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Published on 11/23/1998 All articles from this issue

Los Altos author debuts 2nd 'White' romance

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By Carol Tiegs

Special to the Town Crier

Los Altan Susan Edwards has always been a reader, particularly of romance novels. After reading enough romances that they were beginning to sound the same, Edwards thought she'd try her hand at writing a love scene.

"I found I couldn't write that scene without working out the background leading up to it," she said. Before she knew it, she had written three chapters of what would become her first novel, "White Wind."

Actually, "White Wind" took three years to write, and another four to rewrite before it was published by Leisure Books in March 1996. Edwards' two children, Brandon and Deanna, were little during that period, and she wrote when she could squeeze it in.

Edwards' sequel, "White Wolf," took just a year to write. The tale of romance between an American Indian and a white woman along the Oregon Trail will hit book stores in mid-December. It is published by Dorcester Press, Leisure Historical Romance series. And Dorcester has also purchased Edwards' third book, "White Flame," which she expects to see published in 2000.

Edwards has planned six of the "White" books, all in the specialized genre of American Indian romance. "There's a very definite readership for Indian romances," Edwards said.

The "White" books are "family related," she said. Children of characters in an early book appear in subsequent books, and minor characters in one book may become major characters in another.

Edwards is not limiting herself to one genre. She has a proposal out to Harlequin Press for "Undercover Nanny," an intrigue novel. Another proposal concerns the tale of two angels who become a dog and a cat with the task of bringing a man and woman together.

Edwards said she usually begins by identifying her characters and then developing her plot. Sometimes a setting gets her thinking of a plot.

She belongs to Romance Writers of American and is past president of the local chapter of California Writers Club. She still sandwiches writing in between a part-time job and chauffeuring her daughter, now a junior at Homestead High School, to her various activities. She's currently working under a March deadline for the completion of "White Flame."

"White Wolf" will be one of five books featured on Edwards' publisher's preview of new books. Her work can also be found on the Web sites of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. But like many authors, Edwards handles much of her own publicity. She sets her own book signings, makes promotional bookmarks and sends out mailings.

Edwards also has her own Web site at http://members.aol.com/susanedw2u.

"When I sold my first book, I set a five-year goal to sell six books by 2000," Edwards said. She has already sold three and has another sale in sight.

Edwards will be signing copies of "White Wolf" beginning at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 21, at Heintzelman's Bookstore, 205 State St., in Los Altos. Signings are also scheduled for Dec. 18 from 12-3 p.m. at Walden Books in the Sunnyvale Mall, and from 11 a.m-1 p.m., Dec. 20, at Crown Books on Showers Drive in Mountain View.