Susie Black: Is There Life After Jelly Beans? (It’s a Holly Swimsuit Mystery!)

Susie Black: Watch Out Or I’ll Put You in My Book!

Susie and I became fast friends through the weekly chat room for our publisher, The Wild Rose Press, and I’ve been entertained by her unpredictable plots and unique characters, especially the recurring snarky Holly Schlivnik and the lively Yentas (based on her former colleagues in the swimwear industry). Named Best U.S. Author of the Year by N. N. Light’s Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California (indeed, the hottest part, Palm Springs!) home.

Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie was a successful ladies’ swimwear sales executive and bases her stories on some warps of her experiences with colorful humor thrown in for the wefts as she “weaves” her humorous murder mysteries. For a chance to win an electronic copy of her latest book in the series, Death by Jelly Beans (released this month) or any other one of her books, leave a comment at the bottom of this blog by October 1.

Interesting Factoids About Susie:  

• Susie’s career began as the ONLY woman who was a manufacturer’s rep in the deep southern states where she traveled thousands of miles in a 5-state territory for 5 years (and where she also had two men in her life after whom she’s patterned characters. Keep your eyes open for them as you read her series!).
• She is short (4’9”), so in order to get all her sample bags into the huge trunk of her car, she had to jump in with them to get them all situated. Susie also incorporated the consequences of being short into the personality of Holly Schlivnik and details her car trunk experience in Rag Lady. 
• Susie based her wildly popular fictional standard poodle/psychiatrist Sigmund Freud–introduced in Death by Surfboard, book three of her award-winning Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series–on the personalities of two beloved Springer Spaniels, Punim (pretty face in Yiddish) and Trevor.
• She lived on a housebook for ten years (and so does Holly).
• Susie added some “woo-woo” in Death by Jelly Beans with the addition of two ghosts that are so popular she plans to make them continuing characters in the series.

The Interview! 

Nancy–How many books have you published?

Susie–To date, I have five mysteries and one women’s fiction published for a total of six published works in three years. Death by Dreidel, the sixth mystery in the Holly Swimsuit Mystery series, will be published sometime in 2025, for a total of seven published books.

Nancy–Congratulations, Susie! How many unfinished or unpublished books do you have?  

Susie–I have one unfinished manuscript that is a work in progress and one unpublished book that I will be submitting for consideration this month. They’ll be out there soon!

Nancy–You’re amazing! You chose to write your books as part of a series. Can you tell us what the ins and outs of writing a series are?

Susie–Certainly. I chose to write my stories as part of a series because it allows me to more fully develop my main characters. But because I like to give my readers options, each book can be read on its own out of order without the reader getting lost. Pretty cool, huh? So, how in the world did I accomplish this? I make references back to continuing characters in each book for context and always write a paragraph in the first chapter of each book for the protagonist to introduce herself to readers and explain how she fits into the tale.

Nancy–What is your definition of being a successful author?

Susie–When a reader tells me they were up all night reading my book because they simply could not put it down.

Nancy–What’s your advice for fledgling writers?

Susie–Take the time to learn the craft of writing. Then keep writing…no matter what, keep writing. Believe in yourself, never let anyone step on your dreams, and never stop asking “What if?”

Nancy–Aside from your writing, what other exciting things have happened to you lately?

Susie–Two things. First: A dear friend recently invited me to attend her grandson’s high school graduation in Phoenix, and then we took a trip to New Mexico. Secondly: Death by Cutting Table, book #4 in The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, won 1^st place in the Cozy Mystery Category in the National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) contest!

Nancy–Congratulations on that award, Susie. What is your favorite childhood book?

Susie–Hands down, the Nancy Drew series. This series got me interested in reading and solving mysteries and is also responsible for a new series I’ve begun. I’ve just finished writing the manuscript for The Case of the Croaked Coach, the first book in The Hannah White Mystery Series. The main character is a high school investigative reporter for her school newspaper. The series is based on my own experience as a high school newspaper reporter and later Editor-In-Chief. While the series is set in a high school, it is intended for an adult audience. Fingers crossed, the first manuscript will be submitted to my editor by the end of this month.

Nancy–I was a big Nancy Drew fan, too (loved her name and her sportscar!). My favorite was Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase. So, was there a special person who encouraged you to write?

Susie–Yes, but not just one: two! Sol Kaufler, my high school newspaper faculty advisor, and my maternal grandmother. Like the protagonist in my series, I always dreamed of a writing career, but life had other plans. When I mused to my grandmother how often I wondered “what if…” she said I was destined to get into the rag biz to write about it, and that my career was the story I was born to tell. I took her advice to keep a daily journal that chronicled the interesting characters I encountered and the crazy situations I got myself into and out of during my ladies’ apparel sales career, and those journal entries are the foundation of everything I write. Her advice was so pivotal to my writing gig that I included it as a scene in Rag Lady, the fictionalized story of how I got into the apparel industry.

Nancy–Speaking of your latest book … tell us about it?

Susie–Yes, and thanks for asking! Death by Jelly Beans, published on Sept. 4, is the most recent book in The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series.  Here is a little blurb to whet your reader’s appetite:

Mermaid Swimwear President Holly Schlivnik discovers the Bainbridge Department Store Easter Bunny slumped over dead and obnoxious swimwear buyer Sue Ellen Magee is arrested for the crime. Despite her differences with the nasty buyer, Holly is convinced the Queen of Mean didn’t do it. The wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to nail the real killer. But the trail has more twists than a pretzel and more turns than a rollercoaster. And nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent on revenge.

Tag Line: “Brings a whole new meaning to the rabbit died.”

Nancy–What future projects do you have in your bag of tricks?

Susie—Death by Dreidel has been contracted by my publisher and will be published sometime in 2025.

I have also started the first draft of the debut manuscript for a new series set in the California desert but not in the apparel industry. I am researching so I can write a fictionalized version of the true story of a group of Jewish men who collected money from their synagogue congregations and got the New York Jewish Mafia to buy and smuggle arms and ammunition into the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. Stay tuned for updates.

Nancy–Thanks for being the star of this blog today, Susie, and I can’t wait to read what you write next. Keep it coming!

And, READERS, please leave a comment at the end of this blog to enter a giveaway contest for one of Susie’s books!

Where Can Readers Find You Online?

Website: www.authorsusieblack.com

E-mail: mysteries_@authorsusieblack.com

A Listing of Susie Black’s Published Books (click on book title to purchase):

NNLight Award, 1st place: Death by Sample Size

Death by Pins and Needles

Death by Surfboard

NEST Award, 1st place; NNL Award, Finalist: Death by Cutting Table

NNLight Award, Best Cozy Mystery: Rag Lady

Death by Jelly Beans

Thanks for joining us, Susie! I always enjoy bantering with you! Keep writing, and we’ll keep reading!–xox Nancy

(Please note that I use affiliate links for books mentioned. They don’t cost you anything extra, and they help keep me writing.)

Giveaway Contest: Leave a comment for Susie Black letting her know what kind of ladies’ apparel-related murder mystery you’d like to see solved in one of her upcoming books. Or you can simply say hello, leave her a comment or question, or tell her a joke. I’ll be drawing the name of the winner (one of you below!) for a free electronic copy of one of her books, so you can get to know this hysterically funny writer better. The deadline for entering is October 1, 2024!