Susan Page Davis ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today author Susan Page Davis is telling us about her new book, Fire and Ice. She has offered two autographed copies of her book to two lucky commenters. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can include it in your comment for entering the contest. If you are only leaving a question in the comment and not entering the giveaway please say so.

Welcome, Susan! Tell us a little about yourself.

I grew up in Maine, in a very small town. Our house had no running water until I was about eight years old. My dad was the local game warden. I had a wonderful childhood with four older siblings. My husband Jim and I have six children and also six grandchildren. Our children are all home-schooled (two are still at home). The older four are college graduates and far-flung. Jim is retired from news editing and is now a freelance editor for fiction and nonfiction projects. I personally enjoy history, animals, needlework, and reading. A current passion is cryptography, sparked by research for an upcoming book.

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
I started seriously writing fiction in 1999. I have 25 published novels. More than half are historical romance. Seven are romantic suspense. The others include cozy mysteries, contemporary romance, and young adult.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?
My romance is definitely G-rated. Most of my books include mystery or suspense elements, even if they are classified as straight romance, and Fire & Ice is one of those. My suspense books (such as Inside Story and Hearts in the Crosshairs) have been compared to Dee Henderson’s.

In your own words tell us a little about Fire and Ice.
Fire & Ice is my second contemporary romance set in Alaska. Robyn Holland raises and trains sled dogs at the family kennel in Wasilla. She lives with her mother and grandfather. Grandpa’s antics land him in the hospital, and Robyn and her mom wonder if they are going to make it financially. They need to sell some dogs—but Mom suggests they might need to sell the whole business. When Robyn is out dog sledding with veterinarian-next-door Rick Baker, six dogs are stolen from the kennel. Robyn and Rick set off on a quest to find the dogs, and find romance along the way.

Blurb-

Robyn Holland loves her work raising and training sled dogs for her family’s business, Holland Kennel, in rugged Alaska. But when her grandfather has an accident, the resulting hospital bills put a strain on the family’s finances. Will she be forced to follow her mother’s suggestion and sell the business? It would break her heart, but it’s beginning to seem like her only option.

Robyn turns to Rick Baker, a neighbor and veterinarian, for help as the Fire & Ice dog sled approaches. Then some of her most valuable dogs are stolen. As they race against time to find the dogs, a spark ignites. Will they allow God’s light to illuminate the right tracks to follow for the victory He has for them?

What made you want to write this story?
I visited Wasilla in September, 2008, and went to the headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Race. I had already committed to write a story about a young woman serving in the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska, and I decided to make the second book about her sister-in-law, who raised sled dogs. These animals are so beautiful and courageous, I wanted to showcase them.

What research did you have to do for this book?
It was a great privilege to go to Alaska and visit Anchorage, Homer, Wasilla, and other locations. While there I talked to a lot of people. Before the trip I subscribed to Alaska Magazine and did some preliminary research. While writing the series, I’ve also called upon friends living in Alaska to answer questions about everyday life and speech patterns there. I did a ton of online research after I got home and bought a truckload of books (or so it seemed) on related topics—Coast Guard, dog sledding, polar bears, and much more.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
I’m working on a historical romance, Book 3 in my Ladies’ Shooting Club series. These books are set in Idaho in the 1880s, and the first one just released in December (The Sheriff’s Surrender). They feature a group of women in a tiny mining town gone bust. They learn to shoot in order to protect themselves, and they wind up helping the sheriff solve murders and defending the town. It’s a fun series with mystery and romance in each book.

How can readers get in contact with you?
Come see me at my Web site: www.susanpagedavis.com

What are you currently reading?
I’m so deep into Idaho history and cryptography that I’m not currently reading a novel, which is incredible. But my research has me in books right now with titles like “Sagebrush Post Offices” and “Manual for the Solution of Military Ciphers.” (That last one is for an upcoming book called The Crimson Cipher, coming your way next summer from Summerside Press).

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I had a stroke in 1997. This was a major blot clot on my left temple. Through God’s mercy, I survived with no residual effects.

If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
Definitely a horse. Always envied them. So strong and beautiful and graceful!

FAVORITES:
TV show, and/or movie?
TV shows—I really love The Amazing Race, but drama favorites right now would be NCIS and Castle.

Place to go on vacation?
Anyplace warmer than Maine.

Book this year or month? Why?
I liked Harry Krauss’s Perfect. It had a “different,” ending, but I’ll forgive him. I was sure at first that I wouldn’t like the main character, but she got to me.


What is/was this book’s release date?
Fire & Ice is a January 2010 book through the Heartsong Presents book club. It can be ordered from http://www.heartsongpresents.com/

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**This giveaway is open to any country, however, there will only be one book sent to another country**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win one of two autographed copies of Fire and Ice!

To enter:
*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win).

*Please specify that you want to be included in the contest!

*If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.

*The comment is mandatory. (Please, say in the comment if you are a follower!! It makes my job easier when you do.) You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest.

*The contest will run from today (Jan. 22) until 10:30 CST on Thursday (Jan. 28). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 29th, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.