Susie Orman Schnall is full of "Grace"...plus a book giveaway

"Fit for 40."

A friend and I have been talking about this idea a lot.  We’re making a list of things we wish to accomplish by our 40^th birthdays...which apparently are now close enough to be worth discussing.

I’m not dreading 40, but I can’t say I’m embracing the idea with open arms like the main character in Susie Orman Schnall’s novel, On Grace.  

So it is with welcoming arms that I introduce our featured guest, Susie Orman Schnall! To learn more about Susie and On Grace, visit Book Mama Blog! Both of our blogs have TWO personalized copies to give away to some lucky US readers, courtesy of BookSparks PR!

Visit Susie at her website, Facebook, and Twitter. On Grace is also a featured spring read at SheKnows, along with Jane Green and Catherine McKenzie's latest novels!

If you knew then what you know now about writing professionally, what would you do differently?
I really enjoyed the jobs I had after college: I did marketing and communications for advertising agencies, nonprofits, internet companies, and magazines. But, part of me feels like I would have been better served working in editorial for a magazine. In my senior year of college, I even created a mockup of a Cosmopolitan magazine issue for college girls and I sent that as an application to Cosmopolitan, so it’s definitely a career that was on my radar. But back in the early 90s, there was a recession and you took the job you got, and I got a job in marketing. I’m thankful, though, for my marketing experience because authors don’t just write books these days, they have to be savvy marketers of their work as well.

If you could have any author (living or dead) mentor you, who would it be and why?
Nora Ephron. 100% Nora Ephron. I love the way her writing is so clean, simple, relevant, and authentic. But it’s very difficult to write like that. Nora Ephron was so adept at observing people and social situations and then revealing their truth through her poignant, hilarious, and spot-on writing and storytelling.

What’s the most personal thing you have ever written about and why did you feel like it was important enough to share?
Anytime someone I know finishes reading On Grace they immediately want to know what’s true and what’s not. Sure, they know it’s fiction, but those who know me hear my voice in Grace’s voice and know that many (not all) of Grace’s thoughts and perspectives on life are mine as well. This leads to questions about what else in our lives is the same. So I guess the most personal thing I’ve written about is my own take on the world through the character of Grace. We share similar struggles about being a mom, working or not working, attitudes toward friends and toward marriage, etc. I didn’t set out to be Grace, and I’m certainly not her as she experiences things in her life that I haven’t and vice versa. But that's the story that poured out of me so I guess it was my desire to be authentic about what many women go through at this point of our lives. I didn’t set out to make it personal but that’s the way it turned out.

You win a vacation that allows you to pick FIVE different travel locations. Where do you go?
There are so many places I would love to travel to, but, if I had to pick only five, I would:

(1) Visit the English countryside of Downton Abbey and Jane Austen.

(2) Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.

(3) Relax and explore in Ubud, Bali (I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about this place).

(4) Eat my way through Paris. Cheese, croissants, and Nutella crepes, please.

(5) Adventure travel in Costa Rica.

Tell us about one of your “bucket list” items:
I’ve always wanted to be a guest on the Today Show. Okay, a couple more: be a professional dancer in a music video and star in a British period piece movie (preferably one written by Jane Austen) because I want to wear those costumes but not so much the hairdos.

One thing I’m too afraid to do is:
…ride a bike on a street with cars. Especially going downhill. I never really learned to ride a bike as a kid and I’m terrible at going straight, so mixing that with cars is a bad idea. I’m also very afraid of having regrets in life.

Thank you so much for featuring On Grace and me on Chick Lit Central. I’m such a fan of your site and I’m so excited for your readers to read On Grace! 

Thanks to Susie for visiting with us and to BookSparks PR for sharing her book with our readers!

~Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers


How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends April 16th at midnight EST.