Welcome to our New Faces column, where you can meet debut authors in the romance genre. Our guest this time is Susan Donovan, whose first contemporary romance is Knock Me Off My Feet from St. Martins Press.

Susan, welcome to TRR! Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in the Cincinnati suburbs, the middle child in a family so dysfunctional that our portrait is found in psychiatric textbooks. I attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where I earned bachelors and masters degrees in journalism. My goal was to be a foreign correspondent, but I fell in love with a guy I met at a dorm kegger, and knew I wasn't going anywhere. (He was a witty theater major who worked the fryer at Burger King - I knew quality when I saw it!) We've been married 14 years now and have two great kids, a ten-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. We live in the Maryland countryside and enjoy camping, hiking, biking, sailing and horseback riding, but in reality spend all of our time driving our kids around to their activities.

Are you coming to romance writing from another job?

Lots of other jobs, actually. I worked as a newspaper reporter for many years and wrote about everything from school board meetings to serial killers, though not always in the same story. I worked briefly as an aid to a US Senator before my children were born. After becoming a mom, I did lots of things part-time, including free-lance writing, consulting, fundraising, horse-stall mucking, retail sales, and running my own painted furniture business, where I'd buy cheap junk, paint it, and sell it for obscene amounts of money. I now write romances full-time and am still waiting for the obscene amounts of money.

What led you to write romances?

It's not a romantic story. I wanted to write novels. In particular, I wanted to write novels that someone would publish and people would actually buy. So I researched what kind of fiction was hot, and knew immediately that I didn't want to write straight mystery, suspense, sci-fi or fantasy, so that left romance. When I discovered that romance novels could be about anything and everything - as long as there was a love story at the center - I knew I'd found my niche. I'll admit that I was somewhat of a literary snob, and three years ago, I had never read a romance novel let alone written one. Then I started reading them and had to smack myself! I'd been missing out on SO much fun!

Tell us about your road to publication.

I hate to answer this question, because it makes other writers hiss at me. Here's the truth: I quit my part-time fundraising job in June of 2000 to write my first romance novel. Within a year, I'd written three novels, gotten an agent, and had a bite from a publisher. I signed my first two-book contract with St. Martin's Press in September 2001, eighteen months after I started writing. Don't hate me. I went into this endeavor with a couple major advantages - I had already spent more than 15 years as a professional writer, and, when properly motivated, I can write damn fast. I must add here that my first book was God-awful, and way too long. It was rejected by two publishers and a handful of agents. My second book, which I wrote in six weeks, was shorter, somewhat less awful, and also rejected. My third book was KNOCK ME OFF MY FEET, which became the first book I sold. So I think my first two books were kind of my private laboratory, where I taught myself how to write novel-length fiction - in a hurry.

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

Not nearly as much as my second book, but I did research the following subjects: Cystic Fibrosis, Chicago police investigative procedures, bagpipes, kilts, pipe and drum bands, household cleaning hints, vintage wooden sailboats, and beer.

Tell us about your debut book.

I like to think of KNOCK ME OFF MY FEET as a steamy romantic comedy with a little suspense thrown in for good measure. It's the story of Autumn Adams, a Chicago soccer coach and teacher who inherits her mother's household hints empire but doesn't give a hoot about cooking, cleaning or entertaining. After Audie receives some very twisted fan letters, she calls the police. Into her life saunters sexy Chicago Police Detective Stacey Quinn, a Southside Irish guy who doesn't miss a thing. It doesn't take Quinn long to catch Audie's stalker - and win her heart.

Who are your influences as a writer?

Oh my. I don't know if anyone influenced my style, but let me say that I read a wide variety of books and there are some fiction writers that just blow me away, including: Barbara Kingsolver, Nuala O'Faolain, Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Tom Robbins, Rebecca Wells, Lisa Zeidner, Gail Tsukiyama, and Janet Evanovich - all for different reasons, obviously. When it comes to romance, I have to say I didn't think anyone would publish the kind of stuff I really wanted to write until I found these authors: Jennifer Crusie, Susan Andersen, Rachel Gibson and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I specifically remember reading Crusie's WELCOME TO TEMPTATION and feeling like she'd written a big, fat permission slip for me to be myself! I am also a huge fan of Patricia Gaffney, Suzanne Brockmann, Linda Howard...I guess you can tell that I could go on and on.

What does your family think of having a romance author in their midst?

Boy, did that question make me laugh! Well, my mother is goofy with pride. My best friend is my No. 1 fan. My husband bears it with grace and humor, though if one more person implies that he must have the hottest sex life in the Continental United States he might just deck them. My son is simply mortified, but then again, I'm an all-around embarrassment to him. My daughter is proud and excited, and when we went to pick up a Fed Ex package recently and the clerk asked what kind of books I wrote, my daughter chirped: "Sexy contemporary romantic comedies!" (Yikes.) My dogs love that I'm a romance writer, because they get to sit on my feet all day while I type.

Tell us about plans for future books.

My next book from St. Martin's Press is TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, due out in August. I'm really excited about this book - it's dear to my heart. It's the story of Thomas Tobin, an emotionally shut-down investigator who gets a new roommate - an ugly neurotic dog who witnessed a murder. Thomas seeks the help of pet psychiatrist Emma Jenkins to try to unravel the murder case, and before he knows it, the needy dog and the lovely, smart vet have convinced Thomas to give love one last chance.

In October, I've got an erotic romance novella coming out in a Kensington Brava holiday anthology. JINGLE BELL ROCK will feature my story TURNING UP THE HEAT, plus stories from Lori Foster, Janelle Denison and others. With the sparks shooting off this book, you won't need an open fire to roast those chestnuts, ladies!

I've signed a contract for two more contemporary romances for St. Martin's Press. Right now, I'm writing PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION, which will be published sometime in 2004. And the book after that is still a mystery. But I'll keep you posted.

How can readers get in touch with you?

Please visit my website, www.susandonovan.com, and feel free to email me at susan@susandonovan.com. You may also write me at PO Box 2123, Hagerstown, MD 21742-2123. I look forward to hearing from you!

Susan, thanks for joining us, and best of luck! Readers, we have a review of Knock Me Off My Feet in our Contemporary section. March 31, 2003