If you read category romances, the name´s probably familiar, but Susan hasn´t always been published. First, a little background. Though nothing gives her the joy she gets from writing romance, she credits her unusual work history with providing fodder for her stories, particularly her characters, but believes her own 22-year marriage plays a most important role in developing her stories. She fell in love quickly, as do most of her characters, and understands love at first sight very well because she lived it. But more than that, she understands the importance of commitment and the joy of watching a relationship grow and develop.

Susan is the mother of three children, but because she´s one of eleven children and has twenty nieces and nephews, aged 4 weeks to 25 years, children play a predominant role in her books. She believes there´s no greater test of a person´s commitment than how well they approach raising children, but more than that, children are simply wonderful, special people. They say what they mean, aren´t afraid to ask for what they want, and are astonishing judges of character.

"In my life, there are three things that count. My family, my golf score and my books. It doesn´t matter if I´m talking about a book I´m reading or a book I´m writing, I just love the way a book can transport me. I sometimes look at books as being the way to experience everything."

Bella: The first book in your new series is out. How many, what are the titles and when will each be released?

Susan: There are three books in the actual Brewster Baby Boom series. The first book is "The Baby Bequest," released January 20. The second is "Bringing Up Babies," released February 20. The third is "Oh, Babies!" released March 20. But a secondary character, Abby, the waitress at the diner, played such an interesting role in all three books that we decided to tell her story, too. That book, "Hunter´s Vow" will be released in December 2000.

Bella: Was this something you came up with or an editor suggestion?

Susan: I wanted to write a story similar to "Three Men and a Baby," with three brothers finding themselves in charge of a baby sister, so it would have an interesting twist with a lot of heart. But in order to make the stories work, each of the brothers had to be in charge of the baby for the length of his book, and that meant the poor child was being shuffled from one brother to the next. We, the editors and I, got the uncomfortable sense that she didn´t have a home. So rather than shift one poor child, three times, we decided the brothers would inherit triplets. Once we came to that idea, it exploded. The possibilities were so numerous the original idea faded into the background and this wonderful series was born.

Next week we´ll continue this discussion. Come back for more!

A Chat with Susan Meier, Part 2

A Chat with Susan Meier, Part 3