Just Breathe
by Susan Wiggs

List Price: $24.95
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780778325772
Publisher: Mira

New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs has won three RITA® Awards for her novels Lakeside Cottage, Lord of the Night and The Mistress.  Her recent novels, The Winter Lodge and Summer at Willow Lake, have made national bestseller lists, placing high on the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Publishers Weekly lists. The Charm School won the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence and was designated a Favorite Book of the Year by Romance Writers of America.  Romantic Times BOOK Reviews honored her with a Career Achievement Award for American Historical Romance.  She has also won the Holt Medallion for Circle in the Water and the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence for The Mist and the Magic.  She belongs to the Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Novelists, Inc. She is often interviewed in the media on the topic of writing popular novels for today’s women, having appeared on Talk of the Nation and in the Seattle Times and Portland Tribune. Susan recently launched a blog featuring her photos and observations, which was featured in Publishers Weekly and has quickly turned into a huge hit with readers. (www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com)

When she’s not writing, Susan can likely be found listening to music, seeing the world, speaking French, playing the cello, reading books, Fair Isle knitting, doing impossible faux-finish paint projects, butter sculpting, making balloon animals, taking a fitness class, skiing or sitting in the hot tub talking to her mother on the phone. 

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In JUST BREATHE, Sarah Moon has an alter ego of sorts in her comic-strip heroine, who goes through many of the same trials and tribulations. Is there a little bit of yourself in any of your stories’ heroines?

SW: Absolutely. I live deeply inside the characters as I create them, and that’s how the stories resonate with me and, I hope, with the reader. My characters’ lives are entirely different from my own. For example, I’ve never faced the betrayal Sarah faces in her marriage, never went through artificial insemination and I’ve never been pregnant with twins, yet the emotions Sarah experiences feel very authentic to me. My characters are generally younger and thinner than the author, too. That’s the fantasy element coming into play.

Faced with the task of starting over in life (with twins on the way!), Sarah displays great resiliency and depth of character. What inspired such a strong character?

SW: I’m thrilled that she seems resilient and strong! I tried to make Sarah a believable character --- flawed and confused at times as she faces a complex, larger-than-life situation, yet she ultimately finds the inner resources she needs to grow into her new life. I was inspired by women I know and admire --- my friends, family members and readers.

Sarah and Will Bonner have a history together. She was an outsider in high school and Will was the star jock – so, years later, how do they make the perfect couple?

SW: That’s pretty much the entire romantic arc of the story, isn’t it? Both characters are in the process of growing and changing, and one of the most dramatic developments in the story is their transformation from two youngsters who were very self-centered and different to a couple whose bond is forged by selflessness and love. On a personal note, Jay (husband) and I tend to “flunk” all those compatibility tests in books and magazines, yet we’ve been happily married for 28 years. Chemistry is a mystical force!

A betrayal leads Sarah back home to California, where she reconnects with old friends and her own past. Why was her hometown the right place for Sarah to find herself?

SW: Glenmuir, in the wilds of the northern California coast, is the place where Sarah’s character was formed, yet she left with a lot of unfinished business still open. Her journey of the heart leads her back to deal with old issues she never faced. The setting in this story is a crucible for this character. It’s also a stunningly beautiful locale, where metaphors for growth and renewal abound.

Will has a complex relationship with his young daughter. How did you create such a realistic family dynamic between them?

SW: Aurora was the key who unlocked Will’s best self when he first rescued her from a fire as a tiny girl, and the bond that formed that day linked him to her forever. That moment really set him on the path to figuring out who he is. He wants to be a good dad (stepdad), yet as she enters adolescence, he starts feeling in over his head. That’s where the realism comes from. Most dads find preadolescent girls completely confusing, yet they can’t walk away.

You went from a math teacher to a romance author – what inspired you to make this leap and start a writing career?

SW: Actually, the leap was in the opposite direction. At the age of three, I declared myself a writer and rarely deviated from that path. I became a math teacher because I needed a job, and because I have a passion for teaching, but I never stopped telling stories or dreaming of a writing career. When I was in college, I was given a battery of tests and assessments to find out what careers would suit me. My top three were writer, teacher and speech pathologist. So far, I’ve pursued two out of three.

What are you working on next?

SW: I’m working on planning my daughter’s fabulous wedding --- it is way too much fun! Regarding books,I’m just finishing Fireside, which is another tale in my Lakeshore Chronicles series. It’s a “snob vs. slob” love story about a boardingschool-princess type and a rough-hewn baseball pitcher. Fun stuff! It will be published in 2009. Readers can find more information at www.susanwiggs.com and on my blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.

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