INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN PAGE DAVIS

Emma Shuster is recruited as a Navy cryptographer in 1915, to help expose enemies she didn’t know America had. Lt. John Patterson introduces her to the Signal Corps after her father’s brutal murder. Will her work save lives—and eventually lead her to her father’s killers? Can Emma and John find love in the midst of turmoil, as America plunges toward war? She finds new strength in her faith as she strives to outwit her adversary, known only as “Kobold”—German for “goblin.” When the young man who built her father’s secret cipher machine is also brought to Washington, Emma is annoyed. But with Clark’s arrival comes added danger

It is my distinct pleasure to have my Susan Page Davis as my guest again this month, celebrating the release of her historical romantic suspense title, The Crimson Cipher. Please join me in welcoming her to my blog again.

And as an added bonus, Susan will give away two copies of The Crimson Cipher during July! Leave a comment(s) for your chance(s) to win a copy of her book.

1. The Crimson Cipher is one of the first historical romantic suspense books coming from Summerside Press. Tell my readers a little bit more about the new line and what they can expect.

It’s a great honor to be among the first few authors of the new Swept Away line. Last spring titles by Susan May Warren and Tricia Goyer came out, and on July 1, Cara Putman and I are seeing our new books release. More intriguing books by authors you love will follow in November.
These books are all set in the 20th century and involve intrigue, danger, romance, and faith. I’ve always loved writing historical romance, but suspense novels tugged at me, too. This line combines them to give you an exciting, romantic adventure in the past.

2. What interested you in codes? How much of your story comes from actual history?

I’ve loved codes and ciphers since I was a child. I used to write code messages with my friends and introduced my children to various methods of “secret writing.” When I started researching the period and learned that several young women were recruited during World War I to solve enemy ciphers for the U.S. Navy’s Signal Corps, I knew I wanted to write this story.

3. How do you stay inspired as a writer, when the daily grind threatens to wear you down?

While bills are a great motivator, I really don’t find it hard. All around me are ideas waiting to pop into a story. The only times I find it really hard to write are when I’m sick or very sad.

4. What are you currently working on?

I loved working with Summerside so much I’m doing a second book for them. This one will be a historical in their Love Finds You series. It’s the first one set in Canada: Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island. My story is set in 1860, when the Prince of Wales (Queen Victoria’s son and later King Edward VII) visited the island.

5. What can readers expect to see next from you? Where can they find you on the internet?

My next release is a novella in the Christmas Mail Order Brides collection. It comes out in September and features stories about young women who join Mrs. Mayberry’s Matrimonial Society for Christians of Moral Character. Authors Vickie McDonough, Therese Stenzel, and Carrie Turansky portray the first three stories, and mine is the last one: “Mrs. Mayberry Meets her Match.”

Then in December, my third book in the Ladies’ Shooting Club series will release: The Blacksmith’s Bravery. Former saloon girl Vashti Edwards is determined to become a stagecoach driver. Griffin Bane has three words for that: ha, ha, and ha! Come back to the little mountain town of Fergus, Idaho, for romance, conflict, and adventure.

Come visit me at: http://www.susanpagedavis.com/.

Susan is the author of thirty novels. She lives in Kentucky with her husband, Jim, who is an editor, and the two youngest of their six children.