As a child I was interested in writing and kept a journal; at age nine I wrote my first manuscript detailing how to care for household pets. My second endeavor was at age eleven (penned during an Agatha Christie phase), a murder mystery taking place on a cruise ship. During my adolescence I wrote several short stories and numerous poems. Although I adored reading historical romance and mysteries, as a young woman I rapidly became a fan of horror, cutting my teeth on Poe and Lovecraft—rapidly moving on to King, Straub, Barker, and Rice.

Once my three sons were all attending school, I signed up for community college classes with the intention of going into law enforcement or criminal justice. While attending college I encountered several mentors; one was an English professor and author, Conrad Balfour, who strongly believed I had talent. He encouraged me to write, championing me to publish until his death in 2008, at age 79. After working as a medical receptionist for over fifteen years, the shadow of losing him—along with a decline in my health and a job loss—permantly changed the course of my career direction.

Throughout my life, I’ve always enjoyed journaling and writing short stories, yet it was recalling some extremely tough life experiences that first sparked ideas for Red House (One That Got Away Rhapsody). After doing a lot of reflecting upon my own choices and experiences, on a difficult personal anniversary in mid-December of 2012, that very same evening I began working on the outline of “Red House” as a form of catharsis. However, in no time at all, just like “Alice,” I fell into a “rabbit hole” while creating Red House [One That Got Away Rhapsody], and was quickly caught in its currents and voices as if I’d fallen into the mighty Mississippi herself.

When not spending time with my family and friends, reading, or cooking, I’m currently working on a second novel.

--Suzanne Loughrey