Your favorite toy?
SUSIE: As a small child: my Howdy Doody doll. As an older child: my Stan “the Man” Musial baseball glove.
Thank you, Susie, for the fabulous interview. I always enjoy sitting down with you for a chat. Readers, scroll down to check out Susie’s recent release. Fans of Nancy Drew will love it.
Title: The Case of the Croaked Coach
Author: Susie Black
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Next Chapter
Book Blurb:
There wasn’t an honest bone in Buzz Bixby’s body. The Encino High School’s head football coach was an equal-opportunity scoundrel. Bixby cheated and lied his way to the top and screwed anyone and everyone in his wake. So, the question wasn’t who wanted the bastard dead. The question was, who didn’t? Student reporter Hannah White’s interview with the coach is a nonstarter when she discovers varsity football hero Dean Snyder standing over Bixby’s battered corpse holding a bloody trophy. Despite how guilty Dean looks, Hannah is convinced he’s innocent. When Snyder is arrested for Bixby’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to flesh out the real killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a slinky, and nothing turns out how Hannah thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent on revenge. Tagline: Fourth down…you’re dead.
Excerpt:
Logic said to either run for help or to run for my life, but a combination of fear— if Dean did it, now discovered, would he kill me too— and the curiosity to learn the answer kept my feet frozen to the spot inside the doorframe.
Dean’s body shook like a leaf in a rainstorm as he stared at the bloody trophy in his hand as though he just discovered it. Either Dean was doing an Academy Award-worthy acting job for my benefit or he was even more terrified than me. Flip a coin.
A reporter has to make snap judgments. Is it the same as trusting your gut?
Dad’s voice whispered inside my head. “Trust your gut.”
I guess the answer to my question is yes…
“Dean,” I spoke his name in the same soothing tone you do to a frightened animal.
He looked up at my voice, surprised to hear his name called. His eyes filled. “It’s not what you think.”
Fairly confident Dean had no plan to smash my head to smithereens with the trophy, I took a few tentative steps into the office.
I dipped my head towards the trophy still in his grasp. “Okay. Then what is it?”
Dean’s voice quivered. “After practice, I came here to talk to the coach.”
“About what?”
“To convince him to give me the starting position.”
The train has already left the station, so, in my book, a big waste of time. Just sayin’.
I pursed my lips. “The word around campus is Bixby was a lame duck with no say in anything anymore.”
Dean scowled. “He still had a lot of sway with Coach Bender. Bixby could convince Coach Bender to make the change if he wanted to.”
“Why would he?”
Dean huffed with righteous indignation. “To do the right thing. Because I earned the spot and he knew it.”
For Donna’s sake, I gave it my best shot to believe him. But Dean’s story had more holes than a dozen glazed donuts.
I framed my hands like a movie director. “So, maybe this happened? You met with him. No matter how much you pleaded, Bixby still refused your request. You got angry. You never meant for it to happen, but things went way out of control.” I pointed to the trophy. “You grabbed the trophy off the shelf behind the Coach’s desk and in a fit of rage, you hit him with it on the back of his head.”
Dean yelped, “No! I never got the chance to talk to him.” Dean waved the trophy at Bixby’s torso scrawled across the desk. “I walked into the office and found him slumped over the desk with the back of his head bashed in.”
“How long have you been here?”
Dean scrunched his eyes closed. “Ten minutes. Maybe less. I-I’m not sure.”
“Besides the trophy, you move anything else?”
He shook his head.
“Where was the trophy?”
Dean pointed to the carpet under the coach’s desk. “On the floor next to the coach’s desk. I tripped over it when I stood next to him.”
“What on Earth ever made you pick it up?”
Dean shrugged.
“So, other than pick up the trophy for some idiotic reason, did you do anything else?”
He made a sour face.
I peppered him with questions. “Call 911? Try to help him? Check his pulse? Perform CPR? Anything?”
Dean hung his head. “No.”
My jaw dropped. “What the heck is the matter with you?”
He bunched his shoulders.
“ If you’d at least called 911, he had a chance of being saved.”
He pointed the trophy at the corpse. “Is he dead?”
It’s not as though I’m an expert on the subject. The only dead body I’ve ever seen in person was Cindy Butler’s Grandma Ethel’s at the old lady’s funeral last June.
Dean bent over to examine the coach’s crumpled body. “I’ve never been around a dead body before. How do you tell?”
Good gravy. The back of the guy’s head is smashed in like roadkill. How much more proof do you need?
I rolled my eyes. “Well, since he hasn’t so much as twitched since I got here, I’d say it’s a safe bet the next game Bixby coaches is gonna be played in the stadium located at the Great Beyond.”
I used my shirt sleeve to pick up the phone receiver.
Dean gulped. “Who are you calling?”
Is this guy for real?
“Donofrio’s Pizzeria. Dead bodies give me the munchies.” I smacked his forehead with the heel of my hand. “For crying out loud, Dean! Who do you think I’m calling? The police!” I tsked, “Something anyone with a brain does the minute Bixby’s body is discovered.”
Dean whined as cranky as a toddler who needed a nap. “Why? No one knows we’re here. Can’t we just leave and let somebody else call the cops?”
I gritted my teeth. “Because it is against the law to leave the scene of a crime.”
Buy Links:
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/m20yWk
Author Biography:
Named Best US Author of the Year by N. N. Lights Book Heaven, multi-award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. She has published seven books in four years and book number eight is slated for release in May 2025. She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and is the mother of one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.
Looking for more? Contact Susie at:
Website: www.authorsusieblack.com
E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com
Social Media Links:
Blue Sky: @hollysusiewrites.bsky.social
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hollysusie1/
