Wednesday, July 21, 2010

What is Susan Wiggs reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Susan Wiggs, author of the RITA Award-winning novels Lakeside Cottage, Lord of the Night and The Mistress.

Her entry begins:
I always have a book within reach, and my tastes are eclectic. A couple of memorable recent reads for me: A Castle in the Backyard: The Dream of a House in France by Betsy Draine, about her summer home in southwestern France. I'm heading to Bordeaux and St. Cirq Lapopie later this month, so this incredibly charming memoir fed my excitement. It's perfect for armchair travelers, too, and for fans of books like Under the Tuscan Sun and...[read on]
Susan Wiggs' first book was published by Zebra in 1987, and since then she has been published by Avon, Tor, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Warner and Mira Books. Unable to completely abandon her beloved teaching profession, Wiggs is a frequent workshop leader and speaker at writers' conferences, including the literary institution Fields End and the legendary Maui Writers Conference. Her novel The Charm School was voted one of RWA's Favorite Books of the Year.

Wiggs' many books to be named RITA finalists include: Vows Made in Wine, Home Before Dark, Halfway to Heaven, Summer by the Sea, The Ocean Between Us, and Table for Five.

Of The Ocean Between Us (re-issued this year), she wrote:
The Ocean Between Us was shaped by the lives and loves of families in the military. They are a special class of women and men who respond instantly to the call of duty, who can pack up and move an entire household halfway around the world at a moment’s notice, only to do it again every couple of years. I was privileged to meet a number of Navy wives, and I came to admire their sturdy spirit, their sense of commitment, their take-charge attitude and their unabashed patriotism. Women who have known each other only a short time learn to bond quickly and deeply, to help each other through rough times and celebrate the good. I watched Navy wives support one another, snipe at one another and show the steeliest backbones I’ve ever seen in a group of women.
Visit Susan Wiggs' website and blog.

Writers Read: Susan Wiggs.

--Marshal Zeringue